Cant (language)

A cant is the jargon or language of a group, often employed to exclude or mislead people outside the group. It may also be called a cryptolect, argot, pseudo-language, anti-language or secret language. Each term differs slightly in meaning; their uses are inconsistent. Richard Rorty defines cant by saying that "'Cant,' in the sense in which Samuel Johnson exclaims, "Clear your mind of cant," means, in other words, something like that which "people usually say without thinking, the standard thing to say, what one normally says.” In Heideggerian terms it is what “das Man” says. There are two main schools of thought on the origin of the word cant: In linguistics, the derivation is normally seen to be from the Irish word caint (older spelling cainnt), "speech, talk", or Scottish Gaelic cainnt. It is seen to have derived amongst the itinerant groups of people in Ireland and Scotland, who hailed from both Irish/Scottish Gaelic and English-speaking backgrounds, ultimately developing as various creole languages. However, the various types of cant (Scottish/Irish) are mutually unintelligible. The Irish creole variant is termed "the Cant". Its speakers from the Irish Traveller community know it as Gammon, while the linguistic community identifies it as Shelta. Outside Gaelic circles, the derivation is typically seen to be from Latin cantāre, "to sing", via Norman French canter. Within this derivation, the history of the word is seen to have referred to the chanting of friars initially, used disparagingly some time between the 12th and 15th centuries. Gradually, the term was applied to the singsong of beggars and eventually a criminal jargon. An argot (pronˈɑrɡoʊ; from French argot aʁɡo 'slang') is a language used by various groups to prevent outsiders from understanding their conversations. The term argot is also used to refer to the informal specialized vocabulary from a particular field of study, occupation, or hobby, in which sense it overlaps with jargon.

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Excluded Linguistic Communities and the Production of an Inclusive Multilingual Digital Language Infrastructure

Martin Benjamin

The consequence of linguistic digital exclusion is the inability of billions of people to access vital knowledge and economic resources that contribute to prosperity in an era of globalization. However, rectifying linguistic inequity is mostly absent from ...

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Slang

A Slang is a vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in verbal conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also sometimes refers to the language generally exclusive to the members of particular in-groups in order to establish group identity, exclude outsiders, or both. The word itself came about in the 18th century and has been defined in multiple ways since its conception. In its earliest attested use (1756), the word slang referred to the vocabulary of "low" or "disreputable" people.

Jargon

Jargon is the specialized terminology associated with a particular field or area of activity. Jargon is normally employed in a particular communicative context and may not be well understood outside that context. The context is usually a particular occupation (that is, a certain trade, profession, vernacular or academic field), but any ingroup can have jargon. The main trait that distinguishes jargon from the rest of a language is special vocabulary—including some words specific to it and often different senses or meanings of words, that outgroups would tend to take in another sense—therefore misunderstanding that communication attempt.

Obfuscation

Obfuscation is the obscuring of the intended meaning of communication by making the message difficult to understand, usually with confusing and ambiguous language. The obfuscation might be either unintentional or intentional (although intent usually is connoted), and is accomplished with circumlocution (talking around the subject), the use of jargon (technical language of a profession), and the use of an argot (ingroup language) of limited communicative value to outsiders.