Saturday, March 20, 2010

Slang for referring/addressing to professions and to people

Refer the section Use of Karaya above, to understand how the term 'karaya' can be used to create a disrespectful reference to any profession. Moreover simple prefix 'ya' can also be used to create a disrespectful term using the respectful base term. (e.g. Dostara is the respectful slang for a 'Medical Doctor' which is based on the English term. However, Dostaraya (with 'ya' suffix) is a disrespectful or scornful reference to a doctor.

Ban (බන්) or Bang (බං) - General friendly way of addressing a male or female. Mostly used by males to address males (e.g. Mokada ban ke gahanne? (මොකද බන් කෑ ගහන්නේ) means 'Why are you shouting man?'.) This is similar to Indian expression Yarr or Americanism 'man'.
Bataya (බටයා) - Mocking term for a loyal subordinate or a Henchman. Also note that Henchaiya (හෙන්චයියා) is a slang directly derived from the English slang 'Henchman'. Both terms Bataya and Henchaiya are regarded as derogatory.
Chaminda (චමින්ද) - An euphemism for a very old person. Chaminda is a very common male name which became popular after 1970s. It is highly unlikely for an elderly person born before the Second World War to have the name 'Chaminda'. For this reason, it assumed safe to talk about a situation involving an old person, referring to him as 'Chaminda', so that no one suspects that you are talking about an old person. (e.g. In a bus -> Machan oya Baduwata line daane balagena. Passe seat eke inna Chaminda ekige seeya)
Haalparuwa (හාල්පාරුවා) - Useless, undesirable person.
Jeppa (ජෙප්පා) - Person associated with the political organization JVP or a person having pro-JVP ideology.
Kabba (කබ්බා) - An inferior or weaker person (Especially in sports, game or an activity which requires skill and experience). plural Kabbo (කබ්බෝ)
Kossa (කොස්සා) or Kochchiya (කොච්චියා) - Disrespectful term to refer to a police constable. The respectful slang would be Ralahami (රාලහාමි) which is also used by police officers to refer to fellow officers.
Lokka (ලොක්කා) - Literally 'Big person'. Can be used as a substitute for the slang 'Boss'. Is also used as a jovial but respectful term to address an elderly person.
Machan (මචන්) or Machang (මචං) - Used by males to address a fellow male. Similar to 'Mate' or 'Brother'. Literal meaning (of the original Tamil word) is 'brother-in-law'. 'Machan' (මචං) is rarely used by females to refer to a fellow male (and even rarely to a fellow female) but not regarded as a mainstream usage. Machan (මචං) is quickly becoming the de-facto standard in addressing same age or same rank peers in most social circles, including office environments. In private sector office environments, 'Machan' (මචං) is especially used by senior person to address a subordinate to create (sometimes, false) sense of equity. [1]
Mætta (මැට්ටා) - A foolish person, an idiot.
Pimpiya (පිමිපියා)- Derived from the English word 'Pimp'. Means the same.
Pora (පොර) - Male, Guy. Note that Baduwa (බඩුව) used in this context alongside with Pora (පොර) is the female form, and does not necessarily have a sexual connotation. (e.g. 'Machan, phone ekata answer kale porakda baduwakda?' (මචං, ෆෝන් එකට ආන්ස(ර්) කළේ පොරක්ද බඩුවක්ද?) means 'Who answered the phone, a guy or a gal?'). However, Baduwa (බඩුව) is also used in a sexist context (see below). The term Buwa has similar meaning to Pora. However, Buwa (බුවා) is not as popular term as Pora (පොර). It has specific uses such as Ela Buwa (එළ බුවා) which means 'cool guy' or 'really good guy'. (See also Ela (එළ))
Sikka (සික්කා) - Disrespectful term for Security Guard. Derived from the same English word.
Vesi (වේසි) - Prostitute. See also Gona under Examples of taboo Sexual Slang and Euphemisms section below.