Languages and Jargons

A contribution to the social history of language, this volume is particularly concerned with the special semi-private languages, dialects or jargons developed by different social groups, whether they are professions, voluntary associations or groups on the margin of society.

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Languages and Jargons is a contribution to the social history of language. This volume is particularly concerned with the special semi-private languages, dialects or jargons developed by different social groups, whether they are professions, like lawyers, doctors and teachers, voluntary associations like the Masons, social classes, or groups on the margin of society, such as beggars or Gypsies.The contributors are concerned to describe these jargons as they were spoken in particular places and times, to analyse their functions (which range from keeping secrets from outsiders to reinforcing a sense of collective identity), and to account for change over time. They also study the relations between these forms of speech and their speakers and the outside world - the rejection of jargon, the domestication of technical terms, and the transformation of former jargons into ordinary languages. The volume is mainly concerned with different forms of English from the 16th to the 20th century, but some contributors range further afield, from Calo to Urdu.
Languages and Jargons will be of particular interest to students and scholars in social and cultural history, linguistics and sociolinguistics, and anthropology.