Lubunca


Lubunca, Labunca or Lubunyaca is a secret Turkish queer slang and argot used by sex workers and LGBTQ community in Turkey. The term originated from the root lubni, which is the Romani word for "prostitute".

Background

Lubunca is derived from slang used by Romani people,. It contains terms from other languages, including Greek, Arabic, Armenian and French.
Lubunca is an argot of approximately four hundred words and was spoken by the köçeks and between the 17th and 18th centuries. It was later adopted and developed by transvestites. It is believed that it was developed to avoid persecution while secretly communicating in public areas. It has been in use since the late Ottoman era.

Notable Examples

In Lubunca, manti means pleasant or beautiful. Balamoz describes old males. Madilik means evil and gullüm means fun.T