Shelta Cant

From Traditional Witchcraft Wiki Project

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.

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.

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.

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.'

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.

Shelta is regularly referenced as meaning that it presumeably originated in the land of the Shelts, or in this case, Shets, from which the region Shetland is named after, meaning "Land of the Shets." 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.

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)

Sign Language

It is also worth noting that some of this language includes non-physical hand and body gestures that are used to convey information between those versed in its use. Some theorize that this form of sign language might actually have a foundation in ogham.