#queer languages

Lavander Languages are ways of speaking adopted by the queer community, sex workers and people of color. Often times they were used as code in order to be safe in a world where people want to bury us.

"Lavender languages" are the (anti-)languages, cants and slang created and used by LGBT+ communities. Throughout history, people have used a myriad of secret signs and symbols to identify themselves to other members of their community while avoiding detection (and thus danger), but perhaps none are so intricate as lavender languages.

These languages all have a few things in common. First, they are used by a community that needs secrecy for safety. Second, they are influenced by a variety of languages, but especially languages spoken by other oppressed classes. And third, as they become well-known by those outside of our communities, their purpose is lost.

Polari

When homosexuality was illegal in the United Kingdom, people had to be very careful about who they could trust. One way of figuring out if a stranger was gay or bisexual was to use a Polari word in conversation; if they responded in kind, you were safe, as the film above demonstrates. Polari was also useful for conducting conversations safely in the open - if anyone overheard, they would have either heard gibberish, or, understanding Polari, would be a friend and ally.

As a cant, Polari is fascinating. You can tell so much about British culture through to 1960s - and the LGBT+ community's place in it - simply by tracing its origins and influences.

Tagalog Beki Language  (Swardspeak)

Also known as Bekinese, Bekimon, and more recently gayspeak, Swardspeak is spoken in the Philippines by the gay community. According to Jon Shadel, gayspeak is a mixture ofTagalog, English, Spanish, and a little bit of Japanese, along with regional influences. Gayspeak is an amazingly camp, hilarious language.

Many terms come from the names of celebrities, brands and a cornucopia of other colorful sources. “Walang Julanis Morisette,” for instance, translates to “there’s no rain,” a play on a lyric from Alanis Morissette’s single “Ironic”—“it’s like rain on your wedding day.” It is language as pun, as inside joke, as subversion—and it is as metaphorical as it is ephemeral.

Lubunca

Lubunca has been spoken in Turkey since the early 1900s. It too is a language born of necessity; "LGBTQ sex workers, particularly transwomen" created Lubunca to be able to communicate safely with each other. Like Polari, Lubunca has been influenced by Romani (both the Romani and sex workers were segregated and pushed to the fringe of society, thus occupying the same space where language flowed freely), and there are also elements of Kurdish, Greek, and Bulgarian.

Like gayspeak of the Philippines, Lubunca has continued to adapt in response to mainstream familiarity. Dalia Mortada writes that "because certain words have become so mainstream, they are no longer used in the sex work community". One former sex worker she interviewed spoke of girls inventing new words as needed, simply saying: "it evolves".

IsiNgqumo

Thought to be influenced by Sesotho and Nguni or isiZulu (all of which fall under the Bantu language umbrella). IsiNgqumo has been described as "extensive and colourful", a cant that "incorporates many languages and styles...the sophistication and pervasiveness of isingqumo is an indication of the developed nature of black gay subculture and its rootedness in South African Black townships on the reef." Stephanie Rudwick & Mduduzi Ntuli provide an example of isiNgqumo: "Awu, dali, awukopit ucako akasalele kanje dali"; [wow, darling, can’t you see this cute guy, what a darling].

Gayle

Gayle is usually spoken by gay descendants of colonial settlers in South Africa. It is influenced by English and Afrikaans. Gayle has been traced to the 1950s, and interestingly has been influenced by Polari, using some of the same words.

Gayle uses women's names for words with the same first letter: "Carol" means cry, "Lulu" means laugh, and "Monica" means money. "Gail", funnily enough, means "chat".

Oxtchit

An Israeli Gay Lexicon, that comes from the word “oxtchot” used to describe young, effeminate gay men of

Middle Eastern or North African descent. Oxchot (and therfore oxchit) is a term original to Hebrew that is most likely derived from the Arabic for “my sister”.

It is  is usually characterized in terms of exaggeratedly high speaking pitch, wide pitch ranges and high levels of pitch dynamism all laid over a distinct and unique set of lexical items.

Pajubá

A secret language spoken by black brazillian Transwomen and Travestis.

A mix of the African language Yoruba and Portuguese, Pajubá is a secret language that works sometimes as a protective shield, sometimes as a weapon. One of the many queer languages of the world, Pajubá is unique in its outrageous performance of femininity.

English, Spanish, and French worda are also borrowed in Pajubá. Likewise Portuguese words are used with double meaning.

Born in Terrarios, places of wordship for afro-brazilian religious practices, Pajubá means gossip or news, there's a great emphasis on body language with an over-the-top, camp, feminine performance.

Bahasa Binan

Bahasa Binan (or bahasa Béncong) is a distinctive Indonesian speech variety originating from the gay community. It has several regular patterns of word formation and is documented in both writing and speech.

One pattern of word formation modifies standard Indonesian roots (normally composed of two syllables) to have e as the first vowel and ong closing the second syllable—hence providing regular assonance with the standard Indonesian word bencong [ˈbɛntʃɔŋ], a male homosexual, trans woman, or male crossdresser. Another word formation pattern adds -in- infixes to other Indonesian roots. The best example is the word binan itself, formed with the word banci, "male transvestite", to which the -in- infix has been added and from which the second syllable -ci has been dropped.

Bahasa Binan also uses a range of standard Indonesian words with altered meaning.

Sources: https://www.lgbtculturalheritage.com/lavenderlanguages

https://www.out.com/out-exclusives/2016/8/17/lavender-linguistics-queer-way-speak

Some of my favourite Beki words are ones describing sexual orientations. Here’s a just a few (we are a history podcast so these may be outdated....)

True blue - straight

Double-blade - bisexual

Bianing - lesbian (from the English word lesbian plus the diminuitive -ing)

Baki - bisexual (from the Cebuano word for frog, since frogs live both on land and in water)

Magic - lesbian (because they’re like “magicians with wands”)

Kwaknit - gay man (from the Cebuano word for bat, since bats and gay men both cruise at night)