the zincali-第68章

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which　association　may　have　produced　the　result　above　alluded　to；　



but　it　will　be　as　well　here　to　state；　that　in　no　country　of　Europe　



have　the　Gypsies　forsaken　or　forgotten　their　native　tongue；　and　in　



its　stead　adopted　the　'Germania；'　'Red　Italian；'　or　robber　jargon；　



although　in　some　they　preserve　their　native　language　in　a　state　of　



less　purity　than　in　others。　　We　are　induced　to　make　this　statement　



from　an　assertion　of　the　celebrated　Lorenzo　Hervas；　who；　in　the　



third　volume　of　his　CATALOGO　DE　LAS　LENGUAS；　trat。　3；　cap。　vi。；　p。　



311；　expresses　himself　to　the　following　effect：…　'The　proper　



language　of　the　Gitanos　neither　is　nor　can　be　found　amongst　those　



who　scattered　themselves　through　the　western　kingdoms　of　Europe；　



but　only　amongst　those　who　remained　in　the　eastern；　where　they　are　



still　to　be　found。　　The　former　were　notably　divided　and　disunited；　



receiving　into　their　body　a　great　number　of　European　outlaws；　on　



which　account　the　language　in　question　was　easily　adulterated　and　



soon　perished。　　In　Spain；　and　also　in　Italy；　the　Gitanos　have　



totally　forgotten　and　lost　their　native　language；　yet　still　wishing　



to　converse　with　each　other　in　a　language　unknown　to　the　Spaniards　



and　Italians；　they　have　invented　some　words；　and　have　transformed　



many　others　by　changing　the　signification　which　properly　belongs　to　



them　in　Spanish　and　Italian。'　　In　proof　of　which　assertion　he　then　



exhibits　a　small　number　of　words　of　the　'Red　Italian；'　or　



allegorical　tongue　of　the　thieves　of　Italy。







It　is　much　to　be　lamented　that　a　man　like　Hervas；　so　learned；　of　



such　knowledge；　and　upon　the　whole　well…earned　celebrity；　should　



have　helped　to　propagate　three　such　flagrant　errors　as　are　



contained　in　the　passages　above　quoted：　　1st。　　That　the　Gypsy　



language；　within　a　very　short　period　after　the　arrival　of　those　who　



spoke　it　in　the　western　kingdoms　of　Europe；　became　corrupted；　and　



perished　by　the　admission　of　outlaws　into　the　Gypsy　fraternity。　　



2ndly。　　That　the　Gypsies；　in　order　to　supply　the　loss　of　their　



native　tongue；　invented　some　words；　and　modified　others；　from　the　



Spanish　and　Italian。　　3rdly。　　That　the　Gypsies　of　the　present　day　



in　Spain　and　Italy　speak　the　allegorical　robber　dialect。　　



Concerning　the　first　assertion；　namely；　that　the　Gypsies　of　the　



west　lost　their　language　shortly　after　their　arrival；　by　mixing　



with　the　outlaws　of　those　parts；　we　believe　that　its　erroneousness　



will　be　sufficiently　established　by　the　publication　of　the　present　



volume；　which　contains　a　dictionary　of　the　Spanish　Gitano；　which　we　



have　proved　to　be　the　same　language　in　most　points　as　that　spoken　



by　the　eastern　tribes。　　There　can　be　no　doubt　that　the　Gypsies　have　



at　various　times　formed　alliances　with　the　robbers　of　particular　



countries；　but　that　they　ever　received　them　in　considerable　numbers　



into　their　fraternity；　as　Hervas　has　stated；　so　as　to　become　



confounded　with　them；　the　evidence　of　our　eyesight　precludes　the　



possibility　of　believing。　　If　such　were　the　fact；　why　do　the　



Italian　and　Spanish　Gypsies　of　the　present　day　still　present　



themselves　as　a　distinct　race；　differing　from　the　other　inhabitants　



of　the　west　of　Europe　in　feature；　colour；　and　constitution？　　Why　



are　they；　in　whatever　situation　and　under　whatever　circumstances；　



to　be　distinguished；　like　Jews；　from　the　other　children　of　the　



Creator？　　But　it　is　scarcely　necessary　to　ask　such　a　question；　or　



indeed　to　state　that　the　Gypsies　of　Spain　and　Italy　have　kept　



themselves　as　much　apart　as；　or　at　least　have　as　little　mingled　



their　blood　with　the　Spaniards　and　Italians　as　their　brethren　in　



Hungaria　and　Transylvania　with　the　inhabitants　of　those　countries；　



on　which　account　they　still　strikingly　resemble　them　in　manners；　



customs；　and　appearance。　　The　most　extraordinary　assertion　of　



Hervas　is　perhaps　his　second；　namely；　that　the　Gypsies　have　



invented　particular　words　to　supply　the　place　of　others　which　they　



had　lost。　　The　absurdity　of　this　supposition　nearly　induces　us　to　



believe　that　Hervas；　who　has　written　so　much　and　so　laboriously　on　



language；　was　totally　ignorant　of　the　philosophy　of　his　subject。　　



There　can　be　no　doubt；　as　we　have　before　admitted；　that　in　the　



robber　jargon；　whether　spoken　in　Spain；　Italy；　or　England；　there　



are　many　words　at　whose　etymology　it　is　very　difficult　to　arrive；　



yet　such　a　fact　is　no　excuse　for　the　adoption　of　the　opinion　that　



these　words　are　of　pure　invention。　　A　knowledge　of　the　Rommany　



proves　satisfactorily　that　many　have　been　borrowed　from　that　



language；　whilst　many　others　may　be　traced　to　foreign　tongues；　



especially　the　Latin　and　Italian。　　Perhaps　one　of　the　strongest　



grounds　for　concluding　that　the　origin　of　language　was　divine　is　



the　fact　that　no　instance　can　be　adduced　of　the　invention；　we　will　



not　say　of　a　language；　but　even　of　a　single　word　that　is　in　use　in　



society　of　any　kind。　　Although　new　dialects　are　continually　being　



formed；　it　is　only　by　a　system　of　modification；　by　which　roots　



almost　coeval　with　time　itself　are　continually　being　reproduced　



under　a　fresh　appearance；　and　under　new　circumstances。　　The　third　



assertion　of　Hervas；　as　to　the　Gitanos　speaking　the　allegorical　



language　of　which　he　exhibits　specimens；　is　entitled　to　about　equal　



credence　as　the　two　former。　　The　truth　is；　that　the　entire　store　of　



erudition　of　the　learned　Jesuit；　and　he　doubtless　was　learned　to　a　



remarkable　degree；　was　derived　from　books；　either　printed　or　



manuscript。　　He　compared　the　Gypsy　words　in　the　publication　of　



Grellmann　with　various　vocabularies；　which　had　long　been　in　



existence；　of　the　robber　jargons　of　Spain　and　Italy；　which　jargons　



by　a　strange　fatuity　had　ever　been　considered　as　belonging　to　the　



Gypsies。　　Finding　that　the　Gypsy　words　of　Grellmann　did　not　at　all　



correspond　with　the　thieves'　slang；　he　concluded　that　the　Gypsies　



of　Spain　and　Italy　had　forgotten　their　own　language；　and　to　supply　



its　place　had　invented　the　jargons　aforesaid；　but　he　never　gave　



himself　the　trouble　to　try　whether　the　Gypsies　really　understood　



the　contents　of　his　slang　vocabularies；　had　he　done　so；　he　would　



have　found　that　the　slang　was　about　as　unintelligible　to　the　



Gypsies　as　he　would　have　found　the　specimens　of　Grellmann　



unintelligible　to　the　thieves　had　he　quoted　those　specimens　to　



them。　　The　Gypsies　of　Spain；　it　will　be　sufficient　to　observe；　



speak　the　language　of　which　a　vocabulary　is　given　in　the　present　



work；　and　those　of　Italy　who　are　generally　to　be　found　existing　in　



a　half…savage　state　in　the　various　ruined　castles；　relics　of　the　



feudal　times；　with　which　Italy　abounds；　a　dialect　very　similar；　and　



about　as　much　corrupted。　　There　are；　however；　to　be　continually　



found　in　Italy　roving　bands　of　Rommany；　not　natives　of　the　country；　



who　make　excursions　from　Moldavia　and　Hungaria　to　France　and　Italy；　



for　the　purpose　of　plunder；　and　who；　if　they　escape　the　hand　of　



justice；　return　at　the　expiration　of　two　or　three　years　to　their　



native　regions；　with　the　booty　they　have　amassed　by　the　practice　of　



those　thievish　arts；　perhaps　at　one　period　peculiar　to　their　race；　



but　at　present；　for　the　most　part；　known　and　practised　by　thieves　



in　general。　　These　bands；　however；　speak　the　pure　Gypsy　language；　



with　all　its　grammatical　peculiarities。　　It　is　evident；　however；　



that　amongst　neither　of　these　classes　had　Hervas　pushed　his　



researches；　which　had　he　done；　it　is　probable　that　his　



investigations　would　have　resulted　in　a　work　of　a　far　different　



character　from　the　confused；　unsatisfactory；　and　incorrect　details　



of　which　is　formed　his　essay　on　the　language　of　the　Gypsies。







Having　said　thus　much　concerning　the　robber　language　in　general；　we　



shall　now