Shelta (also known as Gammen, Sheldru, Pavee, or simply the Cant) is a language spoken by parts of the Irish Traveller people that is often used to conceal the meaning from those outside the group. The Irish diaspora consists of Irish emigrants and their descendants in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, Mexico, South Africa and states of the Caribbean and continental Europe. ... Irish Travellers (sometimes known as tinkers because they worked repairing tin ware) are a nomadic or itinerant people of Irish origin living in Ireland, Great Britain and the United States. ... Current distribution of Human Language Families A language family is a group of related languages said to have descended from a common proto-language. ... The Indo-European languages comprise a family of several hundred related languages and dialects [1], including most of the major languages of Europe, as well as many spoken in the Indian subcontinent (South Asia), the Iranian plateau (Southwest Asia), and Central Asia. ... Writing systems of the world today. ... The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world today. ... ISO 639-1 is the first part of the ISO 639 international-standard language-code family. ... ISO 639-2 is the second part of the ISO 639 standard, which lists codes for the representation of the names of languages. ... ISO 639-3 is in process of development as an international standard for language codes. ... Not to be confused with the NATO phonetic alphabet, which has also informally been called the “International Phonetic Alphabet”. For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words, see IPA chart for English. ... Phonetics (from the Greek word φωνή, phone meaning sound, voice) is the study of the sounds of human speech. ... Unicode is an industry standard designed to allow text and symbols from all of the writing systems of the world to be consistently represented and manipulated by computers. ... This chart shows concisely the most common way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is applied to represent the English language. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Irish Travellers (sometimes known as tinkers because they worked repairing tin ware) are a nomadic or itinerant people of Irish origin living in Ireland, Great Britain and the United States. ...

Much of Shelta's vocabulary is based loosely on Irish, with many words inverted in a style not unlike French verlan slang; for example, the word for 'girl' is lackeen, from the Irish cailín, and the word rodas, meaning door, has its roots in the Irish doras. The language's structure also contains many grammatical similarities with English. It also contains elements of Romany languages (such as the term gadje, "non-Traveller"), though the Travellers are not actual Roma. In the French language, verlan is the inversion of syllables in a word which is found in slang and youth language. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Romany (or Romani) is the language of the Roma and Sinti, peoples often referred to in English as Gypsies. The Indo-Aryan Romany language should not be confused with either Romanian (spoken by Romanians), or Romansh (spoken in parts of southeastern Switzerland), both of which are Romance languages. ... The Roma people (pronounced rahma, singular Rom, sometimes Rroma, and Rrom) along with the closely related Sinti people are commonly known as Gypsies in English, and as Tsigany in most of Europe. ...

Shelta originates from older versions of Irish, and so is originally a part of the Goidelic branch of the Celtic language family. It is a cant based originally on a combination of Irish Gaelic and some English, with a primarily English-based syntax, and has been heavily influenced by non-Celtic languages. Consequently, although ultimately Goidelic Celtic it has a character very different from other Goidelic Celtic languages. Goidelic is one of two major divisions of modern-day Celtic languages (the other being Brythonic). ... Proto-Indo-European Indo-European studies Celtic languages are a branch of the Indo-European languages. ... Cant is an example of a cryptolect, a characteristic or secret language used only by members of a group, often used to conceal the meaning from those outside the group. ... Note: This page contains phonetic information presented in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) using Unicode. ...

Cant is the form diffused around Ireland; Gammen or Gammon is concentrated in the south-east region. Shelta is the term still preferred by some today, often outside the Travellers themselves from academia. The word Shelta first appeared in 1882 in the book 'The Gypsies' by 'gypsiologist' Charles Leland, who claimed to have discovered it as the 'fifth Celtic tongue.' Charles Godfrey Leland (1824–1903) was an American humorist and folklorist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and educated at Princeton University, and in Europe. ...

There are approximately 86,000 worldwide speakers of Shelta, with anywhere from 6,000-25,000 in Ireland itself according to various sources. The language is spoken almost exclusively by Travellers, though linguists have documented Shelta since at least the 1870s. Both Celtic expert Kuno Meyer and Romany expert John Sampson assert that Shelta existed as far back as the 13th century. // The invention of the telephone (1876) by Alexander Graham Bell. ... Kuno Meyer (20 December 1858 – 11 October 1919) was a Celtic scholar. ... (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ...

It has been suggested that the word "Shelta" itself derives from the Irish word "siúlta", meaning "of walking". This refers to the nomadic lifestyle of the Travellers, as well as the fact that they were commonly referred to for a time as "the Walking People" by English speakers in Ireland. In Irish, Travellers are called an Lucht siúil "the walking people" (literally "the people of walking"). The form an Lucht siúlta (with the same meaning), although not usual, is not beyond the bounds of possibility. Communities of nomadic people move from place to place, rather than settling down in one location. ...

An example of a Shelta word that now has common usage in everyday speech in Britain is the word 'bloke' meaning a man, first usage mid 19th century. (ref. etymology Oxford Dictionary)

Phonology

Vowels

Vowels Near-close Close-mid Mid Open-mid Near-open Open Where symbols appear in pairs, the one to the right represents a rounded vowel. ... A near-front vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. ... A central vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. ... A back vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. ... A close vowel is a type of vowel sound used in many spoken languages. ... -1... A close-mid vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. ... A mid vowel is a vowel sound used in some spoken languages. ... The open-mid vowels make a class of vowel sounds used in some spoken languages. ... A near-open vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. ... An open vowel is a vowel sound of a type used in most spoken languages. ...

Comparison texts

Below are reproductions of the Lord's Prayer in Shelta, as it occurred a century ago, Irish Traveller Cant with modern English and Irish versions for comparison. The 19th century Shelta version shows a high Shelta lexical content while the Cant version a much lower Shelta lexical content. Both versions are adapted from Hancock^[1] who notes that the Cant reproduction is not exactly representative of actual speech in normal situations.

Mwilsha's gater, swart a manyath, (Shelta)

Our gathra, who cradgies in the manyak-norch, (Cant)

Our Father, who art in heaven, (English)

Ár n-Athair atá ar neamh, (Irish)

Manyi graw a kradji dilsha's manik.

We turry kerrath about your moniker.

Hallowed be thy Name.

Go naofar d'ainm,

Graw bi greydid, sheydi laadu

Let's turry to the norch where your jeel cradgies,

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done,

Go dtaga do ríocht, Go ndéantar do thoil

Az aswart in manyath.

And let your jeel shans get greydied nosher same as it is where you cradgie.

On earth as it is in heaven.

ar an talamh, mar a dhéantar ar neamh.

Bag mwilsha talosk minyart goshta dura.

Bug us eynik to lush this thullis,

Give us this day our daily bread.

Ár n-arán laethúil tabhair dúinn inniu,

Geychel aur shaaku areyk mwilsha

And turri us you're nijesh sharrig for the gammy eyniks we greydied

And forgive us our trespasses,

Agus maith dúinn ár bhfiacha

Geychas needjas greydi gyamyath mwilsha.

Just like we ain't sharrig at the gammi needies that greydi the same to us.

As we forgive those who trespass against us.

Mar a mhaithimidne dár bhféichiúna féin

Nijesh solk mwil start gyamyath,

Nijesh let us soonie eyniks that'll make us greydi gammy eyniks,

And lead us not into temptation,

Ach ná lig sinn i gcathú

Bat bog mwilsha ahim gyamyath.

But solk us away from the taddy.

But deliver us from evil.

Ach saor sinn ó olc.

Diyil the sridag, taajirath an manyath

[no Cant]

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,

Mar is leatsa an ríocht, an chumhacht, agus an ghlóir

Gradum a gradum.

[no Cant]

For ever and ever.

Trí shaol na saol.

[no Shelta]

[no Cant]

Amen.

Amen.

Bibliography

"The Secret Languages of Ireland." by R. A. Stewart Macalister. Craobh Rua Books

1. ^ I. Hancock (1986) "The cryptolectal speech of the American roads: Traveller Cant and American Angloromani." In American Speech, 61:3, (pp. 207-208)

The Celtic languages are the languages descended from Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, spoken by ancient and modern Celts alike. ... The Continental Celtic languages are those Celtic languages that are neither Goidelic nor Brythonic. ... Gaulish is the name given to the Celtic language that was spoken in Gaul before the Vulgar Latin of the late Roman Empire became dominant in Roman Gaul. ... Lepontic is an extinct Celtic language that was once spoken in Northern Italy between 700 BCE and 400 BCE. The language is only known from a few inscriptions discovered that were written in a variety of the Northern Italic alphabet, which was related to the Old Italic alphabet. ... Galatian is an extinct Celtic language once spoken in Galatia in Asia Minor (modern Turkey) from the 3rd century BC up to the 4th century AD. Of the language only a few glosses and brief comments in classical writers and scattered names on inscriptions survive. ... Celtiberian (also Hispano-Celtic) is an extinct Celtic language spoken by the Celtiberians in northern Spain before and during the Roman Empire. ... Noric language was the ancient Celtic language spoken in the Roman province of Noricum. ... The Goidelic languages (also sometimes called the Gaelic languages or collectively Gaelic) have historically been part of a dialect continuum stretching from the south of Ireland, the Isle of Man, to the north of Scotland. ... Galwegian Gaelic is an extinct Goidelic dialect formerly spoken in South West Scotland. ... // Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages. ... The Brythonic languages (or Brittonic languages) form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic language family. ... Breton (Breton: Brezhoneg) is a Celtic language spoken by some of the inhabitants of Brittany (Breizh) in France. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Cumbric was the Brythonic Celtic language spoken in Cumbria, and the southern Lowland Scotland . ... Primitive Irish is the oldest known form of the Irish language, known only from fragments, mostly personal names, inscribed on stone in the Ogham alphabet in Ireland and western Britain up to about the 6th century. ... The Pictish language is the extinct language of the Picts, in what is now Scotland. ... Welsh redirects here, and this article describes the Welsh language. ... A mixed language is a language that arises when two languages are in contact and there is a high degree of bilingualism among speakers. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ...

External links

• Rosetta Project listing
• Ethnologue listing for Shelta
• Shelta lexicon and pronunciation guide
• Online copy of the Shelta lexicon from McAllister's The Secret Languages of Ireland