A language game (also called secret language or ludling) 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. ... Gibberish is a language game spoken in the United States with English. ... In the French language, verlan is the inversion of syllables in a word which is found in slang and youth language. ...

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 language game spoken in the United States with English. ...

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 usually 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 speech, such as ixnay in English (from Pig Latin), and loufoque in French (from Louchébem). The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... 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. Ubbi Dubbi (also called Pig Greek) is a language game spoken with English. ... 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, Double Talk, Língua do Pê, and B-Sprache all work by adding a consonant after the vowel in each syllable, and then repeating the vowel. Thus, these could be classified in the Double Talk family. Another common type of language game is the spoonerism, where the initial morae of words are exchanged, e.g. George Bush's famous terriers and bariffs ← barriers and tariffs. Using a standard word for each transformation gives another type, e.g. the Finnish "kontinkieli", where kontti is added after each word, and spoonerism applied (kondäntti koonerismspontti koppliedäntti). Gibberish is a language game spoken in the United States with English. ... Língua do Pê (Portuguese, P Language) is a language game spoken in Brazil with Portuguese. ... 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 can mean: Cameroon Mora, Cameroon Costa Rica Mora Canton Portugal Mora, Portugal Sweden Mora, Sweden - a municipality of Dalarna County in Sweden Mora Court District - a district of Dalecarlia in Sweden United States Mora, Minnesota, United States Mora County, New Mexico, United States Mora (linguistics): A unit of sound...

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. ... In phonetics and phonology, a syllable onset is the part of a syllable that precedes the syllable nucleus. ... Symbols of the International Phonetic Alphabet as used for English. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Ubbi Dubbi (also called Pig Greek) is a language game spoken with English. ... Symbols of the International Phonetic Alphabet as used for English. ... In the study of phonology in linguistics, the rime or rhyme of a syllable consists of a nucleus and an optional coda. ... 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. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Cockney rhyming slang (sometimes abbreviated as CRS) 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. ... In the study of phonology in linguistics, the rime or rhyme of a syllable consists of a nucleus and an optional coda. ... 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 language game spoken in the United States with English. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Victor Borge (January 3, 1909 – December 23, 2000) was a humorist, entertainer and world-class pianist affectionately known as the Clown Prince of Denmark and the Great Dane. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Two forms of slang are known as Backslang. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Ubbi Dubbi (also called Pig Greek) is a language game spoken with English. ... Symbols of the International Phonetic Alphabet as used for English. ... In the study of phonology in linguistics, the rime or rhyme of a syllable consists of a nucleus and an optional coda. ... 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. ... Look up Esperanto in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Esperantido is the term used within the Esperanto and constructed language communities to describe a language project based on or inspired by Esperanto. ... 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 (plural moras or morae) is a unit of sound used in phonology that determines syllable weight (which in turn determines stress) in some languages. ... Vowel harmony (also metaphony) is a type of long-distance assimilatory phonological process involving vowels. ... Louchébem or loucherbem is Parisian and Lyonnaise butchers ( Fr. ... In the French language, verlan is the inversion of syllables in a word which is found in slang and youth language. ... This article discusses the unit of speech. ... Jargon is a type of terminology which is used in conjunction with a specific activity, e. ... Hebrew (עִבְרִית ‘Ivrit) is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken by more than seven million people in Israel, the West Bank, the United States, and by Jewish communities around the world. ... 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. ... This article is on all of the Northern Chinese dialects. ... Persian (known variously as: فارسی Fârsi, local name in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, پارسی Pârsi, older, local name 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, Bahrain, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Armenia... 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. ... The Serbian language is one of the standard versions of the Å tokavian dialect (former standard was known as Serbo-Croatian language). ... Å atrovački is a feature of permuting syllables of words used in Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian and Macedonian. ... Pe (П, п) is a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet, representing the consonant /p/. It arose directly from the Greek letter Pi (Π, Ï€). The shape of capital printed Pe can be described as a square with the bottom line missing, not to be confused with El (Cyrillic), which has a curved left. ... The Serbian language is one of the standard versions of the Å tokavian dialect (former standard was known as Serbo-Croatian language). ... Å atrovački is a feature of permuting syllables of words used in Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian and Macedonian. ... The Serbian language is one of the standard versions of the Å tokavian dialect (former standard was known as Serbo-Croatian language). ... Å atrovački is a feature of permuting syllables of words used in Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian and Macedonian. ... The Serbian language is one of the standard versions of the Å tokavian dialect (former standard was known as Serbo-Croatian language). ... The Serbian language is one of the standard versions of the Å tokavian dialect (former standard was known as Serbo-Croatian language). ... Jeringozo is a language game on the Spanish language played by children in Argentina and many other countries. ... Rosarigasino is a language game (in the form of a rhyming slang) traditionally associated with the city of Rosario, province of Santa Fe, Argentina, even though very few people, if any, actually employ it. ... 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 game
• Word play

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... Word play is a literary technique in which the nature of the words used themselves become part of the subject of the work. ...

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.
• [2] Nevbosh, a language game used by J. R. R. Tolkien, the inventor of Quenya and Sindarin Elvish, as a child