书城公版Gypsy Dictionary
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第17章

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 pre 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 se to pen tute's been bango. If tute pens tute's been bango, foky will pen: Estist tute's a koosho koshko mushipen, but tatchipe 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 ta 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 cokkore.

If he had been *****eno for a boro luripen mande would have penn'd chi; but it kairs mande diviou to pentch that he was *****eno, 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 pire 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.