RUP Rawbone Malon
October 5, 2024 4:58 AM Subscribe
Robin Malan, Rebel Angel has passed.
"Robin Malan – [South African] educator, collator, editor, actor, director, writer, publisher – with decades of service behind him, bowed out on 18 September after a short spell in hospital, aged 84."
I first encountered his anthologies of South African poetry at school, but as an adult I am still obsessed with his book 'Ah big yaws?: A Guard to Sow Theffricun Innglissh'.
A thorough phonetic analysis, accurate in so many ways, of South African English, but absolutely belly achingly funny. I remember my mother-in-law, a retired teacher reading it and laughing out loud, despite being ill with cancer.
The thing was that each example was written in a kind of code which on repeated reading would suddenly reveal its true meaning. A mix of nonsense sounding words and actual English words as phonetic substitutes, perhaps best, and iconically, represented by the title of Jeremy Taylor's song: 'Ag pleez Deddy, wone chew tarkis tootha dry-fin?'.
There's unfortunately little online about this book, although it has often been reprinted, and has even been "used as a reference by the BBC’s drama department".
You can find a few examples here (click on common words and phrases), but here are a few examples of common Innglissh:
Daze off the Wick: Munnay, Chooseday, Whenceday, Thirsty, Frarday, Sarrarray, Sunnay.
Martyr's Horse [known as Ketchup in other parts of the world]
At the cinema
A: 'Thus nufe fillum's got Stief Makween innit. Jew larkkim?”
B: 'Yers. Klunt Eastwards eggshi mah fafe-rit, bit Stief's orso kwart narse.'
If someone wanted to loan my copy of Malan's book they might use the term: Fur kips, meaning in perpetuity. As in: 'Issue borrowurn ut tomb-ie orkin Ahhaffit fur kips?". But my response would probably be: Goat a yell!
Through his word play, Malan also sneaked in subtle political critique (the book was first published in 1972 at the height of Apartheid government censorship).
He included a verse of the South African anthem so that non Afrikaans speakers could sing along: "Aydi blofe fun awnsa hearmill, aydi dip turf unawns sere..."
And included a reference to the central theme of revered Apartheid cultural back story"The Grate Wreck: The most talked-of and written-about journey ever undertaken in South Africa."
Of course South African english has moved on since when this book was first published, however I believe this book stands as a good example of how humour can lead to painless introspection.
Or as Malan might have written:
Laugh's larkatt
Zat awl?
Lukes larket
I first encountered his anthologies of South African poetry at school, but as an adult I am still obsessed with his book 'Ah big yaws?: A Guard to Sow Theffricun Innglissh'.
A thorough phonetic analysis, accurate in so many ways, of South African English, but absolutely belly achingly funny. I remember my mother-in-law, a retired teacher reading it and laughing out loud, despite being ill with cancer.
The thing was that each example was written in a kind of code which on repeated reading would suddenly reveal its true meaning. A mix of nonsense sounding words and actual English words as phonetic substitutes, perhaps best, and iconically, represented by the title of Jeremy Taylor's song: 'Ag pleez Deddy, wone chew tarkis tootha dry-fin?'.
There's unfortunately little online about this book, although it has often been reprinted, and has even been "used as a reference by the BBC’s drama department".
You can find a few examples here (click on common words and phrases), but here are a few examples of common Innglissh:
Daze off the Wick: Munnay, Chooseday, Whenceday, Thirsty, Frarday, Sarrarray, Sunnay.
Martyr's Horse [known as Ketchup in other parts of the world]
At the cinema
A: 'Thus nufe fillum's got Stief Makween innit. Jew larkkim?”
B: 'Yers. Klunt Eastwards eggshi mah fafe-rit, bit Stief's orso kwart narse.'
If someone wanted to loan my copy of Malan's book they might use the term: Fur kips, meaning in perpetuity. As in: 'Issue borrowurn ut tomb-ie orkin Ahhaffit fur kips?". But my response would probably be: Goat a yell!
Through his word play, Malan also sneaked in subtle political critique (the book was first published in 1972 at the height of Apartheid government censorship).
He included a verse of the South African anthem so that non Afrikaans speakers could sing along: "Aydi blofe fun awnsa hearmill, aydi dip turf unawns sere..."
And included a reference to the central theme of revered Apartheid cultural back story"The Grate Wreck: The most talked-of and written-about journey ever undertaken in South Africa."
Of course South African english has moved on since when this book was first published, however I believe this book stands as a good example of how humour can lead to painless introspection.
Or as Malan might have written:
Laugh's larkatt
Zat awl?
Lukes larket
Thanks Scruss for the reference. I didn't know 'Emma Chissit' was Strine. British writer Frank Muir told the story of being at a book signing (his) and thinking someone wanted that as part of his signed dedication.
posted by BrStekker at 10:22 AM on October 5
posted by BrStekker at 10:22 AM on October 5
I just browsed Ah big yaws? on Internet Archive, and yes, Afferbeck Lauder was credited for giving Robin the idea
posted by scruss at 7:19 PM on October 5
posted by scruss at 7:19 PM on October 5
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Sounds like the kind of person you didn't meet every day.
I wonder if Ah big yaws? was inspired by the Strine books by "Afferbeck Lauder", which gave Australian dialect a similar loving treatment.
posted by scruss at 9:20 AM on October 5 [1 favorite]