The Language of Thieves, Martin Puchner
The Language of Thieves, Martin Puchner
23 Rating(s)
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The Language of Thieves
My Family's Obsession with a Secret Code the Nazis Tried to Eliminate

Author: Martin Puchner

Narrator: Qarie Marshall

Unabridged: 7 hr 28 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 11/26/2020

Synopsis

Centuries ago in middle Europe, a coded language appeared, scrawled in graffiti and spoken only by people who were wiz (in the know). This hybrid language, dubbed Rotwelsch, facilitated survival for people in flight?whether escaping persecution or just down on their luck. It was a language of the road associated with vagabonds, travelers, Jews, and thieves that blended words from Yiddish, Hebrew, German, Romani, Czech, and other European languages and was rich in expressions for police, jail, or experiencing trouble, such as being in a pickle. This renegade language unsettled those in power, who responded by trying to stamp it out, none more vehemently than the Nazis.As a boy, Martin Puchner learned this secret language from his father and uncle. Only as an adult did he discover, through a poisonous 1930s tract on Jewish names buried in the archives of Harvard’s Widener Library, that his own grandfather had been a committed Nazi who despised this language of thieves. Interweaving family memoir with an adventurous foray into the mysteries of language, Puchner crafts an entirely original narrative. In a language born of migration and survival, he discovers a witty and resourceful spirit of tolerance that remains essential in our volatile present.

About Martin Puchner

Martin Puchner is the Byron and Anita Wien Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Harvard University, the author of The Written World, and the general editor of The Norton Anthology of World Literature. He lives and works in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

About Qarie Marshall

Qarie Marshall has narrated over thirty series for the Discovery Channel and the BBC. He has also been a guest voice on Comedy Central's Drawn Together and has recorded BBC radio plays, the in-flight programming for Virgin Atlantic Airlines, over eighty video games for the PlayStation and Xbox, and numerous audiobooks. In 2007, he was made an Associate Artist of The Purple Rose Theatre.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Cat on October 22, 2020

In The Language of Thieves, Martin Puchner delves into Rotwelsch, as a sociolect and linguistic concept, but too as a reflection of his family, national, and personal history with the subject. The result is an investigative and thoughtful account of the origins of Rotwelsch in migratory groups in Mi......more

Goodreads review by Jon on November 16, 2020

This is a great piece of work. Start with a study on the linguists of a sociolect that doesn't want to be studied, add in World War 2 history and its aftermath for a prominent German family, stir in the effects of said history on the grandson of this family, and spice it up with the idea of what it......more

Goodreads review by Brannigan on March 20, 2021

A good story that is 95% biography and family history and 5% history of the hidden language. I wish it had been flipped.......more

Goodreads review by Daniel on November 30, 2022

This book surprised me. I thought it was going to be a book about a Jewish man exploring the loss of language in Nazi Germany. In reality it is a very interesting study of an underground language by a man who discovers his family's hidden Nazi past. It was much more engaging than I thought it would......more

Goodreads review by Megan on December 26, 2020

Really interesting book which delves into the study of the sociolect Rotwelch. Though the author edits The Norton Anthology of English Literature, his writing rings clear and understandable. My favorite paragraph is a reflective analysis of the NSA’s poorly punctuated National Anthem, given to new c......more

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