Phonology

Caló has six vowels:^[3]

It has the following consonant inventory:^[3]

Notable phonological features of Iberian Caló are:^[3]

• the loss of the distinction between aspirated /pʰ tʰ kʰ tʃʰ/, unaspirated /p t k tʃ/ and voiced /b d ɡ dʒ/.
• the merger of /b/ and /v/ – betacism.
• affrication of /t d/ to /tʃ dʒ/ before the front vowels /i/ and /e̞/ cf. Brazilian Portuguese /ti/, /di/ > [tʃi ~ tɕi], [dʒi ~ dʑi].

Samples

Spanish Romani:

Y sasta se hubiese catanado sueti baribustri, baribustri, y abillasen solictos á ó de los fores, os penó por parabola: Manu chaló abri á chibar desqueri simiente: y al chibarle, yeque aricata peró sunparal al drun, y sinaba hollada, y la jamáron as patrias e Charos. Y aver peró opré bar: y pur se ardiñó, se secó presas na terelaba humedad. Y aver peró andré jarres, y as jarres, sos ardiñáron sat siró, la mulabáron. Y aver peró andré pu lachi: y ardiñó, y diñó mibao á ciento por yeque. Penado ocono, se chibó á penar á goles: Coin terela canes de junelar, junele.

Parable of the Sower, Luke, 8, 4–8, as published by George Borrow in 1838^[8]

Compare with a Spanish version:

Cuando una gran multitud se reunió y personas de cada ciudad fueron donde Jesús, Él les habló con una parábola. «Un campesino salió a sembrar su semilla. Al sembrar algunas cayeron en la carretera; fueron pisoteadas y se las comieron los pájaros del cielo. Otras semillas cayeron encima de la roca, tan pronto como crecieron se secaron porque no tenían humedad. Otras cayeron entre los espinos, y los espinos crecieron con éstas y las sofocaron. Otras cayeron en tierra buena; crecieron y dieron fruto, cien veces más.» Después de decir estas cosas gritó, «¡Aquel que tiene oídos para escuchar, que escuche!»^[9]

Spanish

Many Caló terms have been borrowed in Spanish (especially as slangisms and colloquialisms), often through flamenco lyrics and criminal jargon (germanía).

Examples are gachó/gachí ("man/woman", from gadjo/gadji), chaval ("boy", originally "son", also present in English as chav^[10]), parné ("money"), currelar or currar ("to work"), fetén ("excellent"), pinreles ("feet"), biruji ("cold"), churumbel ("baby"), gilí ("silly, stupid"), chachi ("outstanding, genuine"), (un)debel or debla ("god/goddess"), mengue ("demon"), chorar ("to steal"), also present in English slang as to chaw, molar ("to be appealing to someone"), piltra ("bed"), acais ("eyes"), chola ("head"), jeró ("face"), napia ("nose"), muí ("mouth"), lache ("shame"), pitingo ("vain"), chungo ("bad, nasty, dodgy"), guripa ("cheeky, soldier"), ful ("fake"), paripé ("pretence"), juncal ("slender, graceful"), pure or pureta ("old"), sobar ("to sleep"), quer or queli ("house"), garito ("house, gambling den"), jalar ("to eat"), cate ("hit"), jiñar ("to defecate, to fear"), diñar ("to give, to die"), palmar ("to die"), chinarse ("to get upset"), langui ("lame"), chalado or pirado ("crazy"), pirarse ("to leave", "to make oneself scarce"), changar ("to break"), chivarse ("to denounce sb, to squeal"), chivato ("informer"), hacerse el longuis ("to pretend to be absent-minded"), pringar ("to get sb mixed up, to overdo"), chingar ("to have sexual relations, to bother"), chinorri ("little"), najar ("to flee"), privar ("drink, to drink"), mangar ("to steal"), nanay ("no way, there isn't"), chorizo ("thief"), achantar ("to intimidate"), pispar ("to nick"), birlar ("to nick"), achanta la muí ("shut your mouth"), canguelo or cangueli ("fear"), cañí ("Romani person"), calé ("Romani person"), caló ("language of the Iberian Kale"), calas ("money"), curda ("drunkenness"), menda ("myself"), and galochi ("heart").^[11]

Some words underwent a shift in meaning in the process: camelar (etymologically related to Sanskrit kāma, "love, desire") in colloquial Spanish has the meaning of "to woo, to seduce, to deceive by adulation" (but also "to love", "to want"; although this sense has fallen into disuse),^[12] but in Caló it more closely matches the Spanish meanings of querer ("to want" and "to love"). In addition camelar and the noun camelo can also mean either "lie" or "con".

Caló also appears to have influenced Madrid slang cheli and quinqui, the language of another Iberian group of travellers who are not ethnically Romani. Gacería, a cant spoken by makers of agricultural equipment in a village of Segovia, also derives some words from Caló.

Catalan

To a lesser extent than in Spanish, Caló terms have also been adapted into Catalan as slangisms and colloquialisms, most of which were taken adopted from Spanish slang.

Examples are halar (pronounced [həˈla] or [xəˈla]; "to eat"), xaval ("boy"), dinyar(-la) ("to die"), palmar(-la) ("to die"), cangueli ("fear"), paio ("non-Romani person"), calés ("money"), caló ("language of the Iberian Kale"), cangrí ("prison"), pispar ("to nick"), birlar ("to nick"), xorar ("to steal"), mangar ("to steal"), molar ("to like"), pringar ("to get sb mixed up, to overdo"), pirar(-se) ("to leave, to make oneself scarce"), sobar ("to sleep"), privar ("drink, to drink"), ("pleb"), laxe ("shame"), catipén ("stink"), xaxi ("outstanding, genuine"), xivar-se ("to denounce sb, to squeal"), xivato ("informer"), xinar(-se) ("to get upset"), fer el llonguis (lit. "Do a long one" fig. "to pretend to be thick/slow") and potra ("luck").^[13][14]

Portuguese

There are a small number of words of Caló (Calão) origin and many of those are indirect loans, borrowed via Spanish.

The examples generally understood by most or all speakers of Portuguese include gajo (pronounced [ˈɡaʒu], "man, dude", primarily in Portugal),^[15] chavalo ("lad, young boy"), chunga ("bad, nasty, dodgy"), pirar-se ("to leave"), chibar-se ("to denounce sb, to squeal"), chibo ("informer"),^[16] baque ([ˈbaki], [ˈbakɨ],^[17] generally "impact", but in this sense "sudden happiness"), pileque ([piˈlɛki], [piˈlɛk(ɨ)], "drunkenness"),^[18] chulé ("bad smell of feet),^[19] pirar-se ("to leave"),^[20] pirado and chalado^[21] ("crazy").^[20][22]