“I have often thought about how much I treasure a language that could define a word as both ‘bad’ and ‘good’—and how much I regretted not knowing how to speak and understand it.

 “I have often thought about how much I treasure a language that could define a word as both ‘bad’ and ‘good’—and how much I regretted not knowing how to speak and understand it.” In a new essay, Calvin Trillin reflects on growing up in a home where Yiddish was used, but never learning to speak it himself. “A smattering of Yiddish happens to be all the Yiddish I have.” Read his Personal History: https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/F8juBV