Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-01-25

stand it readily when spoken fast. The
familiar verse beginning,
"Hush, my babe, lie still and slumber,"
rendered into Medical Greek, will serve
as q good specimen OF the dialect:
Bush, ny msbe, stie iii sand lumber,
Ally honegels buard gy thec;
Blevenly hessings Without wumber,
Featly iawling on ny thead.
1t will be observed that when q word
begins with two consonants Only one of
them need be taken. l have also spelled
Theoretically those words wnere the ordi-
nsrv rules would give wrong sound.
The name "Medical Creek" comes
from the fact that this dialect has lopg
been in use smoDg the medical students
at the London hospitals, who fiud it con-
venieGt when they wish to spesk to each
other in the presence Of 8 patient without
his being sole to understand TEN. Il is
also largely spoken by the students OF the
London University.
At Winchester College the students en-
ply form Of what is known in this coun-
try as "Dog-Latin." It consists OF re-
peating the vowel OF every syllable, and
prefxing to that vowel the letter z. Sc
centing this additional syllable. Thus,
scan you go with ms ?' would be "csgan
yougou gogo within mege?" The Win
chester boys call this "Zlph" languarge,
and 1t is probsbly of considerable sntiqui-
tY. De Quincy learned it in mis- youth,
and DR.. wilkins, in his work, me nsioned
above, describes it as o Well-knOwn de-
vice for making conversation secret.
A less complicated jsrgon prevails at
some OF the other English schools, con-
sisting simply Of adding the syllable Wis
to each word. Thus: "Willvis youyis
COWS wIthvis mevis?" This resembles
the "ugry igry osry" dialect of American
school girls, familiar TO every ore. In
Frauce the boys add the syllable degrue
il the same way. Thus: Vousdregue
avezdregue tortdregue, for vous ave.
tort.
Two secret dialects are employed py
the London cadgere, end only long prac-
tice can make them Ineligible 10 one
whe has not been born and bred in the
precincts of S.. Giles. The first CT these
is called "Back Slang" and consists the
oreticslly in spelling backwards the prin-
clpsl words in sentence. But as the
or, h oeraphical notions Of the sversge
cadger are, to say the least, eccentric;
and as msny Of the words which were
originally formed in this way have been
greatly altered in use, the vocabulsrysof
1. ca1ger IS practically new language,
uncouth and urintelligiple to all except
his own companions. For instance penny
in back slang is yenep; pint is temp;
namesctop means policeman, aud gen.
net ten shillings.
The other dialect spoken by the street
vsgabonds in London is known as the
"Rlyning Slang" which is described by
an EGglish writer as "the substitution of
words and sentences which rhyme with
other words intended to be kept secret.
1t transforms into rough speech the
various odds and ends OF old songs, bal
lads and street nicknames which are suit
able to the purpose" The same suthor
also gives G list CT examples: Thus,
frog and toad means "tbe road" finger
and thumb means "rum," cat and mouse,
sc house." and Pm afoat, SO bost."
Back slang plays su important part in
the lower forms Of French argot, in the.
peculiar slang spoken by the Spanish,
thieves and called germania; in the Ger
man rothwelsLh and in the Italian fur
besco. In fact, the author Of a slang die
tionsry, published In London in 1864,
shows that the same principle runs
through the jargon of the Bszeegars, or
wandering iugglers in Hindustan, and
cites number Of Interesting examples to
prove it.