Germanía or jerigonza is the term used in Spanish to refer to the argot used by criminals or in jails. Its purpose is to keep outsiders out of the conversation.

We already have some documentation in picaresque works from the Spanish Golden Century. Some writers used it in poetry for comical effect.

Since the arrival of Roma people and their frequent imprisonment, it incorporated lots of vocabulary from Romany language and its descendant, the Gipsy jargon caló. As time passed, several words entered popular use and even standard Spanish, losing their occultation value. It survives today in the cheli jargon.

War of the Germanías

The term germanía ("brotherhood" in Catalan, compare with Galician irmandiño ) originated from the name of certain communities in the Valencian Country, Spain, which made themselves notorious by having rebelled against the local nobility during the sixteenth century. Subsequently, the term referred to the argot used by these communities and, eventually, it referred to improper argot.

Other jargons based on Spanish language

Caló, Lunfardo, Tarish

External links

• Spain 1516–1522: The Troubled Succession Of Charles V - Part 9: The Germania
• Germanía in the RAE dictionary.