The curious port language of the dockworkers of La Barceloneta
Especially since the 70s, the world of dockworkers has developed their own professional and colloquial jargon, a port language with terms of curious origin. Over time, most dock workers, especially those from La Barceloneta, were known by their nicknames.
Some examples of their own terms:
-“De papel”: referring to the temporary workers who were hired to cover peak workloads.
– ” Rojillo” : Dockworkers who were assigned to a company on a permanent basis and therefore did not participate in the rotating shift system. Their red card gives rise to their name.
– “La plaza”: Space where recruitment takes place daily. “Being in plaza” means being in this shift system.
– “La calabaza”: used to sort out the order of priority of the companies against others to apply for dockworkers. Each company is a token randomly drawn from the empty pumpkin.
-“The xixarra ” : megaphone used in Assemblies . The name is of Valencian origin, influenced by the large number of Levantine dockworkers at the beginning of the 20th century.
– “La poza”: workspace at the foot of the ship. Originally, when the pavement was made of dirt and puddles, there were abundant pools of retained water. Currently, for safety at work, the pavement is clean and constantly maintained.
Nicknames
There are nicknames for all tastes.
In the Port, few people are spared from being renamed with nicknames . It is already a historical tradition. The origin of these nicknames is so varied and creative that it can be classified in different groups.
Examples of nicknames:
- Referring to a person’s character or psychological attributes: Bufanúvols , Nervio, Dimoni , Mechacorta , Cuidado, Kungfu …
- Referring to geographical origin: Valencia, Lleida, Madrid , Malulo , Murcia, Paco España, Argentina…
- Referring to a physical attribute: Chatini , Nassus , Bocachocho , Sincu , Cachas, Mandingo , Negro…
- Referring to an anecdote: Coronitas, Camiseta, Pues-pues, Poropo , Banana, Tomato…
- Related to professions: Undertaker, Lawyer, Picoleto…
- Referring to clothing, food and others: Patera, Tutu, Trumpet, Calzones, Barrecha , Anxova …
- Referring to the similarity with a famous or fictional character: Pocholo, Asdrúbal, Chenoa , Paz Padilla…
- Referring to animals: Buffalo, Mud Lion, Little Bird…
- Referred to relatives or people: Tete, Tiet , La Lola, Agapito…
- Very frequent use of diminitives referring to the children of previously known stevedores: Miguelete, Carlitos, Sebitas … and abbreviations of complete words, such as Chacho (from the Spanish, Muchacho).
