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NADSAT LANGUAGE |
Perhaps the most fascinating thing about the book it's language. Alex
thinks and talks in the "nadsat" (teenage) vocabulary of the future. A
doctor in the book explains it. "Odd bits of old rhyming sland," he says.
"A bit of gypsy talk, too. But most of the roots are Slav. Propaganda.
Subliminal penetration." Nadsat is not quite so hard to decipher as Cretan
Linear B, and Alex translates it. I found that I could not read the book
without compiling a glossary; I reprint it here, although it
is entirely unauthorized, and some of it is guesswork.
At first the vocabulary seems incomprehensible: "you could peet it
with vellocet or synthemesc or drencrom or one or two other veshches."
Then the reader, even if he knows no Russian, discovers that some of the
meaning is clear from context: "to tolchock some old veck in an alley and
viddy him swim in his blood." Other words are intelligible after a second
context: when Alex kicks a fallen enemy on the "gulliver" it might be any
part of the body, but when a glass of beer is served with a gulliver, "gulliver"
is head. (Life is easier,of course,for those who know the Russian word
golova.)
Anthony Burgess has not used Russian words mechanically, but with great
ingenuity, as the transformation into "gulliver," with its Swiftian associates,
suggests. Others are brilliantly anglicized: khorosho (good or well) as
"horrowshow"; iudi (people) as "lewdies"; militsia (militia or police)
as millicents. Burgess has not used Russian words in an American slang
extension, such as nadsat itself, in the termination of the Russian numbers
eleven to nineteen, which he breaks off independently on the analogy of
our "teen". Thus kopat (to dig with a shovel) is used as "dig" in the sense
of enjoy or under- stand; koshka (cat) and ptitsa (bird) become the hip
"cat" and "chick"; neezhny (lower) turns into "neezhnies" (underpants);
pooshka (cannon) becomes the term for a pistol; rozha (grimace) turns into
"rozz", one of the words for policeman; samyi (the most) becomes "sammy"
(generous); soomka (bag) is the slang "ugly woman"; vareet (to cook up)
is also used in the slang sense, for
something preparing or transpiring.
The "gypsy talk", I would guess, includes Alex's phrase "O my brothers",
and "crark" (to yowl?), "cutter" (money), "filly" (to fool with), and such.
The rhyming slang includes "luscious glory" or "hair" (rhyming with
"upper story"?) and "pretty polly" for "money" (rhyming with "lolly" or
current slang) Others are inevitable associations, such as "cancer" for
"cigarette" and "charlie" for "chaplain". Others are produced simply by
schoolboy transformations: "appy polly loggy" (apology), "baddiwad" (bad),
"eggiweg" (egg), "skolliwoll" (school), and so forth. Others
are amputations: "guff" (guffaw), "pee and em" (pop
and mom), "sarky" (sarcastic), "sinny" (cinema).
Some appear to be portmanteau words: "chumble" (chatter-mumble), "mounch"
(mouth- munch), "shive" (shiv-shave), "skirking" (striking-scratching).
There are slight inconsistencies in the story when Alex forgets his
word and invents another or uses our word, but on the whole he handles
his Russianate vocabulary in a masterly fashion. It has a wonderful sound,
particularly in abuse, when "grahzny bratchny" sounds infinitely better
than "dirty bastard".
Stanley Edgar Hyman
July, 1963
GLOSSARY OF NADSAT LANGUAGE
Words that don't seem to be of Russian origin are distinguished by
asterisks.
* appy polly loggy - apology
baboochka - old woman
baddiwad - bad
banda - band
bezoomny - mad
biblio - library
bitva - battle
Bog - God
bolnoy - sick
bolshy - big, great
brat, bratty - brother
bratchny - bastard
britva - razor
brooko - belly
brosay - to throw
bugatty - rich
cal - feces
* cancer - cigarette
cantora - office
carman - pocket
chai - tea
* charles, charlie - chaplain
chasha - cup
chasso - guard
cheena - woman
cheest - to wash
chelloveck - person, man, follow
chepooka - nonsense
choodessny - wonderful
* chumble - to mumble
clop - beak
collocoll - bell
* crack - to break up or "bust"
* crark - to yowl?
crast - to rob or steal; robbery
creech - to shout or scream
* cutter - money
dama - lady
ded - old man
deng - money
devotchka - girl
dobby - good
* dook - trace, ghost
domy - house
dorogoy - dear, valuable
dratsing - fighting
* drencrom - drug
droog - friend (ie: my droogies)
* dung - to defecate
dva - two
eegra - game
eemya - name
* eggiweg - egg
* filly - to play or fool with
* firegold - drink
* fist - to punch
* flip - wild?
forella - "trout"
gazetta - newspaper
glazz - eye
gloopy - stupid
* golly - unit of money
goloss - voice
goober - lip
gooly - to walk
gorlo - throat
govorett - to speak or talk
grahzny - dirty
grazzy - soiled
gromky - loud
groody - breast
gruppa - group
* guff - guffaw
gulliver - head
* gulliwuts - guts
* hen-korm - chickenfeed
* horn - to cry out
horrorshow - good, well
* in-out in-out - copulation
interessovat - to interest
itty - to go
* jammiwam - jam
jeezny - life
kartoffel - potato
keeshkas - guts
kleb - bread
kootch - key
knopka - button
kopat - to "dig"
koshka - cat
kot - tomcat
krovvy - blood
kupet - to buy
lapa - paw
lewdies - people
* lighter - crone?
litso - face
tomtick - piece, bit
loveted - caught
lubbilubbing - making love
* luscious glory - hair
malchick - boy
malenky - little, tiny
malso - butter
merzky - filthy
messel - thought, fancy
mesto - place
millicent - policeman
minoota - minute
molodoy - young
moloko - milk
moodge - man
morder - snout
* mounch - snack
mozg - brain
nachinat - to begin
nadmenny - arrogant
nadsat - teenage
nagoy - naked
* nazz - fool
neezhnies - underpants
nochy - night
noga - foot, leg
nozh - knife
nuking - smelling
oddy knocky - lonesome
odin - one
okno - window
oobivat - to kill
ookadeet - to leave
ooko - ear
oomny - brainy
oozhassny - terrible
oozy - chain
osoosh - to wipe
otchkies - eyeglasses
* pan-handle - erection
* pee and em - parents
peet - to drink
pischcha - food
platch - to cry
platties - clothes
pletcho - shoulder
plenny - prisoner
plesk - splash
* plosh - to splash
plott - body
podooshka - pillow
pol - sex
polezny - useful
* polyclef - skeleton key
pony - to understand
poogly - frightened
pooshka - "cannon"
prestoopnik - criminal
privodeet - to lead somewhere
* pretty polly - money
prod - to produce
ptitsa - "chick"
pyahnitsa - drunk
rabbit - work, job
radosty - joy
raskazz - story
rassoodock - mind
raz - time
razdraz - upset
razrez - to rip, ripping
rock, rooker - hand, arm
rot - mouth
rozz - policeman
sabog - shoe
sakar - sugar
sammy - generous
* sarky - sarcastic
scotenna - "cow"
shaika - gang
* sharp - female
sharries - buttocks
shest - barrier
* shilarny - concern
* shive - slice
shiyah - neck
shlem - helmet
* shlaga - club
shlapa - hat
shoom - noise
shoot - fool
* sinny - cinema
shazat - to say
* skolliwoll - school
skorry - quick, quickly
* shriking - scratching
shvat - to grab
sladky - sweet
sloochat - to happen
sloosh, slosshy - to hear, to listen
slovo - word
smech - laugh
smot - to look
sneety - dream
* snoutie - tobacco?
* snuff it - to die
sobirat - to pick up
* sod - to fornicate, fornicator
soomaka - "bag"
soviet - advice, order
spat - to sleep
spatchka - sleep
* splodge, splosh - splash
* spoogy - terrified
* Staja - State Jail
starry - ancient
strack - horror
* synthemesc - drug
tally - waist
* tashtook - handkerchief
* tass - cup
tolchock - to hit or push;blow, beating
toofles - slippers
tree - three
vareet - to "cook up"
* vaysay - washroom
veck - (see chelloveck)
* vellocet - drug
veshch - thing
viddy - to see or look
voloss - hair
von - smell
vred - to harm or damage
yahma - hole
* yahoodies - Jews
yabzick - tongue
* yarbles - testicles
yeckate - to drive
* warble - song
zammechat - remarkable
zasnoot - sleep
zhenna - wife
zoobies - teeth
zvonock - bellpull
zvook - sound