| Solombala-English | |
|---|---|
| Region | Solombala,Arkhangelsk,Russia |
| Extinct | Late 19th century[citation needed] |
| Russian alphabet | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | None (mis) |
| Glottolog | solo1261 |
| IETF | cre-u-sd-ruark |
Solombala-English, orSolombala English–Russian Pidgin,[1] (Russian:Соломбальский английский язык,romanized: Solombalskij anglijskij jazyk) is a little-knownpidgin, derived from bothEnglish andRussian, that was spoken in the port ofSolombala in the city ofArkhangelsk,Russia in the 18th and 19th centuries. According toYelena Perekhvalskaya [ru], the pidgin may have started forming as early as the 17th century.[2]
The known Solombala-English corpus consists of only two short 19th-century texts: one inОчерки Архангельской губернии (Essays from Arkhangelsk Governorate) by Vasilij Vereščagin from 1849, and one inАрхангельские Губернские Ведомости (Arkhangelsk Governorate News) from 1867. Mentions of the pidgin are also found in the works ofMikhail Prishvin (early 20th century).[1]
A possible connection is noted between Solombala English andRussenorsk (a Russian-Norwegian pidgin used in trade between RussianPomors and Norwegians in the 19th and early 20th centuries). In particular, both pidgins use the suffix -(o)mъ as a verb marker, which may also reflect the influence ofFinno-Ugric languages.[3]
| Source | Phrase in pidgin (Latin alphabet) | Phrase in pidgin (Cyrillic alphabet) | Word-for-word English translation | English translation | Russian translation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Верещагин 1849: 406–407 | Vat ju vanted, asej! | Ватъ ю вантетъ, асей! | What you want, sailor! | What do you want, sailor! | Чего ты хочешь, матрос? | |
| Верещагин 1849: 407 | Baem buč, šus, asej! Kom sjuda! Veri gud buč, šus. | Баемъ бучь, шусь, асей! Комъ сюда! Вери гудъ бучь, шусь! | Buy boots, shoes, sailor! Come here! Very good boots, shoes. | Buy shoes, shoes, sailor! Come here! Very good shoes. | Купи обувь, обувь, матрос! Иди сюда! Очень хорошая обувь. | In the original:шусь |
| Верещагин 1849: 407 | Asej, asej! Daj tu kopejki! | Асей, асей! Дай ту копѣйки! | Sailor, sailor! Give me two copecks! | Sailor, sailor! Give me some money! | Матрос, матрос! Дай мне копейки! | In the original:Дай ту копѣйки!, i.e., possibly "give two kopecks"; the wordту is italicized in the original |
| Прушакевич 1867 | Asej? Kom milek drinkom. | Sailor? Come milk drink. | Sailor? Come and drink some milk. | Матрос? Заходи молока выпей. | Invitation to a brothel[4] | |
| Прушакевич 1867 | O! Yez! Bol’še dobra mačka. | Oh! Yes! Very good much. | Oh! Yes! Very, very good. | О! Да! Очень хорошо. | ||
| Прушакевич 1867 | Asej, asej, smotrom, bol’še dobra sunduk, vervvel’ skripim, gut verstom. | Sailor, sailor, look very good chest, very-good lock good key. | Sailor, sailor, look, it’s a very good chest, a very good lock, a good key. | Матрос, матрос, смотри, большой добрый сундук, очень хороший замок, хороший ключ. |