Today zonovye phrases can often be heard everywhere: among young people, they have nothing to do with the criminal world, from the lips of young mothers and elderly people, as well as from adolescents and even young children.
Why is thieves' jargon so popular today?
The reason that zonovye phrases are so in demand in everyday life today is the romanticization of prison life. Thanks for this you need thieves chanson, movies and books that show beautiful and strong personalities belonging to the criminal environment. It is in fiction and cinematographic creations that the realism of displaying life in places of deprivation of liberty or after release flourishes. Therefore, zonovye phrases fit into the work quite organically.
Why do young people use jargon in speech?
There are several reasons for the fact that young people actively use zonal phrases in speech.
- Youthful nihilism, which opposes “right speech, ” makes teens talk in ways that annoy adults.
- The desire to seem stronger than it actually is, “cooler” than their peers, pushes us to “run the hair dryer” instead of the generally accepted and understandable speech.
- Deliberate rudeness in behavior and, naturally, in conversations is a way to hide your youthful shyness and self-doubt from prying eyes. For example, with the thieves phrase “You will answer for the bazaar!” the young man warns that he should not be lied to, otherwise the liar will be severely punished. It is likely that the guy can not do anything for a lie. But the phrase itself, as it were, elevates it above the one to whom it is addressed.
- A peculiar mechanism of protection against unpleasant life situations is the replacement of generally accepted words with jargon. For example, if instead of the phrase “place for detainees in the police station” to use ridiculous jargon “monkey”, this partially removes the tragedy of what is happening, distracts from harsh reality. The insult to the “radish” (a bad person) somehow does not sound offensive, but even to some extent ironic. It is much nicer than a comparison with some animals or even waste products.
About where the prison vocabulary came from
The thieves' environment required a “coded” language. After all, it was not always possible to transmit messages confidentially. Using a special language that only the initiates can understand, you can, for example, agree on the place and time of the impending crime, on the number of participants, and convey some important details.
But to create a completely new language from scratch is a rather painstaking and complicated matter. Therefore, declassed elements found the most affordable option. They used as a base for their language the argo of stray merchants, who were then called aehen. From here came the name of thieves' jargon. The phrase "Speak the language of thieves" sounds: "To work on a hair dryer."
The dictionary of criminal argo includes many words from Yiddish, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, English and other languages.
Do creative people need to learn thieves' jargon?
Of course, this is not necessary at all. A lot of people lived their lives quite happily without knowing a single word from the criminal dictionary. But here writers, journalists, screenwriters to know at least superficially some of the frequently used vocabulary of antisocial elements is simply necessary. Otherwise, how to recreate realistic pictures of everyday life?
You can imagine for a second such an episode filmed in a film: two guys decided to pull a tape recorder out of the car. One of them says to his partner: “You will remain standing under the tree and will make sure that no one prevents me from completing my plan. If something happens, signal the danger! ”
After that, he began to implement the plan. And suddenly the owner himself leaves the entrance! Then the one who was left to watch shouts to the second: “Comrade thief, danger! We urgently need to run away! ”
The situation is understandable, but the irony is the absurdity of presenting the event, since criminals will never speak so long and correctly. Most likely, the picture should look like this.
One of the thieves says to the second: “I went to work, and you stay on the line!” Briefly and clearly. And when the owner of the car appeared, standing on a skater shouted just one word: “Atas!” This will be enough to report an imminent danger.
Law Enforcement and Criminal Jargon
Well, these people without knowledge of bad language are simply nowhere. Investigators, taking testimony of witnesses, record what they heard. To understand what was discussed between accomplices, you must be well-versed in the argo of criminal elements.
“Vaska says to the bald man with whom they sat in the kitchen to drink:“ Tomorrow we’ll go to our ears. I have one sweet pepper in my mind. Do not take feathers - we don’t need wet fish! "Fatty can’t blather anything - he, surrenders, knocks on everyone … If we fail, you will answer for the bazaar!"
This speech is translated as follows: “Tomorrow we will go to the robbery. I have in mind one rich man. Do not take knives - we do not need killing! I don’t have to say anything to the fat one, he’s completely spoiled, I think he’s informing everyone of the authorities … If we get caught red-handed at the crime scene, you will be punished like a blunder about plans!
By the way, for law enforcement officials, studying the dictionary of jargon is a must. And in films about "cops" (police officers) and "operas" (operatives) such episodes are often found.
