Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrong cover image

History of the British and Irish Travellers

Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrong

CHAPTER

The Linguistics of Shelta

Some words are formed simply by taking gaelic words and reversing them. The theory is that it comes from an intentional effort to conceal meanings from outsiders, whom the travellers call buffers. It's basically the same pattern that we see in romany, the language of the roma in europe - where the lexicon is overwhelmingly indian derived or indic. And so in this way, it is partly a crypto lect.

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