The Somerset reporter., 1897-05-13
LANGUAGE OF CRIME.
THE ARGOT OF PARIS AND THE "PAT-
TER" OF LONDON.

Thieves Have Special Words to- Express
Stealing of Every Kind = Material
Changes Take Place Every Two or
Three Years.
The language of criminals-the argot
Of Paris, the 'pattcra q London-has
been carefully investigated by numer
Gus writers, with very variant results.
It's origin is difficult 10 explain.
Criminals, say many authors, have
found it necessary to adept technical
language for their own protection. that
they may be able to converse in pubic
without being understood They have
been forced to do this and have made a
language as sinister and as vile as them
selves. " This theory cannot be admit.
ted. Certainly the argot is sinister and
vile and thoroughly representative Of
the class that uses it, but further than
this we cannot go
The theory that the use Of this dialect
is of any assistance to the criminal is
inadmissible. Most policemen and all
prison officers know this slang, some
times better than the thieves To speak
it i'll the hearing of a detective is to in
wife arrest; to speak it III the presence
of the general public would arouse sus.
picion and attract attenton-two things
which are especially to be avoided.
Why, then, does ii exist DR.. Laurent
of the Sante prison in Paris has given
an explanation which has at least moth
ing to contradict it, The persons en-
gagged in every trade form "a species of
dialect or technical phraseology which
is spoken and understood only by them
selves. Criminals who practice trade
as old as any, have gradually acquired
language more adapted to their wants,
more in keeping with their ideas and
thoughts. Miserable, heartless, engaged
IN perpetual struggle against moral
ity, law and decency, they have ac-
quired language of uebased words and
cynical metaphors, IA language of abbre-
waited expressions and obscene syno-
nyms
This dialect has mulilated the mother
tongue. 1t has also borrowed literally
from other languages, but without meth
cd or etymology. Criminals are not
grammarians. Neither are they lin
GUSTS and at first sight it would seem
strange that they should import words
from other countries. We will find,
however, that i'll any prison the percent
age of inmates of foreign birth will be
large. In America it is about per
cent. A foreign expression which seems
apt or an improvement on the one in
present use is rapidly ditlused through
the prison. In cases where ii is especial
ly descriptive it may become permanent,
but its life is usually short The argot
of the crime class changes materially
every two CT three years. 1t is ephem-
eral, as shifting as its users. Victor
Hugo cXaggerates only slightly when he
says, The argot changes more in ten
years than the language does in ten cen
turtles, = thus III the last three years
there have been three different terms
for WATCH super, " "thimble" and
''yellow and white each of which
was in its turn the only one used.
Every writer on the subject has no
ticed that the argot IS rich i'll express
sions to denote certain common actions
This is pecliarity shared by all print
tive languages, the ouly difference being
In the selection of the common acts
Thus in Sanskiit there are nearly 100
roots which express the ld,a Of killing
or wounding, without counting cond
AIRY deriVatons. Some Of Those reots are
embodied i'll our language today. In the
DIALECT of the thieves there me nearly
lO0$xpressions TO signify theft, 1t was
necessary for the pickpocket To describe
the various pockets i'll a mans clothing
and i'll woman's dress. The average
man does not often need to specify a
particular pocket. When he does, be
lays his hand on it to assist the poverty
of his language The thief has II sepa-
rate name for each separate pocket.
But in spite of this richness i'll syn
onyms, which is in itself marked sign
of dogeneracy, for the tendency of Il
language is to eliminate It's synonyms,
giving to each different shade of
meaning, the argot is a POOR language
1t has lot II single expression fer alb
otAuNb tiIlbNlti' ~ attempt w ItlldtI Il
philosophic thought, moral emotion, a
synthetic OF aesthetic idea into the din
lect of the thief would be like attempt
ing to translate electricity or "steam
engine" into Latin. 1t is impossible be
cause the words do not exist They are
not needed. The criminal has no more
conception of abstract emotion than u
blind man has Of color.
A fact which does not seem to ally
the argot to primitive language is its
ability to form additional words from
Its own resources, "a power of self de
velopment which we find IN the old
Anglo Saxon, and especially III the Ger
man of today This trait is the more
striking as 1t seems in direct contradic-
ton to the impotence Of the English
language III this respect rhe English
has little formative power. 1t relies on
the Greek and Latin languages for the
extension Of its vocabulary "A. T. B.
Crofton in Popular Science Monthly.
A SEA ABOVE The CLOUDS
extraordinary Superstition Once Preva-
lent In England.
Tho p14,-I9t1s -lf1,Ipef tipl that fheR Q