knew you would not be long pazorrhus to me. I am no hindity mush,
brother, no Irishman; I laid out the other day twenty pounds in
buying ruponoe peamengries; (82) and in the Chonggav, (83) have a
house of my own with a yard behind it.
'AND, FORSOOTH, IF I GO THITHER, I CAN CHOOSE A PLACE TO LIGHT
AFIRE UPON, AND SHALL HAVE NO NECESSITY TO ASK LEAVE OF THESE HERE
GENTILES.'
Well, dear reader, this last is the
translation of the Gypsy
sentence which heads the chapter, and which is a very
characteristic
specimen of the general way of
speaking of the
English Gypsies.
The language, as they generally speak it, is a broken jargon, in
which few of the
grammaticalpeculiarities of the Rommany are to be
distinguished. In fact, what has been said of the Spanish Gypsy
dialect holds good with respect to the English as
commonlyspoken:
yet the English
dialect has in
reality suffered much less than the
Spanish, and still retains its original syntax to a certain extent,
its
peculiar manner of conjugating verbs, and declining nouns and
pronouns.
ENGLISH DIALECT
Moro Dad, savo djives oteh drey o charos, te caumen Gorgio ta
Romany Chal tiro nav, te awel tiro tem, te kairen tiro lav aukko
prey puv, sar kairdios oteh drey o charos. Dey men to-divvus moro
divvuskoe moro, ta for-dey men pazorrhus tukey sar men for-denna
len pazorrhus amande; ma muk te petrenna drey caik temptacionos;
ley men abri sor doschder. Tiro se o tem, Mi-duvel, tiro o zoozlu
vast, tiro sor koskopen drey sor cheros. Avali. Ta-chipen.
SPANISH DIALECT
Batu monro sos socabas ote enre ye char, que camele Gacho ta Romani
Cha tiro nao, qu'abillele tiro chim, querese tiro lao acoi opre ye
puve sarta se querela ote enre ye char. Dinanos sejonia monro
manro de cata chibes, ta estormenanos monrias bisauras sasta mu
estormenamos a monrias bisabadores; na nos meques petrar enre
cayque pajandia, lillanos abri de saro chungalipen. Persos tiro
sinela o chim, Undevel, tiro ye silna bast, tiro saro lachipen enre
saro chiros. Unga. Chachipe.
ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THE ABOVE
OUR Father who dwellest there in heaven, may Gentile and Gypsy love
thy name, thy kingdom come, may they do thy word here on earth as
it is done there in heaven. Give us to-day our daily bread, (84)
and
forgive us
indebted to thee as we
forgive them
indebted to us,
(85) suffer not that we fall into NO
temptation, take us out from
all evil. (86) Thine (87) is the kingdom my God, thine the strong
hand, thine all
goodness in all time. Aye. Truth.
HUNGARIAN DIALECT
The following short sentences in Hungarian Gypsy, in
addition to
the prayer to the Virgin given in the Introduction, will perhaps
not prove unacceptable to the reader. In no part of the world is
the Gypsy tongue at the present day
spoken with more
purity than in
Hungary, (88) where it is used by the Gypsies not only when they
wish to be unintelligible to the Hungarians, but in their common
conversation
amongst themselves.
From these sentences the reader, by the help of the
translations
which accompany them, may form a tolerable idea not only of what
the Gypsy tongue is, but of the manner in which the Hungarian
Gypsies think and express themselves. They are
specimens of
genuine Gypsy talk - sentences which I have myself heard proceed
from the mouths of the Czigany; they are not Busno thoughts done
into gentle Rommany. Some of them are given here as they were
written down by me at the time, others as I have preserved them in
my memory up to the present moment. It is not
improbable that at
some future time I may return to the subject of the Hungarian
Gypsies.
Vare tava soskei me puchelas cai soskei avillara catari.
Mango le gulo Devlas vas o erai, hodj o erai te pirel misto, te
n'avel pascotia l'eras, ta na avel o erai nasvalo.
Cana cames aves pale.
Ki'som dhes keral avel o rai catari? (89)
Kit somu berschengro hal tu? (90)
Cade abri mai lachi e mol sar ando foro.
Sin o mas balichano, ta i gorkhe garasheskri; (91) sin o manro
parno, cai te felo do garashangro.
Yeck quartalli mol ando lende.
Ande mol ote mestchibo.
Khava piava - dui shel, tri shel predinava.
Damen Devla saschipo ando mure cocala.
Te rosarow labio tarraco le Mujeskey miro pralesco, ta vela mi anao
tukey le Mujeskey miro pralesky.
Llundun baro foro, bishwar mai baro sar Cosvaro.
Nani yag, mullas.
Nasiliom cai purdiom but; besh te pansch bersch mi homas slugadhis
pa Baron Splini regimentos.
Saro chiro cado Del; cavo o puro dinas o Del.
Me camov te jav ando Buka-resti - cado Bukaresti lachico tem dur
drom jin keri.
Mi hom nasvallo.
Soskei nai jas ke baro ful-cheri?
Wei mangue ke nani man love nastis jav.
Belgra sho mille pu cado Cosvarri; hin oter miro chabo.
Te vas Del l'erangue ke meclan man abri ando a pan-dibo.
Opre rukh sarkhi ye chiriclo, ca kerel anre e chiricli.
Ca hin tiro ker?
Ando calo berkho, oter bin miro ker, av prala mensar; jas mengue
keri.
Ando bersch dui chiro, ye ven, ta nilei.
O felhegos del o breschino, te purdel o barbal.
Hir mi Devlis camo but cavo erai - lacho manus o, Anglus, tama
rakarel Ungarica; avel catari ando urdon le trin gras-tensas -
beshel cate abri po buklo tan; le poivasis ando bas irinel ando
lel. Bo zedun stadji ta bari barba.
Much I
ponder why you ask me (questions), and why you should come
hither.
I pray the sweet Goddess for the gentleman, that the gentleman may
journey well, that
misfortune come not to the gentleman, and that
the gentleman fall not sick.
When you please come back.
How many days did the gentleman take to come
hither?
How many years old are you?
Here out better (is) the wine than in the city.
The meat is of pig, and the gherkins cost a grosh - the bread is
white, and the lard costs two groshen.
One quart of wine
amongst us.
In wine there (is) happiness.
I will eat, I will drink - two hundred, three hundred I will place
before.
Give us Goddess health in our bones.
I will seek a
waistcoat, which I have, for Moses my brother, and I
will change names with Moses my brother. (92)
London (is) a big city, twenty times more big than Colosvar.
There is no fire, it is dead.
I have suffered and toiled much: twenty and five years I was
serving in Baron Splini's regiment.
Every time (cometh) from God; that old (age) God gave.
I wish to go unto Bukarest - from Bukarest, the good country, (it
is) a far way unto (my) house.
I am sick.
Why do you not go to the great physician
Because I have no money I can't go
Belgrade (is) six miles of land from Colosvar; there is my son.
May God help the gentlemen that they let me out (from) in the
prison.
On the tree (is) the nest of the bird, where makes eggs the female
bird.
Where is your house?
In the black mountain, there is my house; come brother with me; let
us go to my house.
In the year (are) two seasons, the winter and summer.
The cloud gives the rain, and puffs (forth) the wind.
By my God I love much that gentleman - a good man he, an
Englishman, but he speaks Hungarian; he came (93)
hither in a
waggon with three horses, he sits here out in the
wilderness; (94)
with a pencil in his hand he writes in a book. He has a green hat
and a big beard.
VOCABULARY OF THEIR LANGUAGE
[This section of the book could not be transcribed as it contained
many non-european languages]
APPENDIX - MISCELLANIES IN THE GITANO LANGUAGE
ADVERTISEMENT
IT is with the view of preserving as many as possible of the
monuments of the Spanish Gypsy tongue that the author inserts the
following pieces; they are for the most part, whether original or
translated, the productions of the 'Aficion' of Seville, of whom
something has been said in the Preface to the Spurious Gypsy Poetry
of Andalusia; not the least
remarkable, however, of these pieces is
a
genuine Gypsy
composition, the
translation of the Apostles' Creed
by the Gypsies of Cordova, made under the circumstances detailed in
the second part of the first
volume. To all have been affixed
translations, more or less literal, to
assist those who may wish to
form some
acquaintance with the Gitano language.
COTORRES ON CHIPE CALLI / MISCELLANIES
BATO Nonrro sos socabas on o tarpe, manjirificado quejesa tute
acnao; abillanos or tute sichen, y querese tute orependola andial
on la chen sata on o tarpe; or manrro nonrro de cata chibel
dinanoslo sejonia, y estormenanos nonrrias bisauras andial sata
gaberes estormenamos a nonrros bisaraores; y nasti nes muques
petrar on la bajanbo, bus listrabanos de chorre. - Anarania.
FATHER Our, who dwellest in the heaven, sanctified become thy name;
come-to-us the thy kingdom, and be-done thy will so in the earth as
in the heaven; the bread our of every day give-us-it to-day, and
pardon-us our debts so as we-others
pardon (to) our debtors; and
not let us fall in the
temptation, but deliver-us from wickedness.
- Amen.
Panchabo on Ostebe Bato saro-asisilable, Perbaraor de o tarpe y la
chen, y on Gresone desquero Beyio Chabal nonrrio Erano, sos guillo
sar-trujatapucherido per troecane y sardana de or Chanispero
Manjaro, y purelo de Manjari ostelinda debla; Bricholo ostele de or
asislar de Brono Alienicato; guillo trejuficao, mule y cabanao; y
sundilo a los casinobes, (95) y a or brodelo chibel repurelo de
enrre los mules, y encalomo a los otarpes, y soscabela bestique a
la tabastorre de Ostebe Bato saro-asisilable, ende aoter a de
abillar a sarplar a los Apucheris y mules. Panchabo on or
Chanispero Manjaro, la Manjari Cangari Pebuldorica y Rebuldorica,
la Erunon de los Manjaros, or Estormen de los crejetes, la repurelo
de la mansenquere y la chibiben verable. - Anarania, Tebleque.
I believe in God, Father all-powerful,
creator of the heaven and
the earth, and in Christ his only Son our Lord, who went conceived
by deed and favour of the Spirit Holy, and born of
blessedgoddessdivine; suffered under (of) the might of Bronos Alienicatos; (96)
went crucified, dead and buried; and descended to the
conflagrations, and on the third day revived (97) from among the
dead, and ascended to the heavens, and dwells seated at the right-
hand of God, Father all-powerful, from there he-has to come to
impeach (to) the living and dead. I believe in the Spirit Holy,
the Holy Church Catholic and Apostolic, the
communion of the
saints, the remission of the sins, the re-birth of the flesh, and
the life
everlasting. - Amen, Jesus.
OCANAJIMIA A LA DEBLA / PRAYER TO THE VIRGIN
O Debla quirindia, Day de saros los Bordeles on coin panchabo: per
los duquipenes sos naquelastes a or pindre de la trejul de tute
Chaborro majarolisimo te manguelo, Debla, me alcorabises de tute
chaborro or estormen de sares las dojis y crejetes sos menda