Originally published in 1937, this highly influential book examines the 'secret' languages of Ireland, particularly the Shelta tongue spoken by Irish Travellers, and the various written and spoken forms of Ogham. An appendix at the back allows for the translation of certain English words into a variety of languages, such as Bog-Latin and Bēarlagair na Sāer. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in Ireland and the historical languages of its people.

Cassidy presents a history of the Irish influence on American slang in a colourful romp through the slums, the gangs of New York and the elaborate scams of grifters and con men, their secret language owing much to the Irish Gaelic imported with many thousands of immigrants. With chapters on How the Irish Invented Poker and How the Irish Invented Jazz, Cassidy stakes a claim for the Irishness of American English. Includes a preface by Peter Quinn and an Irish - American Vernacular Dictionary.

This book explores the Irish Traveller community through an ethnographic and folk linguistic lens. It sheds new light on Irish Traveller language, commonly referred to as Gammon or Cant, an integral part of the community's cultural heritage that has long been viewed as a form of secret code. The author addresses Travellers' metalinguistic and ideological reflections on their language use, providing deep insights into the culture and values of community members, and into their perceived social reality in wider society. In doing so, she demonstrates that its interrelationship with other cultural elements means that the language is in a constant flux, and by analysing speakers' experiences of language in action, provides a dynamic view of language use. The book takes the reader on a journey through oral history, language naming practices, ideologies of languageness and structure, descriptions of language use and contexts, negotiations of the 'authentic' Cant, and Cant as 'identity'. Based on a two-year ethnographic fieldwork project in a Traveller Training Centre in the West of Ireland, this book will appeal to students and scholars of sociolinguistics, language in society, language ideology, folk linguistics, minority communities and languages, and cultural and linguistic anthropology.

This comprehensive volume describes in depth all the Celtic languages from historical, structural and sociolinguistic perspectives, with individual chapters on Irish, Scottish, Gaelic, Manx, Welsh, Breton and Cornish. Organized for ease of reference, The Celtic Languages is arranged in four parts. The first, Historical Aspects, covers the origin and history of the Celtic languages, their spread and retreat, present-day distribution and a sketch of the extant and recently extant languages. Parts II and III describe the structural detail of each language, including phonology, mutation, morphology, syntax, dialectology and lexis. The final part provides wide-ranging sociolinguistic detail, such as areas of usage (in government, church, media, education, business), maintenance (institutional support offered), and prospects for survival (examination of demographic changes and how they affect these languages). Special Features: * Presents the first modern, comprehensive linguistic description of this important language family * Provides a full discussion of the likely progress of Irish, Welsh and Breton * Includes the most recent research on newly discovered Continental Celtic inscriptions