Re: Thieves slang

[Wolf Krakowski <media...>]

Joshua Horowitz wrote:

> The original sources for klezmer-loshn are:
>
> Landau, Zur russisch-jüdischen Klesmersprache.
> Weissenberg, Die Klesmersprache
> Elzet, Melokhes un bale-melokhes
> Borokhov, Di bibliotek funem yidishn fililog
> Prilutski, Lashon ha klezmarim
>
> Especially in Weissenberg, the manipulating mechanics of the language
> are shown. The languages have this manipulation in common, in much the
> same way that Pigs Latin works, but more involved. Some examples:
>
> -Prefixing consonants: swino for wino; matám for tam
>
> -Interpolation of consonants : stáchnize from stánica; kudrun from
> kurit; schpljache from spjoch, shnosken from shasken
>
> -Elimination of the opening sound: motren from smotrét
>
> -Elimination of a middle sound: witschen from wintschen
>
> -Changing of the opening sound: sm: ssmaljer for talar; ssmassan for
> chassan; ssmalziwen for tancowat
>
> - Joining words: Kley + Zemer etc, etc.
>
> Furthermore, Klezmer-lushn delights in using so-called borrowed words
> (from Turkish, German, Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, even Danish and Italian.
>
> There were also terms referring to specific instrumentalists, like
> Klappzimmerer for tsimbl players and knutsher for accordionists, etc.
>
> the greater part of the language deals with sex, money, fighting, music
> and drinking. It wasn't for nothing that Oscar Wilde said: When bankers
> meet they talk of art; when musicians meet they talk of money.... Josh
>
>

I'm enjoying this thread.

In '94-'95 when I was working as a cameraman for
the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Project, --
in Toronto, we interviewed an old-timer (in his 90's)
who had been imprisoned in Russia.

He spoke a delicious folk Yiddish.
Among some of his 'thieve's/prison" slang , was the word
"khazer'l" ("piggy") used to denote a five-ruble coin.

Josh, Paul -- Any thoughts on the origin of this word
besides perhaps the heft of such a gold coin?

Wolf



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