138 



MR. BORROW ON THE GIPSIES. 



know. They feel that they are part and 

 parcel of those mysterious beings who 

 are an enigma to others, no less than to 

 themselves (Ed., p. 402). 



They are also anxious to retain their 

 language, as a secret among themselves, 

 for the use which it is to them in con- 

 ducting business in markets or other 

 places of public resort. But they are 

 very chary of the manner in which they 

 employ it on such occasions. Besides 

 this, they display all the pride and van- 

 ity in possessing the language which is 

 common with linguists generally (p. 

 284). 



It is beyond doubt that the Gipsy lan- 

 guage in Great Britain is broken, but 

 not so broken as to consist of words 

 only ; it consists, rather, of expressions, 

 or pieces, which are tacked together by 

 native words generally small words 

 which are lost to the ordinary ear, when 

 used in conversation. In that respect, 

 the use of Gipsy may be compared to the 

 revolutions of a wheel : we know that 

 the wheel has spokes, but, in its velocity, 

 we cannot distinguish the colour or ma- 

 terial of each individual spoke ; it is only 

 when it stands still that that can be done. 

 In the same manner, when we come 

 to examine into the British Gipsy lan- 

 guage, we perceive its broken nature. 

 But it still serves the purpose of a 

 speech. Let any one sit among English 

 Gipsies, in America, and hear them 

 converse, and he cannot pick up an 

 idea, and hardly a word which they say. 

 " I have always thought Dutch bad 

 enough," said an Irishman, who has 

 often heard English Gipsies, in the State 

 of New Jersey, speak among themselves ; 

 " but Gipsy is perfect gibble-gabble, like 

 ducks and geese, for anything I can 

 make of it" (Ed., p. 432). 



Had a German listened a whole day 

 to a Gipsy conversation, he would not 

 have understood a single expression. 

 Grellmann. 



The dialect of the English Gipsies, 

 though mixed with English, is tolerably 

 pure, from the fact of its being intelligi- 

 ble to the race in the centre of Russia. 

 Borrow (Ed., p. 298).* 

 f 



* I shall only observe, that the way in 

 which the Gipsy language has been cor- 

 rupted is this : That whenever the Gip- 

 sies find words not understood by the 

 people among whom they travel, they 



How the Gipsies are taught their 

 language is thus explained : 



Their speech appears to be copious, 

 for, said he, they have a great many 

 words and expressions for one thing. 

 He further stated that the Gipsy lan- 

 guage has no alphabet, or character, 

 by which it can be learned, or its gram- 

 matical construction ascertained. He 

 never saw any of it written. I observed 

 to him that it would, in course of time, 

 be lost. He replied, that " so long as 

 there existed two Gipsies in Scotland, it 

 would never be lost." It was further 

 stated to me, by this family, that the Gip- 

 sies are at great pains in teaching their 

 Children, from their very infancy, their 

 own language ; and that they embrace 

 every opportunity, when by themselves, 

 of conversing in it, about their ordinary 

 affairs (p. 316). 



I observed to this woman that her 

 language would, in course of time, be 

 lost. She replied, with great serious- 

 ness, " It will never be forgotten, sir ; it 

 is in our hearts, and as long as a single 

 Tinkler exists, it will be remembered " 

 (p. 297). 



" Yes," replied Ruthven, " I am a 

 Gipsy, and a desperate, murdering race 

 we are. I will let you hear me speak 

 our language, but what the better will 

 you be of that ?" She accordingly ut- 

 tered a few sentences, and then said, 

 " Now, are you any the wiser for what 

 you have heard ? But that infant," 

 pointing to her child of about five years 

 of age, " understands every word I 

 speak." " I know," continued the Tink- 

 ler, " that the public are trying to find 

 out the secrets of the Gipsies, but it is in 

 vain." This woman further stated that 

 her tribe would be exceedingly displeas- 

 ed, were it known that any of their 

 fraternity taught their language to 



commit such to memory, and use them in 

 their conversation, for the purpose of 

 concealment. In the Lowlands of Scot- 

 land, for example, they make use of Gae- 

 lic, Welsh, Irish, and French words. 

 These picked-up words and terms have, 

 in the end, become part of their own pe- 

 culiar tongue ; yet some of the Gipsies 

 are able to point out a number of these 

 foreign words, as distinguished from their 

 own. In this manner do the Gipsies carry 

 along with them part of the language of 

 every country through which they pass 

 (P- 333). 



