Lunfardo

The Lunfardo is a variety of the Spanish language, which arose in the second half of the 19th century in Buenos Aires ( Argentina) and now in the informal language in Argentina (and Uruguay ) is to be found. Composed the variety is of a vocabulary that can not be found in standard dictionaries of the Spanish language.

The emergence of Lunfardos is elusive. However, one can assume that it had its roots in the interaction of European immigrants, gauchos, Indians and porteños (residents of Buenos Aires ) in the lower social strata, although you still equates the Lunfardo with a Gaunersprache.

Especially by the Academia Porteña del Lunfardo the Lunfardo is explored.

Historical Background

Since Argentina had only a very small population, the pursuit of the government was very large by immigrants. In 1853 an attempt was made by measures to populate the vast country with people of European origin to " ... to till the soil to support the industries and to introduce the arts and sciences " (from Article 25 of the Constitution of 1853), so that the number of the population at the beginning of the First world War, which stopped the wave of immigration had grown from 1,300,000 in 1859 to 7,885,237. The immigrants came mainly from Italy, Spain, France, but also many from other countries, such as Poland and Portugal. Through the agrarian reform, there was also a shift within Argentina itself: Unemployed gauchos and Indians migrated to the capital.

And there came not only the hoped intellectuals, academics and industrialists, but people, mostly men from rural occupations and unskilled workers, for which there was no place and no work in the feudal system of the large landowners in Argentina. Most of them stayed for lack of alternatives in the vicinity of the port of Buenos Aires, where she had arrived. Unemployment, homesickness, poverty, despair, extreme lack of women and communication problems were the commonality of the new underclass, in which einreihten the Gauchos.

The poor status of immigrants and Gauchos was the basis for the emergence of Lunfardos. Spanish was often only slightly dominates, so you took the words from the native language to simplify and it has adapted to the Spanish language ( loan words ) when terms were missing in language use. At this time, this variety had the status of an only slightly spread sociolect because it was used only in Buenos Aires and Montevideo. Also, he was more of a language men.

As of 1918, the immigration flows ceased, which stresses the importance of loanwords decreased. From 1924 Lunfardismen were exported through the radio and the tango song in other parts of Argentina and also common in the women's and youth language.

Since about 1950, the speech phenomenon becoming more common by the mass media of radio, television, and later through the Internet. With the rise of Argentine Tango since the 80s, this propagation is accelerated again - but now added no more loanwords with the possibility of separation from the outside, and it will.

Other emergence thesis

The Lunfardo is still often viewed as an argot or slang. According to this thesis it is assumed that the Lunfardo has its origins as a secret language in prisons. The assumption is probably caused by the first recording of Lunfardolexik in police documentation. The President of the Academia Porteña del Lunfardo, José Gobello, and Mario Teruggi, another leading Lunfardoautor are agreed that this is doubtful. It is true that you can connect the speech with the crime, but this connection stems rather from the fact that the immigrants lived in the lower environments where it was not considered by the law in all spheres of life. A certain similarity can be but probably not deny: In a variety of French argot, verlan, are the same as in Lunfardo often reversed the syllables of everyday concepts.

Establishment and composition of Lunfardowortschatzes

The vocabulary consists of approximately 5,000 to 6,000 words. It is geared to the Spanish grammar, syntax and spelling. Can Lunfardismen nouns, verbs or adjectives be. Lunfardische terms are used as synonyms for recognized Spanish words. The lexicon was created and produced by loanwords from other languages ​​(1 ) neologisms ( 2), morphological changes (3 ) an existing word and the vesre (4).

Dissemination and timeliness of Lunfardo

From the birth of the Lunfardos until today its spread and its use has increased significantly. Initially, the distribution took place orally. Then the issue of the merger of different cultures has also been used in the literature and thus also the new language of lower social class. End of the 19th century came the sainete criollo up in Argentina. His greatest distribution had the sainete in the 1930s. The sainetes represented the immigrants often caricatured represent and hence its laced with Lunfardismen expression.

A very special meaning for the Lunfardo also has the Argentine Tango. He has the same roots as the special language. In his daily life was of the lower class in which the immigrants lived, sung. The Lunfardo gives the lyrics of tango today, as then, a wicked sound and is better than the educated, " decorous " language for the representation of the environment. About the Tango Lunfardo also came in other genres, such as the cumbia villera. From about 1965 sprang from the Argentine rock music, a musical expression of the young. Little by little adapted lunfardische expressions in the rock songs. At the same time in the youth language flowed Lunfardismen. Currently the Lunfardo is one of the most important means of expression in the Argentine youth language.

The Lunfardo is still as relevant as to his beginnings. But he has taken a leap forward. He has become one of sociolect that only a small minority in Buenos Aires has spoken to a language phenomenon throughout Argentina and Uruguay. He constantly adapts its time by certain terms disappear from the language, are changing or added.

Examples

• Loan words from other languages Italian mangiare ( eat ) → Manyar
• English sandwich → sánguche
• English off side ( off ) → Orsai

• Loan words and metaphors: French canne (stick) → cana ( cop / prison )
• Polish papiros ( cigarette) → → Papirusa Papusa ( pretty young woman)
• Italian funghi (mushrooms ) → funyi ( hat, sombrero )
• Italian vento (wind) → vento (money, because it is " Gone with the Wind" )

• Vesre: revés (reversed) → vesre
• Tango Gotan →
• Calor (heat) → lorca
• Noche ( night) → cheno
• Café con leche (coffee with milk ) → feca con chele
• Hotel → telo (hours Hotel)
• Muchachos → chochamus