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Month: January 2018

fufuðion

By: | Post date: 2018-01-12 | Comments: 10 Comments
Posted in categories: Linguistics, Mediaeval Greek, Modern Greek

In my time at the TLG, there was many a mediaeval Greek word that was not in the main dictionaries—Lampe, Trapp (which was not yet complete at the time), and Kriaras (ditto); and I would expend pleasant and assiduous effort in trying to track those words down elsewhere. One such word was the Byzantine Greek […]

Kaliarda XXXIV: Miscellanea from Kaliarda

By: | Post date: 2018-01-05 | Comments: No Comments
Posted in categories: Linguistics, Modern Greek

The following words mainly illustrate the interesting ways Kaliarda implements its schematicism: aðelfula cat: “little sissy” (gays identifying with cats) anemoviva soul: “wind life” adikotos distant: “un-seen” astedupuros director: “‘That’s how I want it!’ old man” < Arvanitika është dua “that’s how I want it” (also used in mainstream slang) atsarðo countryside: “houseless” axatozo interior, […]

Kaliarda XXXIII: The Context of Kaliarda

By: | Post date: 2018-01-05 | Comments: 3 Comments
Posted in categories: Linguistics, Modern Greek

A number of Kaliarda words contain allusions to contemporary or older history and literature; Kaliarda speakers were clearly well-read: aɣiosaviatiko crab (Agios Savvas’ cancer hospital; Greek karkinos “cancer” and Latin cancer both originally mean “crab”) vavelo someone knowing foreign languages < Babel varavotekno criminal: “Barabbas child” venizeloðosmeni Constantinople: “given away by Venizelos” ɣerako bracelet: from […]

Kaliarda XXXII: The Wit of Kaliarda

By: | Post date: 2018-01-05 | Comments: No Comments
Posted in categories: Linguistics, Modern Greek

Kaliarda has a couple of puns: kolombos, xristoforos top: “Christopher Columbus” as soundalike of kolombaras dubloðikeliazo to be diplomatic: “double looking”; Standard Greek ðiplomatis “diplomat” sounds like “double-eyed” (dipl-ōma: “folded (document) < “doubled thing” read as dipl-omma “double eye”) *papi document, certificate: “duck”, but puns on German Papier “papers”, often demanded during the Nazi occupation […]

Kaliarda XXXI: Basic vocabulary

By: | Post date: 2018-01-05 | Comments: No Comments
Posted in categories: Uncategorized

Next, I’m posting the function words of Kaliarda, and other classes of words that indicate how the language works: Function words: altros other < Italian altro axatos this (Rom. kathe “here”; Greek a- “un-” + kate “that”?) emandes I, me, my (Rom. mande “me”); mandula (diminutive) esandes, suandes you, your (Rom. mande “me” + Greek […]

Kaliarda XXX: Kaliarda etymologies

By: | Post date: 2018-01-05 | Comments: 1 Comment
Posted in categories: Linguistics, Modern Greek

I am drawing this sequence to a close with posts on noteworthy classes of Kaliarda words from Petrpoulos’ dictionary. To begin with: I have already posted (and updated) the Romani words in Kaliarda; the Italian words are given in Minniti-Gonias have already been discussed; and the Turkish, French, and English words have been sign-posted by […]

Kaliarda XXIX: 1904, addendum

By: | Post date: 2018-01-04 | Comments: 3 Comments
Posted in categories: Linguistics, Modern Greek

I just noted that Nikos Sarantakos posted on his blog a report on the 1904 attestation of Kaliarda. I neglected to mention that he posted a full scan of the 1904 article (1904–11–25), which includes a couple of paragraphs left out in Spatholouro’s transcription, which I’d previously posted here. “Our journal is able to announce […]

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