# Serbian (BCS) : žališ li gi ti?



## Sane Helle

Hello everybody,

I've discovered this wonderful song in the documentary _Whose is this song?_ and I'm trying to figure out the Serbian version : _Ruse kose, curo, imaš_

I understand basically everything, but I'm puzzled by the second line. I think I can hear _žališ li *gi* ti?_ but I have no idea what this _*gi*_ stands for.
It looks like a pronoun, similar to _*ga*_ or _*ih*_. Could anyone explain this to me?


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## WannaBeMe

Sane Helle said:


> Hello everybody,
> 
> I've discovered this wonderful song in the documentary _Whose is this song?_ and I'm trying to figure out the Serbian version : _Ruse kose, curo, imaš_
> 
> I understand basically everything, but I'm puzzled by the second line. I think I can hear _žališ li *gi* ti?_ but I have no idea what this _*gi*_ stands for.
> It looks like a pronoun, similar to _*ga*_ or _*ih*_. Could anyone explain this to me?


 
Hello,

this is Macedonian or Torlak ( a transition dialect between Serbian and Macedonian), I am not shure. 

"Ruse kose, curo, imaš.
Žališ li *gi* ti?"

Blond hair, girl, you have.
Are you sorry for them (kose-hair, is plural form that´s why *gi*-them).
In standard Serbian it would be " Žališ li *ih* ti".


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## musicalchef

I'm not sure about the "gi," but here is the text and translation for the first four lines from this site:  http://29984.rapidforum.com/topic=102371859545&startid=1

Aj, ruse kose, curo, imaš, 
žališ li gi ti? 

Aman, da gi žalim, ne bi' ti gi dala 
da gi mrsiš ti. 

Hey, blond hairs you have, girl, 
Aren't you sorry for them? 

Aman, if I was sorry, I would never  
let you ruffle them. 

We had a discussion about this song on the Eastern European Folklife Center mailing list as well, but I'm probably not allowed to repost it here.


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## musicalchef

Could it be a regional slang because "gi" is just easier to say between "li" and "ti?"  Seems like if it were "ga" or "ih," the line could turn into a real tongue-twister!  

Although maybe it would only be difficult for non-native speakers.


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## WannaBeMe

musicalchef said:


> Could it be a regional slang because "gi" is just easier to say between "li" and "ti?" Seems like if it were "ga" or "ih," the line could turn into a real tongue-twister!
> 
> Although maybe it would only be difficult for non-native speakers.


 
"Gi" is Macedonian and Bulgarian and South-East Serbian Genitive Plural of Personal Pronouns "he, she, it" and it means "them" or "ih" in BCS.


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## Sane Helle

But how come a Macedonian pronoun is used in a Serbian text? Could it be that in certain parts of Serbia (at the border), this form is commonly used?

Edit: oops, I hadn't read your answer properly WannaBeMe... so this would be Torlak, then.

Is it striking for Serbs to hear this form when they listen to the song?


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## Duya

Sane Helle said:


> Is it striking for Serbs to hear this form when they listen to the song?



Well, not particularly on _gi_ itself. But trying to understand Torlak speakers can be striking indeed, depending on how much the speaker sticks to the regional vocabulary and accent. 

By the way, the song "Ruse kose" -- among many of its names -- was the subject of documentary film "Whose is this Song" by Bulgarian author Adela Peeva (http://www.kinokultura.com/specials/5/song.shtml). Now that's a curiosity.


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## dudasd

"Gi" and "gu" are localisms, but they are not a "speciality" of so-called Torlak speach. While "gu" is accusative od "ona" (her), "gi" is both accusative of the regular "*ga*" (him, it), and of "njih" (them), so I'd say that the clue is in analogy. I don't think that people feel "gi" and "gu" as specifically Macedonian words, they just sound "southern".


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## Sane Helle

Thanks a lot for your answers everyone! BCS is really fascinating in its diversity. 4 standards and so many dialects, it's a pleasure for me to get to know it better.

Does anyone know where I can find the Bosnian and Macedonian versions of the song (and their original titles)? I've been looking on the internet, but no luck so far!


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## Duya

There aren't Bosnian and Macedonian versions, as far as I know.


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## musicalchef

Zdravo,

  I thought you may be interested to know that I found a version in a book I’m reading that used “ih” part of the time:

  Ruse kose, curo, imaš, žališ li ih ti?
  Aman, da ih žalim ne bi ti ih dala, da ih mrsiš ti!

  Crne oči, curo, imaš, žališ li gi ti?
  Aman, da gi žalim, ne bi ti gi dala, da gi piješ ti.

  Now, why do you think “ih” used for “kose,” but “gi” used for “oči?”

  Buchanan, Donna A.  “’Oh, Those Turks!’ Music, Politics, and Interculturality in the Balkans and Beyond.”  In _Balkan Popular Culture and the Ottoman Ecumene_.  Ed. Donna A. Buchanan.  Lanham: Scarecrow Press, 2007.  (p.31)


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## musicalchef

I think she collected the above version in Bosnia, btw.

She gives some Bulgarian versions, though:

Ala, tsuro, kose imash,
zhalish li gi ti?

Aman, ga gi zhalim, ne bi ti gi dala,
da gi roshish ti.  

(p.32):  As sung by Zorka Drempetic and transcribed by Anna Ilieva.

She gives a couple other songs that are similar, from different regions, as well.


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## Sane Helle

Duya said:


> There aren't Bosnian and Macedonian versions, as far as I know.



Well, yes, there are, that's exactly what the documentary _Whose is this song?_ is about. There are also Bulgarian, Turkish and Greek versions, but I'm more interested in BCS and Macedonian.


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## musicalchef

Right.  I have got to get my hands on that!


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