BONA ITS BACK!

[DISCODISK]

23/1/2005 9:01:50 AM ( Source: Reuters)




Gay slang makes comeback

By Paul Majendie

LONDON (Reuters) - How bona to vada your dolly old eek again!

Polari, the gay slang used as a secret underground language before the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Britain back in the 1960s, is making a comeback.

But don't go reaching for the dictionary to find out what on earth they are talking about.

You will need a special polari glossary to translate your way into this outrageously camp world where Bona means good, vada is to see and your dolly old eek is your lovely face.

The argot is a polyglot mixture of Italian, Spanish, Yiddish, Romany and Cockney rhyming slang that provides a passport into a once secret world where love "dare not speak its name".

This rehabilitation, with a hit London play and a camp cabaret adopting polari, marks a milestone in the mainstreaming of gay culture, much more at ease with itself and ready to reflect with fondness on past stereotypes.

"Gay culture is finally ready to look back on its history in an objective and kinder way," said Paul Baker, who can lay claim to be the world's leading expert on polari after writing two books and his PhD on the slang.

The linguistics expert is also the author of "Hello Sailor! Seafaring Life for Gay Men 1945-1990".

"When the gay liberation front came along, they wanted to distance themselves from the image of queenie, limp-wristed gay men and show they could be more macho than straight men," Baker told Reuters.

Sex between males over the age of 21 was legalised in 1967, ending centuries in the shadows for gays constantly facing the threat of prosecution.

"They were ground-breaking and brave people in their way. It's good that there is no need any more for a secret language but polari still has its fascinations," Baker said.

Polari first broke out of the closet in the late Sixties with Julian and Sandy, two camp characters in the BBC cult radio show "Round the Horne" who screeched their way through double entendre comedy routines laced with bitchy gossip.

They were forever trolling (walking) down to a fantabulosa (wonderful) bar for a bijou drinkette. As feele homies (young men) they would love to zhoosh their riah (fix their hair).

Now history has come full circle.

"Round the Horne" has been turned into a London theatre hit that introduced a new generation to Polari.

Baker was called in to supply Madame Jo Jo's, a Soho cabaret venue, with a polari glossary for its cast of international waiters to use as a gay esperanto for bewildered customers.

"Documentaries are being made about Polari on radio and TV. The play has really taken off. My books are selling well and London is talking about having its first Gay Museum. People are showing interest in gay history," Baker said.

Polari is also adapting to the 21st century.

"Young people are adding new words and expressions all the time. The Madonna Claw is someone with a withered hand. The singer is a gay icon and the language is being updated, keeping it in a gay remit," he said.

"It will never return to the status of the Fifties and Sixties. But it is a bit of fun, a bit of nostalgia. Gays are acknowledging their past in an affectionate way."