ON THE GYPSYISM <em>MENDA</em>

Abstract

In contrast to Carlos Clavería’s explanation which suggests that the gypsyism menda (‘I’) derives from a Romani locative mande/mandi, this article proposes that menda goes back to a reinterpretation of the Romani form tumendar, an ablative of the second-person plural pronoun. Equally, an alternative form men would come from tumen, the accusative. The process of creating both forms would have begun from a reanalysis of tumen, tumenda(r) as tu menda, tu men (‘you’). This would have been followed by the analogical creation of su menda, su men and mi menda, mi men. This phase would be documented both by the presence of su men (‘you’, polite form) in the gypsy texts of the nineteenth century and by the use of mi menda, tu menda, su menda with the meanings ‘I’, ‘you’, ‘he’. Finally, from mi men, mi menda, usage would have changed to men, menda as the first person singular pronoun.