Nadsat As Thieves' Cant? Possibly...

Back when thieves were still "thieves" and not the ambiguous and sanitized "rogue", we heard a lot about the so-called Thieves' Cant, that manufactured language used by criminals to conceal their activities from the eyes (and ears) of the law...

But what would this tongue sound like?  And does it really matter WHAT our fictional in-game languages sound like?  Maybe.

Depending on the degree of immersion in the campaign, yeah, it certainly could matter a lot.  Especially if your players get into their role-playing and like to act out...

But maybe not.  Still, the Nadsat language from the excellent book and Kubrick film "A Clockwork Orange" is one idea...

A Clockwork Orange imagines a
dark future where violent gangs prowl...

For the uninitiated, this compelling tale by Anthony Burgess imagines a dystopic future where teenage gangs walk the streets in search of money and a bit of "ultraviolence".  I don't condone violence against the innocent (and don't find its protagonist's evil exploits remotely charming), but I STILL have to say the movie version is a sheer MASTERPIECE in cinematic terms... 

And a nice bit of social commentary, I might add!     

Now, part of this imagined future was Nadsat (meaning teenager), a slang based on a strongly Russian-influenced English...

Could THIS be a suitable Thieves' Cant?  There's more than one resource online (Burgess actually created this), but for impatient players, here's a list of words to try in your game:

Anyone familiar with the film could easily adopt this pigdin for their thief characters, keeping in mind that it was used by ruffians who no doubt took advantage of its mysterious qualities to conceal their own questionable exploits.  If this sounds like a thief, you'd be right (sort of).  And it could be fun to use in play...

Of course, there's always the REAL thieves' Cant, but this is a little edgier and PERFECT for cyberpunk!

Anyway, that's all we have today.  If you haven't already seen it, investigate the movie, although be warned, it's pretty dark and also misogynistic.  But this is meant to underscore themes of sexuality in society and its links to violence.  I don't find Alex to be a very nice man at all, but there's a social message to be found here, and it does provoke discussion.  Decide for yourself.        

Whatever you think about the film, its Nadsat language is certainly one way to approach the Thieves' Cant.  Viddy well, everyone!