[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: Vietnamese vs English - noi lai and play languages
On Fri, 10 Jan 1997, Anonymous Poster wrote:
I think it is pure speculation on your part about no'i la'i ... The
orginal post of "Cu? chi" issue were posted by Vinh Q. Nguyen as an
example of popular literaure reference to homosexual content which is one
of Vinh's favorite topics.
I do not see any revelation of no'i la'i and homosexuality in Vietnam.
The only visibility of homosexuality in VN as far as the public's
perception is those who are transgendered, dress up in women's clothes and
act/talk like women. This is only a small spectrum of homosexuality and
therefore does not represent Vietnamese homosexuality as a whole,
regardless ofhomosexuality in VN or outside VN (of Vietnameses).
==
Minh
>
> There is a Vietnamese play language (like Pig Latin or Dog Latin, for
> English) called "noi lai" that involves exchanging parts of words (the
> initial consonant of one word is combined with the tone, vowel, and final
> consonant of another word, and the initial consonant of the second word
> is combined with the tone, vowel, and final consonant of the first
> word). Perhaps this was the case for the example offered earlier in this
> discussion.
>
> Do Vietnamese members of the list think of this form as somehow
> identified with gay people? That is, are gay people (especially those
> who might be described as queens or effeminate) supposed to be experts or
> particularly skilled in using this play language? If you had to say what
> are the characteristics of gay language among VNese men, how would you
> describe it? If we assume that there are stereotypes of "queen talk"
> among Vietnamese, what are those stereotypes?
>
> This are serious questions, and I don't mean to offend anybody. The
> earliest description of this form of play language (Cheon, 1905) says
> that it was a special occupational language of (female) prostitutes and
> "flower-boat singers" (i.e., entertainers who were also prostitutes).
> But I wonder if it might also have been popular among a homosexual
> underworld or counterculture, as a form of artistic speech or secret
> language.
>
> I'll be grateful for any thoughts.
>
> Best,
>
> Frank Proschan
> <email>
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
> Reply to <email> do NOT reply to <email>
> Administrative questions should be sent to <email>
> VN-GBLF Home Page: http://neptune.netimages.com/gblf
>
--
MCVT MinhChau GooFy GooF University of California, Irvine
-------------------------------------------------------------------