Dunno how relevant this is, but Alice Becker-Ho (incidentally, which seems
somehow appropriate, the widow of Guy Debord) argues in +The Princes of
Slang+ that Romany underlies the cant of all the European countries. But
that's cant proper (basically, thieves' language) rather than slang.
To be honest, I hadn't come on Polari till you mentioned it, Peter, but a
quick look suggests it's slang, with a few elements from Romany among many
other sources.
So yeah, I'd feel that "Romany [is] just an ingredient in Polari," certainly
not the other way around.
Or am I taking this over-seriously?
Had a tooth extracted from my jaw exactly an hour and fifteen minutes ago,
which hasn't done wonders for my sense of humour.
:-(
Robin
<g>
(I mean, if you seriously want an answer to this, Peter, I could pass it on
to Rictor Norton -- he'd know if anyone would. R.)
> Is Polari a variant of Romany, or is Romany just an ingredient in Polari?
>
> P
|