Pig Latin

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Pig Latin is a language game of alterations played in English. To form the Pig Latin form of an English word the first consonant (or consonant cluster) is moved to the end of the word and an ay is affixed (for example, pig yields ig-pay and computer yields omputer-cay). The object is to conceal the meaning of the words from others not familiar with the rules. The reference to Latin is a deliberate misnomer, as it is simply a form of jargon, used only for its English connotations as a "strange and foreign-sounding language."

Origins

The origins of Pig Latin are unknown. One early mention of the name was in Putnam's Magazine in May 1869: "I had plenty of ammunition in reserve, to say nothing, Tom, of our pig Latin. 'Hoggibus, piggibus et shotam damnabile grunto,' and all that sort of thing," although the language cited is not modern Pig Latin, but rather what would be called today Dog Latin. The Atlantic January 1895 also included a mention of the subject: "They all spoke a queer jargon which they themselves had invented. It was something like the well-known 'pig Latin' that all sorts of children like to play with." Thomas Jefferson wrote letters to friends in Pig Latin. (see Hailman in the references below)

Use

Pig Latin is mostly used by people for amusement or to converse in perceived privacy from other persons. A few Pig Latin words, such as ixnay^[1] (nix), amscray^[2] (scram), and upidstay (stupid), have been incorporated into American English slang.^{[citation needed]}

It is used in the popular Disney movie "The Lion King". Zazu says to Simba "ixnay on the upidstay" and in response Banzai the Hyena says "Who you calling upidstay?"

Rules and variations

The usual rules for changing standard English into Pig Latin are as follows:

1. In words that begin with consonant sounds, the initial consonant or consonant cluster is moved to the end of the word, and "ay" is added, as in the following examples:
   • happy → appy-hay
   • question → estion-quay
2. In words that begin with vowel sounds or silent consonants, the syllable "way" is simply added to the end of the word. In some variants, the syllable "ay" is added, without the "w" in front. Sometimes the vowel will be moved and followed by the syllable "hay."
   • another→ another-way, another-ay, nother-ahay
   • about→ about-way, about-ay, bout-ahay
3. In compound words or words with two distinct syllables, each component word or syllable is sometimes transcribed separately. For example: birdhouse would be ird-bay-ouse-hay.

Transcription varies. A hyphen or apostrophe is sometimes used to facilitate translation back into English. Ayspray, for instance, is ambiguous, but ay-spray means "spray" whereas ays-pray means "prays."

Similar language games

This section requires .

In English

Similar languages to Pig Latin are Opish, in which "op" is added to each consonant (thus, "cat" becomes "copatop"); Turkey Irish, in which "ab" is added before each vowel (thus, "run" becomes "rabun"), and Double Dutch, in which each consonant is replaced with a different consonant cluster (thus, "how are you" becomes "hutchowash aruge yubou")[1] ^[3]

In other languages

In Bernese German, a variety of Pig Latin called Mattenenglisch was used in the Matte, the traditional working class neighborhood. Though it has fallen out of use since mid 20th century, it is still cultivated by voluntary associations. A characteristic of the Mattenenglisch Pig Latin is the complete substitution of the first vowel by i, in addition to the usual moving of the initial consonant cluster and the adding of ee.

The Swedish equivalent of Pig Latin is Allspråket, which uses the same or similar rules but with the suffix "-all." Additionally, the Swedish language game Fikonspråket ("Fig language") is similar to Pig Latin.

French has the loucherbem (or louchébem) coded language, which supposedly was originally used by butchers (boucher in French).^{[citation needed]} In loucherbem, the leading consonant cluster is moved to the end of the word (as in Pig Latin) and replaced by an l , and then a suffix is added at the end of the word (-oche, -em, -oque, depending on the word). ex: fou (crazy) = loufoque. A similar coded language is largonji.^[4]

Notes

References

External links

• IgpayAtinlay.org , a site dedicated to Pig Latin education and practice
• Free English to Pig Latin translator utility