Xíriga
Encyclopedia
Xíriga is an occupation-related cant
on Asturian
developed by the tejeros of Llanes
and Ribadesella
in Asturias
. The tejeros were migrant worker
s in brick or clay, usually poor, who contracted themselves out for work sometimes in distant towns. Often mistreated by their overseers, the traveling craftsmen developed xíriga sometime around the 18th century as a defensive or private language in order to be able to talk freely in front of their employers/masters. Because it originated with poor working men who were largely illiterate, xíriga had no written form, and the language began to disappear with the decline of the tejeros although one can still hear it spoken occasionally by relatives or descendants.
The words created for or adopted into the language provide some insight into the social life, customs and beliefs of its original speakers—for example, there are a large number of verbs that translate "to rob" and many of the words are crude, blunt, or intended as insults.
As in the Gacería
of the makers of threshing-board
s and sieves in Cantalejo, Segovia and the Galician Fala dos arxinas
, some of the words are taken from Basque language
.
While the Basque regions were far from the tejero routes, the non-Romance vocabulary of Basque makes it unintelligible to outsiders.
asúa
bai
bartolo
drama
drape
ergue, erguín
Cant (language)
A Cant is the jargon or argot of a group, often implying its use to exclude or mislead people outside the group.-Derivation in Celtic linguistics:...
on Asturian
Asturian language
Asturian is a Romance language of the West Iberian group, Astur-Leonese Subgroup, spoken in the Spanish Region of Asturias by the Asturian people...
developed by the tejeros of Llanes
Llanes
Llanes a municipality of the province of Asturias, in northern Spain. Stretching for about 30 km along the coast at the extreme east of the province, Llanes is bounded to the south by the high ridge of the limestone Sierra del Cuera, which rises to over 1,100 m...
and Ribadesella
Ribadesella
Ribadesella Ribadesella is a small municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. Known for its location on the Cantabrian Sea, as well as for the outlet of the River Sella, Ribadesella is a town that forms part of the Picos de Europa...
in Asturias
Asturias
The Principality of Asturias is an autonomous community of the Kingdom of Spain, coextensive with the former Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages...
. The tejeros were migrant worker
Migrant worker
The term migrant worker has different official meanings and connotations in different parts of the world. The United Nations' definition is broad, including any people working outside of their home country...
s in brick or clay, usually poor, who contracted themselves out for work sometimes in distant towns. Often mistreated by their overseers, the traveling craftsmen developed xíriga sometime around the 18th century as a defensive or private language in order to be able to talk freely in front of their employers/masters. Because it originated with poor working men who were largely illiterate, xíriga had no written form, and the language began to disappear with the decline of the tejeros although one can still hear it spoken occasionally by relatives or descendants.
The words created for or adopted into the language provide some insight into the social life, customs and beliefs of its original speakers—for example, there are a large number of verbs that translate "to rob" and many of the words are crude, blunt, or intended as insults.
As in the Gacería
Gacería
Gacería is the name of a slang or argot employed by the trilleros and the briqueros in the village of Cantalejo, in the Spanish province of Segovia...
of the makers of threshing-board
Threshing-board
A threshing board is an obsolete farm implement used to separate cereals from their straw; that is, to thresh. It is a thick board, made with a variety of slats, with a shape between rectangular and trapezoidal, with the frontal part somewhat narrower and curved upward and whose bottom is covered...
s and sieves in Cantalejo, Segovia and the Galician Fala dos arxinas
Fala dos arxinas
Fala dos arxinas is the name of an argot employed by stonecutters in Galicia, Spain, particularly in the area of Pontevedra, based on galician language...
, some of the words are taken from Basque language
Basque language
Basque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is spoken by 25.7% of Basques in all territories...
.
While the Basque regions were far from the tejero routes, the non-Romance vocabulary of Basque makes it unintelligible to outsiders.
Examples
araguía- meat. Haragia is Basque for "the meat"
asúa
- fire. Sua is Basque for "the fire".
bai
- yes. Bai is Basque for "yes"
bartolo
- corn. Arto is Basque for corn. "Bartolo" is also a Spanish nickname for BartholomewBartholomewBartholomew was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus, and is usually identified as Nathaniel . He was introduced to Christ through St. Philip, another of the twelve apostles as per , where the name Nathaniel first appears. He is also mentioned as “Nathaniel of Cana in Galilee” in...
.
drama
- mother. A vesreVesreVesre is one of the features of Rioplatense Spanish slang. Natives of Buenos Aires and Uruguay use vesre sparingly in colloquial speaking, and never in formal circumstances...
of madre
drape
- father. A metathesisMetathesis (linguistics)Metathesis is the re-arranging of sounds or syllables in a word, or of words in a sentence. Most commonly it refers to the switching of two or more contiguous sounds, known as adjacent metathesis or local metathesis:...
of padre.
ergue, erguín
- stonecutter. Hargin is Basque for "stonecutter", arxina in fala dos arxinas.
External links
- Xíriga dictionary
- Muñoz Valle, Emilio "La xíriga". Boletín del Real Instituto de Estudios Asturianos No. 76 (1972).
- Muñoz Valle, Emilio "La xíriga como lenguaje secreto en la Segunda Guerra Mundial". Boletín del Real Instituto de Estudios Asturianos No. 99 (1980).