Additional Note
I would suggest that both names, Polari and Sabir, are derived from an
initial enquiry whether a stranger speaks Lingua Franca. Henry and
Renée Kahane quote from one Master Thomas Dallam (1599):
…there came unto us two stout Turkes, and sayd: Parlye
Francko, sinyore? which is: Can ye speake Ittallian, sinyor?…
So both polari and sabir may well be
abbreviations of
parlar/sabir franco [do you speak/know Lingua Franca] –
set phrases to start a conversation with a
stranger, which gave names to varieties of Lingua Franca.
A.D.C.
Go back to Dr. Zago's essay.
Go back to the Turkish Ceremony.
Go back to Title Page
Alan D. Corré
corre@uwm.edu