Stanley Unwin Invented His Own Language

Although Stanley Unwin may not be well known to modern audiences, the British comedian was adored for many years until passing away in 2002. One of the things that made him so unique was his ability to communicate rapidly, clearly, and incomprehensibly swiftly.

Ivan Oswald Unwin (1880–1914) and Jessie Elizabeth (née Brand; 1883–1968), Unwin's parents, immigrated to the Union of South Africa in the early 1900s from England. In 1911, their son was born in Pretoria. Due to the family's financial hardship when his father passed away in 1914, Unwin's mother arranged for them to move back to England. She was a cook at the police station on Bow Road. Unwin was transferred to Congleton, Cheshire's National Children's Home in 1919. He attended Regent Street Polytechnic in London in the late 1920s to study radio, television, and languages.

He created "Unwinese," a comedic tongue that was referred to as "gobbledygook" in the 1961 movie Carry On Regardless. The term "wasp-waist and swivel-hippie" was used to describe Elvis Presley and his contemporaries in unwinese, a distorted form of English in which numerous words were transformed in playful and hilarious ways. Unwin stated that his mother served as the source of inspiration, telling him once that she had "falolloped (fell over)" and "grazed her kneeclabbers" on the way home.

Born: 7 June 1911

Died: 12 January 2002