Research On The Argot Of Macau Triads

As a kind of aberrance of langUage argot has been evident throughout history, indifferent cultllres and conteXts. The Chinese language is spoken throughout theworld, and as such has a long history of argot. In China itself, a great deal ofremarkab1e research has been carried out on this subject, but as yet no suchresearch has been done on the argot of the Macau tf iads. This paPer focusesmain1y on the concept of argot, its difference from langUage, its characteristics,functions and ru1es of conformation. We might say that argot is a kind of dialectof society. The argot of the Macau triads is composed of Cantonese, gamblingslang and the sign langUage used commonly amongst gang members. Dependantupon the Hong Kong and Macau dialect, this cryptic and visual argot cannot beused in isolation. It is composed of metaphor, name replacement, depiction,definition and aPpellation replacement.Macau tf iads have a history of over 200 years. There is a strong relationshipbetWeen argot and society in many areas - folklore, psychology and culture toname but a few. Accordingly there is still much work left to be done on thisfascinating subject.Research on the argot of the Macau triads will be of great significance to thefurther understanding of the enignatic Chinese lang'Uage. It will enable greatercomprehension of social life, culture, customs and psychology in Macau, as wellas providing a valuable reference and innovative view on the Chinese language.In addition to this, mastering the argot of Macau tf iads provides investigators andauthorities with a very imPortan lingual reference. Argot, being a limitedlangUage phenomenon of a sub-culture, is an imPortam and iflteresting sphere ofiflterest.All information from this article has been collected from Macau law enforcementofficers, Hong Kong police depedments, the Zhuhai State Security Bureau, theLegal and Law Research office of the Guangdong Security Bureau (Zhuhaibranch) and various individuals in Macau.