Re: Yeniche? Celtic?

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, Rick McCallister <gabaroo6958@...> wrote:

>
> What's the Celtic connection here? There's no explanation in the article. Where
> did Yeniche get this lexicon? Was it inherited or something snatched from a
> dictionary as an added layer of cant?

In the German wikipedia article on Jenisch (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenische_Sprache)it says "Sprecher jenischer Vereine versuchen in diesem Zusammenhang, das Jenische klarer zu profilieren, zu konturieren, es gegenüber benachbarten Sprachvarietäten abzugrenzen, seine Herkunft neu zu erklären und ihm einen Herkunftsmythos („keltische Wurzeln") beizugeben." ("Spokespepople of Yeniche organisations attempt to give Yeniche a clearer profile, contour, to delineate it against neighbouring speech varieties, to give new explanations for its origins and to provide it with an origin myth ("Celtic roots")).
So the wiki stub you quote needs to be seen with this background in mind. In the table you quote, even many of the "Continental Celtic" words are doubtful - only "do" and "novios" look like attested CC to me. I don't know anything about the vocabulary or etymology of the Yeniche language, but probably better explanations for these words can be found than a mystical survival of Celtic words (e.g., tata "father" is a typical baby talk word found in many languages). So I'd say the Celtic link is spurious, just an attempt by speakers of a low-prestige group language to give their language an interesting pedigree and historical depth.
Best regards,

Hans-Werner