Herb Foster Talk

Herb Foster will give a free talk at the Edgartown library, A Tale of Two Languages: Yiddish and Jive in American English, at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 30.

Mr. Foster will discuss the book manuscript he has recently completed, which explores how Americans of Jewish and African descent have contributed more words, phrases and inflections to today’s American English usage than any other ethnic group. “This language-borrowing process intrigued me as I observed people in increasing numbers using Yiddish or jive words without any idea of their original meaning or origins,” he said.