In 2010, Cambridge University labelled Polari as an “endangered language”. For those who were very good at it, it resembled a proper language, distinct to English. Some speakers developed new words in their own social groups or ad libbed it to make it even more difficult to understand. Nobody owned it and there were few standards so as a result there is little agreement on spellings, pronunciations or even meanings of many of the words. It was a secret, informal form of communication, used by relatively powerless groups of people who were often on ‘the wrong side of the law’, so it was not written down or recorded. It contains bits of other languages and slangs including rhyming slang, back slang (saying a word as if it’s spelt backwards), Italian, French, Lingua Franca, American air force slang, drug-user slang and Cant (an even older form of slang used by criminals). It is mainly a collection of words, derived from a variety of sources but most strongly linked to an older form of slang called Parlyaree that was used by travelling entertainers, beggars and market stall holders. In the past, it was also known as Palari, Palare, Parlaree or a variety of similar spellings.
