Polari Flashcards
What is Polari?
Language used by gay men and women, Used predominately in the 1950’s during a time where homosexuality was illegal.
What is the first reason why this language was created? (Include example)
To covert their sexuality e.g. Lilly Law = Police, Used female names to mock police force, “She” was used in the first person pronoun, second and third pronoun playing on representation of gender -> too obvious.
How does this link with Jenny Chensire’s work on MLE?
Links: Jenny Chesire It’s her personality man’s looking at “Mans” MLE use of man as pronoun -> part of youth identity/culture - > being a part of a group -> using man is a shibboleth to show you belong to the group.
What is the second reason why this language was created?
• To test if people were gay or not – Argot/Secret code, To talk about other people secretly.
How does this link with Medical discourse in Occupational discourses?
Doctors and nurses referred to situations and patients used euphemisms such as ‘Jack in the box’ and ‘PITA’ for exactly the same reasons.
What is the third reason why this language was created? (Include example)
lk about taboo subjects. “Kerterver cartzo so nanti arva -> I can’t have sex because I’ve got an STI”. “Cold calling” + walking into the pub looking for company” -> uninvited.
How does this link with Cockney Dialect + other languages?
Links: Cockney Dialect - > Polari took influence form Cockney, Back slang (pronounce words backwards) e.g. emag = “game”, Yiddish, Italian, Theatre Slang & Naval Slang.
What is happening to Polari now?
No, Paul Baker, linguist “should be treated as an endangered language” “we should preserve it” because now it is decreasing because many gay men and women talk covertly about their sexuality.
“Research carried out earl 2000s” 800 gay men half the respondents said they never heard of it, and those that had believed it was outdated and best left behind.
Is it still being used today?
According to Oxford English Blog post (2015) still used for “peculiar fetishes for some members of the gay community.” There is an iPhone app and a magazine.
What is the overall short evaluation we can make?
Language Change, this language is needed but the language has changed for different needs talking about taboo elements and such. Return to talk about taboo topics. This links with M.A.K Haliday’s Functional Theory about how one of the ways language Change can occur is through need. Now there’s a different need, as opposed to the past.
