Rotwelsch

Rotwelsch (German: [ˈʁoːtvɛlʃ], “beggar’s foreign (language)“) or Gaunersprache (German: [ˈɡaʊnɐʃpʁaːxə], “crook’slanguage“, also Kochemer Loshn (from Yiddish “חוכמער לשון“, “tongue of the wise”) is a secret language, a cant or thieves’ argot, spoken by groups (primarily marginalized groups) in southern Germany and Switzerland. The language is based on a mix of Yiddish, Hebrew, and German.[1]

This article’s lead section may not adequately summarize its contents. (October 2015)

This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in German. (April 2020)Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the German article. Machine translation like DeepL or Google Translate is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Consider adding a topic to this template: there are already 6,874 articles in the main category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing German Wikipedia article at [[:de:Rotwelsch]]; see its history for attribution. You should also add the template {{Translated|de|Rotwelsch}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

During the 19th and 20th century, Rotwelsch was the object of linguistic repression, with systematic investigation by the German police.[2]

. . . Rotwelsch . . .

Rotwelsch was formerly common among travelling craftspeople and vagrants. The language is built on a strong substratum of German, but contains numerous words from other languages, notably from various German dialects, including Yiddish,[3] as well as from Romany languages, notably Sintitikes. Rotwelsch has also played a great role in the development of the Yeniche language. In form and development it closely parallels the commercial speech (“shopkeeper language”) of German-speaking regions.

• Schokelmei = Kaffee (coffee)
• schenigeln = arbeiten (to work)
• Krauter = Chef eines Handwerkbetriebes (master artisan)
• Kreuzspanne = Weste (waistcoat)
• Wolkenschieber = Frisör, Barbier (barber)
• Stenz = Wanderstock des Handwerksburschen (walking stick)
• fechten = betteln (to beg)
• Platte machen = Unterkunft suchen (to seek lodging)
• Puhler = Polizist (policeman)

From:

Peter Feraru: Muskel-Adolf & Co.: Die ›Ringvereine‹ und das organisierte Verbrechen in Berlin [Muscle-Adolf & Co.: The ›Ring-Clubs‹ and Organised Crime in Berlin]. Argon, Berlin 1995.

• abfaßen = to arrest (literally ‘to write out’)
• acheln = to eat (from Hebrew)
• ackern = to go acquire; to go off the line (literally ‘to till or cultivate’)
• den Affen kaufen = to get drunk (literally ‘to buy the ape’)
• alle gehn = to be arrested; to vanish into thin air
• assern = to testify against someone, to ‘betray’ them
• aufmucken = to revolt against orders
• auftalgen = to hang (literally ‘to grease up’)
• der Getalgente = the hanged man
• balldowern = to spy out; to make inquiries about (perhaps from Hebrew Ba’al Davar = one who brings an accusation)
• ballmischpet = examining magistrate (from Hebrew Ba’al Mishpat = Master of Law)
• der Bau = the prison or penitentiary (literally ‘the lodge’)
• Bauer = a stupid simple-minded person (literally ‘peasant’ or ‘farmer’)
• begraben sein = to be hunted for a long time (literally ‘to be buried’)
• bei jom = by day (Hebrew yom = day)
• bei leile = by night (Hebrew laila = night)
• der Bello = the prison toilet
• beramschen = to swindle
• berappen = to pay up or fork over money (literally ‘to plaster a wall’); also possibly from Malayan through Dutch: berapa means ‘how much?’ (what does it cost), now integrated in Dutch as berappen: to pay.
• betuke = discreet or imperceptible (perhaps from Hebrew betokh = within)
• die Bim = a small bell (from bimmel)
• bleffen (or anbleffen) = to threaten. Possibly from Dutch: blaffen: to bark (like a dog).
• der Bock, from Romani bokh = hunger, coll. Bock haben = to be up for something.
• Bombe = coffee glass (literally ‘bombshell’)
• brennen (literally ‘to burn’) = Extortion, but also to collect the “thieves’ portion” with companions. The analogy between distilling spirits (Branntweinbrennen) and taking a good gulp of the portion (Anteil) is obvious.[4]

. . . Rotwelsch . . .

. . . Rotwelsch . . .