Sunday, March 14, 2021

Hantec

Hantec is the local Brno dialect.  The language was most spoken amongst the lower classes in the 19th and early 20th centuries.  Very few, mostly older people, can actually speak proper Hantec.  Many Hantec words and phrases have worked their way speech of the locals. 

It's a mix of Czech, the local Moravian dialect, German, and Yiddish.  It's been described as an "unintelligible funny German-like and alien gibberish." I find it charming.

In the rest of the country a tram is tramvaj.  Here it is a šalina whcih comes from the German "elektrische Linie".  When I'm in Prague and say šalina instead of tramvaj they instantly know that I'm from Brno.  

The Brno city centre is called Štatl which comes from the Yiddish word shtetl. The  Brno Dam is called Prýgl, Česká street is called Čáró and the train station is Roló.

Here are a few more...

Augle is eyes and čočky are eyeglasses.  Ď is thanks.  Hokna is work.   and love both mean money and kéma is friend.  Potatoes can be called krumple or erteple.  Gómat means to think. Čórka is a theft, šaškec is a madhouse and koc is a girl.  Metr doesn't mean metre, but month, so za dva metry actually means "in two months"; not in two metres.

Here's a link to an online Hantec dictionary.

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