Prison Argot: A Sociolinguistic and Lexicographic Study

by Gilbert L. Encinas

Overview

Prison society has always had its own unique language. With roots in codes and secret communications, it has evolved over many years, allowing criminals to communicate with each other privately. This language, called "argot" from the French argot — a beggars' guild, criminal cant, and slang—has significant meaning to inmates. Coded communication allows prisoners to define their relative status and rights, just as workers who were members of corporations and guilds had their own argot for the same purpose. Prison Argot is Gilbert L. Encinas' study of the different elements of prison language.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761820437
Publisher:	University Press of America
Publication date:	09/26/2001
Pages:	120
Product dimensions:	5.68(w) x 8.74(h) x 0.55(d)

About the Author

Gilbert L. Encinas is a Statistical Research Consultant at Parker Consulting LLC, in Arizona. He has taught college level courses in Cultural Anthropology and Nature of Language.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Dedication Chapter 2 List of Illustrations Chapter 3 Introduction to Prison Argot Chapter 4 Prison Environment & the Law Chapter 5 The Prison Industry Chapter 6 Theoretical Perspectives and Framework Chapter 7 Social Structure Chapter 8 Summary Chapter 9 Sociolinguistics Chapter 10 Discourse Analysis Chapter 11 The Argot Lexicon Chapter 12 Assessment of Argot Chapter 13 References Chapter 14 Index