Monday’s landmark Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia came as a surprise to many, with typically conservative justices making decisions with progressive outcomes. As so many have reported, Neil Gorsuch, a strict textualist, looked at the plain language of the law and concluded:
“When the express terms of a statute give us one answer and extratextual considerations suggest another, it’s no contest. Only the written word is the law, and all persons are entitled to its benefit.”
Bottom line: Language matters.
We at the Harris County Law Library also have an appreciation for language and its many idiosyncrasies. Reading about the Supreme Court’s historic decision brought to mind the importance of language and words – what they mean, and how they function.
Language serves a greater purpose than communication. It is the currency we use for self-expression, and it gives meaning to thoughts and ideas. Language also builds communities. To learn the vocabulary, grammar, syntax, and tone of a language is to become part of the in-group that speaks it. In short, words give us access to the communities we inhabit.
Within those communities, we develop a jargon, which one website defines as “a type of shorthand between members of a particular group of people, often involving words that are meaningless outside of a certain context.” When mastered, jargon serves as an emblem of our belonging. One good example that illustrates how language defines a culture comes from the LGBTQ community in Great Britain.
Polari
This anti-language is, thankfully, a relic of a bygone era when gay men in the United Kingdom relied on words to keep them safe. Homosexuality was not decriminalized in the UK until the passage of the Sexual Offences Act of 1967. Developing a tool for communicating within the gay community prior to that time was necessary to survive. That tool was Polari, a secret language that evolved from thieves’ cant, an argot used in the world of petty crime that dates back to the 16th century. Along the way, Polari picked up bits of Yiddish, Italian, and Romani. It bears many similarities to Cockney Rhyming Slang, using humor and wit to speak in a way that granted gay men the freedom to socialize and build community without fear. Today, Polari is all but dead, a sign of the times. Yesterday’s decision to protect LGBTQ individuals in the workplace hinged on a strict textual reading of the law, and consequently, led to the further demise of cultural touchstones like Polari that are no longer needed.