A language game (also called secret language) is a system of manipulating spoken words to render them incomprehensible to the untrained ear. Language games are used primarily by groups attempting to conceal their conversations from others. Some common examples are Pig Latin, which is used all over the globe, the Gibberish family, prevalent in the United States and Sweden, and Verlan, spoken in France. Pig Latin is a language game primarily used in English, although the rules can be easily modified to apply to almost any language. ... Gibberish is a generic term in English for talking that sounds like speech but has no actual meaning (like the maves rint is slanphed up). This meaning has also been extended to meaningless text (such as ichiuseekskerasff). It is also used to refer to language games created by inserting... A long tradition exists in France of permuting syllables of words to create slang words. ...

Each of these language games involves a usually simple standard transformation to speech, thus encoding it. The languages can be easily mentally encoded and decoded by a skilled speaker at the rate of normal speech, while those who either don't know the key or aren't practiced in rapid speech are left hearing nothing but gibberish. The word encoding has a number of meanings. ... Gibberish is a generic term in English for talking that sounds like speech but has no actual meaning (like the maves rint is slanphed up). This meaning has also been extended to meaningless text (such as ichiuseekskerasff). It is also used to refer to language games created by inserting...

A common difficulty with language games is that they are usually passed down orally. While written translations can be made, they are often imperfect, and thus spelling can vary widely. Some factions argue that words in these spoken tongues should simply be written the way they are pronounced, while others insist that the purity of language demands that the transformation remain visible when the words are imparted to paper. Contrary to what proponents of either side may tell you, there is no one definitive written lexicon for language games, but it is rather a matter of dialect. A lexicon is a list of words together with additional word-specific information, i. ... A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος, dialektos) is a variety of a language used by people from a particular geographic area. ...

Use

Language games are primarily used by children, to disguise their speech from others. Some language games, such as Pig Latin, are so widely known that privacy is nearly impossible, as most people at least know how it works, even if they can't speak it themselves. Although language games are not usually used in everyday conversation, some words from language games have made their way into normal speach, such as ixnay in English (from Pig Latin), and loufoque in French (from Louchébem). English in common usage may refer to: English, a West Germanic language spoken mainly in the United States, the UK as well as its former colonies, and used as an international lingua franca in many parts of the world a citizen of England, the country the English people, an ethnic... Louchébem or loucherbem is Parisian and Lyonnaise butchers ( Fr. ...

Classification

One way in which language games could be organized is by language, for example, Pig Latin, Ubbi Dubbi, and Tutnese could all be in the "English" category, and Jerigonza could be in the "Spanish" category. The Ubbi Dubbi language is a language game, perhaps introduced on the long-running Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) television show ZOOM, or alternately, as a joke in a sketch by Bill Cosby (the Dentist sketch). ... Tutnese is a language game primarily used in English, although the rules can be easily modified to apply to most any language. ... Jerigonzo is a language game in the Spanish language played by children in Chile and other countries. ...

An alternate method of classifying language games is by their function. For example, Ubbi Dubbi, Bicycle, and Allspråket all work by inserting a code syllable before the vowel in each syllable. Therefore, these could be classified in the Gibberish family. Also, Jerigonza, Língua do Pê, and the B-Language all work by adding a consonant after the vowel in each syllable, and then repeating the vowel. Thus, these could be classified in the Jerigonza family. Gibberish is a generic term in English for talking that sounds like speech but has no actual meaning (like the maves rint is slanphed up). This meaning has also been extended to meaningless text (such as ichiuseekskerasff). It is also used to refer to language games created by inserting... Língua do Pê (Portuguese, P Language) is a language game spoken in Brazil with Portuguese. ...

List of common language games

Limburg is the name of two different adjoining provinces: Limburg (Netherlands) in the south of the Netherlands, its capital is Maastricht. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Pig Latin is a language game primarily used in English, although the rules can be easily modified to apply to almost any language. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Symbols of the International Phonetic Alphabet as used for English. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Cockney rhyming slang is a form of English slang which originated in the East End of London. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The term Double Dutch has several different meanings. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Gibberish is a generic term in English for talking that sounds like speech but has no actual meaning (like the maves rint is slanphed up). This meaning has also been extended to meaningless text (such as ichiuseekskerasff). It is also used to refer to language games created by inserting... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Victor Borge (January 3, 1909 – December 23, 2000) was born in Copenhagen, Denmark as Børge Rosenbaum and died in Greenwich, Connecticut, USA. Affectionately known as the Clown Prince of Denmark and the Great Dane, he was a humorist, entertainer and world-class pianist. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Rechtub klat is a cryptolect used by butchers in Australia to hold conversations without customers overhearing. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The Ubbi Dubbi language is a language game, perhaps introduced on the long-running Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) television show ZOOM, or alternately, as a joke in a sketch by Bill Cosby (the Dentist sketch). ... PBS re-directs here; for alternate uses see PBS (disambiguation) PBS logo The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is a non-profit public broadcasting television service with 349 member TV stations in the United States. ... Opening from original Zoom PBS TV childrens program series. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Tutnese is a language game primarily used in English, although the rules can be easily modified to apply to most any language. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Esperanto is the most widely spoken constructed international language. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with spoonerism. ... A Spoonerism is a play on words in which corresponding consonants or vowels are switched (see metathesis), named after the Reverend William Archibald Spooner (1844–1930), Warden of New College, Oxford, who was notoriously prone to this tendency. ... Mora is a unit of sound used in phonology that determines stress in some languages. ... In linguistics, a language is said to possess vowel harmony (also metaphony) when it has a phonological rule that requires all vowels in a word to belong to a single class. ... Louchébem or loucherbem is Parisian and Lyonnaise butchers ( Fr. ... A long tradition exists in France of permuting syllables of words to create slang words. ... This article discusses the unit of speech. ... You may have reached this page trying to find the Jargon File A jargon is a type of slang which is used in conjunction with a specific activity, e. ... Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken by 6 million people mainly in Israel, parts of the Palestinian territories, the United States and by Jewish communities around the world. ... This article is on all of the Northern Chinese dialects. ... Persian (فارسی / پارسی), (local name in Iran/Persia, Afghanistan and Tajikistan: ‘Fârsi’), ‘Pârsi’ (older local name, but still used by some speakers), Tajik (a Central Asian dialect) or Dari (another local name in Tajikistan and Afghanistan), is a language spoken in Iran, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, western Pakistan, Bahrain, and elsewhere. ... Língua do Pê (Portuguese, P Language) is a language game spoken in Brazil with Portuguese. ... The Romance languages, also called Romanic languages, are a subfamily of the Italic languages, specifically the descendants of the Vulgar Latin dialects spoken by the common people evolving in different areas after the break-up of the Roman Empire. ... Macaronic refers to text spoken or written using a mixture of languages. ... Statues of Don Quixote (left) and Sancho Panza (right) Don Quixote de la Mancha (pronounced /don kixote ðe la mantʃa/) is a novel by the Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes. ... Jeringozo is a language game on the Spanish language played by children in Argentina and other countries. ... Vesre (reversing the order of syllables) is one of the features of the Buenos Aires argot of Spanish known as lunfardo. ... RövarsprÃ¥ket (The Robber Language) is a Swedish language game. ...

See also

• Word play
• Word game

Word play is a literary technique in which the nature of the words used themselves become part of the subject of the work. ... A word game or word puzzle can be of several different types: Letter arrangement games, where the goal is to form words out of given letters: Anagrams -- both a simple game of rearranging letters and a linguistic recreation of making anagrams that seem to illuminate something about the original word...

External links

• Language Games A long summary on language games, including descriptions of many games, and an extensive bibliography.
• Language Games - Part 2 A follow-up summary with additional descriptions and bibliography.