grammelot
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
Unknown. Dario Fo claims a French origin,[1] and it has been linked to grommeler (“to grumble”).[2]
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
grammelot (countable and uncountable, plural grammelots)
- A style of language used in satirical theater: a gibberish with macaronic and onomatopoeic elements, used in association with mime and mimicry.
- 1986 May 25, Scott Rosenberg, “Dario Fo, Italy's Political Clown, Pays a Visit”, in The New York Times[2], →ISSN:
- Actually, much of “Mistero Buffo” doesn't require translation and indeed is untranslatable: Mr. Fo speaks in “grammelot,” a kind of polyglot gabble speckled with an occasional intelligible word.
- 1997 October 15, Mel Gussow, “The Not-So-Accidental Recognition of an Anarchist”, in The New York Times[3], →ISSN:
- Then, dashing in and out of guises, using his expressive face and body and speaking in grammelot so that everyone can understand him, he might improvise. That would surely be a Nobel first, like the winner himself.
- 2016 January 11, David Sant, “How we made Pingu”, in The Guardian[4]:
- The language sounds random – “moot moot” and the rest – but it’s actually quite precise. Theatrically, it’s like Grammelot, a technique that has been used in theatre and commedia dell’arte for hundreds of years.
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Dario Fo (1991) Joe Farrell, transl., Mannuale Minimo dell'Attore [The Tricks of the Trade], Taylor & Francis, →ISBN, page 56: “Grammelot is a term of French origin, coined by Commedia players, and the word itself is devoid of meaning.”
- ^ Eva Marinai, quotee (2016) Mark Evans, Rick Kemp, editors, The Routledge Companion to Jacques Lecoq[1], Routledge, →ISBN: “She goes on to explain that the grammelot that appears in this show for the first time derives from the French ‘grommeler’ (to mutter) that was used by Les Copiaus (Copeau's actors) as warmup vocal/verbal exercises; […]”
