| Caló | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Spain,Portugal, south ofFrance |
Native speakers | 60,000 (L1 in Spain and Portugal) (2015)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | rmq |
rmq.html | |
| Glottolog | calo1236 |
| This article containsIPA phonetic symbols. Without properrendering support, you may seequestion marks, boxes, or other symbols instead ofUnicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA. | |
Caló (English:/kəˈloʊ/;Spanish:[kaˈlo];Catalan:[kəˈlo];Galician:[kaˈlɔ];Portuguese:[kɐˈlɔ];French:[ka.lo]) is amixed language spoken by thegitanos of Spain and theciganos of Portugal. In Romani linguistics, it is considered aPara-Romani language based onRomance grammar, with anadstratum of Romani lexical items,[2] throughlanguage shift by theRomani community. It is said[by whom?] to be used as anargot, or a secret language, for discreet communication amongst Iberian Romani.[citation needed]Catalan,Galician,Portuguese, and Spanishcaló are closely related varieties that share a common root.[3]
Spanish caló, or Spanish Romani, was originally known aszincaló. Portuguesecaló, or Portuguese Romani, also goes by the termlusitano-romani; it used to be referred to ascalão, but this word has since acquired the general sense ofjargon orslang, often with a negative undertone (cf.baixo calão, 'obscene language', lit. low-levelcalão).
The language is also spoken inBrazil,France,Venezuela,Portugal andColombia.[4]
Some Caló expressions have been borrowed into modern Spanishjerga (slang), such ascamelar (to seduce),currar (to work) anddar lache (to cringe in shame or embarrassment).[5][6]
Calé is theendonym of the Romani people in Iberia, andcaló means 'the language spoken by thecalé'. However, thecalé are commonly known in Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking countries by theexonymsciganos andgitanos.[7]
Incaló and other varieties ofRomani,kalo means 'black' or 'absorbing all light',[8] hence closely resembling words for 'black' and/or 'dark' inIndo-Aryan languages (e.g.Sanskritकालkāla 'black', 'of a dark colour'). Hencecaló andcalé may have originated as ancient exonyms.
Caló has six vowels:[3]
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |
| Mid | e̞ | ə | o̞ |
| Open | a |
It has the following consonant inventory:[3]
| Labial | Alveolar | Postalveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ||||
| Plosive | p⠀b | t⠀d | k⠀ɡ | |||
| Affricate | t͡s⠀d͡z | t͡ʃ⠀d͡ʒ | ||||
| Fricative | f | s | ʃ | x | h | |
| Approximant | l | j | ||||
| Tap | ɾ | |||||
| Trill | r |
Notable phonological features of Iberian Caló are:[3]
Spanish Romani:
Compare with a Spanish version:
TheLord's Prayer has often been used as aparallel text:
Spanish Caló:
Lovara Balkans Romani:
Spanish:
Many Caló terms have been borrowed in Spanish (especially asslangisms andcolloquialisms), often throughflamenco lyrics andcriminal jargon (germanía).
Examples aregachó/gachí ("man/woman", fromgadjo/gadji),chaval ("boy", originally "son", also present in English aschav[11]),parné ("money"),currelar orcurrar ("to work"),fetén ("excellent"),pinreles ("feet"),biruji ("cold"),churumbel ("boy"),gilí ("silly, stupid"),chachi ("outstanding, genuine"),(un)debel ordebla ("god/goddess"),mengue ("demon"),chorar orchorrar in Spain ("to steal", also present in English slang asto chaw),molar ("to be appealing to someone"),piltra ("bed"),acais ("eyes"),chola ("head"),jeró ("face"),napia ("nose"),muí ("mouth"),lache ("shame"),pitingo ("vain"),chungo ("bad, nasty, dodgy"),guripa ("cheeky, soldier"),ful ("fake"),paripé ("pretence, white lie"),juncal ("slender, graceful"),pure orpureta ("old"),sobar ("to sleep"),quer orqueli ("house"),garito ("house, gambling den"),jalar ("to eat with great apetite"),cate ("hit"),jiñar ("to defecate, to fear"),diñar ("to give, to die"),palmar ("to die"),chinarse ("to get upset"),langui ("lame"),chalado orpirado ("crazy"),pirarse ("to leave", "to make oneself scarce"),changar ("to break"),chivarse ("to denouncesb, to squeal"),chivato ("informer"),hacerse el longuis ("to pretend to be absent-minded"),pringar ("to getsb mixed up, to overdo"),chingar ("to have sexual relations, to bother"),chinorri ("little"),najar ("to flee"),privar ("drink, to drink"),mangar ("to steal"),nanay ("no way, there isn't"),chorizo ("thief"),achantar ("to intimidate"),pispar ("to nick"),birlar ("to nick"),achanta la muí ("shut your mouth"),canguelo orcangueli ("fear"),cañí ("Romani person"),calé ("Romani person"),caló ("language of theIberian Kale"),calas ("money"),curda ("drunkenness"),menda ("myself"), andgalochi ("heart"), payo ("non-Romani person, fool, easy to cheat").[12]
Some words underwent a shift in meaning in the process:camelar (etymologically related toSanskritkāma, "love, desire") incolloquial Spanish has the meaning of "to woo, to seduce, to deceive by adulation" (but also "to love", "to want"; although this sense has fallen into disuse),[13] but in Caló it more closely matches the Spanish meanings ofquerer ("to want" and "to love"). In additioncamelar and the nouncamelo can also mean either "lie" or "con".
Caló also appears to have influenced Madrid slangcheli andquinqui, the language of another Iberian group of travellers who are not ethnically Romani.Gacería, acant spoken by makers of agricultural equipment in a village ofSegovia, also derives some words from Caló.
To a lesser extent than in Spanish, Caló terms have also been adapted into Catalan asslangisms andcolloquialisms, most of which were taken adopted from Spanish slang.
Examples arehalar (pronounced[həˈla] or[xəˈla]; "to eat"),xaval ("boy"),dinyar(-la) ("to die"),palmar(-la) ("to die"),cangueli ("fear"),paio ("non-Romani person"),calés ("money"),caló ("language of theIberian Kale"),cangrí ("prison"),pispar ("to nick"),birlar ("to nick"),xorar ("to steal"),mangar ("to steal"),molar ("to like"),pringar ("to getsb mixed up, to overdo"),pirar(-se) ("to leave, to make oneself scarce"),sobar ("to sleep"),privar ("drink, to drink"), ("pleb"),laxe ("shame"),catipén ("stink"),xaxi ("outstanding, genuine"),xivar-se'n ("to denouncesb, to squeal"),xivato ("informer"),xinar(-se) ("to get upset"),fer el llonguis (lit. "Do a long one" fig. "to pretend to be thick/slow") andpotra ("luck").[14][15]
There are a small number of words of Caló (Calão) origin and many of those are indirect loans, borrowed viaSpanish.
The examples generally understood by most or all speakers of Portuguese includegajo (pronounced[ˈɡaʒu], "man, dude", primarily in Portugal),[16]chavalo ("lad, young boy"), chunga ("bad, nasty, dodgy"), chibar-se ("to denounce sb, to squeal"), chibo ("informer"),[17]baque ([ˈbaki],[ˈbakɨ],[18] generally "impact", but in this sense "sudden happiness"),pileque ([piˈlɛki],[piˈlɛk(ɨ)], "drunkenness"),[19]chulé ("bad smell of feet),[20]pirar-se ("to leave"),[21]pirado andchalado[22] ("crazy").[21][23]
_lessons_in_a_public_library_in_Barcelona.jpg)
There is a growing awareness and appreciation for Caló: "...until the recent work by Luisa Rojo, in theAutonomous University of Madrid, not even the linguistics community recognized the significance and problems of Caló and its world."[24] Its world includes songs, poetry and flamenco.
As Iberian Romani proper is extinct and as Caló is endangered, some people are trying torevitalise the language. The Spanish politicianJuan de Dios Ramírez Heredia promotes Romanò-Kalò, a variant ofInternational Romani, enriched by Caló words.[25] His goal is to reunify the Caló and Romani roots.
In 1838, the first edition ofEmbéo E Majaró Lucas[26] translated byGeorge Borrow was published and began to be distributed inMadrid. This was Borrow's translation of theGospel of Luke into Caló.[27] A revision of this was printed in 1872.
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