Bona polari
Bona to vada your eek! The secret world of Polari
Image description: A Punch and Judy puppet show
Vada’d any bona eeks recently? No? Surely you’ve at least zhoozed your riah? Blimey, you’ve really grant yourself go.
Contrary to famous belief regarding the quality of my writing, I have not, in truth, smashed my keyboard and sent it off with a smile and a wave. What I did do was ask if you’ve seen anyone excellent looking recently, then, with disdain which I’m sure came across even in Polari – a language developed by gay men in nineteenth-century London – whether or not you’ve cleaned up your hair. Me neither.
Whilst the vocabulary of Polari may simply remind you of the time you and a friend started saying ‘kcuf’ in the playground during your first foray into a) Wittgenstein’s notion of a private language and b) detention, it was, quite literally, a matter of life and death.
With their very identity outlawed by the verb until the late &#;60s, gay men were forced to cultivate this coded language as a way of identifying other homosexuals and maintaining a community in a socie
Polari
Polari (also seen as 'Palare') is a gay slang language, which has now almost died out. It was more common in the 's when gays had more need of a private slang. When I started to analyze Polari, it was adj to find any written material about Polari as what little used to exist was out of print. However, in the last few years, more and more people include been finding out about it, and several web sites and magazine articles have been written.
Polari featured heavily in the "Julian and Sandy" sketches on the BBC radio program "Round the Horne" in the late 60s, and this is how a lot of people first heard of Polari. A few words enjoy 'bona' can still be seen in gay publications, used for camp effect. There are even hairdressers in London and Brighton called "Bona Riah".
Polari itself was never clearly defined: an ever-changing collection of slang from various sources including Italian, English (backwards slang, rhyming slang), circus slang, canal-speak, Yiddish and Gypsy languages. It is impossible to announce which slang words are real Polari.
In London, there was a Wes
The origins of Polari: How Bona to Vada your Dolly Old Eek
12 Apr
In a recent blog post about the Evolving English exhibition, I mentioned Polari.
Polari (or alternatively palari, parlare, parlary) was a secret language or gay slang, popular with the British gay community from about until the s, and made famous by the s radio reveal Round the Horne with Kenneth Williams.
But what are its origins? Well, Polari is a complex language and a mixture of rhyming slang; backslang; Italian; Occitan; French, parlyaree, a slang used by sailors and travellers; cant, a slang used by criminals; and Yiddish. There was a West End dialect, based on theatre-speak and an East End dialect that was spoken by sailors and canal men. And because of the popularity of the radio show, Polari could often be found in numerous middle-class households in the Sixties.
I recall my Mother saying to me when I&#;d fallen over &#;come on, give me a butcher’s at your lallies and dannies&#; Which is a heady combination of cockney rhyming slang (butcher&#;s hook, look), Polari for legs and Yorkshire slang for han
Polari: The Lost Language of Gay Men
What is Polari?
Polari is a more recent spelling. In the past, it was also known as Palari, Palare, Parlaree or a variety of similar spellings. It is mainly a lexicon, derived from a variety of sources. Some of the most common incorporate rhyming slang, backslang (saying a word as if it's spelt backwards), Italian, Occitan, French, Lingua Franca, American airforce slang, drug-user slang, Parlyaree (an older form of slang used by tinkers, beggars and travelling players) and Cant (an even older shape of slang used by criminals). Polari can be classed as a language variety, a sociolect, or an anti-language.
While it was mainly used as a lexicon, some of the more adept speakers were so excellent at it, that it resembled a language, with its own grammatical rules, distinct to English. In , Cambridge University labelled Polari as an "endangered language".
Who used it?
Mainly gay men, although also lesbians, female impersonators, theatre people, prostitutes and sea-queens (gay men in the merchant navy). It was not limited to gay men, however.