LANGUAGE OF PRISON LIFE (FROM JUSTICE AND CORRECTIONS, 1978, BY NORMAN JOHNSTON AND LEONARD D SAVITZ - SEE NCJ-47922)

• NCJ Number: 47939
• Author(s): A GUENTHER
• Date Published: 1978
• Length: 3 pages
• Corporate Author: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Vocabulary/Thesaurus
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: SOCIAL DIMENSIONS OF A PENITENTIARY - REPORT TO THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE, 1975, UNPUBLISHED MIMEO

Annotation

A DISCUSSION IS PRESENTED CONCERNING THE REASONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A VERNACULAR PARTICULAR TO INMATE POPULATIONS.

Abstract

SOCIOLOGISTS OF LANGUAGE AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL LINGUISTS HAVE SUGGESTED THAT LANGUAGE IS PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT MEDIUM BY WHICH CULTURE IS TRANSMITTED. ITS USE AMONG PARTICIPANTS OF ANY GROUP, INCLUDING INMATES, SIGNIFIES HOW AND WHY COMMUNICATION TAKES PLACE. FOR THIS REASON STUDIES OF PRISON SYSTEMS OFTEN INCLUDE A DISCUSSION OF ARGOT, USUALLY A DESCRIPTION OF ITS UNIQUE ATTRIBUTES. SEVERAL OBSERVATIONS HAVE BEEN MADE WHICH IN PART ACCOUNT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF INMATE-UNIQUE ARGOT: (1) THE VOCABULARY IS SOCIALLY TRANSMITTED FROM RESIDENT OFFENDER TO NEWLY COMMITTED PERSONS; (2) PROFANITY, SLANG, AND ARGOT SUBSTITUTE FOR THE LIMITED VOCABULARY AMONG MANY PRISONERS; (3) SOME TERMS CONVEY ELEMENTS OF HUMOR; (4) THE USE OF UNCOMMON LANGUAGE IS A FAMILIAR DEVICE FOR EXCLUDING OTHERS AND PROMOTING GROUP COHESION; AND (5) JARGON IS A MEANS OF AGGRADIZING ONE'S POSITION AND IMPRESSING OTHERS. PRISON ARGOT APPEARS TO REFLECT THE SENTIMENTS OF CRIMINAL CULTURE, AND ALTHOUGH THE LANGUAGE SYSTEM PREVAILING IN A GIVEN PRISON MAY DIFFER FROM THOSE IN OTHER INSTITUTIONS OR MAY NOT CLOSELY CORRESPOND WITH LINGUISTIC PATTERNS IN PAST YEARS, THE DIFFERENCES ARE LARGELY A MATTER OF DEGREE. THERE IS LITTLE REASON TO BELIEVE THAT THE CONDITIONS OF PRISON LIFE WHICH HISTORICALLY GAVE RISE TO ITS LANGUAGE STRUCTURE HAVE BEEN DRASTICALLY ALTERED, BUT IT IS PROBABLY A SIGNIFICANT INDICATOR OF THE SEPARATION OF PRISON AND SOCIETY THAT A SPECIAL VOCABULARY WITH ITS OWN NUANCES AND OVERTONES PERSISTS. THERE CONTINUE TO BE SEVERAL CATEGORIES OF TERMS WHICH REFER TO CRIME, LAW ENFORCEMENT, CRIMINAL PROCEDURE, CONVICTION, PRISON STAFF, INSTITUTIONAL FACILITIES, INMATE PERSONALITIES, AND PRISON ROUTINE WHICH ARE FOUND IN ONE FORM OR ANOTHER THROUGHOUT PRISON SYSTEMS. MANY OF THE ACTUAL TERMS WHICH ARE IN THE DAILY USAGE OF PRISONERS ARE OBSCENE BY COMMUNITY STANDARDS, AND NO SMALL NUMBER ARE DERISORY. IN BOTH SENSES THE WORLD OF INCARCERATION IS MADE OUT TO BE PICTURESQUE AND UNIQUE. EXAMPLES OF PRISON VERNACULAR IN USE AT AN ATLANTA, GEORGIA, CORRECTIONAL FACILITY ARE CITED AND BRIEFLY DISCUSSED. (KBL)