Polari is English slang used mainly by gay males. Polari was popularised in the 1950's and 1960's as a 'secret' language between only gay males. The language was very popular and well known in the London area. Polari language is made of words that secretly refer to the english language unknowingly. In my opinion i think that Polari language is a good way of keeping your sexulaity unknown and only known to others over the same sexuality.
Polari was mainly used between gay males as it was seen as 'wrong' by some people to have a same sex relationship. To not offend and leasd a normal(ish) life, gay males were able to feel comftable when out and about and feel at ease with all social groups.
Some may view Polari as a pointless language, and may not understand its need back in the 50's and 60's. Polari has pretty much died out now and is no longer really used. This is because being a homosexual is not such a big issue as it was. People now can be accepted for who they are, without having to hide there true self.
in my opinion i think that the Polari language was a good way for homsexual men to interact with eacher when and about without feeling threaten by others who may over hear. However nower days i think that Polari is not really neccessary as everyone should be able to except anyone for who they are no matter if they are lesbian, gay, straight, or transgender. Everyone should be seen equally through the eye. However this was unable to open back in the days of Polari hence the popularity of the language.
Polari only began with 20 words making up the language and now there is more than double the amount. Polari has now evern slipped into mainstream english language with words such as bod, camp and bevvy. As i have made out Polari is mainly used by male homosexuals, however some words are used by drug dealers so they can trade in 'secret' as such.
Really interesting to read your thoughts about Polari, Sophie. In fact, not all Polari words have been recorded but where some people have tried to create a lexicon (i.e.Paul Baker) it amounts to at least one fifty words. It does still get used by older gay males. Deborah Cameron has also identified that young gay males, lesbians and bisexuals are using a type of language which she calls "gayspeak" which is a modern equivalent. So perhaps it's not just about keeping your language "secret" but also about creating a separate identity?
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