Secret Languages & Language Games
1
Michael A. Estrada
1. Secret Languages
Below I have listed and explained secret languages found in different Spanish countries
and in some cases have written down a phonological rule that the secret language
follows.
1.1 "Syllable /pa/ Addition" or "Jeringonza"
[pa] Phonological Rule: Ø → [pa] / [+syllable] ___
Jeringonza Phonological rule: V → VpV / V ___
According to my mother, in El Salvador they have a language game where they add the
syllable/infix "-pa" after every syllable of a word. So, for example the sentence,
•
"Futbol es un juego magnifico" turns into:
"Futpabolpa espa unpa juepagopa magpanipafipacopa."
However, this may be a simpler version of what is called, Jeringonza, another similar
working language game. In this language game, each vowel that shows up in a word is
reduplicated with an added "p" in front of it. So the word, "gorra" hat, would be
"goporrapa".
•
Or, in a phrase: No sabe nada → Nopo sapabepe napadapa.
According to the Wikipedia article on it, when multiple vowels are present in the syllable
only the stressed vowel is the one repeated,
•
Example: Australia → Apaus-trapa-liapa
OR they treat all vowels the same:
•
Australia → Apa-upus-trapa-lipi-apa
Wikipedia mentions one other variant where the "p+vowel" infix is inserted at the end of
the syllable instead of right after the affected vowel. So instead of:
•
Martes → Mapartepes
It becomes:
•
Martes → Marpatespe
As for the location in which this game is played, the article mentions that it is generally
played by children in Spain and in Latin America. It can also be called different names
depending on the country, but most derive from the Spanish word, "jerigonza" meaning
jargon or gibberish.1
Secret Languages & Language Games
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Michael A. Estrada
Source: my mother who was born in El Salvador, and this Wikipedia site concentrating on gibberish
languages/language games:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_game
1
and the one specifically on Jeringonza:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeringonza
1.2 "Idioma F"
This language game called, "Idioma F" or "Lengua F, basically translated as "F
Language" is one that is found primarily in Mexico and Central America. In this language
the rules are bit more complex, but they involve the breaking up of syllables as well. In
each syllable you remove the consonant and replace it with an "f". After doing so, you
replace the original syllables you just took out and place them before their respective
modifications.
So, in a word like "pelota", meaning ball, the two steps (or three if you count the
breaking up of syllables) would look like this:
1. pe - lo - ta
2. fe - fo -fa
and lastly the final product:
3. "pefelofotafa".
Pretty confusing in my opinion, but then again, I never found Pig Latin that easy to do.
Source: http://latinaish.com/2009/12/21/spanish-pig-latin-idioma-efe/
1.3 "Vesre"
This language game called, "Vesre" is a game that plays on inverting the order of the
syllables in a word, hence the name "Vesre", which, in the correct syllable order, spells:
"Revés", meaning reverse; the name of the game being itself applied to the rules it
follows. According to Wikipedia, this is a game that is found in Argentina, Uruguay and
Peru.
Example: palabra, word -> bralapa
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_game
And, the specific Wikipedia article for more reading and examples:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vesre
Secret Languages & Language Games
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Michael A. Estrada
1.4 "Rosarigasino" or "Gasó"
Rosarigasino Phonological Rule: Ø → [gas]V[+stress] / V[+stress] ___
This language adds two extra syllables to the words it modifies by using the infix, "-gas".
It applies it after only the stressed vowel in the word and repeats the same stressed vowel
after -gas. The name of this language itself uses the rules of the game. The word would
normally be, "Rosarino", but it becomes "Rosarigasino" when the infix is added in
accordance to the rule.
Example: mercado, market -> mercagasado
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_game
And, the specific Wikipedia article for more reading and examples:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosarigasino
1.5 and 1.6
These last two language games seemed to be a little more flexible in their rules, and thus
their credibility may not be as solid as the ones aforementioned.
1.5 (No Name)
Wikipedia simply states that you "add a certain syllable before every original syllable". I
am unsure if this can be any syllable, but the example it uses is as follows:
perro, dog → tipetirro
It doesn't provide any more information on how strict the rules is so I am unsure if it can
be any consonant (or if it must be a /t/), and if the vowel must be an /i/ or if it can be any
vowel. The rules of this language game aren't as clear as the others.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_game
1.6 Mexico City Slang (the title given in Wikipedia)
The rules for this game state that you can "substitute a word for another that begins the
same". So, in the example provided by Wikipedia, the phrase:
Unas caguamas bien heladas → Unas Kawasakis bien elásticas
Some very cold caguamas -> Some very elastic Kawasakis
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_game
Secret Languages & Language Games
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Michael A. Estrada
2. Caló
There are two Caló languages that I found that may resemble Cockney English. The first
is one that is based off of Mexican Spanish and the second is found in both Spain and
Portugal.
Caló, Pachuca
Caló, or Pachuca, is a slang that originated from zoot-suit pachuco culture. The article
found on Wikipedia provides the best explanation of the features, origin, etc., of Caló,
and it also gives some examples of its rhyming slang, similar to that of Cockney English.
Below I have listed some of the examples given by Wikipedia.
Examples
¿Si ya sábanas, paquetes hilo? / ¿Si ya Sabanas, pa' que cobijas?
If already sheets, thread packages/why do you cover? Meaning, if you already know why
do you ask?
¿Me comprendes, Méndez? Do you understand, Mendez?
¿O te explico, Federico? "Or do I explain it to you, Federico?
Nel, pastel. Literally, "Nay, Cake", meaning "No Way"
Al rato, vato. "See you later man"
Me esperas, a comer peras? "Will you wait, to eat pears?" i.e. Will you wait for me?
¿Qué te pasa, calabaza? "What's happening to you, pumpkin?" I.e. What's going on?
Nada Nada, Limonada. "Nothing nothing, Lemonade."
Origin
The following is an excerpt from the Wikipedia article listed below.
According to Chicano artist and writer José Antonio Burciaga:
"Caló orginally defined the Spanish gypsy dialect. But Chicano Caló is the combination
of a few basic influences: Hispanicized English; Anglicized Spanish; and the use of
archaic 15th century Spanish words such as truje for traje (brought, past tense of 'to
bring'), or haiga, for haya (from haber, 'to have'). These words were left in isolated
pockets of Northern New Mexico and the Southwest, especially New Mexico, by
conquistadores españoles."
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caló_(Chicano)
Secret Languages & Language Games
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Michael A. Estrada
Caló, Romani
From Wikipedia: "Caló is a language spoken by the Spanish and Portuguese Romani. It is
a mixed language (referred to as a Para-Romani language in Romani linguistics) based on
Romance grammar, with an adstratum of Romani lexical items through language shift by
the Romani community. It is often used as an argot, a secret language for discreet
communication amongst Iberian Romani."
The article link, listed below, goes into detail of the language and provides a sample of a
passage written in Caló and a regular Spanish version. For convenience I have posted it
underneath, and I have also translated the Spanish version as well.
Parable of the Sower, Luke, 8, 4-8, as published by George Burrow in 1838 in Caló:
Y sasta se hubiese catanado sueti baribustri, baribustri, y abillasen solictos á ó de los
fores, os penó por parabola: Manu chaló abri á chibar desqueri simiente: y al chibarle,
yeque aricata peró sunparal al drun, y sinaba hollada, y la jamáron as patrias e Charos. Y
aver peró opré bar: y pur se ardiñó, se secó presas na terelaba humedad. Y aver peró
andré jarres, y as jarres, sos ardiñáron sat siró, la mulabáron. Y aver peró andré pu lachi:
y ardiñó, y diñó mibao á ciento por yeque. Penado ocono, se chibó á penar á goles: Coin
terela canes de junelar, junele.
Parable of the Sower, Luke, 8, 4-8, as published by George Burrow in 1838 in Spanish:
Cuando una gran multitud se reunió y personas de cada ciudad fueron donde Jesús, Él les
habló con una parábola. «Un campesino salió a sembrar su semilla. Al sembrar algunas
cayeron en la carretera; fueron pisoteadas y se las comieron los pájaros del cielo. Otras
semillas cayeron encima de la roca, tan pronto como crecieron se secaron porque no
tenían humedad. Otras cayeron entre los espinos, y los espinos crecieron con éstas y las
sofocaron. Otras cayeron en tierra buena; crecieron y dieron fruto, cien veces más.»
Después de decir estas cosas gritó, «¡Aquel que tiene oídos para escuchar, que escuche!
Parable of the Sower, Luke, 8, 4-8, as published by George Burrow in 1838 Translation:
When a great multitude reunited and people from every city went toward Jesus, He spoke
to them with a parable: "A peasant went to plant his seed, while planting some fell in the
road: they were stepped on and the birds of the sky ate them. Other seeds fell on top of a
rock, so quickly as they grew they dried because there was no humidity. Other fell in
between thorns, and the thorns grew with them and suffocated them. Other fell on good
earth: they grew and gave fruit, hundred times more." After saying these things he yelled,
"That one who has ears to listen, that he listen!"
Secret Languages & Language Games
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Michael A. Estrada
What is interesting is the way you can see the resemblance of Caló with Spanish in the
passage above and although you cannot read what it says exactly, the similarity still
resides. The Wikipedia article also goes into the loans Caló takes from Spanish and
Catalan lexical items.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caló_language
3. Spanish Tongue Twisters
Trabalenguas, as they are known in Spanish, utilize the same mechanisms that tongue
twisters in English do, such as alliteration, alternating resembling phonemes, and rhyme,
but they also take into account the homonyms found in Spanish and how these identically
spelled words can differ in meaning by the stress or intonation given. The following
trabalengua illustrates just that:
1. Si yo como como como, y tu comes como comes. ¿Cómo comes como como? Si
yo como como como.
1. If I eat like I eat, and you eat like you eat, How do you eat like I eat? If I eat like I
eat.
This tongue twister plays on the words, como and cómo, and their meanings. The first
como can mean “I eat”, or “like” (as in “the way”) and the second cómo means “how”.
The one with the different stress comes in the como that means “like” because it falls on
the second syllable of the word.
3.1 More Examples:
2. El vino vino, pero el vino no vino vino. El vino vino vinagre.
3. Han dicho que he dicho un dicho, tal dicho no lo he dicho yo.
Porque si yo hubiera dicho el dicho, bien dicho habría estado el dicho por haberlo dicho
yo.
4. El amor es una locura que solo el cura lo cura, pero el cura que lo cura comete una
gran locura.
5. Cuando cuentes cuentos, cuenta cuantos cuentos cuentas por que si no cuentas los
cuentos que cuentas no sabrás cuantos cuentos cuentas.
6. Tres tristes tigres
Entraron en un trigal
Los tres tigres tristes
Salieron tan tristes del trigal
Secret Languages & Language Games
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Michael A. Estrada
Como tristes entraron los tigres.
7. Erre con erre carreta
Erre con erre carril
Erre con erre la rueda
La rueda del ferrocarril.
8. El que poco coco come,
poco coco compra;
el que poca capa se tapa,
poca capa se compra.
Como yo poco coco como,
poco coco compro,
y como poca capa me tapo,
poca capa me compro.
9. No me mires, que miran que nos miramos, y verán en tus ojos que nos amamos. No
nos miremos, que cuando no nos miren, nos miraremos.
10. La pícara pájara pica la típica jícara; a la típica jícara, pica la pícara pájara.
11. El pato le dijo a la pata. Pata pa'ti traigo patas arriba la pata de un pato patón. Patón
pati-largo, patón como tú. Le tiró la pata el pato a la pata y la pata cogió al pobre pato a
pata.
12. Llega Galo al lago y liga luego al lego de Lugo, muy largo de lengua, que al lago
llega tras lenguas leguas.
13. Chiqui era una chica chiquita
Chiquita era la chaqueta de Chiqui
Porque si Chiqui tenía chica chaqueta
Chiquita sería la chaqueta de Chiqui.
2. The wine came, but the wine didn’t come wine. The wine came vinegar.
3. They have said that I’ve said a saying, but said saying I have not said. Because if I
would have said the saying, well said would have been the saying for having been said by
me.
4. Love is a madness that only a doctor can cure, but the doctor who cures it commits a
great madness.
5. When you tell tales, count how many tales you tell because if you don’t count the tales
you tell you won’t know how many tales you tell.
Secret Languages & Language Games
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Michael A. Estrada
6. Three sad tigers
Entered into a wheat field
The three sad tigers
Left so sad from the wheat field
Just as sad as the tigers had entered
7. “Erre” with “erre” cart
“Erre” with “erre” rail
“Erre” with “erre” the wheel
The wheel of the train
8. The one who little coconut eats
Little coconut buys;
The one who
Little cape buys
Since I eat very little coconut
Very little coconut I buy
And since little
Little cape I buy
9.Don’t look at me, because look and see that they see us, and they’ll see in your eyes
that we love each other. Let us not look at each other, because when they don’t look at us,
we shall look at each other.
10. The sly bird picks the typical gourd tree; to the typical gourd tree, picks the sly bird.
11. The drake said to the duck. Duck for you I brings the legs up, the foot of a drakish
drake. Big drake for you long, big drake like you. It threw the foot the drake to the duck
and the duck grabbed the poor drake by the foot.
12. Arrives Galo to the river, and garter soon of the ignorance of Lugo, very long the
tongue, that by the lake comes after tongue-ish leagues.
13. Chiqui was a small girl
Chiquita was the jacket of Chiqui
Because if Chiqui had a small jacket
Very small would be the jacket of Chiqui
For more Spanish tongue twisters:
http://www.redmolinos.com/hablar_espanol/trabalenguas.html
http://www.uebersetzung.at/twister/es.htm