Polari: The Secret Language of the Gay Community - Beth Desmond | PG 2019

Until the decriminalisation of male homosexuality in 1967, Britain’s gay community was forced to hide in plain sight for fear of arrest and imprisonment. They adopted a form of slang known as Polari, which was also common among actors, circus performers and the criminal underworld. Influenced by various language including Italian, Romani, Yiddish and Cockney rhyming slang, this talk will introduce some common Polari words and talk about their origin, as well as discussing Polari in popular culture and its influence on modern-day English.

Beth Desmond is a translator living in Brighton who has a particular interest in Britain’s LGBT history. Before becoming a translator, she briefly trained as a languages teacher at secondary level. She has also written articles on transgender rights for The Social Review.

[patsyhowse]

It's 2.30am on a Saturday morning - can't sleep, so I looked up Polari vids and found this. Thoroughly enjoying this bona video!
Very well explained, and helpful! I'm trying to teach myself Polari, would be great if it came back!

[eamongilligan]

Polari is such an interesting topic - thanks for sharing! 😊

[stobart]

Sadly i think its more or less died out with cottaging and cruising - apart from words like 'naff' and 'trolling' that have leaked into general speach. Dx