The Basque–Icelandic pidgin (; ) was a
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
-based
pidgin
A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a grammatically simplified form of contact language that develops between two or more groups of people that do not have a language in common: typically, its vocabulary and grammar are limited and often drawn f ...
spoken in
Iceland
Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
during the
17th century
The 17th century lasted from January 1, 1601 (represented by the Roman numerals MDCI), to December 31, 1700 (MDCC).
It falls into the early modern period of Europe and in that continent (whose impact on the world was increasing) was characterized ...
. It consisted of
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
,
Germanic, and
Romance words.
Basque
whale hunters who sailed to the Icelandic
Westfjords
The Westfjords or West Fjords (, ) is a large peninsula in northwestern Iceland and an administrative region, the least populous in the country. It lies on the Denmark Strait, facing the east coast of Greenland. It is connected to the rest of I ...
used the pidgin as a means of rudimentary communication with locals. It might have developed in
Westfjords
The Westfjords or West Fjords (, ) is a large peninsula in northwestern Iceland and an administrative region, the least populous in the country. It lies on the Denmark Strait, facing the east coast of Greenland. It is connected to the rest of I ...
, where manuscripts were written in the language, but since it had influences from many other
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
an languages, it is more likely that it was created elsewhere and brought to Iceland by Basque sailors. Basque entries are mixed with words from
Dutch,
English,
French,
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
and
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
. The Basque–Icelandic pidgin is therefore not a mixture of Basque and Icelandic, but between Basque and other languages. It was so named because it was written in Iceland and translated into Icelandic.
Only a few manuscripts have been found containing Basque–Icelandic
glossary
A glossary (from , ''glossa''; language, speech, wording), also known as a vocabulary or clavis, is an alphabetical list of Term (language), terms in a particular domain of knowledge with the definitions for those terms. Traditionally, a gloss ...
, and knowledge of the pidgin is limited.
Basque whalers in Iceland
Basque whalers were among the first to catch whales commercially; they spread to the far parts of the
North Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for ...
and even reached Brazil. They started coming to Iceland around the year 1600.
In 1615, after becoming shipwrecked and getting into a conflict with the locals, some Basque sailors were massacred in an event that would be known as the
Slaying of the Spaniards. Basques continued to sail to Iceland, but for the second half of the 17th century French and Spanish whalers are more often mentioned in Icelandic sources.
History of the glossaries
Only a few anonymous glossaries have been found. Two of them were found among the documents of 18th century scholar
Jón Ólafsson of Grunnavík, titled:
* ''
Vocabula Gallica'' ("French words"). Written during the latter part of the 17th century, a total of 16 pages containing 517 words and short sentences, and 46 numerals.
* ''
Vocabula Biscaica'' ("
Biscay
Biscay ( ; ; ), is a province of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the Bay of Biscay, eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilb ...
an (
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
) words"). A copy written during the 18th century by Jón Ólafsson, the original is lost. It contains a total of 229 words and short sentences, and 49 numerals. This glossary contains several pidgin words and phrases.
These manuscripts were found in the mid-1920s by the Icelandic
philologist
Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...
Jón Helgason in the
Arnamagnæan Collection at the
University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University.
...
. He copied the glossaries, translated the Icelandic words into German and sent the copies to professor
C. C. Uhlenbeck at
Leiden University
Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...
in the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
. Uhlenbeck had expertise in Basque, but since he retired from the university in 1926, he gave the glossaries to his post-graduate student Nicolaas Gerard Hendrik Deen. Deen consulted with the Basque scholar
Julio de Urquijo, and in 1937, Deen published his
doctoral thesis
A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...
on the Basque–Icelandic glossaries. It was titled ''Glossaria duo vasco-islandica'' and written in
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
, though most of the phrases of the glossaries were also translated into German and Spanish.
In 1986, Jón Ólafsson's manuscripts were brought back from
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
to
Iceland
Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
.
The manuscript with the glossaries (
University of Iceland
The University of Iceland ( ) is a public research university in Reykjavík, Iceland, and the country's oldest and largest institution of higher education. Founded in 1911, it has grown steadily from a small civil servants' school to a modern co ...
):
Basque-Icelandic pidgin Deen 17 40 22 467000.jpeg
Basque-Icelandic pidgin Deen 17 40 14 552000.jpeg
Basque-Icelandic pidgin Deen 17 40 07 688000.jpeg
Basque-Icelandic pidgin Deen.jpeg
There is also evidence of a third contemporary Basque–Icelandic glossary. In a letter, the Icelandic linguist
Sveinbjörn Egilsson mentioned a document with two pages containing "funny words and glosses" and he copied eleven examples of them. The glossary itself has been lost, but the letter is still preserved at the
National Library of Iceland. There is no pidgin element in the examples he copies.
The fourth glossary
A
fourth Basque–Icelandic glossary was found at the
Houghton Library
Houghton Library, on the south side of Harvard Yard adjacent to Widener Library, Lamont Library, and Loeb House, is Harvard University's primary repository for rare books and manuscripts. It is part of the Harvard College Library, the library s ...
at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
. It had been collected by the German historian
Konrad von Maurer when he visited Iceland in 1858, the manuscript is from the late 18th century or the early 19th century. The glossary was discovered around 2008, the original owner had not identified the manuscript as containing Basque text.
Only two of the pages contain Basque–Icelandic glossary; the material surrounding includes unrelated items such as
instructions about magic and casting love spells. It is clear that the copyist was not aware that they were copying Basque glossary, as the text has the heading "A few Latin glosses". Many of the entries are corrupted or wrong, seemingly made by someone not used to writing. A large number of the entries are not a part of Deen's glossary, and so the manuscript is thought to be a copy of an unknown Basque–Icelandic glossary. A total of 68 words and phrases can be discerned, but with some uncertainty.
Pidgin phrases
The manuscript ''Vocabula Biscaica'' contains the following phrases which contain a pidgin element:
A majority of these words are of Basque origin:
* atorra, ''atorra'' 'shirt'
* balia, ''balea'' '
baleen whale
Baleen whales (), also known as whalebone whales, are marine mammals of the order (biology), parvorder Mysticeti in the infraorder Cetacea (whales, dolphins and porpoises), which use baleen plates (or "whalebone") in their mouths to sieve plankt ...
'
* berria, ''berria'' 'new'
* berrua, ''beroa'' 'warm'
* biskusa, (
Lapurdian) loan word 'biscuit', nowadays meaning
gâteau Basque (cf. Spanish , ultimately from Medieval Latin )
* bocata
* bustana, ''buztana'' 'tail'
* eta, ''eta'' 'and'
* galsardia, ''galtzerdia'' 'the sock'
* gissuna, ''gizona'' 'the man'
* locaria, ''lokarria'' 'the tie/lace(s)'
* sagarduna, ''sagardoa'' 'the cider'
* ser, ''zer'' 'what'
* sumbatt, ''zenbat'' 'how many'
* travala, old Basque ''trabaillatu'', related to French and Spanish ''trabajar'' 'to work'
* usnia, ''esnea'' 'the milk'
* bura, 'butter', from Basque
Lapurdian loan word (cf. French , Italian and Occitan )
Some of the words are of Germanic origin:
* cavinit, old Dutch equivalent of modern German 'nothing at all' or Low German 'not a bit'
* for in the sentence ''sumbatt galsardia for'' could be derived from many different Germanic languages
* for mi, English 'for me' (used both as subject and object; 'I' and 'me') or Low German ''
* for ju, English 'for you' (used both as subject and object) or Low German ''
And others come from the Romance languages:
* cammisola, Spanish 'shirt'
* fenicha, Spanish 'to fornicate'
* mala, French or Spanish 'bad' or 'evil'
* trucka, Spanish 'to exchange'
All nouns and adjectives in the pidgin are marked with Basque's
definite article
In grammar, an article is any member of a class of dedicated words that are used with noun phrases to mark the identifiability of the referents of the noun phrases. The category of articles constitutes a part of speech.
In English, both "the" ...
suffix ''-a'', even in cases for which the suffix would be ungrammatical in Basque. The order of nouns and adjectives is also reversed. For example, pidgin ''berrua usnia'' ('warm milk-DET') versus Basque ('milk warm-DET').
Although there are quite a few Spanish and French words listed in the glossaries, this is not a sign of the pidgin language, but rather a result of French and Spanish influence on the Basque language throughout the ages, since Basque has taken many loan words from its neighbouring languages. Furthermore, many of the people in the Basque crews that came to Iceland might have been multilingual, speaking French and/or Spanish as well. That would explain for example why the Icelandic 'yes' is translated with both Basque and French (modern spelling ) at the end of .
[Miglio 2006, p. 200.]
Other examples
These examples are from the recently discovered Harvard manuscript:
The first phrase, ''nola dai fussu'' ("What's your name?"), might be written with standardized (but ungrammatical) Basque as "''".'' That is a
morphologically simplified construction of the correct Basque sentence ''"'".''
A section in ''Vocabula Biscaica'' goes over a few obscenities:
See also
*
Algonquian–Basque pidgin, a Basque-based pidgin in Canada
*
Russenorsk, a Russian–Norwegian pidgin
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
* Re-printed in 1991 i
''Anuario del Seminario de Filología Vasca Julio de Urquijo'' Vol. 25, Nº. 2, pp. 321–426(in Basque)
Archivedon 2019-03-01.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Manuscripts
* – Written in the latter part of the 17th century, a total of 16 pages. A part of
Jón Ólafsson's manuscript "AM 987 4to".
* – A copy written in the 18th century by Jón Ólafsson, a total of 10 pages. A part of his manuscript "AM 987 4to".
* – Two pages, a part of the manuscript "MS Icelandic 3" which contains 145 sheets.
Further reading
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Basque-Icelandic pidgin
Basque diaspora in North America
Basque language
Languages of Iceland
17th century in France
17th century in Spain
University of Copenhagen
Extinct languages of Europe
Basque-based pidgins and creoles
Languages attested from the 17th century
Languages extinct in the 17th century