[The original poster has asked us to remove this comment. -TBNet]

I am from Treasure Beach and I speak Gypsy most of my friend speak Gypsy people from other Parishes do speak Gypsy.

I'm very interested. Is the Gypsy language in Jamaican different from Romani? (see an article on Romany at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani_language)

Here is something that I remember reading about Don:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080615062620AAXVmAh

And this may be of interest:

http://www.melungeons.com/articles/mysteryBurke.htm

I am also from Treasure Beach, and I speak two different forms of Gypsy..the short and the long version, and all of my family and friends speak Gypsy also..so yes many different parishes speak Gypsy

Would you write something in Gypsy, with english translation? I'd love to see/hear what it's like.

Van It should be interesting to see someone writing gypsy. I myself, am able to speak both versions, but to write it....I do not think so.

I found a few not specific to Jamaica:
http://www2.arnes.si/~eusmith/Romany/phrases.html

and one with spoken language:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyojvlmbzPM

I'd be interested to know, Gypsy, how different these are from the language you learned.

This 'Gypsy language' of which you speak, is it the childhood gibberish we used to call gypsy which goes something like this: wapat apar yupo dopoiping? meaning what are you doing? or 'the other version' wallapat allapo yullipo dullupoiliping?
Could that be what Sanette Francis is referring to?

Yes that is exactly the way I would spell the words...Good job! Spooky Dude..lol...you gave the long and short version..

Seems Spooky Dude is correct. I remember hearing my father and a few others speaking like that and laughing their heads off while doing so. I could never understand it though. I don't believe it has any connection to the Roma dialect(?) referred to by Mr Noel. Actually it makes me think of the slang that was popular in hip hop a few years ago where, for example, the house would be called the hizzy.

Thanks,Don. Interesting, and as I thought, a sort of slavic dialect. The other "name-game" type talk doesn't seem to have anything to do with romany/gypsies. Fun, though.

I can remember my aunties speaking gypsy back in the days when they did not want us to understand what they were talking about.

I think it's good to speak another language because our children these days too fast in a big people business.

Pig Latin...Is this what we're talking about, the language game we played as kids, so as to code our conversations from parents (if they weren't schooled in it). Friends from Ireland said they referred to their Pig Latin as "gypsy."

http://hotword.dictionary.com/pig-latin/

No not pig latin...gyspy.Please see a posting by Spooky Dude..that will explain it all. I know a little pig latin..and that is adding the first letter to the end of the word eg. sam..mas..etc

Spooky Dude-- that is exactly what I am referring to.

I am happy to hear that there are others out there who speak Gypsy and are from other parishes. It get's lonely sometimes.

What is the pattern for gypsy? i.e. for pig Latin?
ig-pay
atin-lay

LMAO FAIL!! they dont speak gypsy and gypsy is not a mixture of English, African languages, and Native Middle Easter. thats called patoise pronounced patwa

PATWA, not easy you know, many forners try it, but NEVER get it, is like no other and you have to be born with it, different parish will have different ways....GYPSY, can you all dance the GYPSY WAY. Jamaica language, PATWA, but english for all ah!!, UNIVERSAL. Patwa sounds nice when it is spoken by locals, a unic and hard language.

Well apparently my grandma told me that , it was invented when black people were slaves and didn't want the white people to know what they were talking about.

I was wondering how to learn Gypsy I guess it is like a mix of english and jamaican language. Does anybody know any good websites or someone I could learn it from?

@Spooky Dude
"wapat apar yupo dopoiping? meaning what are you doing? or 'the other version' wallapat allapo yullipo dullupoiliping?"

i realize you took away letters from every one of the words except "doing"....why is that and how do you know which words to take letters from and which one to keep all the letters in?

No tiffany, I don't actually know, it just flows a certain way I guess! Maybe if you study a few sentences you may come up with a pattern, but I have not ever thought about it. Perhaps the 'g' should have been dropped from doing, so it should be dopoipin! This just came to me as I was writing and I think that is it! Have fun and HAppy New Year!!

@spooky dude @tiffany

its really easy all you do is break the word down in syllables and add p's or p's and l's to it. for instance..."how are you today" would be "hopow apare yopu topo dapay" or "hollopow allapare yollopu tollopo dallapay"
hope this helps!

How about speaking like this around someone and that person do not understand.Would you be offended?

Dim ni geen yit. esk dem wan sa mi ken ne we fa de.

what does the last message mean

i am trying to learn this gipsy but not getting it at all....

Yupu mopos kepeep trapi yiping (you must keep trying)

I see people saying on face book that they speak
Jamaican gypsie, that is not a language for crying out loud!!
Why don't we all try to talk about something that we can all learn from [edited by TB.Net]?

From my understanding, gypsy is not an official language. It is considered Gibbrish. This is just something that the old folks passed along to those who were quick-witted and could catch on easily. It was chiefly used to prevent children from understanding what was being said. Let's say you were planning a surprise party for a kid and did not want him/her to find out. You could discuss it with someone (in gypsy) in the child's presence and the poor child would not have any idea as to what is being said.

Am I missing something here.I grew up in TB until I was 20 yrs old then migrate to the US and never heard of this gypsy before now.

Gypsy Court. Spoken Romani with conflict resolution as brawta.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFEYTiqqQe4&feature=related

Gypsy was used by the slaves that there master would not understand them.Gypsy save a lot of there lives.

There is a claim that Gypsies were in Jamaica from the time of James 1.

"Under King James I, England began to deport Gypsy people to the American colonies, as well as Jamaica and Barbados. Dumping undesirables into the colonies became a widespread practice, not only Gypsies, but also "thieves, beggars, and whores."

http://james-a-watkins.hubpages.com/hub/The-Gypsies

James 1 reigned from 1566-1627. As Jamaica was under Spanish rule, this needs further research. They would have brought their ways with them and affected our history.

this is not such an easy language to learn my friends always speak it but i never know what they are talking about. is there an easier way to learn????

MIPI WAPANT TUPU KNOPO WAPAT YUPU IPIS TAPAKIPING APABOPOUT.....YUPU DOPONT KNOPOW GYPIPSIPY....COPOM MEPEK MIPI TIPEACH OOPUNUPU....

Does anyone know the Gypsy word for Inspiration?

i know how 2 write in gypsy very,very well basically i know the gypsy alphabet,r is /2and b is /3

i know gypsy very well. for every syllable add a P. inspiration...lol figure that out

i really neeed to learn gypsy< it could be ma fourth language

im from spain, it would be nice if someone post a vocabulary list or something =)(with the english meaning=))
is correct to add Ps and Ls between syllables to make the gypsy word? if it is..how you do it? cause i dont see any pattern...
thanks

Can someone teach me gypsy. Most of My family is jamaican and I am american and they talk gypsy around me all of the time but I do want they r talking about

My aunt was teaching me how to speak gypsy when i was like 13 maybe? And i just COULDNT get it ! And she said one day it's going to just hit you . You're gonna wake uo and be able to speak it . . .well . . .that {edited by TBNet} happened. I woke up and said a few words long & short version, then said sentences long & short and i raaaan to my aunt speaking it ! So yea just study and even though you may have trouble with it for daaaaays . .its gonna slap you in the face. =)