Fenya (Russian: феня, IPA: [ˈfʲenʲə]) or fen'ka (Russian: фенька, IPA: [ˈfʲenʲkə]) is a Russian cant language used among criminals. In modern Russian language it is also referred to as blatnoy language (Russian: блатной язык), where "blatnoy" is a slang expression for "professional criminal". It is also widely used in "thieves' songs".
Initially, this was the name of the Ofen language (Russian: офенский язык, formerly "Suzdal dialect"). This is a language that was formed in Russia, in the Middle Ages, and was originally used by the ofenyas (traveling merchants).
The god-haulers — "ofenyas engaged in the resale of icons" created a cryptolanguage, inventing new roots and leaving the traditional Russian morphology, and used this invented language to communicate "not for other people's ears".
Overview
The grammar of fenya is Russian; the vocabulary has changed over time.
Normative Russian: "Да позабыл тебе сказать: жена твоя померла весною." (Da pozabyl tebe skazat': zhena tvoya pomerla vesnoyu.)
Translation: "Oh, I forgot to tell you: your wife died this spring."
Also, fenya included usual Russian words in unusual meanings, like шаблон shablon (template) for military or police headwear, педаль pedal' (pedal) for mobile phone (recent addition).
The vocabulary changed over time, with notable infusion of words of Yiddish origin.[1] During the times of the Soviet Unionfenya penetrated into common spoken Russian and can no longer be considered cryptic, although it is still commonly associated with those who have connections to the Russian criminal culture or who have spent a significant amount of time incarcerated.
A number of explanations for this phenomenon are suggested. For one, a significant part of the population, not necessarily criminals, went through labor camps, and massive indiscriminate amnesties after the death of Joseph Stalin resulted in a penetration of the subculture of convicts into everyday life in the form of a shock wave.[2] Particularly, many writers, poets, and journalists who had been arrested began to use fenya in their work after release. Another reason comes from the fact that criminal life was romanticized in popular culture: for example, in the form of "blatnaya song". Few "common" Russians possess a complete or even complex understanding of fenya and fewer still - for various reasons - will admit to it.
In January 2016, the use of profanity and fenya by prisoners in pretrial detention centers was banned in the Russian prison system. This follows a 2013 ban on the use of fenya by prison guards.[3]
See also
The article Cant lists similar languages in other cultures
fenya, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, january, 2007, learn. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Fenya news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2007 Learn how and when to remove this template message Fenya Russian fenya IPA ˈfʲenʲe or fen ka Russian fenka IPA ˈfʲenʲke is a Russian cant language used among criminals In modern Russian language it is also referred to as blatnoy language Russian blatnoj yazyk where blatnoy is a slang expression for professional criminal It is also widely used in thieves songs Contents 1 Etymology 2 Overview 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksEtymology EditInitially this was the name of the Ofen language Russian ofenskij yazyk formerly Suzdal dialect This is a language that was formed in Russia in the Middle Ages and was originally used by the ofenyas traveling merchants The god haulers ofenyas engaged in the resale of icons created a cryptolanguage inventing new roots and leaving the traditional Russian morphology and used this invented language to communicate not for other people s ears Overview EditThe grammar of fenya is Russian the vocabulary has changed over time The original fenya consisted of broken Russian words borrowed from Greek and other foreign languages Vladimir Dahl in his Explanatory Dictionary of the Live Great Russian language gives the following examples Ropa kimat polumerkot ryhlo zakureshat voryhany Ropa kimat polumerkot rykhlo zakureshchat vorykhany Normative Russian Pora spat polnoch skoro zapoyut petuhi Pora spat polnoch skoro zapoyut petukhi Translation It s time to go to bed it s midnight soon the roosters will be crowing Da pozagorbil basve slemzit astona basvinska uhalila dryabotnicej Da pozagorbil basve slemzit astona basvinska ukhalila dryabotnitsey Normative Russian Da pozabyl tebe skazat zhena tvoya pomerla vesnoyu Da pozabyl tebe skazat zhena tvoya pomerla vesnoyu Translation Oh I forgot to tell you your wife died this spring Also fenya included usual Russian words in unusual meanings like shablon shablon template for military or police headwear pedal pedal pedal for mobile phone recent addition The vocabulary changed over time with notable infusion of words of Yiddish origin 1 During the times of the Soviet Union fenya penetrated into common spoken Russian and can no longer be considered cryptic although it is still commonly associated with those who have connections to the Russian criminal culture or who have spent a significant amount of time incarcerated A number of explanations for this phenomenon are suggested For one a significant part of the population not necessarily criminals went through labor camps and massive indiscriminate amnesties after the death of Joseph Stalin resulted in a penetration of the subculture of convicts into everyday life in the form of a shock wave 2 Particularly many writers poets and journalists who had been arrested began to use fenya in their work after release Another reason comes from the fact that criminal life was romanticized in popular culture for example in the form of blatnaya song Few common Russians possess a complete or even complex understanding of fenya and fewer still for various reasons will admit to it Fenya influences Russian culture in different ways In particular a whole subgenre of Russian humour exists in which a known tale such as Romeo and Juliet or a popular Russian fairy tale is cast into fenya The dissolution of the Soviet Union and the appearance of New Russians introduced new changes into fenya notably assigning new meanings and accents to common words In January 2016 the use of profanity and fenya by prisoners in pretrial detention centers was banned in the Russian prison system This follows a 2013 ban on the use of fenya by prison guards 3 See also EditThe article Cant lists similar languages in other cultures Mat Russian profanity Thief in lawReferences Edit Moe Otdelnye voprosy etimologii blatnoj feni Russian Antisys narod ru Archived from the original on 2012 03 19 Retrieved 2012 03 27 Examples of certain Russian language expressions analysis can be found in The Gulag Archipelago pages needed Kramer Andrew E January 14 2016 New Prison Rule in Russia No Swearing The New York Times Retrieved January 16 2016 External links EditGlossary of Russian criminal slang Russian Russian criminal slang dictionaries 1859 1927 Russian This language related article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Fenya amp oldid 1109115651, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
