The Yiddish Book Center's

Wexler Oral History Project

A growing collection of in-depth interviews with people of all ages and backgrounds, whose stories about the legacy and changing nature of Yiddish language and culture offer a rich and complex chronicle of Jewish identity.

Oy Vey is a Slavic Expression

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Emile Karafiol, attorney, explains that the phrase "oy vey" is of Slavic origin and has counterparts in various Slavic languages.

This is an excerpt from an oral history with Emile Karafiol.

This excerpt is in English.

Emile Karafiol was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1935. Emile died in 2019.