Peter Duncanson (BrE)
2010-09-30 18:09:08 UTC
In the past we have discussed Polari -
OED:
A form of slang incorporating Italianate words, rhyming slang, cant
terms, and other elements of vocabulary, which originated in England
in the 18th and 19th centuries as a kind of secret language within
various groups, including sailors, vagrants, circus people,
entertainers, etc. Also occas. more generally (slang): talk, patter.
In the mid 20th cent. a form of the language was taken up by some
homosexuals, esp. in London.
A Polari translation of the Bible was produced in 2003. I've just had my
attention drawn to it:
http://www.thesisters.demon.co.uk/bible/
1 In the beginning Gloria created the heaven and the earth.
2 And the earth was nanti form, and void; and munge was upon the eke
of the deep. And the fairy of Gloria trolled upon the eke of the
aquas.
3 And Gloria cackled, Let there be sparkle: and there was sparkle.
4 And Gloria vardad the sparkle, that it was bona: and Gloria
medzered the sparkle from the munge.
5 And Gloria screeched the sparkle journo, and the munge she
screeched nochy. And the bijou nochy and the morning were the
first journo.
6 And Gloria cackled, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the
aquas, and let it divide the aquas from the aquas.
7 And Gloria made the firmament, and medzered the aquas which were
under the firmament from the aquas which were above the firmament:
and it was so.
8 And Gloria screeched the firmament Heaven. And the bijou nochy and
the morning were the second journo.
9 And Gloria cackled, Let the aquas under the heaven be gathered
together unto una place, and let the dry land appear: and it was
so.
10 And Gloria screeched the dry land Earth; and the gathering
together of the aquas screeched she Seas: and Gloria vardad that
it was bona.
11 And Gloria cackled, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb
yielding maria, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind,
whose maria is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding maria after
his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose maria was in itself,
after his kind: and Gloria vardad that it was bona.
13 And the bijou nochy and the morning were the third journo.
14 And Gloria cackled, Let there be sparkles in the firmament of the
heaven to divide the journo from the nochy; and let them be for
signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
15 And let them be for sparkles in the firmament of the heaven to
parker sparkle upon the earth: and it was so.
16 And Gloria made dewey dowry sparkles; the dowrier sparkle to rule
the journo, and the nanti dowrier sparkle to rule the nochy: she
made the twinkling fakements also.
17 And Gloria set them in the firmament of the heaven to parker
sparkle upon the earth,
18 And to rule over the journo and over the nochy, and to divide the
sparkle from the munge: and Gloria vardad that it was bona.
19 And the bijou nochy and the morning were the quarter journo.
Etc.
There are links from the unfamiliar words to lexicon entries.
Some males in the original get female names in the Polari version:
Gloria: God
Crystal: Christ.
Davina: David.
Fantabulosa Fairy: Holy Ghost.
Josephine: Joseph.
Josie: Jesus.
Lucille: Luke.
Marcia: Mark.
Matilda: Matthew.
Maureen: Moses.
Norah: Noah.
Sadie: Satan.
Simone: Simon.
Adam remains Adam, but Eve becomes Steve.
Kosher Homie: Hebrew.
Kosher Homies and Palones: Hebrews.
Kosher palones: Hebrew women.
http://www.thesisters.demon.co.uk/bible/introduction.html
Introduction and Credits
This is a polari version of the King James Bible, produced by the
Manchester (UK) house of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Polari
- a mixture of French, Italian, Cockney and a whole host of other
languages - was once used as an argot in the UK gay community, and
has an interesting history in its own right. Since the
decriminalisation of homosexuality some years ago it is no longer
used as a means of concealing meaning from outsiders. It is,
instead, used for its tremendous camp value.
Polari reached its apogee with the inspired script-writing of Barry
Took and Marty Feldman in the tremendously popular 1960s BBC radio
series Round the Horne. In this, a favourite feature involved
"Julian and Sandy" two outrageously camp characters, played by
Kenneth Williams and Hugh Paddick engaged in a variety of different
business ventures patronised by the urbane Kenneth Horne. Much of
their dialogue was in high-polari, and up-and-down the UK millions
of families tucked in to their Sunday roast, unaware of much of what
was being said. Indeed had the BBC management been aware of the
meaning of much of Took and Feldman's brilliant writing, the show
would have been taken off the air.
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are an international order of
gay and lesbian nuns and monks. The UK sisters have always used
polari in their ceremonies (and for that matter in everyday use). It
is, in fact, quite surprising how much polari has entered mainstream
gay language (for example chicken or naff), and in recent years
there has been a resurgence in interest in the language, similar to
that in Gaelic - although Polari is arguably a living language.
OED:
A form of slang incorporating Italianate words, rhyming slang, cant
terms, and other elements of vocabulary, which originated in England
in the 18th and 19th centuries as a kind of secret language within
various groups, including sailors, vagrants, circus people,
entertainers, etc. Also occas. more generally (slang): talk, patter.
In the mid 20th cent. a form of the language was taken up by some
homosexuals, esp. in London.
A Polari translation of the Bible was produced in 2003. I've just had my
attention drawn to it:
http://www.thesisters.demon.co.uk/bible/
1 In the beginning Gloria created the heaven and the earth.
2 And the earth was nanti form, and void; and munge was upon the eke
of the deep. And the fairy of Gloria trolled upon the eke of the
aquas.
3 And Gloria cackled, Let there be sparkle: and there was sparkle.
4 And Gloria vardad the sparkle, that it was bona: and Gloria
medzered the sparkle from the munge.
5 And Gloria screeched the sparkle journo, and the munge she
screeched nochy. And the bijou nochy and the morning were the
first journo.
6 And Gloria cackled, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the
aquas, and let it divide the aquas from the aquas.
7 And Gloria made the firmament, and medzered the aquas which were
under the firmament from the aquas which were above the firmament:
and it was so.
8 And Gloria screeched the firmament Heaven. And the bijou nochy and
the morning were the second journo.
9 And Gloria cackled, Let the aquas under the heaven be gathered
together unto una place, and let the dry land appear: and it was
so.
10 And Gloria screeched the dry land Earth; and the gathering
together of the aquas screeched she Seas: and Gloria vardad that
it was bona.
11 And Gloria cackled, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb
yielding maria, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind,
whose maria is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding maria after
his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose maria was in itself,
after his kind: and Gloria vardad that it was bona.
13 And the bijou nochy and the morning were the third journo.
14 And Gloria cackled, Let there be sparkles in the firmament of the
heaven to divide the journo from the nochy; and let them be for
signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
15 And let them be for sparkles in the firmament of the heaven to
parker sparkle upon the earth: and it was so.
16 And Gloria made dewey dowry sparkles; the dowrier sparkle to rule
the journo, and the nanti dowrier sparkle to rule the nochy: she
made the twinkling fakements also.
17 And Gloria set them in the firmament of the heaven to parker
sparkle upon the earth,
18 And to rule over the journo and over the nochy, and to divide the
sparkle from the munge: and Gloria vardad that it was bona.
19 And the bijou nochy and the morning were the quarter journo.
Etc.
There are links from the unfamiliar words to lexicon entries.
Some males in the original get female names in the Polari version:
Gloria: God
Crystal: Christ.
Davina: David.
Fantabulosa Fairy: Holy Ghost.
Josephine: Joseph.
Josie: Jesus.
Lucille: Luke.
Marcia: Mark.
Matilda: Matthew.
Maureen: Moses.
Norah: Noah.
Sadie: Satan.
Simone: Simon.
Adam remains Adam, but Eve becomes Steve.
Kosher Homie: Hebrew.
Kosher Homies and Palones: Hebrews.
Kosher palones: Hebrew women.
http://www.thesisters.demon.co.uk/bible/introduction.html
Introduction and Credits
This is a polari version of the King James Bible, produced by the
Manchester (UK) house of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Polari
- a mixture of French, Italian, Cockney and a whole host of other
languages - was once used as an argot in the UK gay community, and
has an interesting history in its own right. Since the
decriminalisation of homosexuality some years ago it is no longer
used as a means of concealing meaning from outsiders. It is,
instead, used for its tremendous camp value.
Polari reached its apogee with the inspired script-writing of Barry
Took and Marty Feldman in the tremendously popular 1960s BBC radio
series Round the Horne. In this, a favourite feature involved
"Julian and Sandy" two outrageously camp characters, played by
Kenneth Williams and Hugh Paddick engaged in a variety of different
business ventures patronised by the urbane Kenneth Horne. Much of
their dialogue was in high-polari, and up-and-down the UK millions
of families tucked in to their Sunday roast, unaware of much of what
was being said. Indeed had the BBC management been aware of the
meaning of much of Took and Feldman's brilliant writing, the show
would have been taken off the air.
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are an international order of
gay and lesbian nuns and monks. The UK sisters have always used
polari in their ceremonies (and for that matter in everyday use). It
is, in fact, quite surprising how much polari has entered mainstream
gay language (for example chicken or naff), and in recent years
there has been a resurgence in interest in the language, similar to
that in Gaelic - although Polari is arguably a living language.
--
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)