Secret Languages
One of the most common "secret" languages is Pig Latin. Although many people can converse in Pig Latin, the language is still uncommon enough that it can be used to cloak sensitive conversations. Pig Latin is a playful variant of English, and has nothing at all to do with Latin. In Pig Latin, which is mainly a spoken as opposed to written language, the speaker removes the first consonant sound of every word, adds the vowel sound "Ay" and moves the resulting syllable to the end of the word. For example, the word "secret" becomes "ecretsay," the word "pen" becomes "enpay," the word "toilet" becomes "oilettay," the word "magazine" becomes "agazinemay," and the word "toast" becomes "oasttay." Consonant groups that form one single sound are treated as the same consonant and are moved together. For example, the word "glue" becomes "ueglay," not "lueglay." The word "school" becomes "oolschay," which sounds like "oolskay." Similarly, the word "scissors" would become "issorsscay," because the "sc" sound remains a soft "s." Pig Latin is therefore more of a verbal than a written language but can be used effectively in writing.
If a word begins with a vowel, then the speaker usually adds the syllable "way" at the end of the word without altering anything else. The word "incense" becomes "incenseway," the word "envelope" becomes "envelopeway," the word "angel" becomes "angelway," and the name "Ann" becomes "Annway." However, some people add "ay" at the end instead of "way."
Many people can speak Pig Latin fluently enough to hold long conversations in the language. One girl reported having learned Pig Latin in the fourth grade. She stated that she used Pig Latin when she and her friends wanted to conceal what they were talking about, such as if they were telling secrets about other people or gossiping. They also used Pig Latin to talk in front of teachers or parents. On command, the girl could rattle off whole sentences in succession in Pig Latin, and was easily able to converse with a fellow Pig Latin speaker for several minutes. The girl said that she finds speaking Pig Latin a little easier than understanding it, and sometimes she misses a few words here and there when she listens to her friends. Igpay atinlay isway unfay
