Gacería, also known as briquería or briquero, is a
linguistic variant whose core has its origins between the 12th and 13th centuries, it was especially rooted during the 19th and 20th centuries as
cant and
slang
A slang is a vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in everyday conversation but avoided in formal writing and speech. It also often refers to the language exclusively used by the members of pa ...
within the professional world of
threshing
Threshing or thrashing is the process of loosening the edible part of grain (or other crop) from the straw to which it is attached. It is the step in grain preparation after reaping. Threshing does not remove the bran from the grain.
History of ...
and farming implement manufacturers, cattle dealers as well as other traditional commercial activities, although its use is not limited to work activity.
It is spoken especially in the
Segovian city of
Cantalejo and neighboring municipalities, although it is lukewarmly extended in other areas of the
province of Segovia, in
Castile and León
Castile and León is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwestern Spain. Castile and León is the largest autonomous community in Spain by area, covering 94,222 km2. It is, however, sparsely populated, with a pop ...
,
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
.
Gacería incorporated
Galician, French, Basque and
Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
words into its vocabulary, a linguistic practice employed also by traveling professional groups of
Castile. Users of Gacería also incorporated words from
Caló (Spanish Romani),
Germanic languages
The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family spoken natively by a population of about 515 million people mainly in Europe, North America, Oceania, and Southern Africa. The most widely spoke ...
and
Catalan. These trade routes did not usually extend into the
Basque Country or
Valencia
Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...
, but words from these foreign lexicons were incorporated for their foreignness.
Geographical distribution
Historical
In addition to the current extension, during the 16th century and previously, the presence of the gacería was greater and with a less exclusive dedication to the world of commerce. On December 9, 1519, the
Comunidad de villa y tierra de Sepúlveda, a Castilian political institution of medieval origin extended over a large part of the northeast of the province and, at that time, also by some towns in the north of the current provinces of
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
and
Guadalajara
Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...
, published a series of ordinances that were applied throughout this geographical extension in a mixture of the
Castilian of the time and gacería, so this language must have had a palpable recognition in this entire area well into the
Modern Age
The modern era or the modern period is considered the current historical period of human history. It was originally applied to the history of Europe and Western history for events that came after the Middle Ages, often from around the year 1500 ...
.
In this same century, the presence of the variant in the
capital of Segovia is also evident, given that the playwright and actor
Lope de Rueda, precursor of the
Spanish Golden Age
The Spanish Golden Age (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Siglo de Oro'', , "Golden Century"; 1492 – 1681) was a period of literature and the The arts, arts in Spain that coincided with the political rise of the Spanish Empire under the Catholic M ...
, would incorporate the gacería in his works after his time in Segovia, but without his presence in Cantalejo being recorded.
21st century
Cantalejo is the epicenter of the variant, and it is here where its use is most promoted through initiatives such as bilingual traffic signs, the
Trillo Museum or the publication of books in the gazette.
The variant is also known in the surrounding villages, especially those of the
Ochavo de Cantalejo - a geographical district of medieval origin - which, headed by
Cantalejo, includes
San Pedro de Gaíllos,
Cabezuela,
Fuenterrebollo,
Sebúlcor,
Aldeonsancho,
Valdesimonte,
Rebollar,
Aldealcorvo,
Consuegra de Murera and
Villar de Sobrepeña.
Other towns where there are records of speakers of the variant are:
Basardilla, where it was introduced by its parish priest in the
post-war period after residing in Cantalejo,
Veganzones, which is a municipality bordering the Ochavo, and
Segovia capital, where a certain already established presence was added to that of emigration from the Brique countryside due to the rural exodus from the second half of the 20th century. A particular case is that of
Prádena, not far from the Ochavo, where the existence of an abnormal amount of terminology exclusive to the town, much of it linked to the guild of muleteers, has led to the belief that it is the reminiscences of an ancient and practically extinct
vehicular language, perhaps linked to the gacería.
In the overall computation of the
province of Segovia there is a slight dispersion of vocabulary and speakers, but it is scarce.
Nowadays the language is taught at the Cantalejo school, which in addition to the children of the city includes those from several nearby towns that do not have their own school and are assigned to this school, these are:
Rades de Abajo (
Pedraza),
La Velilla (
Pedraza),
Valleruela de Pedraza,
Valleruela de Sepúlveda,
La Matilla,
Aldealcorvo,
Rebollar (
San Pedro de Gaíllos),
Valdesimonte,
Muñoveros
Muñoveros is a municipality located in the province of Segovia, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2022 census ( INE), the municipality has a population of 127 inhabitants.
According to legend the tomb of Juan Bravo
Juan Bravo de ...
,
Puebla de Pedraza,
Rebollo,
Navalilla,
Valle de Tabladillo,
Carrascal de Río,
Cobos de Fuentidueña,
San Miguel de Bernuy and
Fuente el Olmo de Fuentidueña.
Lexicon
The known vocabulary comprises some 353 words (although until the beginning of the 20th century there was talk of the existence of thousands
), with pronunciation following the phonetic rules of the
Spanish language
Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...
. The small vocabulary served those who used it, as only a handful of words from the argot were required for specific occasions, without the need for long speeches or paragraphs. Tracing its evolution or performing any
lexicographical work is difficult, as Gacería employed words that either changed in meaning or were replaced by new words over time. Most of these 353 known words are
noun
In grammar, a noun is a word that represents a concrete or abstract thing, like living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, and ideas. A noun may serve as an Object (grammar), object or Subject (grammar), subject within a p ...
s; there are some 40
verb
A verb is a word that generally conveys an action (''bring'', ''read'', ''walk'', ''run'', ''learn''), an occurrence (''happen'', ''become''), or a state of being (''be'', ''exist'', ''stand''). In the usual description of English, the basic f ...
s. Some common
adjective
An adjective (abbreviations, abbreviated ) is a word that describes or defines a noun or noun phrase. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun.
Traditionally, adjectives are considered one of the main part of speech, parts of ...
s include: ' ("good, pleasant, pretty"), ("bad," "stupid," "sick," "ugly" from Basque ), ("small," "scarce," "little"), ("old," "ancient"), ("annoyed," "crazy," "gravely ill"), and ("dirty").
Some words were formed through the process of
metathesis. Thus, the
Castilian "criba" is in Gacería (whence ), "cribo" becomes , etc. Other words were formed through
aphesis (from "apanar" was derived ; from "otana," ). In Gacería, the nouns and are used as pronouns to indicate whatever person or thing that currently form the topic of conversation. In Castilian, carries the meaning of "daring" or "impudent" as an adjective, and "daredevil" or "smart aleck" as a noun.
Gesticulation also plays a large part in giving added meaning to words from Gacería, as one word could potentially have many meanings. "In Gacería eyes speak more than words," one scholar has written. "A simple gesture is enough to change the meaning of a word."
Some words from Gacería
References
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See also
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Barallete
*
Bron
Bron () is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, eastern France.
Geography
Bron lies east-southeast of central Lyon. It is the sixth-largest suburb of the city of Lyon, and is adjacent to its east side.
Climat ...
*
Cant
*
fala dos arxinas
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaceria
Culture of Spain
Cant languages
Province of Segovia
Cants with Basque influence
Spanish language
Occupational cryptolects
Threshing tools