# Croatian (BCS): Term



## glbath

When I was young, my friend's father would always say "yeska bobba horns labonia" (I'm taking great liberty with the spelling.  He was from a Slavic background.  I never knew what he was saying - hopefully it's clean   Thanks!

glbath


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## Brazilian dude

I would say it's gibberish.

Brazilian dude


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## Jana337

glbath said:
			
		

> When I was young, my friend's father would always say "yeska bobba horns labonia" (I'm taking great liberty with the spelling.  He was from a Slavic background.  I never knew what he was saying - hopefully it's clean   Thanks!
> 
> glbath


Hi and welcome! 

I have no clue... Some words sound familiar if I bend them a bit (actually, there are multiple words that are mildly similar to what you wrote), but I cannot make sense of it.

It would certainly help if you could specify where exactly your friend's father came from and what kind of situation could lead him to saying it. Also, did you have a particular reason for naming this thread "term"?

Jana


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## glbath

I have no good reason for using "term" - I should have indicated I was looking for a translation to a slang term.

He would use it in fun when frustrated with something or someone like you might say drat or an expletive - but it didn't seem to be a bad word and it wasn't when he was angry or anything.

I don't know where his family was from - his last name was Amizich.

Thanks.


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## Jana337

glbath said:
			
		

> I have no good reason for using "term" - I should have indicated I was looking for a translation to a slang term.
> 
> He would use it in fun when frustrated with something or someone like you might say drat or an expletive - but it didn't seem to be a bad word and it wasn't when he was angry or anything.
> 
> I don't know where his family was from - his last name was Amizich.
> 
> Thanks.


Croatian, then (Amižić). Wait for our Croatian friends, please. 

Jana


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## natasha2000

Jana337 said:
			
		

> Croatian, then (Amižić). Wait for our Croatian friends, please.
> 
> Jana


 
Bufff, Jana... You may be right, but the father's friend also could be from Bosnia (Amidžić), or even from Serbia, Sandžak. Whereever he came from, I am supposed to be able to understand, and I don't.  (Unless he comes from Zagorje or maybe Dalmatia, sometimes it is hard to understand them due to a great number of Italian words they took over - I mean in Dalamatia, the Zagorje people are impossible for me to understand, it is a dialect that is closer to Slovenian than to Croatian).
Glbath, it is VERY free spelling .... Nonetheless, I suscribe to this thread, because I am interested to see what this means.

PS: Can you describe some specific situation in which your father's friend used this sentence?


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## Seana

Hi, 

Do you know what was it associated me with?

I am from Poland and it is only one funny sentence or question I join with it at first glance. So, would you have a look:

*Jest ta baba ... albo nie?
*
It is harsh said question in a little "macho" way and means:
Is there that ... woman or not.

So, if you don't mind I am going to do a little analysis  

"yeska bobba horns labonia"

"yes=jes...ka=ta...bobba = baba... _horns?? I have no idea maybe it could be some swearword but soft and not that bad, in this place )_...labo=albo or lebo...nia=nie" ?

It is  Polish version but I think it could be little similar in Czech or others Slavs.
It is only my rough supposition using my mutual intelligibility all what I know about Slavic languages.
Do you agree with me?

Best regards Seana


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## natasha2000

Seana said:
			
		

> Hi,
> 
> Do you know what was it associated me with?
> 
> I am from Poland and it is only one funny sentence or question I join with it at first glance. So, would you have a look:
> 
> *Jest ta baba ... albo nie?*
> 
> It is harsh said question in a little "macho" way and means:
> Is there that ... woman or not.
> 
> So, if you don't mind I am going to do a little analysis
> 
> "yeska bobba horns labonia"
> 
> "yes=jes...ka=ta...bobba = baba... _horns?? I have no idea maybe it could be some swearword but soft and not that bad, in this place )_...labo=albo or lebo...nia=nie" ?
> 
> It is Polish version but I think it could be little similar in Czech or others Slavs.
> It is only my rough supposition using my mutual intelligibility all what I know about Slavic languages.
> Do you agree with me?
> 
> Best regards Seana


 
Well... Jest ta baba ..... has more sense in Serbian/Croatian/Bosnian....

Jeste ta baba... Jeste=It is; ta=this; baba=old woman, grandma
What would be It is this old woman...

The other part of the sentence does not have any sense.

I have already thought that there might be some "baba" there... The only word that sounded me familiar....


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## glbath

Thanks for checking into this for me - I wish I had more information and I have no idea how to spell what he said, but my friends and I picked it up as a bit of slang and used it as you might say Oy vay.  

I have just been curious and I'm no longer in touch with the friend and her father has passed on so it may remain a mystery.

Thanks again,


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## Seana

In Poland "baba" is used in common parlance very often. It is not the same as a grandma. There is only one moment when baby says that to its grandma, when it says the very first word - it says 'baba' for grandma, never again.
In tongue in cheek 'baba' could be every woman, even not too old. 
Very often it is just a wife for his husband ( it is not too high Polish of course).



			
				natasha2000 said:
			
		

> It is this old woman...
> 
> The other part of the sentence does not have any sense.


 
The next one part of the sentence - 'labonia", I have got as "albo nie?' or the same in Czech 'lebo nie' . It is some kind of question tag but not high Polish. 

So this sentence is question tag in Polish.

In English it could be somewhat like this.

There is the (...) woman or isn't?

Jes ta baba.........lebo nie?

yeska bobba horns labonia

It is little bit similar isn'it?

Maybe this sentence is kind of 'hybride'  

English word 'horn' in this sentence has the sence as well. In Polnad it said 'horned' (rogaty) described a woman who is stubborn and quarrelsome.
But never use it for the men. It means a man who was unfaithfuled by his woman. It is insulted for him. 

"Oy vay" suggests his Hebrew roots.

greetings


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## Jana337

Seana said:
			
		

> The next one part of the sentence - 'labonia", I have got as "albo nie?' or the same in Czech Slovak 'alebo nie' (in Czech: nebo ne). It is some kind of question tag but not high Polish.


I don't want to damp your enthusiasm, but look at the Croatian words for "or".

Jana


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## natasha2000

Jana337 said:
			
		

> I don't want to damp your enthusiasm, but look at the Croatian words for "or".
> 
> Jana


 
Well... It certainly does not look like a word ILI (or), but from "nebo ne", the word "ne" might be a part of a "question tag", which is ZAR NE?

For example:
She is pretty, isn't she¿
Lepa je, zar ne?


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## Seana

Jana, you have choisen Croatian language by yourself, after taken into consideration only the name Amizich that could be the same in many Slavs countries. Very often Polish names are  ended by -icz or -ycz (-ich) too. *glbath *never said that it was Croatian family.
 I still consider that it could be Slovac or Polish version of "or" albo or alebo. That is all.
BTW Jana, you are so severe -  little more sence of humour


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## Jana337

Seana said:
			
		

> Jana, you have choisen Croatian language by yourself, after taken into consideration only the name Amizich that could be the same in many Slavs countries. Very often Polish names are  ended by -icz or -ycz (-ich) too. *glbath *never said that it was Croatian family.
> I still consider that it could be Slovac or Polish version of "or" albo or alebo. That is all.
> BTW Jana, you are so severe -  little more sence of humour


Point taken.  I googled the name and the links were predominantly Croatian. But you are right, it is just a hypothesis.

Jana


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## alby

Phrase doesn't sounds Croatian, but It's hard to figurate out because of the speling, anyway sentance has no sense to me. And it definetly doesnt belong to Dialect of Dalmatia or Zagorje.

Nataša


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## Maja

Well, "yeska bobba" might be similar to "jesti boba" in Serbian, which means  "eat broad beans" but other than that I have no idea. And  I can't think of any sayings in which broad beans are  mentioned that can match the rest of the sentence.

Sorry


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## templar414

I think that this can be some saying that goes like this : Jes' ta baba, al' _????(something)_ nije. The meaning is _It is that old woman, but ????(something) is not. _
I think that late MR. Amizic used short terms, hence:
Jes' - short for Jest (It is)
al' - short for Ali (but)


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## ZoxX

glbath said:
			
		

> "yeska bobba horns labonia"
> glbath



Sounds as "Jesus Bog i sveta Marija" to me.


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## tarik_ze

Maybe _horns labonia_ means _horna slavonia. _Just guessing.


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## natasha2000

Why do yo all take it for granted that it was a Croatian?

Glbath said himself that he didn't know which language was in question....

I think he will never discover it either...


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## ZoxX

It doesn't make a difference which language it is, as far as it's close to Croatian, Croatian might help.
"yeska bobba" definitely comes to "Jesus Bog" or "Jesuška Bog" because of the context. Nobody mentioned the context. Let's suppose Amizic is a Croat. Jesus Christ fits perfectly.
The rest, “hors labonia” makes less sense. The first which came to my mind was “hor|s labonia => hura Slavonija” close to what Tarik suggested.
It doesn't make too much sense. That was a reason why I switched to more common phrase either “i majka Marija” or “i sveta Marija”.
Please note that not only spelling is approximation, OP mother tongue is English, he speaks no Slavic language, he was a child at that time. He repeated that phrase in his mind for many years. It's probable he altered it a lot.
So I prefer more psychological approach, sorry I'm psychologist. Thus I found the closest common phrase which might fit.


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## TonySanDiego

natasha2000 said:
			
		

> Well... It certainly does not look like a word ILI (or), but from "nebo ne", the word "ne" might be a part of a "question tag", which is ZAR NE?
> 
> For example:
> She is pretty, isn't she¿
> Lepa je, zar ne?


 


Hold on. You reply to a question about Croatian with Serbian? To stay consistent, it's "Lijepa je, zar ne?"


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## natasha2000

TonySanDiego said:
			
		

> Hold on. You reply to a question about Croatian with Serbian? To stay consistent, it's "Lijepa je, zar ne?"


 
Yes. Do you have any problem with this?


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## b_fly

ZoxX said:
			
		

> Sounds as "Jesus Bog i sveta Marija" to me.


 
My God!! I never would guess something like that!
But it really make sense…!!
Wow!!
When I read it, my first thought was – nonsense.


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