Cant (language)
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Cant is an example of a cryptolect, a characteristic or secret language used only by members of a group, often used to conceal the meaning from those outside the group.
The original meaning of "cant" was a secret language supposedly used by rogues and vagabonds in Elizabethan England. This Thieves' Cant was a feature of popular pamphlets and plays particularly between 1590 and 1615, but continued to feature in literature through the 18th century. There are questions about how genuinely the literature reflected vernacular use in the criminal underworld.
In modern times "Cant" is used sometimes to refer to Shelta (alternatively known as Sheldru, Gammon, or The Cant), the cryptolectic language of Irish Travellers based on Irish Gaelic and English, indeed the word Cant is believed to be derived from the Irish word "Caint", to speak. In Scotland, it refers to the mix of Romani, Scottish Gaelic and Scots used by Scottish Gypsies and Travellers. Scottish Highland Travellers also used a form of Gaelic backslang known as Beurla Regaird.
An example of a cant language which has been introduced widely into the mainstream is the Polari language which was used extensively in the BBC radio series Round the Horne during the 1960s.
[edit] Examples of cants
- Thieves' cant -- language used mostly in former times by thieves, beggars and hustlers.
- Shelta language/Gammon/Travellers' cant - spoken by some Irish Travellers
- Polari (or Palare) - spoken by British Fairground travellers since the 17th century and members of the British gay community in the 20th century, made well-known by Julian and Sandy in the radio show Round the Horne.
- Rechtub klat - Australian butchers' backwards code-speak
- Carny - The secret language of carnival workers
- Barallete
- Bron
- Gacería
- Leet
- fala dos arxinas
- Rotwelsch - spoken by German criminals
- Klezmer-loshn
- Tsotsitaal
[edit] In popular culture
The computer game Planescape: Torment makes extensive use of words from old English Thieves' cant, which it refers to explicitly as "the cant." Players must pick up the meanings of obscure words from context. The vast majority of the game is in English, however.
