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Fenya (Russian: феня, IPA: [ˈfʲenʲə]) or fen'ka (Russian: фенька, IPA: [ˈfʲenʲkə]) is a Russian cant language originated among the travelling peddlers and currently used in the Russian criminal underworld and among former detainees of Russian penal establishments ("prison slang"). 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" (Russian: "blatnaya pesnya").

Etymology

Initially, this was the name of the Ofenya 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 (travelling peddlers).

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.

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:

"Ропа кимать, полумеркот, рыхло закурещат ворыханы." (Ropa kimat', polumerkot, rykhlo zakureshchat vorykhany.)
Normative Russian: "Пора спать, полночь; скоро запоют петухи." (Pora spat', polnoch; skoro zapoyut petukhi.)

Translation: "It's time to go to bed, it's midnight, soon the roosters will be crowing."
"Да позагорбил басве слемзить: астона басвинска ухалила дряботницей." (Da pozagorbil basve slemzit'; astona basvinska ukhalila dryabotnitsey.)
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."

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, survived the Gulag and were released after the death of Joseph Stalin and during the Khrushchev thaw. This resulted in the merger of the culture of Gulag prisoners into everyday Soviet life, which resulted a culture shock on both sides.^[2] Particularly members of the intelligentsia, including writers, poets, and journalists who had survived the Gulag as political prisoners, began to regularly use fenya in their writings after their release.

Over time, criminals and black marketeers were covertly admired in working class Soviet culture. This resulted, for example, in "blatnaya songs". Few "common" Russians, however, possess a complete or even complex understanding of fenya and fewer still - for various reasons - will admit to it.

Modern Fenya still influences Russian culture in different ways. In particular, a whole genre of Russian comedy exists, in which a well-known tale, such as Romeo and Juliet, J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, or even a popular fairy tale is satirized by rewriting the dialogue in 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 both profanity and fenya by prisoners was banned by the Russian penal system. This followed a 2013 ban on the use of fenya by Russian corrections officers.^[3]

References

^ Moe. "Отдельные вопросы этимологии блатной фени (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

Glossary of Russian criminal slang (Russian)
Russian criminal slang dictionaries (1859-1927) (Russian)

[1] Moe. "Отдельные вопросы этимологии блатной фени (Russian)". Antisys.narod.ru. Archived from the original on 2012-03-19. Retrieved 2012-03-27.

[2] Examples of certain Russian language expressions' analysis can be found in The Gulag Archipelago^{[pages needed]}

[3] Kramer, Andrew E. (January 14, 2016). "New Prison Rule in Russia: No Swearing". The New York Times. Retrieved January 16, 2016.

[1]

[2]

[3]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|Russian cant language used among criminals}}
-{{Refimprove|date=January 2007}}
+{{More citations needed|date=January 2007}}
-'''Fenya''' (''fenia,'' феня) or '''fenka''' (''fenjka'', фенька) is a [[Russia]]n [[cant language]] used among criminals. Originally it was a [[cryptolanguage]] of ''ofenyas'' or ''ofenes'', old Russian [[peddler]]s, and had a number of names or it might come from the Russian word фен or fen which is the west wind. There are no convincing explanations about the origins of the words "ofenya" and "fenya". In modern Russian language it is also referred to as '''[[blatnoy]] language''' (Russian: блатной язык), where "blatnoy" is a [[slang]] expression for "criminal". It is also widely used in "thieves' songs".
+'''Fenya''' ({{lang-rus|феня|p=ˈfʲenʲə}}) or '''fen'ka''' ({{lang-rus|фенька|p=ˈfʲenʲkə}}) is a Russian [[cant language]] originated among the travelling [[peddler]]s and currently used in the Russian criminal underworld and among former detainees of Russian penal establishments ("[[prison slang]]"). In modern Russian language it is also referred to as '''[[blatnoy]] language''' ({{Langx|ru|блатной язык}}), where "blatnoy" is a [[slang]] expression for "professional criminal". It is also widely used in "thieves' songs" (Russian: "blatnaya pesnya").
+== Etymology ==
+Initially, this was the name of the Ofenya language ({{Langx|ru|офенский язык}}, formerly "[[Suzdal]] dialect"). This is a language that was formed in [[Kievan Rus'|Russia]], in the [[Middle Ages]], and was originally used by the ''ofenyas'' (travelling [[peddler]]s).
+The god-haulers — "ofenyas engaged in the resale of [[Icon|icons]]" created a [[Cant (language)|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.
+The [[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:
+The original ''fenya'' consisted of broken Russian words borrowed from [[Greek language|Greek]] and other foreign languages. [[Vladimir Dahl]] in his ''[[Explanatory Dictionary of the Live Great Russian language]]'' gives the following examples:
-*"Ропа кимать, полумеркот, рыхло закурещат ворыханы." (''Ropa kimatj, polumerkot, ryhlo zakureščat voryhany.'')
+*"Ропа кимать, полумеркот, рыхло закурещат ворыханы." ({{transl|ru|Ropa kimat', polumerkot, rykhlo zakureshchat vorykhany.}})
-*:Normative Russian: "Пора спать, полночь; скоро запоют петухи." (''Pora spatj, polnoč; skoro zapojut petuhi.'')
+*:Normative Russian: "Пора спать, полночь; скоро запоют петухи." ({{transl|ru|Pora spat', polnoch; skoro zapoyut petukhi.}})
-*:Translation: "Time to go to bed, <it's> midnight; roosters will sing soon."
+*:Translation: "It's time to go to bed, it's midnight, soon the roosters will be crowing."
-*"Да позагорбил басве слемзить: астона басвинска ухалила дряботницей." (''Da pozagorbil basve slemzitj; astona basvinska uhalila driabotnicej.'')
+*"Да позагорбил басве слемзить: астона басвинска ухалила дряботницей." ({{transl|ru|Da pozagorbil basve slemzit'; astona basvinska ukhalila dryabotnitsey.}})
-*:Normative Russian: "Да позабыл тебе сказать: жена твоя померла весною." (''Da pozabyl tebe skazatj: žena tvoja pomerla vesnoju.'')
+*:Normative Russian: "Да позабыл тебе сказать: жена твоя померла весною." ({{transl|ru|Da pozabyl tebe skazat': zhena tvoya pomerla vesnoyu.}})
-*:Translation: "Oh, I forgot to tell you: your wife died this spring"
+*:Translation: "Oh, I forgot to tell you: your wife died this spring."
+The vocabulary changed over time, with notable infusion of words of [[Yiddish]] origin.<ref>{{cite web |author=Moe |url=http://antisys.narod.ru/bf.html |title=Отдельные вопросы этимологии блатной фени (Russian) |publisher=Antisys.narod.ru |accessdate=2012-03-27 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319015658/http://antisys.narod.ru/bf.html |archivedate=2012-03-19 }}</ref> 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.
-Also, ''fenya'' included usual Russian words in unusual meanings, like шаблон ''shablon'' (template) for military or police headwear, педаль ''pedal'' for cellphone (recent addition).
+A number  of explanations for this phenomenon are suggested. For one, a significant part of the population, not necessarily criminals, survived the [[Gulag]] and were released after the death of [[Joseph Stalin]] and during the [[Khrushchev thaw]]. This resulted in the merger of the culture of Gulag prisoners into everyday Soviet life, which resulted a [[culture shock]] on both sides.<ref>Examples of certain Russian language expressions' analysis can be found in ''[[The Gulag Archipelago]]''{{pages needed|date= September 2017}}</ref> Particularly members of the [[intelligentsia]],  including writers, poets, and journalists who had survived the Gulag as [[political prisoner]]s, began to regularly use fenya in their writings after their release.
-The vocabulary changed over time, with notable infusion of words of [[Yiddish]] origin.<ref>{{cite web|author=Moe |url=http://antisys.narod.ru/bf.html |title=Отдельные вопросы этимологии блатной фени (Russian) |publisher=Antisys.narod.ru |date= |accessdate=2012-03-27 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319015658/http://antisys.narod.ru:80/bf.html |archivedate=2012-03-19 |df= }}</ref> 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 camp]]s, 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.<ref>See analysis of certain Russian language expressions in [[The Gulag Archipelago]], for example</ref> 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", see [[Shanson]]. Few "common" Russians possess a complete or even complex understanding of fenya and fewer still - for various reasons - will admit to it.
+Over time, criminals and [[Fartsovka|black market]]eers were covertly admired in working class Soviet culture. This resulted, for example, in "[[Blatnaya pesnya|blatnaya song]]s". Few "common" Russians, however, 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''.
+Modern ''Fenya'' still influences [[Russian culture]] in different ways. In particular, a whole genre of [[Russian humour|Russian comedy]] exists, in which a well-known tale, such as ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'', [[J.R.R. Tolkien]]'s ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', or even a popular [[fairy tale]] is satirized by rewriting the dialogue in ''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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/15/world/europe/russia-bans-foul-language-in-some-prisons-no-word-on-enforcement.html |title=New Prison Rule in Russia: No Swearing |author=Andrew E. Kramer |date=January 14, 2016 |access-date=January 16, 2016}}</ref>
+In January 2016, the use of both [[Mat (Russian profanity)|profanity]] and fenya by prisoners was banned by the [[Prisons in Russia|Russian penal system]]. This followed a 2013 ban on the use of fenya by Russian corrections officers.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/15/world/europe/russia-bans-foul-language-in-some-prisons-no-word-on-enforcement.html |title=New Prison Rule in Russia: No Swearing |first= Andrew E. |last= Kramer |date=January 14, 2016 | work= [[The New York Times]] |access-date=January 16, 2016}}</ref>
 ==See also==
 * The article [[Cant (language)|Cant]] lists similar languages in other cultures
-* [[Mat (Russian profanity)|Russian mat]]
+* [[Mat (Russian profanity)]]
 * [[Thief in law]]
@@ Line 36: / Line 42: @@
 * [http://slovar.plib.ru/dictionary/d11/letter/1.html Glossary of Russian criminal slang] (Russian)
 * [http://www.russki-mat.net/argot/Blat.php Russian criminal slang dictionaries (1859-1927)] (Russian)
+{{authority control}}
 [[Category:Russian slang]]