THE LORD’S PRAYER IN THE GYPSY DIALECT OF TRANSYLVANIA

Miro gulo Devel, savo hal oté ando Cheros, te avel swuntunos tiro nav; te avel catari tiro tem; te keren saro so cames oppo puv, sar ando Cheros. Dé man sekhonus miro diveskoe manro, ta ierta mangue saro so na he plaskerava tuke, sar me ierstavava wafo manuschengue saro so na plaskerelen mangue. Ma muk te petrow ando chungalo camoben; tama lel man abri saro doschdar. Weika tiro sin o tem, tiri yi potea, tiri yi proslava akana ta sekovar.

Te del amen o gulo Del eg meschibo pa amara choribo.

Te vas del o Del amengue; te n’avel man pascotia ando drom, te na hoden pen mandar.

My sweet God, who art there in Heaven, may thy name come hallowed; may thy kingdom come hither; may they do all that thou wishest upon earth, as in Heaven. Give me to-day my daily bread, and forgive me all that I cannot pay thee, as I shall forgive other men all that they do not pay me. Do not let me fall into evil desire; but take me out from all wickedness. For thine is the kingdom, thine the power, thine the glory now and ever.

May the sweet God give us a remedy for our poverty.

May God help us! May no misfortune happen to me in the road, and may no one steal anything me.

LIL OF ROMANO JINNYPEN BOOK OF THE WISDOM OF THE EGYPTIANS

LIL OF ROMANO JINNYPEN

The tawno fokey often putches so koskipen se drey the Romano jib? Mande pens ye are sore dinneles; bute, bute koskipen se adrey lis, ta dusta, dosta of moro foky would have been bitcheno or nash’d, but for the puro, choveno Romano jib. A lav in Romany, penn’d in cheeros to a tawnie rakli, and rigg’d to the tan, has kair’d a boro kisi of luvvo and wafor covars, which had been chor’d, to be chived tuley pov, so that when the muskerres well’d they could latch vanisho, and had kek yeckly to muk the Romano they had lell’d opré, jal his drom, but to mang also his artapen.

His bitchenipenskie cheeros is knau abri, and it were but kosko in leste to wel ken, if it were yeckly to lel care of lescri puri, choveny romady; she’s been a tatchi, tatchi romady to leste, and kek man apasavello that she has jall’d with a wafu mush ever since he’s been bitcheno.

When yeck’s tardrad yeck’s beti ten oprey, kair’d yeck’s beti yag anglo the wuddur, ta nash’d yeck’s kekauvi by the kekauviskey saster oprey lis, yeck kek cams that a dikkimengro or muskerro should wel and pen: so’s tute kairing acai? Jaw oprey, Romano juggal.

Prey Juliken yeckto Frydivvus, anglo nango muyiskie staunyi naveni kitchema, prey the chong opral Bororukeskoe Gav, drey the Wesh, tute dickavavasa bute Romany foky, mushor ta juvar, chalor ta cheiar.

Jinnes tu miro puro prala Rye Stanniwix, the puro rye savo rigs a bawlo-dumo-mengri, ta kair’d desh ta stor mille barior by covar-plastring?

He jall’d on rokkring ta rokkring dinneleskoenaes till mande pukker’d leste: if tute jasas on dovodoiskoenaes mande curavava tute a tatto yeck prey the nok.

You putches mande so si patrins. Patrins are Romany drom sikkering engris, by which the Romany who jal anglo muk lende that wels palal jin the drom they have jall’d by: we wusts wastperdes of chaw oprey the puv at the jalling adrey of the drom, or we kairs sar a wangust a trihool oprey the chik, or we chins ranior tuley from the rukhies, and chivs lende oprey drey the puv aligatas the bor; but the tatcho patrin is wast-perdes of leaves, for patrin or patten in puro Romano jib is the uav of a rukheskoe leaf.

The tatcho drom to be a jinney-mengro is to shoon, dick, and rig in zi.

The mush savo kek se les the juckni-wast oprey his jib and his zi is keck kosko to jal adrey sweti.

The lil to lel oprey the kekkeno mushe’s puvior and to keir the choveno foky mer of buklipen and shillipen, is wusted abri the Raioriskey rokkaring ker.

The nav they dins lati is Bokht drey Cuesni, because she rigs about a cuesni, which sore the rardies when she jals keri, is sure to be perdo of chored covars.

Cav acoi, pralor, se the nav of a lil, the sherrokairipen of a puro kladjis of Roumany tem. The Borobeshemescrotan, or the lav-chingaripen between ye jinneynengro ta yi sweti; or the merripenskie rokrapen chiv’d by the zi oprey the trupo.

When the shello was about his men they rigg’d leste his artapen, and muk’d leste jal; but from dovo divvus he would rig a men-pangushi kekkomi, for he penn’d it rigg’d to his zee the shello about his men.

Jack Vardomescro could del oprey dosta to jin sore was oprey the mea-bars and the drom-sikkering engris.

The Romano drom to pek a chiriclo is to kair it oprey with its porior drey chik, and then to chiv it adrey the yag for a beti burroder than a posh ora. When the chik and the hatch’d porior are lell’d from the chiriclesky trupos, the per’s chinn’d aley, and the wendror’s wusted abri, ’tis a hobben dosta koshto for a crallissa to hal without lon.

When Gorgio mushe’s merripen and Romany Chal’s merripen wels kettaney, kek kosto merripen see.

Yeckorus he pukker’d mande that when he was a bis beschengro he mored a gorgio, and chived the mulo mas tuley the poov; he was lell’d oprey for the moripen, but as kekkeno could latch the shillo mas, the pokiniuses muk’d him jal; he penn’d that the butsi did not besh pordo pré his zi for bute chiros, but then sore on a sudden he became tugnis and atraish of the mulo gorgio’s bavol-engro, and that often of a rarde, as he was jalling posh motto from the kitchema by his cocoro, he would dick over his tatcho pikko and his bango pikko, to jin if the mulo mush’s bavol-engro was kek welling palal to lel bonnek of leste.

Does tute jin the Romano drom of lelling the wast?

Avali, prala.

Sikker mande lis.

They kairs it ajaw, prala.

A chorredo has burreder peeas than a Romany Chal.

Tute has shoon’d the lav pazorrus. Dovodoy is so is kored gorgikonaes “Trusted.” Drey the puro cheeros the Romano savo lelled lovvu, or wafor covars from lescro prala in parriken, ta kek pess’d leste apopli, could be kair’d to buty for leste as gry, mailla or cost-chinnimengro for a besh ta divvus. To divvus kek si covar ajaw. If a Romano lelled lovvu or wafu covars from meero vast in parriken, ta kek pessed mande apopli, sar estist for mande te kair leste buty as gry, mailla, or cost-chinnimengro for mande for yek divvus, kek to pen for sore a besh?

Do you nav cavacoi a weilgorus? Ratfelo rinkeno weilgorus cav acoi: you might chiv lis sore drey teero putsi.

Kek jinnipenskey covar sé to pen tute’s been bango. If tute pens tute’s been bango, foky will pen: Estist tute’s a koosho koshko mushipen, but tatchipé a ratfelo dinnelo.

Car’s tute jibbing?

Mande’s kek jibbing; mande’s is atching, at the feredest; mande’s a pirremengri, prala!

Cauna Romany foky rokkerelan yeck sar wafu penelan pal ta pen; cauna dado or deya rokkerelan ke lendes chauves penelan meero chauvo or meeri chi; or my child, gorgikonaes, to ye dui; cauna chauves rokkerelan te dad or deya penelan meero dad or meeri deya!

Meero dado, soskey were creminor kair’d? Meero chauvo, that puvo-baulor might jib by haIling lende. Meero dado, soskey were puvobaulor kair’d? Meero chauvo, that tute and mande might jib by lelling lende. Meero dado, soskey were tu ta mande kair’d? Meero chauvo, that creminor might jib by halling mende.

Sore giv-engres shan dinneles. When they shoons a gav-engro drey the tem pen: Dov-odoy’s a fino grye! they pens: Kekkeno grye se; grasni si; whether the covar’s a grasni or kekkeni. Kek jinellan the dinneles that a grasni’s a grye, though a grye is kek a grasni.

Kekkeni like Romano Will’s rawnie for kelling drey a chauro.

Cauna Constance Petulengri merr’d she was shel tã desch beshor puri.

Does tute jin Rawnie Wardomescri?

Mande jins lati misto, prala.

Does tute cam lati?

Mande cams lati bute, prala; and mande has dosta, dosta cheeros penn’d to the wafor Romany Chals, when they were rokkering wafudo of lati: She’s a rawnie; she lels care of sore of you; if it were kek for lati, you would sore jal to the beng.

So kerella for a jivipen?

She dukkers, prala; she dukkers.

Can she dukker misto?

There’s kekkeny Romany juva tuley the can for dukkering sar Rawnie Wardomescri; nastis not to be dukker’d by lati; she’s a tatchi chovahan; she lels foky by the wast and dukkers lende, whether they cams or kek.

Kek koskipen si to jal roddring after Romany Chals. When tute cams to dick lende nestist to latch yeck o’ lende; but when tute’s penching o’ wafor covars tute dicks o’ lende dosta dosta.

Mande will sollohaul neither bango nor tatcho against kekkeno; if they cams to latch abri chomoni, muk lende latch it abri their cokkoré.

If he had been bitcheno for a boro luripen mande would have penn’d chi; but it kairs mande diviou to pentch that he was bitcheno, all along of a bori lubbeny, for trin tringurishis ta posh.

When he had kair’d the moripen, he kair’d sig and plastrar’d adrey the wesh, where he gared himself drey the hev of a boro, puro rukh; but it was kek koskipen asarlus; the plastra-mengres slomm’d his piré sore along the wesh till they well’d to the rukh.

Sau kisi foky has tute dukker’d to divvus?

Yeck rawnie coccori, prala; dov ody she wels palal; mande jins lati by the kaulo dori prey laki shubba.

Sau bute luvvu did she del tute?

Yeck gurush, prala; yeck gurush coccoro. The beng te lilly a truppy!

Shoon the kosko rokkrapen so Micail jinney-mengro penn’d ke Rawnie Trullifer: Rawnie Trollopr, you must jib by your jibben: and if a base se tukey you must chiv lis tuley.

Can you rokkra Romanes?

Avali, prala!

So si Weshenjuggalslomomengreskeytemskey tudlogueri?

Mande don’t jin what you pens, prala.

Then tute is kek Romano lavomengro.

BOOK OF THE WISDOM OF THE EGYPTIANS

The young people often ask: What good is there in the Romany tongue? I answers: Ye are all fools! There is plenty, plenty of good in it, and plenty, plenty of our people would have been transported or hung, but for the old, poor Roman language. A word in Romany said in time to a little girl, and carried to the camp, has caused a great purse of money and other things, which had been stolen, to be stowed underground; so that when the constables came they could find nothing, and had not only to let the Gypsy they had taken up go his way, but also to beg his pardon.

His term of transportation has now expired, and it were but right in him to come home, if it were only to take care of his poor old wife: she has been a true, true wife to him, and I don’t believe that she has taken up with another man ever since he was sent across.

When one’s pitched up one’s little tent, made one’s little fire before the door, and hung one’s kettle by the kettle-iron over it, one doesn’t like that an inspector or constable should come and say: What are you doing here? Take yourself off, you Gypsy dog.

On the first Friday of July, before the public-house called the Bald-faced Stag, on the hill above the town of the great tree in the Forest, you will see many Roman people, men and women, lads and lasses.

Do you know my old friend Mr. Stanniwix, the old gentleman that wears a pigtail, and made fourteen thousand pounds by smuggling?

He went on talking and talking foolishness till I said to him: If you goes on in that ’ere way I’ll hit you a hot ’un on the nose.

You ask me what are patrins. Patrin is the name of the signs by which the Gypsies who go before show the road they have taken to those who follow behind. We flings handfuls of grass down at the head of the road we takes, or we makes with the finger a cross-mark on the ground, we sticks up branches of trees by the side the hedge. But the true patrin is handfuls of leaves flung down; for patrin or patten in old Roman language means the leaf of a tree.

The true way to be a wise man is to hear, see, and bear in mind.

The man who has not the whip-hand of his tongue and his temper is not fit to go into company.

The Bill to take up the no-man’s lands (comons), and to make the poor people die of hunger and cold, has been flung out of the House of Commons.

The name they gives her is “Luck in a basket,” because she carries about a basket, which every night, when she goes home, is sure to be full of stolen property.

This here, brothers, is the title of a book, the head-work of an old king of Roumany land: the Tribunal, or the dispute between the wise man and the world: or, the death-sentence passed by the soul upon the body.

When the rope was about his neck they brought him his pardon, and let him go; but from that day he would wear a neck-kerchief no more, for he said it brought to his mind the rope about his neck.

Jack Cooper could read enough to know all that was upon the milestones and the sign-posts.

The Roman way to cook a fowl is to do it up with its feathers in clay, and then to put it in fire for a little more than half an hour. When the clay and the burnt feathers are taken from the fowl, the belly cut open, and the inside flung out, ’tis a food good enough for a queen to eat without salt.

When the Gentile way of living and the Gypsy way of living come together, it is anything but a good way of living.

He told me once that when he was a chap of twenty he killed a Gentile, and buried the dead meat under ground. He was taken up for the murder, but as no one could find the cold meat, the justices let him go. He said that the job did not sit heavy upon his mind for a long time, but then all of a sudden he became sad, and afraid of the dead Gentile’s ghost; and that often of a night, as he was coming half-drunk from the public-house by himself, he would look over his right shoulder and over his left shoulder, to know if the dead man’s ghost was not coming behind to lay hold of him.

Do you know the Gypsy way of taking the hand?

Aye, aye, brother.

Show it to me.

They does it so, brother.

A tramp has more fun than a Gypsy.

You have heard the word pazorrus. That is what is called by the Gentiles “trusted,” or in debt. In the old time the Roman who got from his brother money or other things on trust, and did not pay him again, could be made to work for him as horse, ass, or wood cutter for a year and a day. At present the matter is not so. If a Roman got money, or other things, from my hand on credit, and did not repay me, how could I make him labour for me as horse, ass, or stick-cutter for one day, not to say for a year?

Do you call this a fair? A very pretty fair is this: you might put it all into your pocket.

It is not a wise thing to say you have been wrong. If you allow you have been wrong, people will say: You may be a very honest fellow, but are certainly a very great fool.

Where are you living?

Mine is not living; mine is staying, to say the best of it; I am a traveller, brother!

When Roman people speak to one another, they say brother and sister. When parents speak to their children, they say, my son, or my daughter, or my child, gorgiko-like, to either. When children speak to their parents, they say, my father, or my mother.

My father, why were worms made? My son, that moles might live by eating them. My father, why were moles made? My son, that you and I might live by catching them. My father, why were you and I made? My son, that worms might live by eating us.

All farmers are fools. When they hear a citizen in the country say: That’s a fine horse! they say: ’Tis no horse, ’tis a mare; whether the thing’s a horse or not. The simpletons don’t know that a mare’s a horse, though a horse is not a mare.

No one like Gypsy Will’s wife for dancing in a platter.

When Constance Smith died, she was a hundred ten years old.

Do you know Mrs. Cooper?

I knows her very well, brother.

Do you like her?

I loves her very much, brother; and I have often, often said to the other Gypsies, when they speaking ill of her: She’s a gentlewoman; takes care of all of you; if it were not for her, you would all go to the devil.

What does she do for a living?

She tells fortunes, brother; she tells fortunes.

Is she a good hand at fortune-telling?

There’s no Roman woman under the sun so good at fortune-telling as Mrs. Cooper; it is impossible not to have your fortune told by her; she’s a true witch; she takes people by the hand, and tells their fortunes, whether they will or no.

’Tis no use to go seeking after Gypsies. When you wants to see them ’tis impossible to find one of them; but when you are thinking of other matters you see plenty, plenty of them.

I will swear neither falsely nor truly against any one; if they wishes to find out something, let them find it out themselves.

If he had been transported for a great robbery, I would have said nothing; but it makes me mad to think that he has been sent away, all along of a vile harlot, for the value of three-and-sixpence.

When he had committed the murder he made haste, and ran into the wood, where he hid himself in the hollow of a great old tree; but it was no use at all; the runners followed his track all along the forest till they came to the tree.

How many fortunes have you told to-day?

Only one lady’s, brother; yonder she’s coming back; I knows her by the black lace on her gown.

How much money did she give you?

Only one groat, brother; only one groat. May the devil run away with her bodily!

Hear the words of wisdom which Mike the Grecian said to Mrs. Trullifer: Mrs. Trollopr, you must live by your living; and if you have a pound you must spend it.

Can you speak Romany?

Aye, aye, brother!

What is Weshenjuggalslomomengreskeytemskeytudlogueri?

I don’t know what you say, brother.

Then you are no master of Romany.