# Corfiot vocabulary required



## Theseus (Nov 8, 2017)

I have come across this strange Mantinades, using, I think, several Corfiot dialect words I can't make head or tail of & many other difficulties. Can anyone enlighten me? Their context is supposed to be a reaction to the Corfiot Kama Sutra!!!

Πόσοι "*βουρλισμένοι*" πια είναι οι Κερκυραίοι;

Απάντηση από την Κορφιότα Σουρίνα :

Ήξερα τούτο το νησί πως έχει βουρλισμένους,
μα τώρα εις το ίντερνετ και πιστοποιημένους.

*Έβγαλες φόρα τ’ άπλυτα, μας σκούξανε στη ρούγα*
κι από τσι στάσεις του έρωτα, *δεν άφησες φτερούγα*. 

Θέλω ρισπόνσα όμως να πω, του Βαλανειάτη άνδρα,
πως *ζάμπες* είναι οι φίλες του κι αυτός, ίσως *γαλιάνδρα*.

Χωρίς γυναίκα *πού να πας, που στο έχουνε στρωμένο*, I don't understand this bit
φωτιά, γυνή και θάλασσα, ανδρών το πεπρωμένο.

*Ας έρθουμε τσι στάσεις σου*, μα ποιος καταλαβαίνει, Nor this...
το λεξικό χρειάζεται, δεν είναι όλοι μαθημένοι. 

Είναι αργά και δεν μπορώ να γράψω παρακάτω
να κάνεις την μετάφραση, *σερβίρισε* σε πιάτο! Is this an imperative?

Κορφιότα Σουρίνα 04/09/08

Η "βουρλισιά" πάει στο Βαλανιό ... Έτσι για να ευθυμήσουμε λιγάκι !::blush:


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## SBE (Nov 8, 2017)

You don't need a regional vocabulary, Theseus. These words and expressions can be found in any general dictionary of modern Greek. Corfu is not Cyprus and modern Κερκυραίοι have been to through the same school system as the rest of us, so apart form a smattering or regional peculiarities, there's nothing unusual or rare about their speech. If you were to read an 18th c account of Corfiot speech, you might need a glossary now and then. But this is the 21st c. 

βουρλίζομαι/ βουρλισμένος = τρελαίνομαι- σκοτίζομαι/ τρελός (this is a common word in the Ionian islands, but also used in the whole of the west of Greece).
Έβγαλες φόρα τα άπλυτα= βγάζω τα άπλυτα στη φόρα= to wash one's dirty laundry in public, an expression used all over Greece. 
Ρούγα= street/ neighbourhood (here it means neighbourhood), another word that any modern Greek dictionary contains. 
Σκούζω= φωνάζω. Μας σκούξανε= μας ξεφωνίσανε= μας αποδοκίμασαν δημόσια. Surely, there must be no MG dictionary without it and it's certainly not a local expression. 
δεν αφήνω φτερούγα= δεν αφήνω τίποτα= δεν αφήνω ούτε κοκαλάκι = to not leave a morsel (to me the imagery is of someone who consumes a chicken whole, with its wings and all)
ζάμπα= ο φρύνος. Μεταφορικά, η άσχημη γυναίκα. A toad. An ugly woman (and this is the only corfiot expression of the lot). 
γαλιάντρα (ΝΟΤ γαλιάνδρα) = calandra lark. A person who talks too much (like the bird, which is kept for its constant singing) 
πού να πας; Ι don't think this needs any translation. 
που στο έχουνε στρωμένο (the subject here is indicated by πεπρωμένο)= (your fate) has been laid out for you. Not the most elegant use of the greek language, as the author is trying to make the expression fit the verse. Better said by a more talented lyricist as: χωρίς γυναίκα στη ζωή δεν κάνω βήμα (here's your chance to discover Nikos Gounaris, if you have not done so yet). So overall it says: Where can one go without a woman, as it (your fate) is already laid out/ the fate of men is fire, sea and woman (look up your Menander if you don't know what that expression means). 
Ας έρθουμε στις στάσεις σου= let us now come to (the subject of) your positions. Considering it is a reply to something to do with sexual positions, I think this is self explanatory... 
Μα ποιος καταλαβαίνει; Το λεξικό χρειάζεται. Δεν είναι όλοι μαθημένοι. But who understands? A dictionary is needed. Not everybody is used to this. 
σερβίρισε is the imperative of σερβίρω. He is asked to serve the explanation on a plate.


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## Theseus (Nov 8, 2017)

A huge thanks for all this, SBE. These Mantinades came under a site, highlighting 5000 Corfiot words. I was unable to make any headway with them not only because I couldn't find several of the words but, as I said above, I encountered many other difficulties. I followed up the link to the song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWjJfhW2Pmw sung by Nikos Gounaris, where I could translate the words of the lovely song quite easily, apart from the proverbial phrase in the last stanza:-

Χωρίς γυναίκες βρε δεν κάνουμε στιγμή
*κι ας βγάζει μάτι το τρελό του το γινάτι, *
αυτές γλυκαίνουν το πικρό μας το ψωμί
και το φτωχόσπιτο μας φαίνεται παλάτι.

This is an online translation:-

Without a woman, we can’t live even one moment,
*Even if they cut off their nose to spite their face.*
They make our bitter bread sweet
And our poor house seems like a palace. ?? Clearly a wrong translation here & some vocabulary lists translate γινάτι as 'persuasion'.
They make our bitter bread sweet
And our poor house seems like a palace. 

What do the words in bold mean here?

I have this note on the quote from Menander you mentioned above:-

"Greeks’ minds will be blown be the fact that πῦρ, γυνή, καὶ θάλασσα, “fire, woman, and the sea”, have been lumped together in an Ancient Greek maxim. (It has been attributed to Aesop: Πῦρ γυνὴ καὶ θάλασσα, δυνατὰ τρία, “Fire woman and the sea, these are the three strong things.” And Menander: Θάλασσα καὶ πῦρ καὶ γυνὴ τρίτον κακόν “Sea and fire, and woman is the third evil.”)

I’ll add that the only misogynistic thing about the saying is that it is hetero-andro-centric. Intimate partners, male, or female, are a source of emotional risk, just as fire and water are a source of physical risk, which can turn to good or evil. (Hence Aesop’s wording: not ‘evils’, but ‘strong things’.)" :mellow:


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## SBE (Nov 9, 2017)

The expression is: 
το γινάτι βγάζει μάτι = stubbornness can have catastrophic consequences (you might lose an eye, for example). 
In the lyrics τρελό γινάτι= crazy stubbornness. 
So κι ας βγάζει μάτι το τρελό τους το γινάτι = even though their stubbornness is unbearable.


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## SBE (Nov 9, 2017)

And by the way, here's another humorous song from the 50s.


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## Theseus (Nov 9, 2017)

Thanks, SBE. I had a version which read του not τους. Your version makes sense & is correct anyway according to Kithara. I'm 'attempting' to translate the homework (sic Earion:)) song you gave me above. It's tough but I'll enter it under a different thread.


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