The Lees and Shelbys are gypsies, so the producers thought they should speak the language so there would be a degree of trust between the characters. The mistake here though is that the language spoken is Romanian, not Romani, a gypsy language.
The phrase “tickna mora o'beng” is in Romani (also spelled “Romany”), an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Romanichal Travellers in England as well as several other countries. In an interview with Digital Spy, series creator Steven Knight explained the meaning.
Tommy Shelby and his kin are Irish-Romani (sometimes spelled Romany) Gypsies, a unique cultural and ethnic group present in Britain since the 1500s. The award-winning Peaky Blinders is directed by Steven Knight and has run for 6 seasons, the most recent hitting U.S. Netflix in June 2022.
The Shelbys are specifically of Irish-Romani descent, but they refer to themselves and other Romani with the blanket term “Gypsies” in the show. Tommy Shelby, the gang's leader, along with his siblings, Arthur, John, Ada, and Finn, have Irish-Romani heritage on both sides and consider themselves Gypsy.
They don't. They're speaking Shelta , which is a mixed language used by the Irish Traveller community. This is unsurprising given that the Shelbys are of Irish Traveller descent (this is referenced several times throughout the various series), not Romani descent.
Romani, the common language of the Roma, the Sinti, the Kale and other European popula- tion groups summarised by the pejorative denomination gypsies, belongs to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family and is the only New-Indo-Aryan language spo- ken exclusively outside of the Indian subcontinent.
Although Travellers speak English in most situations, they often speak to each other in their own language; for Irish Travellers this is called Cant or Gammon* and Gypsies speak Romani, which is the only indigenous language in the UK with Indic roots.
– The Romani gypsy words spoken by Ruby in her fevered state appear to be “Tikno mora o beng o beng”. In this English/Romani dictionary, 'tikno' means child or small, 'mora' or 'maura' means to slay or kill, and 'o beng' means 'the devil'.
Romanians greet friends casually by saying “Salut” or “Bună” (Hello). One may greet strangers with the more formal phrase “Bună dimineața/ziua/seara” (Good morning/day/evening) depending on what time of day it is.
Gypsies (including English Gypsies, Scottish Gypsies or Travellers, Welsh Gypsies and other Romany people) Irish Travellers (who have specific Irish roots) Roma, understood to be more recent migrants from Central and Eastern Europe.
In an interview with Digital Spy, the creator himself, Steven Knight, explained the meaning of "Tickna mora o'beng." "It's difficult to translate from the Romani, but it means 'devil.
Miriam. Cillian Murphy has been revealed he lived with Romany gypsies while preparing for his role in new BBC drama Peaky Blinders. The actor revealed he hung out with gypsies in order to learn what life would have been like for them.
The word “Roma / Romani” means “man/people,” and it is used as an ethnonym (the name applied to a given ethnic group). The feminine form is “Romni,” and they speak the Romany language. Indeed, the word Romani sounds like the word Romanian, but this is just a coincidence. So no, Roma does not mean Romanian.
The final scene saw Lizzie telling Tommy that their daughter, Ruby, had fallen ill with a fever, and had been repeating the Romani words, "Tickna mora o'beng".
Tommy Shelby, Cillian Murphy
The actor, famous for his roles in Inception and 28 Days Later was born in Douglas, an Irish suburb in Cork, but he masterfully manages to switch his Irish accent into Tommy Shelby's Birmingham lilt.
Cillian Murphy has revealed how he mastered a Brummie accent for his lead role as Tommy Shelby on Peaky Blinders. The 45-year-old actor admitted that he recorded pub goers in Birmingham, together with the show's creator Steven Knight, to convincingly turn his Cork accent into that of a Peaky Blinder.
Romani (/ˈrɒməni, ˈroʊ-/; also Romany, Romanes /ˈrɒmənɪs/, Roma; Romani: rromani ćhib) is an Indo-Aryan macrolanguage of the Romani communities.
Introduction. Romanian (or limba română in the language itself) is a Latin-derived language related closely to languages such as Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese.
Roma, singular Rom, also called Romany or Gypsies (considered pejorative), an ethnic group of traditionally itinerant people who originated in northern India but live in modern times worldwide, principally in Europe.
Background. Polly originates from the criminal Gypsy family the Shelbys. She's the daughter of Mr. Shelby and Birdie Boswell. Her brother is Arthur Shelby Sr. Polly tells her son Michael Gray that his grandmother was a Gypsy Princess.
Speaking to Digital Spy, show creator Steven Knight said: "It's difficult to translate from the Romani, but it means 'devil'.
Roma (Gypsies) originated in the Punjab region of northern India as a nomadic people and entered Europe between the eighth and tenth centuries C.E. They were called "Gypsies" because Europeans mistakenly believed they came from Egypt. This minority is made up of distinct groups called "tribes" or "nations."
In fact, if a person has Roma blood, many of the DNA tests will indicate South Asian ancestry as well as Middle Eastern, and then, perhaps, also European ancestry such as Hungarian, Bulgarian, Swedish, or Portuguese, but it might be any mix.
Most Eastern European Roma are Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, or Muslim. Those in Western Europe and the United States are mostly Roman Catholic or Protestant. In southern Spain, many Roma are Pentecostal, but this is a small minority that has emerged in contemporary times.
Regardless of the origin theories, Lowland Gypsies are still viewed as a Romani group, with Romani culture being a part of Scottish Lowland Gypsy culture.