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Gail

gic

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Gayle, or Gail, is an English and Afrikaans-based gay argot or cant slang used primarily by English and Afrikaans-speaking homosexual men in urban communities of South Africa, and is similar in some respects to Polari in the United Kingdom, from which some lexical items have been borrowed. The equivalent language used by homosexual South African men who speak Bantu languages is called IsiNgqumo, and is based on a Nguni lexicon. Gayle originally manifested as moffietaal in the drag culture of the Cape Coloured community in the 1950s. It permeated into white homosexual circles in the 1960s and became part of mainstream white gay culture through South African Airways koffie-moffies in the 1970s. Besides a few core words borrowed from Polari (such as the word varda meaning to see, itself a borrowing from Lingua Franca), most of Gayle's words are alliterative formations using women's names, such as Beulah for beauty, Priscilla, meaning police, and Hilda for hideous. Men, especially other homosexual men, are often referred to by female pronouns in some circles, as is the custom among many homosexual countercultures throughout the world. (Cage, 1999, p.  36) Gayle arose for the same reason that most antilanguages develop in marginalised communities—to have a secret language in an oppressive society. However it also fulfilled other functions such as to camp up conversation, and provide entertainment in a subculture where verbal wit and repartee are highly valued.
Source : DBpedia

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This page is providing structured data for the language Gail.
Following BCP 47 the recommended tag for this language is gic.

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