Hantec slang
Hantec is a unique slang previously spoken among lower classes in Brno, Czech Republic during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It developed from the mixing of the Czech language as spoken in Moravia with the languages of other residents of Brno, including Germans and Jews. Today Hantec exists in its original form only among some elderly people, but many words and expressions have become a part of Czech spoken in Brno.
Examples
Hantec | Standard Czech | origin of phrase | English |
zoncna | slunce | from German Sonne | sun |
šalina | tramvaj | from German "elektrische Linie" - "electric line" | tramway |
augle | oči | from German Augen | eyes |
gómat | chápat; myslet | from Czech koumat | to understand; to think |
kostra kántry | upadnout | from Czech kostra and English country | to fall down |
lochec | smích | from German Lachen | laugh |
love | peníze | from Romani | money |
retych | záchod/WC | from Austrian Rettich | toilet |
rola | vlakové nádraží | from German Rollen | railway station |
švimhózny | plavky | from German schwimmen and Hose | swimsuit |
štatl | centrum města | from German Stadt | town |
Štatl | centrum města Brna | from German Stadt | Brno City |
šlofnót | spát | from German schlafen | to sleep |
cajzl | Čech | from German Zeisig | a Bohemian |