As LGBTQ rights were not yet established in Western countries, queer people had to fear discrimination or even prosecution. To express their ‘unnormal’ sexual identities, gay subcultures were formed, and language varieties, known as gay lingo or gay slang, served as a secret form of communication, and a reinforcement of gay identity within these communities. In Great Britain, mainly London, an anti-language called Polari emerged and was spoken especially in the 1950’s and 60’s (Baker 2002). As homosexual acts under certain circumstances were decriminalized in the United Kingdom, the slow decline of the anti-language began until it vanished almost completely (Baker 2002). Another gay lingo found in the Philippines, referred to as Swardspeak, emerged in the 1970’s, and contrary to Polari, is still actively spoken today. I will analyze how both language varieties compare to one another, and why they progressed differently. The essay will examine what distinguishes slang from other language varieties, will compare the linguistic features and sociolinguistic background of both varieties, and lastly will scrutinize the sociohistorical differences of Great Britain and the Philippines to explain why Swardspeak is still spoken, while Polari is a ‘dead’ variety.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 Slang
2.1 Polari
2.2 Swardspeak
2.3 Comparison of Linguistic Features
3 Sociohistorical Background
3.1 Great Britain
3.2 The Philippines
List of References
1 Introduction
As LGBTQ rights were not yet established in Western countries, queer people had to fear discrimination or even prosecution. To express their ‘unnormal’ sexual identities, gay subcultures were formed, and language varieties, known as gay lingo or gay slang, served as a secret form of communication, and a reinforcement of gay identity within these communities. In Great Britain, mainly London, an anti-language called Polari emerged and was spoken especially in the 1950’s and 60’s (Baker 2002: 13). As homosexual acts under certain circumstances were decriminalized in the United Kingdom, the slow decline of the anti-language began until it vanished almost completely (Baker 2002: 63-125). Another gay lingo found in the Philippines, referred to as Swardspeak, emerged in the 1970’s, and contrary to Polari, is still actively spoken today. I will analyze how both language varieties compare to one another, and why they progressed differently. The essay will examine what distinguishes slang from other language varieties, will compare the linguistic features and sociolinguistic background of both varieties, and lastly will scrutinize the sociohistorical differences of Great Britain and the Philippines to explain why Swardspeak is still spoken, while Polari is a ‘dead’ variety.
2 Slang
Jonathan Green defines slang (other expressions: argot, lingo, langue) as a “marginal, contrarian lexis, created and largely used by those beyond the social, and by extension linguistic, pale“(2016: 9). Paul Baker goes as far as specifying Polari as an anti-language, because his definition of slang would only refer to a variety spoken by almost every member of the speech community (2002: 13). He defines argot as a different form of register from slang, where speakers try to conceal their identity or parts of their speech (ibid). The term he uses to categorize Polari is a more specific one: It is an anti-language for an anti-society which is a “conscious alternative” to society. Gay subculture was an anti-society with Polari being their anti-language (ibid). Both definitions refer to the same features, and to avoid confusion in terms of taxonomy, I will treat both the same and use them interchangeably. The definition I will use is a mix of those definitions. Slang, lingo or anti-language are sociolects used to conceal identity or speech and are a conscious alternative to languages or language varieties of mainstream society.
The reasons to use slang are already mentioned. Anti-societies, such as criminals or gay men, must communicate under circumstances where they can or do not want to reveal certain parts of their identity or their interaction. They interchange words which fall into this category with unfamiliar words formed by word formation processes or borrowed words (examples in 2.1 and 2.2) (Green 2016: 83-93). The slang lexicon is very limited since only words, that would reveal the users’ identities or parts of their speech concerning those, are interchanged (Green 2016: 32).
2.1 Polari
Polari derived from other slangs as Cant, Back slang or Parlyaree as “the result of a number of converging subcultures over many decades” (Baker 2002: 19). Baker states that subcultures serve as problem-solving devices by creating an own social identity“based upon recognisable stereotypes” (2002: 9 f). Polari serves as a “key to enter” the subculture, maintains it, andis a key factor in the construction of gay identities (Baker 2002: 9-14). The Polari speech community therefore not only used the slang for secrecy, but also to construct their identities by accepting and embracing their ‘otherness’.
The slang’s most distinct feature is its vocabulary, which focuses on describing social and sexual identity (Baker 2002: 61), by majorly consisting of words concerning peoples’ occupations, body parts, clothing, sex, sexual orientation, gender, and age (Baker 2002: 41). Polari speakers refer to themselves and others as women and use female words to refer to their effeminacy (Baker 2002: 44). This compares gay men to heterosexual women, for both having men as sexual partners (ibid). With men being viewed as the more powerful gender in society, female references and comparisons “highlight the ‘other’ or disempowered” and contribute to one’s own acceptance and embrace of gay identity by reclamation and identification (ibid).
Word formation processes used are mainly clipping, acronymy, blending, compounding, and suffixation (see examples 1-5) (Baker 2002: 58-60).
manjaree (‘food’ in Parlyaree)à jarry (‘food’ in Polari)
Example 1 Clipping (Baker 2002: 58)
To Be Had à TBH (‘to be sexually available for gay intercourse’)
Example 2 Acronymy (Baker 2002: 59)
fabulous and fantastic à fantabulosa (‘wonderful’)
Example 3 Blending (Baker 2002: 59)
aunt nelly (‘ear’) and fake (‘make/do’) à aunt nelly fakes (‘earrings’)
Example 4 Compounding (Baker 2002: 59)
-ette (‘small’) à drinkettes (‘small drinks’)
Example 5 Suffixation (Baker 2002: 60)
Other words used in Polari are loanwords from French, or names of locations (see example 6).
billingsgate (‘bad language’) from the Billingsgate fish market at the gates of London , where foul language was common
Example 6 Name of Location (Baker 2002: 165)
Stylistic devices were also used, such as euphemisms, homonyms, alliteration (see examples 7-9).
wedding night (‘first time two men have sex together’)
Example 7 Euphemism (Baker 2002:195)
acdc (‘bisexual’) the expression of ‘alternating current’ is used to describe sexual orientation where sex/gender of sex partners can alternate
Example 8 Homonym (Baker 2002: 162)
bibi (‘bisexual’)
Example 9 Alliteration (Baker 2002: 165)
2.2 Swardspeak
Contrary to the United Kingdom, homosexual intercourse in the Philippines was not “subject to arrest or harassment by Police or government officials” (Hart 1990: 28) and closeted homosexuality was tolerated in society (Manalansan 1995: 428). Still, Catacutan states that Swardspeak is an argot, for speakers must conceal the “intended meaning of [their] words”, since two oppressive mechanisms were existing when Swardspeak appeared (fascist regime, discrimination of homosexuality) (2015: 4). This made it impossible for gay Filipino men to speak freely and suppressed them not only in their sexual identity, but also their right of free speech as a Citizen of the Philippines (ibid).
Like Polari, Swardspeak uses vocabulary concerning sexual orientation, sex, gender, occupation, body parts, and appearance (Hart 1990: 32-47). Swardspeak’s lexicon also focuses on femininity (see examples 10,11), as it consists to a great part of expressions for describing effeminacy or using names of female celebrities. This suggests that the Filipino gay identity revolves, like the British gay identity of 1950/60, around embracing and reclaiming the feminine stereotype they are ascribed to.
Swardspeak derived from Spanish, Cebuano, Tagalog and English expressions. It uses the same word formation processes as Polari (see examples 12-15), except for compounding, which I found no evidence for in my references, and also utilizes loanwords from Spanish or Japanese (Pascual 2016: 32).
dang or ding (‘effeminate male homosexual’)
Example 10 Effeminacy (Hart 1990: 33)
Rita Gomez (‘haughty male homosexual’, Rita Gomez is a popular Philippine movie star)
Example 11 Female Celebrity (Hart 1990: 46)
ma- in malayko (‘I don’t know’) and pa- in pakialamko (‘I don’t care’)
Example 12 Clipping (Pascual 2016: 32)
Oh Promise Me à OPM (‘liar’)
Example 13 Acronomy (Pascual 2016: 32)
Suso and tuhod à suhod (‘big bust’)
Example 14 Blending (Pascual 2016: 33)
saytsung (‘sight’) with the suffix -sung which does not change the meaning of sayt (also ‘sight’)
Example 15 Suffixation (Pascual 2016: 32)
Further word formation processes used in Swardspeak are substitution, or metathesis either by syllable switching or full reversal (see examples 16-18)(Pascual 2016: 32).
kili kili (‚armpit‘) à jili jili (also ‘armpit’)
Example 16 Substitution (Pascual 2016: 32)
sibat (‘to leave’ in Tagalog) à batsi (also ‘to leave’)
Example 17 Syllable Switching (Pascual 2016:32)
titi (‘testes’) à itits (also ‘testes’)
Example 18 Full Reversal (Pascual 2016: 32)
Stylistic devices used are onomatopoeia, duplication, and also euphemisms and homonyms (see examples 19-21)(Pascual 2016: 32 f).
kumokokak (‘to talk’) from the sound of a frog
Example 19 Onomatopoeia (Pascual 2016: 33)
chika chika (‘gossip’)
Example 20 Duplication (Pascual 2016: 32)
alas dose (‘erect penis’) from Spanish alas dose (‘12 o’clock’) comparing the appearance of an erect penis to the clock’s hands positions at 12 o’clock
Example 21 Euphemism (Hart 1990: 36)
2.3 Comparison of Linguistic Features
Polari and Swardspeak are constructed very similarly, as both use almost the same word formation processes and stylistic devices in their lexica. Swardspeak uses a few more word formation processes playing with the phonology of words (e.g. onomatopoeia or syllable switching), which could be a result of the different root languages of both slangs.
A main aspect of both slangs is their vocabularies’ contribution to the construction of gay identity in Great Britain and the Philippines. Both anti-languages refer to the same themes, which suggests that both gay subcultures’ identities revolve around the same principles. Both communities play with their effeminate stereotypes and therefore reclaim them. Also, both identities depict the vocabulary that must be concealed, for example sexuality, which reflects which parts of conversations could reveal their gay identity.
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- Sophie-Luise Müller (Autor:in), 2018, Gay Lingo in Great Britain and the Philippines. A Comparison of the Sociolects Polari and Swardspeak, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/465021
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