Vocabulary regarding “the oldest profession in the world” in Polish criminal jargon from the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century Cover Image

Leksyka dotycząca „najstarszego zawodu świata” w polskim socjolekcie przestępczym z XIX i początku XX wieku
Vocabulary regarding “the oldest profession in the world” in Polish criminal jargon from the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century

Author(s): Jarosław Grzegorz Pacuła
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Theoretical Linguistics, Lexis, Semantics, Historical Linguistics
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego
Keywords: Criminal jargon; erotic lexis; etymology; semantics; diachronic linguistics.

Summary/Abstract: The author presents an erotic lexicon belonging to the category of “prostitution” and appearing in historical criminal jargon. He excerpted lexical material from Polish historical studies from the 19th century and the beginning the 20th century (38 words). In the article the author presents the provenance of some expressivisms. He analyses less familiar and forgotten names of brothel, prostitute and pimp: i.e.: bajzel, majdan, binia, nafke, marucha, lupa, chonte, babustyna, szantrapa, rachla, gonia, wytyczka, przydupnik, maciornik, luj, bratpolski, alfons). Most of the studied words constitute neo-semantism, less often – borrowings. The author presents the etymology of this vocabulary, but he also hypothesises the origin of several lexemes. He puts the analysed words in the context of linguistic and cultural taboos (he mentions euphemisation and vulgarisation). The text invites discussion; some of the author’s observations provoke debate.

  • Issue Year: 39/2020
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 127-150
  • Page Count: 14
  • Language: Polish