The historical relationship between members of different racial and ethnic groups and the dominant culture in the United States is characterized by dominant/submissive postures. Communication between such groups in a contemporary setting tends to be riddled by the tensions and hostilities inherent in such an historical relationship. Linguistic barriers to interracial communication are produced by the development and use of contracultural language codes within our society, designed to ensure culture-group survival. Contracultural language codes or argots serve as a means for both expression of hostile reactions and preservation of group integrity. The historical plight of the Jews of Spain during the Inquisition; the code of the Pachuco, an argot of youth drawing from Mexican and American slang; black argot; and Japanese-American Nisei argot are discussed in this paper, in relation to the respective language codes' capacities to serve as a cultural storehouse for expression of hostility toward the dominant culture and maintenance of the identity and group solidarity of these "out groups." (Author/LG)