Origins, sources and diffusion of slang

Introduction

Today countries and continents are becoming closer and closer. They are connected with transport routes, radio and satellite broadcasting and the Internet. The attitude towards foreign languages has changed too. The knowledge of a foreign language is now not only a part of a good education, but a necessity.

Without doubt, English has already won a world status. It is the most widespread language in the world. For approximately 400 million people English is a native language. More than 200 million people speak English as a second language. It is learned in all countries as a language of world communication. It has become a world language in politics, science, business and culture. No other language is as popular in information technology, advertising and popular music. It is certain that English is accepted everywhere around the world.

A well-educated person should know at least one foreign language. The Latin proverb says: “Quo linguis calet, tot hominess valet”, which means “As many languages a person knows, as many people he is worth.” [26, 15]Each country, each culture and each language has something unique to offer. Some ideas can be expressed only in a foreign language. It also helps one to understand one’s own language. Goethe said: “A man, who does not know any foreign language, does not know his native one either”.[37, 14]

English is a language that has a lot of different variants. Each of these variants has special and unique peculiarities in vocabulary, grammar and phonetics. That is why people, whose native language is English but who live in different countries do not always easily understand each other. Therefore, it is obvious and apparent that it is almost impossible for a “non-native speaker” to perform a perfect communication. But why? Answering the question, it should be mentioned that phonetic peculiarities in speech of a speaker and his rate of speaking are very important in the process of comprehension. However, vocabulary that predetermines the meaning of the utterance is of great importance too. But what is going on when we hear very familiar words and notions but cannot put them together to make sense? The answer is found in the simple and seemingly familiar notion SLANG (more detailed information about slang is found in the Chapter I). Slang makes 1/3 part of the spoken language but in spite of this fact most teachers and specialists in methodology ignore slang, although a lot of words and expressions belonging to slang are gradually becoming normal.

Spoken language is quite different from literary and written standards. Language should be a means of communication not a barrier. Using slang comparatively simplifies communication with native speakers. It is even urgent to know slang, because nowadays a lot of people from our country leave for English-speaking countries as international students and trainees. That is why slang should also be learned and taught, for it is also an inseparable part of Spoken English.

Analyzing the above, the following theme of this research work is singled out: “Slang as a part of Spoken English.”

The theme of the research work is considered to be vital because today people need to contact with native speakers more than ever and besides a formal language it is impossible to avoid an informal one. Thus slang is relevant here. The aim of this paper is studying the importance of knowledge of slang.

In accordance with the aim, the following hypothesis is suggested:

“Knowledge of slang is a very important component in the development of one’s linguistic competence, for it simplifies comprehension of authentic movies and literary works, and communication in real-life situations, in general.”

Linguistic competence is a system of knowledge of a language, its rules in speech functioning and ability with this system to understand one’s thoughts and to express one’s own ideas in oral and written form. [46, 74]

The object of the research work is Spoken English and the subject is slang.

The practical significance of this research consists in the fact that it suggests practical examples and situations where slang can be revealed and how it can be applied. The paper contains the appendix (Appendix 5) displaying slang vocabulary, which includes the most popular slang words and expressions. This research also contributes to teaching EFL: it suggests teaching slang in schools, for it also promotes the development of one’s linguistic competence. The aim of this paper predetermines certain tasks, namely:

Studying and systematizing the theoretical material on the topic;

Defining the notion “slang”;

Tracing the origin and sources of slang;

Singling out the classification of slang, its forms and characteristics;

Analyzing the use of slang in movies, literature, songs and Internet;

Interviewing native American speakers;

Describing the results of the research work.

Accordingly, the following methods are suggested:

Analysis of the theoretical material;

Content-analysis;

Study of literary works;

Analysis of the American movies;

Analysis of the songs;

Method of research work;

Interview.

Chapter I. Slang as a part of Spoken English

1.1 Spoken English and Slang. Origins, sources and diffusion of slang.

Just as there is formal and informal dress, so there is formal and informal speech. Consequently, the social context, in which the conversation is taking place, determines both the mode of dress and the modes of speech. When placed in different situations, people instinctively choose different kind of words and structures to express their thoughts. That means that the actual situation of the communication has evolved to varieties of language- spoken and written. [2, 22]

The stability of a word for each particular situation depends on its stylistic characteristics, or, in other words, on the functional style it represents. I.V. Arnold defines “functional style” as “a system of expressive means peculiar to a specific sphere of communication”. By the sphere of communication, linguists mean the circumstances attending the process of speech in each particular case: professional communication, a lecture, an informal talk, a formal letter, an intimate letter, a speech in court, etc. All these situations can be roughly classified into 2 types: formal (a lecture, an official letter, a speech in court) and informal (an informal talk, an intimate letter).[2, 24]

No living language is simply one set of words, which can be used the same way in all situations. The nature of language is such that there are many different ways to arrange its elements. What this means is that there are many ways to say the same thing, depending on where a speaker is, whom he is talking to, and how he feels. One is all advanced enough in his study of English to realize that he does not talk to a roommate the same way he would talk to his roommate’s mother. One of the main factors, which determine which words and structures are appropriate, is the degree of formality of the situation in which one is using the language. [27, 14]

Informal vocabulary belongs to the Spoken language and is used in one’s immediate circle: family, relatives or friends. One uses the spoken language, i.e. informal speech, when at home or when feeling at home. There are many situations in everyday life where Informal English is allowed, even preferred. Some examples include: while playing sports, while studying with friends, while watching a sport event, with close family members, with friends while shopping or hanging out, at work (depending on the job), on a date, at the movies, while listening to popular music, in email, in notes, on the phone with friends. [8, 134]

The spoken language has a considerable advantage over the written one, in that the human voice comes in play. This is a powerful means of modulating the utterance, as are all kinds of gestures, which, together with the intonation give additional information. The spoken language by its very nature is spontaneous, momentary, fleeting. It vanishes after having fulfilled its purpose, which is to communicate a thought, no matter whether it is trivial or really important. The idea remains, the language dissolves in it. [32, 8]

The spoken variety differs from the written language (that is, in its written presentation) phonetically, morphologically and syntactically. But the most striking difference between the spoken and the written language is, however, in the vocabulary used. Colloquial expressions and slang are an essential part of spoken English. There is hardly a person who does not make use of them upon occasion.

Everyone from teenagers to scientists use it. All countries and periods of history have had slang. It reflects the peculiarities of contemporary daily life in a unique way. All types of semantic changes can be illustrated from that part of the vocabulary.

Much has already been said about slang but what is it? There are different opinions of what slang is. The Encyclopedia Britannica defines it as:

“Non-standard vocabulary composed of words or senses characterized primarily by connotations of extreme informality and usually by a currency not limited to a particular region. It is composed typically of coinages or arbitrarily changed words, clipped or shortened forms, extravagant, forced or facetious figures of speech, or verbal novelties.” [5, 168]

The definition of the Oxford Dictionary of 1911 is very different:

“…language of a high colloquial type, below the level of standard educated speech and consisting either of new words or of current words employed in some special sense”. [25, 11]

According to the American poet Carl Sandburg (1878-1967) slang is the language “which takes off its coat, spits on its hands and goes to work”. Slang has also been characterized as “an ever-changing set of colloquial words and phrases generally considered distinct from and socially lower that the standard language. It occurs in all languages, and the existence of this part of the vocabulary is probably as old as the language itself”. [7, 14]

Slang can also be defined as “a peculiar kind of vagabond language, always hanging on the outskirts of legitimate speech, but continually straying or forcing its way into the most respectable company.” [11, 94]

These definitions vary, and they clearly show different attitudes to slang. But there is one thing that is the same in all of these definitions. They characterize slang as the language lower than standard educated speech. Slang is considered to be vulgar and rude, as the language of lower social classes. That is right; slang belongs to so-called “vulgar speech”.

Slang is used by all kinds of groups of people who share situations or interests. The group which uses these words is always in minority, and often uses slang to set its members apart or make it difficult for ordinary people to understand them. Slang fulfills at least two different functions, depending on whose point of view. For the groups that use slang, it is a way to express themselves in an individual way, and sometimes to keep secrets from being known by others. But foe the society in general and the development of the language, slang performs another role. For the language slang is like a linguistic laboratory, where new words and forms can be tested out, applied to a variety of situations, and then either abandoned or incorporated into the regular language. It is like a trial period for new words. If they allow people to say something that cannot be said using traditional language, and a majority of people accept them, then these words and expressions join their regular language. [30, 57]

Though slang belongs to the spoken part of the language, not all conversational expressions are slang. For example, it is hard to imagine such expressions as “shut up” (for “be quiet”) in a book (except in a dialog), but it is not slang. Slang is often confused with jargon, but they are quite different. Jargon is itself a loaded word. It is obscure and pretentious language marked by a roundabout way of expression and use of long words. Jargon is said to be a bad use of language, something to be avoided at all costs.

Sometimes slang is treated as the language of the underworld, but it is a mistake. Only a part of slang vocabulary originates from the underworld. The main sources of slang change from period to period. Yet many slang words arise from the groups that have nothing to do with the underworld, such as college students, sport fans, or enlisted personnel in the military. It is often the usage of the young people and those who see themselves as distinct from the rest of society. Vocabulary, as always, has been the index of change. There are many differences between the slang of previous years and the slang of nowadays. If one characterizes slang in two words, the first would be” non-standard” and the second is “changing”. Slang words fall out of use more quickly than words of standard language. Slang is constantly renewed and is always modern. Such slang items like “vamoose, skedaddle, beat it, scram, buzz off” all had their periods of popularity in the 20th century. They express quite the same idea of getting away, being used in imperative form. [10, 15]

Even though mostly slang is regarded from the lexical point of view as a particular vocabulary typical of Spoken English, it is necessary to say that slang expressions can be viewed phonetically, orthographically and grammatically. These can be standard words applied with some phonetic, orthographic or grammatical alterations, what brings to the utterance some slangy coloring and freshness [31,164].

The freshness of slang is appealing. It stems from an instinctive desire for novelty of expression. We use it just as we use a nickname instead of the real name of a person. Slang arises due to our propensity for replacing habitual old denominations by original expressive ones. Slang words are used because they are highly emotive and expressive. H.Wentworth and S. Flexner in their “Dictionary of American Slang” write:

“Sometimes slang is used to escape the dull formality of standard words, to suggest an escape from the established routine of everyday life. When slang is used, our life seems a little fresher and a little more personal. Also, as at all levels of speech, slang is sometimes used for the pure joy of making noise. The sheer newness and informality of certain slang words produce pleasure”. [14, 58]

G.K. Chesterton, a famous English writer says: “All slang is metaphor, and all metaphor is poetry…” Speaking about the author’s words “ All slang is metaphor”, it is a true observation, though the second part of the statement “ all metaphor is poetry” is difficult to accept, especially if one considers the following examples “ mug” (for “face”), “saucers” or “blinkers” (for “eyes”), “trap” (for “mouth”), “dogs” (for “feet”). All these meanings are certainly based on metaphor, yet they strike one as singularly unpoetical. [11, 95]

All or most slang words are current words whose meanings have been metaphorically shifted. Each slang metaphor is rooted in a joke, but not in a kind of amusing joke. This is the criterion for distinguishing slang from colloquialisms: most slang words are metaphors and jocular, often with a mocking, coarse and cynical coloring. This is one of the common objections against slang: a person using a lot of slang seems to be sneering and jeering at everything under the sun. [10, 15]

Slang is regarded as the phenomenon of colloquial speech and therefore stands above all the laws of grammar. Though it is regarded by some purists as a language that stands below standard English, it is highly praised nowadays as “vivid”, “more flexible”, “more picturesque”, “richer in vocabulary” and so on. Unwittingly one arrives at the idea that slang, as used by English or Americans, is a universal term for any word or phrase which, though not yet recognized as a fact of Standard English, has won general recognition as a fresh innovation.

Why do people use slang? For a number of reasons. To be picturesque, arresting, striking and, above all, different from others; to avoid the tedium of outmoded “common” words; to demonstrate one’s spiritual independence and daring; to sound “modern” and “up-to-date”.

Slang’s colorful and humorous quality makes it catching, so that a considerable part of slang may become accepted by nearly all the groups of speakers. [35, 157]

American linguist Khaya-Kava writes: “Slang is the poetry of every-day life”, he considerers slang “a sign of life and development of a language”. [40, 97]

However, in opposition to this opinion slang is said to be “a negative phenomenon overloading the language”. That is why many slang words are used to insult. Foe example, a person considered inferior or unpleasant can be described by such words as “creep”, “drip”. “fink”, “jerk” and “turkey”. Some insulting slang words refer to certain ethnic, racial and religious groups. Slang is also used to criticize or poke fun at established institutions. That is why many people disapprove of slang. They consider it inferior language and accuse those who use it of careless and lazy thinking. Some believe the use of slang limits a person’s vocabulary and even weakens the standard language itself.

With the development of society and language many words and expressions, which earlier belonged to slang and were not to be used in literary norms of the language, tend to become generally accepted lexical units. Thus, one is not even aware, like some native speakers that some words used to belong to a slang group before. For example: “bones” for “dice” was used by Chaucer in the 14th century, and is still slang now. It is not typical and may be called unique. Usually when slang items stay in the general language, they become standard vocabulary and enjoy full rights as members of the language. American linguist M. Pan said:” It is useless to try to look down on words used in slums or in this or that professional group. Tomorrow these very words will be accepted by all users of the language and they will inevitably penetrate the vocabulary”. That is why to fully understand slang one must remember that a word’s use, popularity, and acceptability can change. Words can change in social level, moving in any direction. Language is dynamic, and at any given time, hundreds and perhaps thousands, of words and expressions are in the process of changing from one level to another, of becoming more acceptable or less acceptable, of becoming more popular or less popular.

Professional and age peculiarities of speakers, their social status and various differences concerning their culture, background and education enormously influence o language. Thus, one and the same person may speak different sublanguages (forms of a language: literary, colloquial, scientific etc.) and use them according to the situation. So during the social intercourse a person may play different social roles and come into different relations (employer- employee, father-son, teacher- student). Changing situations presupposes changing roles, which characterizes relations between communicants, and this means choosing an appropriate sublanguage, and slang can also be used as a sublanguage. [14, 59]

As it has been mentioned above, slang may become “legal”, but there is the reverse side. Many standard words find their ways into slang. Sometimes it is very difficult to define the precise quality that makes an expression slang. It is often not in the word itself, but in the sense in which it is used. When speaking of soldiers who put down a rebellion, “put down” is proper enough. But it is slang when one speaks of a remark which “puts someone down”.

In fact, most slang words are homonyms of standard words and only sometimes differ in spelling and pronunciation. Slang items usually arise by the same means – by recycling words and parts of words which are already in the language. Limitless opportunities are allowed by affixation. Slang frequently uses abbreviated words and phrases like “VJ’ from” video jockey” and “’Sup” from “what’s up?” Unlike the general vocabulary, English slang has not borrowed from foreign languages a lot, although it does borrow from dialects of ethnic minorities. Words can change their fluid status and cross the borders of different types of speech. What is slang today may have been in a good use once or may be accepted in the standard speech tomorrow. It is hard to define where the vulgar speech ends and the spoken language begins. Thousands of words and expressions are in the process of changing from one level to another at any given time. Some interchange between one type and the next is constantly going on. So slang can be regarded as a lexical supplement of the language, because all neologisms first find their life in colloquial expressions and only then develop into literary speech. [17, 49]

Nowadays slang is becoming more and more popular. In our high-speed epoch language is simplifying. Short and abbreviated words are preferred to long and complicated ones. And perhaps that is why slang is used. Because of its brevity, capacity and exactness it makes conversation easier. It can hardly be denied that some slang expressions express an idea that would be difficult to convey by other means. There is the paradox of slang: people look down on it, but they cannot avoid using it. Slang is vivid and natural in speech. It is impossible to shut eyes to the prominent role which it plays in the language.. It is a part of the language and cannot be treated as non-existent. [9, 136]

The origin of the word SLANG itself is unknown. Its resemblance in sound and figurative meaning to the noun and verb “sling” and the occurrence of apparently the same root in Scandinavian expressions referring to language, suggest that the term “slang” is development of a Germanic root from which the current English “sling” is derived. Another conjecture is that “slang” has been formed by shortening from genitive phrases like “beggar’s language” or “rogues’ language”, in which the genitive “language” and then the final syllable is lost. [16, 98]

Slang tends to originate in subcultures within a society. Occupational groups such as loggers, police, medical professionals and computer specialists are prominent originators of slang. Other groups creating slang include the armed forces, teenagers, racial minorities, ghetto residents, labor unions, broadcasters, sport groups, drug addicts and even religious denominations. Slang expressions often embody attitudes and values of group members. [45, 78]

They may thus contribute to a sense of group identity and may convey to the listener information about the speaker’s background. Before an apt expression becomes slang, however, it must be widely adopted by members of the subculture. If the subculture has enough contact with the mainstream culture, its figures of speech becomes slang expressions known to the whole society. For example: cat (sport), cool (aloof, stylish), Mr. Charley (a white man), the man (the law), and uncle Tom (a meek black) all originated in the predominantly black Harlem district of New York City and have traveled far since their inception. Slang is thus generally not tied to any geographic region within a country. A slang expression may suddenly become widely used. It may become accepted as standard speech, either in its original slang meaning (bus from omnibus) or with alerted meaning (jazz, which originally had sexual connotation). Some expressions have persisted for centuries as slang (booze for alcoholic beverage). In the 20th century, mass media and rapid travel have speeded up the circulation of slang items. Changing social circumstances may stimulate the spread of slang. Drug-related expressions such as “pot” and “marijuana” were virtually a secret jargon in the 1940s; in the 1960s they were adopted by rebellious youth and in the 1970s and 80s they were widely known. [16, 101]

Most subcultures tend to draw words and phrases from the contiguous language and give these established terms new and special meanings; some borrowings from foreign languages, including the American Indian tongues, are traditional. The more learned occupations or professions like medicine, law, psychology, sociology, engineering and electronics tend to create true neologisms, often based on Greek or Latin roots, but these are not major sources of slang though nurses and medical students adapt some medical terminology to their slang, and air force personnel and some other branches of the armed service borrow freely from engineering and electronics.

The subcultures show specialized linguistic phenomena that depend on the nature of the groups and their relation to each other and to the dominant culture. The shock value of slang stems largely from the verbal transfer of the values of a subculture to diametrically opposed values in the dominant culture. Names such as “fuzz, pig, fink, bull and dick’ for “policemen” were not created by officers of the law. The humorous “dickless tracy”, however, meaning a policewoman, was coined by male policemen.

Occupational groups are legion and there is enough social and linguistic hostility to maintain group solidarity. Terms like “scab, strike-breaker, company-man and goon’ were highly charged words in the era in which labor began to organize in the United States; they are not used lightly even today, though they have been taken into the standard language. [22, 285]

Teenage culture and its slang are the main source of new words in the language. They give it an opportunity to change and develop. Teenage culture uses a lot of slang expressions, which quickly became popular among older people, too. Teenage slang has existed for a long time. Natural and free, slang aspires to leave this dull and boring world of adults. It results from a wish for change, for creating a new world. Teenage slang is especially sympathetic to all kinds of neologisms. Such new words are constantly appearing and are connected with new inventions, mainly with computer technology. It can be said that the major part of new words in the recent ten years has started with two groups of people – computer scientists and users, and teenagers. Computer technologies have already entered our lives. The majority of people have computers at home; computer technology is studied at schools. It highly possible that developing special computer slang will be the next step towards natural communication with the PCs. [15, 15]

In addition to occupational, professional and teenage groups, there are many other types of subcultures that supply slang. These include sexual deviants, narcotic addicts, institutional populations, agricultural sub-societies, political organizations, Gypsies and sport groups of many varieties of professional criminals who migrated to the New World since the 16th century. [6, 68]

A lot of words and expressions have interesting stories. Many of them are concerned with different historical events. So the colloquial expression “cock and bull story” (used to describe untrue or highly exaggerated information) has its origins in pub names. A century ago there was a fire in a London pub called “The Cock”. Its guests left it in panic and were given shelter at a nearby inn called “The Bull”. The guests told exaggerated stories of their escape from the fire. These stories became known as “cock-and-bull stories”. [23, 132]

When an individual applies language in a new way to express hostility, ridicule or contempt, often with sharp wit, he may be creating slang, but the new expression will perish unless others pick it up. If the speaker is a member of a group that finds its creation projects the emotional reaction of its members toward an idea, person, or social institution, the expression will gain currency according to the unanimity of attitude within the group. A new slang term is usually widely used in a subculture before it appears in the dominant culture. Thus slang, e.g. “sucker”, “shave-tail”, “jerk”- express the attitudes, not always derogatory, of the group or class toward the values of the group, satirizing or burlesquing its own values, behavior, and attitudes; e.g., “shotgun wedding”, “cake eater”, “grease spoon”. Slang, then, is produced largely by social forces rather than by an individual speaker or writer who creates and establishes a word in the language. This is one reason why it is difficult to determine the origin of slang items. [30, 45]

Most slang diffuses by word of mouth, and so the paths of many expressions are difficult to trace. A term like “snafu”, its shocking power softened with the explanation “situation normal, all fouled up’, worked its way gradually from the military in the World War II by word of mouth (because the media largely shunned it) into respectable circles. Today, however, radio, television and the Internet may introduce and spread a lively new word already used by an in-group into millions of people instant currency and popularity. For example, the term “uptight” was first used largely by criminal narcotic addicts to indicate the onset of withdrawal distress when drugs are denied. Later, because of intense journalistic interest in the drug scene, it became widely used in the dominant culture to mean anxiety or tension unrelated to drug use. It kept its form but changed its meaning slightly.

Nearly all slang expressions die out soon after they become widely used. For example, “crazy” (wonderful) had a short period of popularity in the 1950’s. On the other hand, some slang terms last so long and become so widely used that they are considered colloquialisms. Examples include “belly laugh” (hearty laughter) and “half-baked” (not fully worked out). A few slang expressions become part of the standard language. “Hairdo” was introduced in the 1920’s as a slang term for coiffure and became a standard word in less than 20 years. The words “hoax” and “strenuous”, which also began as slang, took longer to be accepted. Some slang words have been used for hundreds of years without reaching the status of colloquialisms or standard words. For example, “grub” (food” dates back to the 1600’s, and “lousy” (bad) dates back to the 1700’s. However, both of these words are considered slang, not part of the standard vocabulary. [21, 251]

As it has been mentioned, in the case of “uptight” the slang expression has kept its form but changed its meaning. Some terms may change their form or both form and meaning, like “one for the book” (anything unusual or unbearable). Sportswriters in the US borrowed this term in about 1920 from the language of bookmakers, who lined up at racetracks in the morning (“the morning line” is still figuratively used on every sports page) to take some bets on the afternoon races. Newly arrived bookmakers went to the end of the line, and any bettor requesting unusually long adds was motioned down the line with the phrase: “That’s one for the end book”. The general public dropped the “end” as meaningless, but old-time gamblers still retain it. Slang spreads by many other channels, such as popular songs, which are often rich in double entendre.

When subcultures are structurally tight, little of their language leaks out. Thus the Mafia, in more than a half-century of powerful criminal activity in America, has contributed little slang. When subcultures weaken, contacts with the dominant culture multiply, diffusion occurs, and their language appears widely as slang. Criminal narcotic addicts, for example, had a tight subculture and a highly secret argot in the 1940’s; now middle-class teenagers, even those with no real knowledge of drugs, use their terms freely. [45, 112]

To recap everything above it should be reminded that there are two types of attitude toward slang: 1) Slang is believed to be stupid and vulgar because it occurs in informal conversation, accompanied by grammatical errors; 2) The reasonable use of slang promotes lively speaking it keeps the language fresh and alive.

Slang can be regarded not only from the lexical point of view as a particular vocabulary typical of Spoken English; it can be viewed phonetically, orthographically and grammatically. These can be standard words applied with some phonetic, orthographic or grammatical alterations, what brings to the utterance some slangy coloring and freshness.

It is also obvious that slang is said to have originated mostly in subcultures of occupational and professional groups. Teenagers, criminals and uneducated people also play a great role in creating and maintaining slang. Since slang is a part of spoken English, it diffuses verbally, and not only via real communication but also via television and even the Internet.

Thus slang should be learned in order to simplify communication, because the spoken language differs from literary standards. It should be regarded as a prolific source of new word forms “feeding” the general vocabulary.

1.2 Classification of slang. Forms of slang. Characteristics of slang

When systematizing the material on slang one may come to a controversial problem: the problem is that there are two classifications identifying the place of slang. (Appendix 1)

According to M.M Makovsky slang belongs to the so-called social dialects.

Social dialects are variants of a language, which are used by certain social groups.

Besides slang social dialects comprise: jargon, cant and argot. Thus, these social sublanguages, according to this classification, should be regarded as independent. [40, 85]

Since this paper employs such terms as jargon, cant and argot, it is necessary to define these concepts:

Cant comprises the restricted, NON-technical words and expressions of any particular group, as an occupational, age, ethnic or special-interest group.

Jargon is defined as the restricted technical or shoptalk words and expressions of any particular group, as trade, scientific, artistic, criminal, student or other group.

Argot is a special vocabulary used by a peculiar social group, especially by the so-called underworld. Its main point is to be unintelligible to outsiders. [7, 16]

Cant is defined as false or insincere language and refers to the language used by thieves and beggars of the underworld.

Some linguists reserve the term jargon for technical language applied to colorful occupational expressions.

Jargon combines words either non-terminological, unofficial substitutes for professional terms (professionalisms), or official terms misused deliberately to express disrespect. [5, 22]

Cant is a secret lingo of the underworld – of thieves and robbers.

Jargon – substandard, expressive and emotive vocabulary used by limited group of people, united either professionally or socially.

In general slang is more casual and acceptable to outsiders than jargon. Slang and cant are more vivid than jargon. [21, 18]

According to I.V. Arnold and N.V. Krupnov slang is subdivided into general and special slang.

General slang includes words that are not specific for any social or professional group. Special slang is peculiar for some group: teenager slang, university slang, military slang, criminal slang and so on. [2, 45] [39, 88]

Thus, second group is heterogeneous. Some authors, A.D.Schweizer for instance, consider cant, jargon and argot to belong here. It seems, however, more logical to differentiate general slang and special slang. The essential difference between then results from the fact that the first has an expressive function, whereas the second is primarily concerned with secrecy. Words of general slang are clearly motivated, e.g. “cradle-snatcher”- and old man who marries a much younger woman; “window-shopping”- feasting one’s eyes on goods displayed in the shops without buying anything. Words of special slang on the contrary do not show their motivation, e.g. “rap” (kill), “shin” (knife), “book” (a life sentence). [47, 68]

There are cases, of course, when words originated as special slang later on pass on into general slang. The borderlines are not always sharp and distinct. For example, the expression “be on the beam” was first used by pilots about the beam of the radio beacon indicating the proper course for the aircraft to follow. Then figuratively “be on the beam” came to mean “to be right”, whereas “be off the beam” came to mean “to be wrong” or “to be at a loss”.

Since the theme of this paper is “slang as a part of Spoken English”, it is already obvious that people use slang in speaking than in writing, and mostly with friends than with strangers. Slang thus reminds of “colloquialisms”, which are expressions used in everyday conversation but not considered appropriate for formal speech or writing.

What makes colloquialisms and slang different? Both of them are used in Spoken English and both of them are used in informal speech. But where is the difference? The first characteristic feature consists in emotional coloring of slang and colloquialisms. Here slang possesses a higher degree of emotional coloring. In dictionaries these two concepts are graphically marked as “sl.” and “coll.” [43, 72]

Forms of slang are created by the same processes that affect ordinary speech. Expressions take form as metaphors, similes and other figures of speech (dead as a doornail). Words may acquire new meanings (cool, cat). A narrow meaning may become generalized (“fink”, originally a strikebreaker, later a betrayer or disappointer) or vice-versa.

Actually there are seven chief forms of slang, each created by different processes. These forms are 1) old words used in new ways; 2) shortened or lengthened words; 3) figures of speech; 4) acronyms; 5) coinages; 6) blends; 7) rhyming slang.

Old words used in new ways. Most slang expressions are simply new uses for old words or phrases. The “flap” (excitement) about air pollution is slang, but the “flap” (hinged section) of an airplane wing is not slang. “To rip off” (steal) a camera is slang, but “to rip off” the top of a box is Standard English.

Shortened or lengthened words. The process creating a new word by dropping one or more syllables from a longer word is called “clipping”. Clipping produces many slang terms, including “phiz” (face) which is short for “physiognomy”; “psycho”, short for “psychopath”; and “rep”, short for “reputation”.

Another type of shortened word is back-formation. Most slang back-formations are verbs and were formed by dropping the ending from a noun. Examples of such verbs include “burgle” (to steal), from “burglar”; “letch” (to lust), from “lecher”’ and “nuke” (to attack with nuclear weapons), from “nuclear”.

In the reverse process, a new word may be created by adding an ending to an existing one. Slang words created by this process include “payola” (graft), from “pay”; and “slugfest” (fight), from “slug” (to hit).

Figures of speech are expressions in which words are used in unusual ways. One of the most common slang figures of speech is metaphor, an implied comparison between two different things. For example, a slang metaphor “bean pole” describes a thin person.

Another type of slang figure of speech is metonymy, which substitutes a quality of something for the thing itself. Examples of metonymy include “long green” (paper currency) and “skirt” (woman).

Acronyms are words formed from the first letters or syllables of the words in a phrase. The form of slang includes D.J. or “deejay”, from “disc jockey”; and “kidvid” (children’s television programs), from “kid video).

Coinages are newly invented words or phrases. Slang coinages include “humongous” (huge), “moola” (money”, “palooka” (inferior athlete) and “zit” (pimple).

Blends are new words created by joining the first part of one word to the second part of another one. Examples of slang blends are: “gyrene” (United States marine), from G.I.marine; and “sexploitation” (commercial exploitation of people’s interests in sex).

Rhyming slang includes words which substitute other words that rhyme with them. Examples include “crumb-bum” (inferior person) and “thriller-driller” (exciting story or motion picture). [33, 348]

Nowadays there is some argument about rhyming slang: should it be called rhyming? The fact is that it is gradually loosing its rhyming element. Rhyming slang is also called the language of the Cockneys. More detailed information about the Cockney language and its problem is revealed in 1.3 The Cockney language and Polari – extinct languages.

Basically slang words cannot be distinguished from other words by sound, grammar or other means, because, as it has been already mentioned in this paper, slang terms come into being in the same ways other words do. Thus, slang words and standard words are only WORDS and thy have common features.

But anyway, since the hypothesis of this paper suggests that knowledge of slang is a very important component in the development of one’s linguistic competence it is necessary o throw a little light on these characteristics of slang. The characteristics are classified as following: phonetic characteristics, grammatical characteristics, word-building characteristics and orthographic characteristics. Examples described below can not necessarily be lexical slang units but there can be ordinary words phonetically and grammatically used in some slangy way. As it has been mentioned in this paper, from the point of view of grammar and phonetics they may be considered as slang, i.e. social dialects.

Phonetic characteristics

1. The literary variant of the diphthong [ou] is expressed as [o] or [au]. For example: go [go] or [gau]; or row [ro] or [rau]

2. The diphthong [ai] expressed graphically in open syllable by means of the letter “I”, is pronounced as [oi], e.g. time [toim], fine [foin], line [loin], etc.

3. In the unstressed syllable [ai] is reduced to [ i ], e.g. by myself [ bi mi`self]

4. The short sound [ i ] is pronounced in slang as [e], e.g. dinner [`denr], children [`teldren], spirit [`sperit]

5. The literary variant of the sound [ju:] is expressed in slang as [u:], e.g.: new [nu:], student [`stu:dnt], suit [su:t]

6. Short [o ] is expressed as [], like: god [gd], dog [dg], loss [ls]

7. Short [] is pronounced as [ i ] or [e]. For example: “sich” or “seck” instead of “such”, “jist” or “jest” instead of “just”

8. Sometimes sounds [t] and [d] after a consonant sound are omitted, e.g.: an old chap [n ‘ol ‘tep], I wonder [ai ‘wn], you must go [ju ms ‘gau]

9. [sj] is replaced by [j], e.g.: we shall miss you [wi el ‘mi ju], this year [i’jir]

10. Unstressed syllables are often dropped out, like: ‘stead (=instead), ‘cept (=except), ‘cos (=because)

Grammatical characteristics

1. Adjectives are often used instead of adverbs, like: It was done quick. It must be done proper.

2. Instead of personal pronouns in the nominative case personal pronouns in the accusative case are used, e.g.: me and her are great friends.

3. “who” is used instead of “whom”, e.g.: for who, on who.

4. Models of Imperative are very interesting: Leave (=let) me go! Be going!

5. The form “ain’t” can stand for literary variants of am not, is not, are not

6. Past Participle can be used instead of Past Indefinite, e.g.: I done it, I begun

7. “That” is used instead of “so”, e.g.: He was that stuck up: it was that boring

8. “what for” is employed instead of “why”, like: What for did`e come?

Word-building characteristics

1. In the case of slang some words acquire the status of semi-suffixes. For example, the word “monkey” is used as a semi-suffix meaning “worker”, e.g.: air-monkey, broom-monkey, company-monkey.

2. In the case of “hamburger” it has divided into “ham” and “burger”, where the latter turned into an independent suffix, e.g.: beefburger, sausageburger, turkey-burger

3. The word “dog”, as a semi-suffix, is the synonym for “man” (usually a sly or lucky man), e.g.: funny dog, lucky dog, smart dog

4. The suffix “o”, which has no special meaning but has some slangy coloring, e.g.: “weirdo” (from weird), “sicko” (from sick), “wrongo” (from wrong)

5. The process of forming new words in slang is characterized by the use of reduplication, which is sometimes accompanied by sound imitation, e.g.: boom-boom (gun), buzz-buzz, dingy-dingy (crazy), dum-dum (fool)

6. Slang is also characterized by rhyming combination, e.g.: boob-tube (TV), cheat-sheet (crib), kick-stick (the cigarette with marijuana)

Orthographic characteristics

“going to”, “want to” and “have got to” are substituted by “gonna’, “wanna” and “gotta”;

“I don’t wanna go there”

“I’m gonna give you a buzz”

“You gotta find this guy”

“because” is replaced by “coz”: “coz I saw them with my own eyes”,

“cuz” : “cuz I don’t wanna hang out with you”

“cus” : “cus I really wanna rock with you”

“cause” : “cause I need you”;

“about” is substituted by “ ‘bout”

“What is this all shit ‘bout?”

Such phrases as “get you” or “got you” are graphically can be expressed as “getcha” and “gotcha”;

– ing form is presented as – in’: kickin’, fuckin’;

“ya” can stand for “your” or “you” or “you’re”:

“Ya patience getting’ short”

“How much the kid love ya”

“Ya lookin’ awesome”;

The auxiliary verb “are” can be substituted by a single letter “r”, and the personal pronoun “you” by a letter “u”, the preposition “for” can be changed by “4”

“How r u?” This is 4 u.

“too” or “to” can be graphically expressed as “2”: “I love u 2”;

“out of” is replaced by “outta”:

“Somethin’ got outta hand”.

To sum up everything described above it is necessary to mention again that there are two classifications identifying the place of slang: 1) cant, jargon and argot together make special slang. There is also general slang, which is not restricted to any particular professional group; 2) slang, jargon, argot and cant together make a group of social dialects. All of them are regarded as independent. Colloquialisms have no place in either of these classifications. It is quite a different phenomenon and should be differentiated from slang.

Slang expressions arise in the same ways that other words come into being. Slang words can be presented in different forms: old words used in new meanings, clipped or lengthened words, metaphors and metonymies, acronyms, coinages, blends and rhyming slang.

Slang words like any other words are characterized from the point of view of phonetics, grammar and word-building. All these phonetic, grammatical, orthographical and word-building means bring to slang emotional coloring and expressiveness.

1.3 The Cockney language and Polari – extinct languages

In spite of the fact that slang is a lively language, there are however, such slang languages, which are thought to be extinct. To these the Cockney language and Polari are referred. The Cockney language or Rhyming slang has been popular since the mid-nineteenth century in England, although its origin is unknown. Rhyming slang is a slang that replaces a word with a word or phrase that rhymes with it. Many Cockneys in England and many Australians use such slang. For example, a Cockney might say “Rosie Lee” for “tea”, “apples and pears” for “stairs” or “trouble and strife» for “wife”. [10, 17]

But why is rhyming slang said to be a language of the Cockneys? Who or What are they?

The word “Cockney” comes from “cocken ay”, a “cock’s egg”, meaning a worthless towns-person. The term appeared in about the 16th century and was referred to those Londoners who were not part of the Royal Court> It was re-defined in the 18th century, as the working-class population of the city, who were joined by uneducated farm-workers from the countryside who traveled to East London in search of work. So, the Cockneys were uneducated working-class people lived in their own special communities. Like any other small community, the Cockneys had a large number of words and phrases, which had special meanings for them, but they took this to extremes by inventing a whole dialect- Rhyming slang. [10, 17]

However, there is another version of the appearance of this unusual language, but there is almost no evidence that it is correct. It consists in the fact that in the 19th century East End criminals developed a special kind of a language, which made it difficult for the police to understand them.

The Cockneys’ language or rhyming slang is characterized by colorful language expressing the sheer enjoyment of words and by words run together.

Rhyming-slang substitutes can be different, the urgent requirement is that they should rhyme with words they replace. Thus, “phone” becomes “dog and bone”, “word” becomes “dicky bird”, “mouth” – “North and South”.

Hat- “tit for tat”

Table- “Cain and Abel”

Money- “bees and honey”

Head- “loaf of bread”

Nose- “I suppose”

[16, 24]

One complicating factor in studying rhyming slang is that the word that rhymes is almost always dropped out, thus making the etymology rather obscure to outsiders. For example, “Titfer” (meaning “hat”) was originally “tit for tat”; “Tom” (meaning “jewelry”) is short for “tomfoolery”, or “daisies” (meaning “boots”) came from “daisy roots”.

The other complication is that Cockney pronunciation varies from conventional British speech, it has another system of pronunciation of vowels and consonants, and it is especially famous for its silent “h”. It drops letters and slurs words, so “haven’t “turns into “am” and “old” becomes “ol”. “you” turns into “yer” and so on.

With swearing, Cockneys lent their style and expression to the new tongue as well. “Arse” is widely used and acceptable, as is “sod” in the right context (“he is a cheeky young sod’). Universally used are ‘bleeding” (чертов) and “bugger” (тип). “Bugger” is freely used to denote a bad person, but there are variants. “You bugger!”- unless there is a note of admiration- will always mean “you’re swine!” and is for astonishment, while “bugger off!” means “Get lost!”, and finally, “Bugger all “ means either “little” or “nothing”.

Some people complain that rhyming slang is spoken to give the Cockneys an unfair advantage over strangers. In fact, it is really hard to understand a man or a woman who asks one where “dog and bones” is. If one does not know anything about rhyming slang, s/he will not even imagine that s/he is asked about the telephone. [33, 152]

Since a lot of immigrants to Australia during the period from 1815 to 1861 were from London, most of them were obviously the Cockneys. Still Australians speak a very interesting and complicated slang- rhyming slang whose rhyming part is dropped. Moreover, they have a system of slang words and phrases, which have no resemblance with normal English or American slang, and which are really hard to understand without a special guide dictionary. (Appendix 2)

[10, 17]

Polari (also seen as 'Palare') is a gay slang language, which has now almost died out.

Gay slang in Britain dates back to the involvement of the homosexual subculture with the criminal "underworld". The homosexual subculture of the Eighteenth Century mixed with the gypsies, tramps & thieves of popular song to produce a rich cross-fertilization of customs, phrases and traditions. As the Industrial revolution dramatically changed settlement patterns, more and more people drifted away from villages and small communities and moved to larger towns in search of work and opportunity. In these larger urban locations, the scope for the development of communities of outcasts substantially increased. The growth of molly houses (private spaces for men to meet, drink, have sex together and practice communal rituals) encouraged the creation of a molly identity. A linguistic culture developed, feeding into that profession traditionally associated with poofs and whores: theatre. [3, 87]

Polari itself was never clearly defined: an ever-changing collection of slang from various sources including Italian, English (backwards slang, rhyming slang), circus slang, and Yiddish and Gypsy languages. It is impossible to tell which slang words are real Polari.

Linguists still argue about where it came from. The larger part of its vocabulary is certainly Italian in origin, but nobody seems to know how the words got into Britain. Some experts say its origins lie in the lingua franca of the shores of the Mediterranean, a pidgin in use in the Middle Ages and afterwards as a medium of communication between sailors and traders from widely different language groups, the core of this language being Italian and Occitan. Quite a number of British sailors learnt the lingua franca. On returning home and retiring from the sea it is supposed that many of them became vagabonds or travelers, because they had no other means of livelihood; this threw them into contact with roving groups of entertainers and fairground people, who picked up some of the pidgin terms and incorporated them into their own canting private vocabularies. [4, 164]

However, other linguists point to the substantial number of native Italians who came to Britain as entertainers in the early part of the nineteenth century, especially the Punch and Judy showmen, organ grinders and peddlers of the 1840s. Much of parlarey, the traveling showmen's language, appears to be derived from the lingua franca or the vocabulary of traveling actors and showmen during the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. Specifically theatrical Palare included phrases such as joggering omee (street musician), slang a dolly to the edge (to show and work a marionette on a small platform outside the performance booth in order to attract an audience) and climb the slanging-tree (perform onstage). Nanty dinarly (having no money) also had a peculiarly theatrical translation in the phrase "There's no treasury today, the ghost doesn't walk." [19, 10]

The disappearance of large numbers of traveling costermongers and cheapjacks by the early twentieth century effectively denied the language its breathing space. As many of the traveling entertainers moved sideways into traveling circus, so the language moved with them, kept alive as a living and changing language within circus culture.
By the mid-twentieth century, there had also been a cross-over to a recognizably gay form of slang, with polari used by the gay community to communicate in code in elaborate forms. Words such as trade and ecaf (back slang for face, shortened to eek) became part of gay subculture. Blagging trade (picking up sexual partners), zhoosing your riah (doing your hair), trolling to a bijou bar (stepping into a gay club) and dishing the dirt (recounting gossip) all became popular coded phrases to describe and encode an emerging homosexual lifestyle. By the 1950's, with secret homosexual clubs emerging in swinging London and the Wolfenden Committee discussing the possibility of law reform around (homo) sexuality, it seems appropriate that Polari should raise its irreverent head.
Polari became an appropriate tool with which to confuse and confound the naff omees (straight men). It traveled the world via the sea queens, who incorporated navy slang into a new version of the language and also accommodated local dialects and phrases. [3, 201]

Polari, as the language came to be known was a collection of words, which when strung together by those most proficient at it, were incomprehensible to those who didn't understand it. (Appendix 3) It was mainly used for conversations that were high in gay "content", so if you wanted to point out to your friend that the man on the tube train next to you seemed to be particularly well-developed in the "menswear" department, you could say "vada the bona cartes on the ommee ajax" and your friend would know what you meant. If the man with the big "cartes" was also gay, he'd know what you were talking about too, and Polari would serve as an "introduction" which could lead to "other things".

Because Polari died out in the 1960s when the Wolfenden Report legalized homosexuality (to an extent) in England, the only people who remember it tend to be distinguished older gentlemen Polari has almost vanished from gay circles. Mention it now and you'll more likely than not to get a blank look, especially from anyone under 30. And those who do profess to have heard of it are likely to only know a handful of words. [24, 9]

Finally, there emerges a question, which really seems to be disputable: What is the point of calling the Cockney language “Rhyming slang” if the rhyming part is practically not used? Or, why there should be a separate language for gays, if they, nowadays, have no need to encode their speaking (with acquiring equal rights), and therefore they do not need this language. This fact makes these languages extinct. Perhaps, these languages will come into an ordinary slang vocabulary some day and lose their original value (as being rhyming or gay slang). But as long as these languages have not vanished completely yet, one should be aware of them too in case s/he comes across them, for they are also types of slang, and the knowledge of any slang words promotes the development of one’s linguistic competence too, what again proves the hypothesis suggested.

Review on Chapter I

In the course of analyzing the theoretical material on the topic the following facts about slang have been discovered:

Slang is understood as a language of a high colloquial type, below the level of standard educated speech and consisting either of new words or of current words employed in some special sense.

There are two types of attitude toward slang singled out: 1) Slang is believed to be stupid and vulgar because it occurs in informal conversation, accompanied by grammatical errors; 2) The reasonable use of slang promotes lively speaking it keeps the language fresh and alive.

Slang is said to have originated mostly in subcultures of occupational and professional groups. Teenagers, criminals and uneducated people also play a great role in creating and maintaining slang.

Since slang is a part of spoken English, it diffuses verbally, and not only via real communication but also via television and even the Internet

There are two classifications identifying the place of slang: 1) cant, jargon and argot together make special slang. There is also general slang, which is not restricted to any particular professional group; 2) slang, jargon, argot and cant together make a group of social dialects. All of them are regarded as independent. Colloquialisms have no place in either of these classifications. It is quite a different phenomenon and should be differentiated from slang.

Slang expressions arise in the same ways that other words come into being. Slang words can be presented in different forms: old words used in new meanings, clipped or lengthened words, metaphors and metonymies, acronyms, coinages, blends and rhyming slang.

Slang can be regarded not only from the lexical point of view as a particular vocabulary typical of Spoken English; it can be viewed phonetically, orthographically and grammatically. These can be standard words applied with some phonetic, orthographic or grammatical alterations, what brings to the utterance some slangy coloring, expressiveness and freshness.

There are two languages that are also said to belong to slang: rhyming slang – the language of the Cockneys, Polari – the language of gay men. But they are said to be extinct because rhyming slang has almost lost its rhyming slang and there seems to be no ground to call this language rhyming; gays now have no need to encode their speaking (with acquiring equal rights), and therefore they do not need this language.

Chapter II. Practical significance of slang

2.1. The use of slang units in literature, songs, movies and Internet

Literary works, songs, movies and even Internet can serve as a source of slang: an author, a singer or a speaker while describing something, creates a new word or uses an existing one in some new meaning; and then readers, TV spectators or Internet users begin using this word in their speech. Thus it can become a slang item and then even get a standard status. But users of slang basically use it to create some specific and fresh tone in their description or speaking. The aim of the analysis described below is to present the most typical examples and situations where slang can be revealed and how it can be applied; and to prove the hypothesis, i.e. that it is very hard to figure out author’s intentions and ideas, if one does not know slang.

For this analysis different sources are selected: literary works, songs, movies and Internet.

Among literary works the following ones were analyzed:

“The Catcher in the Rye” by JD Salinger;

“A Patchwork Planet” by Anne Tyler;

“Rachel’s Holiday” by Marian Keyes;

In “The Catcher in the Rye” Salinger writes about a teenager Holden Caufield and his relations with his parents and friends. Moreover, the story of Holden is told on behalf of Holden himself, which helps a reader to see what language this character uses to reveal his thoughts and act out his feelings. Holden’s speech is characterized by a unique colloquial tone achieved by the use of slang and colloquial expressions.

Holden is a very interesting teenager with an unusual way of thinking and outlook. Sometimes it is hard to understand him when he uses normal words, but when he uses some slangy words it causes some greater difficulty to understand his thoughts, although some of these slang expressions have already become standard ones.

It is very noticeable that Holden’s speech is full of epithets when he evaluates something or somebody. These epithets sound very slangy. For example: phony –“липовый” (phony bastard, phony smile, phony girls); lousy- “поганый, дерьмовый, вшивый” (lousy childhood, lousy personality, lousy teeth, lousy movie); crumby or corny- “беспантовый, стремный” (crumby old razor, crumby nails, corny shoes, corny jokes).

“Get your lousy knees off my chest!” I told him.”Go on, get off me, ya crumby bastard”.

“She kept saying these very corny, boring things, like calling the can the “little girls’ room”.

These evaluative slangy epithets sound rough and rude but nevertheless they help a reader to understand when Holden disapproves of something. Such slang expressions as “to shoot the bull”, “to chew the rag”, “to chew the fat”, “to shoot the crap”, “to shoot the breeze” have their Russian slang equivalents and are translated as “балаболить, трепать языком”. Judging by Russian equivalents these slang expressions can be understood as those meaning “to lie” but this meaning is hidden in other slang items. For example: “to snow somebody” (забалтывать, запудривать мозги), “to chuck” (заливать, вешать лапшу на уши), “to give a lot of horse manure about…” (втирать, пинать по ушам, приседать на уши). By the way speaking about “horses” some expressions with this word can be singled out: “to horse around” is understood as “дурачиться, валять дурака, паясничать” in the following sentence:

“Sometimes I horse around just to keep from getting bored”

But the phrase “to horse around with…” in the sentence:” You shouldn’t horse around with her at all” obviously means “зависать с…, тусоваться с…, угарать с…”. This meaning also can be found in such phrase as “to hang around” and “to hang out”.

“Take it easy!” does not mean only “Don’t worry!” but also “So long!” (Пока! Давай!) when somebody is leaving. Moreover this somebody does not just “leave” but “clears the hell out” or “beats it”, which is understood as “ смыться, свалить или просто уйти”.

“Stink” or “to stink” in different contexts have different meanings. For example : “to stink something up” means “запороть, запартачить, испортить” but “to make a big stink” means “ закатить скандал, развоняться”.

The meaning of “thing” ( as an abstract notion) is presented by the following slang items: job – junk – stuff – crap, where “job” is the most is the most innocent and “crap”- the rudest.

For example:

“They were these little hard, dry jobs you could hardly even cut”

“That kind of junk is sort of fascination”

“That stuff bores me”

or “ I had to sit there and listen to that crap”

As it has been already mentioned “lousy” means something bad and is mostly used in a rude sense, but “to be lousy with something” means “to have a lot of something”. For example:

“He is lousy with money” –“у него уйма денег, у него денег куры не клюют”.

Speaking about money this word almost does not emerge in Holden’s speech, he mostly says “dough” (бабки, капуста, копейки, лавэ).

If one hears Holden say : “I’ve never given it to anybody but Ackley sometimes gets some old bag, then he starts giving her a feel and necking her knockers and then he gives her the time”, it is very hard to see what he is talking about, but thanks to a knowledge of slang his language is not that complicated. Making a profound study it is evident that “to give it” or “to give the time” means “ to have sexual intercourse”, “ to neck” means “ to kiss”, “knockers” stand for “ breasts”, “to give a feel” denotes “to touch” (щупать) and at last “ an old bag” means “ a woman” ( букв. Старая кошелка).

So “a bag” does not always mean “a sack” but “a sack” does not necessarily denote “a bag”. For example:

“Nobody was around anyway. Everybody was in the sack”

Here “to be in the sack” stands for “to sleep” ( дрыхнуть).

Since “knockers” as parts of an “old bag’s” body have ben mentioned, it is necessity to mention “a can”, which stands for “butt” or “ass”. But if a reader gets at such sentence as: “It was steamy in the can.” Or “I walked around the can” or “I went to the can to wash up”, he will probably think that it has something to do with “butt”. But it is wrong. “Can” is used here in the sense of “bathroom”. Thus a reader should bear in mind that there can be slang homonyms.

When Holden speaks about “a booze hound”, who “boozes” and gets “crocked”, he talks about an alcoholic, who drinks a lot and then gets drunk.

Although Holden’s language is difficult to perceive, what is typical of teenagers’ language, a reader can easily understand him, if he has a good command of slang. [29, 3-287]

Another literary work “A Patchwork Planet” by Anne Tyler has been written in the XXI century. Thus the “freshest” slang items may be traced here. In comparison with “The Catcher in the Rye” told on behalf of Holden, a teenager, “A Patchwork Planet” is narrated on behalf of Barnaby, who is about 30-35 years old. However, despite the age of the main character, slang phrases can be found in his speech.

Many slang examples with “hang” were figured out in “The Catcher in the Rye”, here in “A Patchwork Planet” a reader can find no less ones. For example: “to hang around” also means here “тусоваться, угарать, шататься без дела”. The same meaning is found in the slang expression “to goof around”.

“You’d better do some more serious stuff instead of hanging and goofing around”

“Hang up” is a core component in some slang expressions. For example: “to be hung up on somebody or something” stands for “зациклиться на ком-либо или чем-либо”; “to hang up on somebody” means “ пристать, прилипнуть к кому-либо” but “to hang up on somebody” also stands for “ бросить трубку”- for example:

“You hung up on me! Why?”

“Booze”, which was once singled out in “The Catcher in the Rye” also means here “alcohol drink” (пузырь); and “to booze”, therefore is understood as “бухать, лечить гланды”. People, who like to booze, tend to pay a visit to somebody, but this sounds very conventionally, they do not visit but “drop up to somebody”, which is understood as “завалиться к кому-либо”.

As it is obvious, many slang expressions in “A Patchwork Planet” reflect relations between people and their attitude to somebody or something. For example, among such slang items expressing relations one can find the following expressions: “to hook up with somebody”- “связаться, спутаться с кем-либо”; “to stand somebody up” – “предать, обмануть кого-либо”; “to pick somebody up” –“подцепить кого-либо”.

Speaking about expressions reflecting people’s attitudes one can single out “sharp!” (“Wow! Sharp!”), which is understood as “Cool!” – “Круто!”, or if one finds a sentence where Barnaby says: “That’s tough”, it is obvious that it stands for “Да…стремно”.

If one heard Barnaby say: “I stashed my money but somebody swiped it”, it would be probably clear that “to stash” means “to hide” – “заныкать, припрятать”, and “to swipe” stands for “стащить, стибрить”. [1, 5-227]

Less slang expressions are traced in “Rachel’s Holiday” by Marian Keyes- about 120-130 units. The main character of the work is a twenty-seven-year-old Rachel Walsh. Rachel desperately tries to find a soul mate to love…but her only drawback is that she is some sort of “junkie” (drug addict). Here to watch a love story is as possible as to watch a life of a “junkie”. “Rachel’s Holiday” combines two points: 1) Love is a serious thing and it does not admit such a language as slang, it needs a more elevated and poetical language; 2) The world of drugs is a good sphere for development and use of slang. Thus, here two opposite points fight, what caused almost a 50/50 outcome.

So it is obvious from the description that Rachel is a “junkie”, which stands for “drug addict” (наркоша). Moreover “drugs” in slang can be substituted by “hash” (травка).

“Anna, who’d never had a real job, sometimes sold hash to make ends meet.”

“She is not a goody-goody. Just because she’s not a, a…junkie who can’t get a job and whose husband leaves her…unlike some”, he finished.

“Paul was obviously referring to Claire, who managed to get hitched by her husband on the same day that she gave birth to their first child”

In the last example “to hitch” stands for “to abandon” (кинуть). Maybe for somebody “getting hitched” is ‘no big banana” or maybe it really “pisses one off”. Here it is apparent that “no big banana” means “no big problem”, while “to piss somebody off” is a substitute for “to get on one’s nerves. These two slang phrases can be figured out in the following examples:

“I had a toothache, that’s all, no big banana”.

“No. She is a fine, big, tall girl. You know, strong”, they said. I was always described as strong. It really pissed me off.

“Hey there” stands for “Hi” though it may sound a little impudent. The same meaning is revealed in “What’s up?” Both should be used when addressing a very close person.

“Hey there, girl!”

“Yo, girlfriend, what’s up?”

But “get lost” should not be mistaken here for “go away”. In the following example it is obvious that it means “you are kidding” (не гони, гонишь). The phrase can be applied when expressing one’s disbelief.

“-Because he’s a gay”

“- Get lost!”

“To sack” in “Rachel’s Holiday also means “to get somebody lost” in other words “to fire”

“I’m so embarrassed! What will they think? They’ll sack me for this, you know”.

No one will “sack” anyone unless s/he does some “crap” or “screws something up”, of course. In the examples suggested below it is apparent that “crap” means something unbearable, which can be also replaced by “shit”, and “to screw something up” means “to make something worse” or “spoil”.

“No more! I can’t bear it; it’s all such, such…crap!”

“Let this be a lesson to you. The next time you meet a man as sexy as Luke Costello, maybe you won’t screw it up”

“Yeah, I knoo, I knoo ya when ya got in, and kept lookin’ atcha but couldn’t remember from where”.

Here one can see a text-messaging slang, which graphically imitates one’s speaking; it expresses the speaker’s speech just the way he delivers it. The extract given above regularly can be rendered as following:

“Yeah, I knew, I knew you when you got in, and kept looking at you, but couldn’t remember from where” [18, 5-482]

Even though slang is a speech phenomenon and is used mostly in Spoken English, and even though it found its place in literary works (mostly in dialogues), it does not necessarily mean that slang cannot be found in songs. Songs are also a good means in spreading of slang. Thus when hearing a song containing slang units, an English learner can include them in his/her active vocabulary and then recognize them when watching a movie or talking to somebody; or use them when producing his/her own speaking. This brings to the conversation some informal and relaxing spirit; it pushes off traditional and limited character of a common talk.

Of course most songs are about love and mostly a romantic and elevated language full of serious things is used here, and it seems that there is no place for slang in them. But slang is a fast-running thing trying to find any way to come into notice.

Mostly producers of songs apply slang in their works to also establish an easy atmosphere. Sometimes slang words are used in songs because they perfectly fit into a verse line without destroying or altering the meaning of the whole, thereby remaining a rhythmic tempo and rhyming tone. In other cases slang is used because it accurately reveals ideas of a song and because no other words can express these ideas. Sometimes slang is applied in songs in imitating something like a conversation, i.e. when a duo-song is performed or when a solo-singer reveals the ideas in such a way that reminds of talking to someone.

Of course context or the plot of songs must be of major importance. Most songs, as it has already been mentioned, are about love, but it does not always mean that they can not contain slang words. The question is what love is the subject of a song. Mostly it is unshared love. And when being frustrated a hero, on whose behalf a song is sung, can not find suitable words to blame himself or damn everything that put him in this state. Speaking about emotions, it is mostly some negative spirit which is found in the cases of slang in songs, i.e. it is mostly applied when a negative attitude toward something is expressed. It can be again unshared love, it can be jealousy it can be envy, it can be anything that is difficult to express by means of simple words. In many songs slang is used in its rude meaning, the so-called vulgar slang. It intensifies the negative meaning and atmosphere of a song or a verse. Of course this may be considered silly to suggest listening to such songs and selecting vulgar slang words, but it is not necessary to use them in one’s speech but at least it helps to recognize and identify them when seeing or hearing them, because knowledge of any slang words is of much importance in the development of one’s linguistic competence.

For the analysis of the use of slang in songs different pop songs were selected. In the course of research work various slang unites were figured out but also some grammar, sound and syntax deviations, which together make text-messaging slang. All this again has a slangy meaning and brings informal character to the verse.

For example in “walking away” performed by Craig David “coz” is employed instead of “because”

“coz I saw them with my own eyes” This is due to its ability to fluently link this verse with the preceding one. As a result the two lines flow smoothly non-stop. “Because” is not always substituted by “coz”, it can take different forms, but all of them are pronounced in the same manner and no differences are distinguished. “Because” can take its form as “’cause”, “cus” and “cuz”. A lot of these because-forms were figured out in songs.

“So hold you close to set you free

Coz I just wanna see you smile again” (“Talk to Me” by Smash)

“There must be another way

Cause I believe in taking chances” (“Overprotected” by Britney Spears)

“And if it’s good let’s just make something cooking

Cus I really wanna rock with you” (“Superstar” by Jamelia)

“And I don’t really know what to do

Cuz I’ve got a thing about you” (”A thing about you” by Roxette)

All these because-forms, as it has been said, are applied in verses as a linking component between two verse lines making a song go easy. Besides they keep the rhyming and rhythmic effect better than the whole “because” would.

Among other deviations found in songs and characterizing slang one may point out the use of “wanna”, which serves as a substitute for “want to”. It proved to be a very popular form in songs. Such forms as “gonna’ (=going to) and “gotta” (=have got to) have the same ability of fitting the best into a verse line. They also do not alter the meaning of the whole verse line but on the contrary they serve as a linking element between the words.

“Some people don’t wanna compromise “

or “and well I don’t wanna live and lie too many sleepless nights”

(“Walking Away” by Craig David)

“Is the love I gave her in the past

Gonna be enough to last

If tomorrow never comes?”

(“If Tomorrow never comes” by Ronan Keating)

“You gotta tell me what you need from me

So hold you close so set you free” (“Talk to Me” by Smash)

“I’m gonna wake up, yes and no

I’m gonna kiss some part of

I’m gonna keep this secret

I’m gonna close my body now”

(“Die Another Day” by Madonna)

“Ain’t” was also distinguished among grammatical characteristics of slang. This form may stand for “am not”, “isn’t” and “aren’t”. The aim of the use of “ain’t” is the same as that of “cos”, “wanna” and “gonna”. But this form as considerably rare:

“I ain’t gonna hold out either

I’ma give it all to you baby”

(“I know what you want” by Mariah Carey)

My loneliness ain’t killing me no more

I’m stronger” (“Stronger” by Britney Spears)

“That was a different thing

No it ain’t” (“Shut Up” by Black Eyed Peas)

All the forms described above, as it has been said, are characterized as slangy. And it is not a single example where these slangy forms can be revealed. They also can be found in movies and literature, though considerably less, but they are popular in songs due to their ability to make a song sound more easy and fluent.

The verses suggested above show good examples where slang forms can be revealed and how to use them. And these forms are not necessarily to be used in text messaging, i.e. to be used only while printing, they can successfully be applied in Spoken language making one’s speech flow smoothly and uninterrupted.

But all the examples described above are slang examples regarded from the grammatical and orthographical point of view. As for the sheer lexical slang units they are used comparatively less in songs, apart from dirty slang, or vulgar slang. Dirty slang emotionally expresses a negative attitude toward something. Such songs containing vulgar slang words sound more expressive than if these words were substituted by stylistically neutral words. Among such songs the songs performed by Eminem abound in vulgar slang units a lot. Ordinary slang words reflecting almost no negative or rude attitude also find their expression in songs, though less in number.

When somebody refuses doing something or is reluctant to do something s/he may express her/his unwillingness by the slang expression “no way”. This expression was also figured out in songs when studying them:

“I’m falling apart in your hands again

No way

I’ve got to get away” (“Objection” by Shakira)

“If he’d told me, one day

That somebody’d have my heart in chains

Would I believe, no way

Made up my mind I’d never fall that way”

(“My Father’s Son” by Rondor Music)

In these two cases the expression “no way” really fits the verse line and, besides, it carries out its function – to express unwillingness and to retain the rhyme. Sometimes slang words are used not only to0 perform a rhyming function but also to avoid repetition. This is where synonyms are required. Thus, for example, “relax” can be replaced by such slang synonyms as “chill out”, “lay back” and “laugh out” like in the song “Complicated”:

“Chill out, what you are yelling for?

Lay back, it’s all been done before…

Laugh out, when you strike a pose

Take off all your preppy clothes”

(“Complicated” by Avril Lavigne)

All these three slang synonyms contain the same number of syllables and thus, again, they perfectly fit the verse line. Besides the use of them helped to avoid the use of a simple verb “relax”, which might be applied several times within one song. These verbs also possess some informal spirit appropriate in spoken situations. This is due to the fact that these lines suggested above resemble somebody addressing another person and it looks like speaking to someone. That is why these slang words can be selected by English learners and applied in corresponding situations.

It is apparently noticeable that all songs suggested above mostly contain text-messaging slang, the one applied when typing than when speaking. Lexical slang units expressing neutral attitude rarely emerge in pop songs.

Vulgar slang or dirty English has also gained its place in songs, particularly in rap songs. To display the use of vulgar slang rap songs performed by Eminem are selected. Such songs sound very expressive and inferior. A great number of vulgar slang words or slang words in general, in rap songs is caused by the fact that they are extremely resemble one’s speaking . Perhaps because rap songs do not follow the rules of rhyme and tone a lot, as a result the lines go like one’s talk – without apparent rhyme and great timbre variations.

The most popular vulgar slang units in Eminem’s rap songs are “shit”, “ass” and “fuck” (and its derivatives). These are the words which function in his songs in different meanings. “Shit” mostly means “thing” as an abstract notion, which may be easily substituted by “stuff”. For example this meaning is expressed by “shit” in the following verses:

“You know what I’m saying, cause they don’t

know shit about this” (“Infinite” by Eminem)

“I got them open like marijuana smoke up in your nose

Bucking these hoes, I got that shit down to a science”…

... “You want your shit to blow up?

Well I’ma stuff some dynamite in your ass crack

And blast that shit to kingdom come”

(“313” by Eminem)

In the last verse “shit” means “shit”, while the second “shit” again means “stuff” or “thing”. “Shit” also can stand for something bad in general, i.e. “to do shit” would mean “to do nasty things”. This meaning is revealed in the following verse:

“I’ve seen it turn beautiful people rude and deceitful

And make them do shit illegal” (“It’s OK” by Eminem)

A compound “bullshit” does not mean “shit of a bull” but “lie”, “nonsense” or “absurd”:

“So stop that bullshit and flow

Yo, you need to come with the real skills, and

act like you know” (“313” by Eminem)

“Fuck” may not serve any syntactical function in the sentence but it serves to intensity Eminem’s emotional attitude to what he is singing, actually talking, about:

“Inebriated, till my stress is elevated

How is the fuck can Eminem and shady be related?”…

… “If you hear a man that sounds like me

smack him

and ask him where the fuck did he get this damn raps from.”

(“Low .Down. Dirty” by Eminem)

The derivatives of “fuck” such as “fucking” or “motherfucking” are also applied for emotional expression.

“Oh yeah, this is Eminem baby, back up in that motherfucking ass

One time your motherfucking mind, we represent the 313”

(“Infinite” by Eminem)

“Dumpin’ your dead body inside of a fucking trash can

with more holes than Afgan” (“Just Don’t Give a Fuck” by Eminem)

The phrase “I just don’t give a fuck” stands for “I don’t care”. But the first sounds more impressive than if it were just “I don’t care”:

“But see me on the street and duck

cause you gon’ get stuck, stoned, and snuffed

cause I just don’t give a fuck”

(“Just Don’t Give a Fuck” by Eminem)

When Eminem says “your ass” it means “you”, and if it is somebody’s ass it just means this somebody: “his ass” –he, “her ass” – she, “my ass” – I.

“My rhymes they keep coming like nymph

maniacs that masturbate

At a faster rate, yeah I got something for your ass to hate”

“This puppy is lucky I didn’t blast his ass yet”

(“Criminal” by Eminem)

It is noticeable that slang in the songs suggested above is either text-messaging, i.e. which is more apparent when typed than when pronounced, or dirty (vulgar). Neutral slang units reflecting no immorality, at least in the songs analyzed, have not been singled out. It is necessary to mention that although vulgar slang is described in this paper, it does not mean that this paper suggests learning such slang. This analysis has been aimed at suggesting different situations where any slang can be recognized, no matter what kind of slang it is: text-messaging or vulgar. [54]

Another source where slang can come from is a movie. Here one can really observe Spoken English. Different slang kinds were selected while analyzing the movies. The reasons of why slang is applied in movies are the same as in literature. For this analysis the following movies were chosen:

Don’t be a Menace South Central (while drinking your juice in the hood).

Dumb and Dumber

Pulp Fiction

Finding Forrester

Sometimes in one movie the similar expressions of slang were discovered and it was decided to show only some examples of slang.

The first movie analyzed is “Don’t be a Menace South Central …”. It is about one Afro-American guy Ashtray by name. His mother brings him to the black block to his father and wants him to become a real Afro-American man. The movie is hard to understand because of the accent most black people have, but nevertheless due to the fact that most black people in the movie are young it is possible to find some slang terms.

“Hang out”, which is rendered as “зависать”, was already singled out in “The Catcher in the Rye” and “A Patchwork Planet”, but these are literary works and this time this slang phrase is applied in a movie.

“I don’t want you to hang out somewhere.

I want you to be a man”

Guy, buddy or pal can be substituted by a slang word “dude” (парнила) which is mostly applicable to a male person.

“– Are you dating anyone?”

“- Well…there was one dude”

If “What’s up?” once meant “What’s happened?” then now, as a slang phrase, it stands for “Hi” and at the same time “How are you doing?”. That is why it is enough to say just “What’s up” and this will express both meanings, moreover this slang phrase requires the same reply.

“-What’s up, man?”

“-What’s up, young blood?”

If “What’s up?” is used in greeting, there is also a slang expression used in farewell- “Take care” (Пока, бывай) and it should not be mistaken for “be careful”.

Among vulgar slang the following words are singled out: “shit”, “fuck” and “suck”. “Shit” mostly means “stuff” and “thing”.

“Pass me that shit over there”

“She tells me the same shit”

“He will fuck your head up when he learns that”

Here the paper is not able to give the Russian variant, which is the closest to the meaning, but this phrase can be rendered as “to punish severely”.

“Motherfucking” and “motherfucker” are of the same stem, but the first functions as an adjective and the latter as a noun. “Motherfucking” is actually hard to render but it is mostly used when one is furious:

“I tell ya, get off this motherfucking music”

“Motherfucker” can be substituted by “bastard”, but it is much more offensive. “Sucker” is also much more offensive than just “fool”

“Dreams are for suckers”

“Get your ass out of here” (свали, катись отсюда) sounds rude too though this meaning can be revealed by “get out of here” or “go away”. [49]

“Dumb and Dumber” is about two guys, Harry and Lloyd, who in the course of the whole movie are doing stupid things. The movie itself is a comedy and it allows the use of slang, because comedies tend to create an easy and due to the use of the language people usually speak in everyday life these movies are closer to viewers.

When Harry asked Lloyd: “How much dough do we have?” some viewers might misunderstand him: why dough and for what? Here dough means the same as in “The Catcher in the Rye”. It stands for “money”, though “dough” belongs to food. Speaking about food there was also “a piece of cake” which did not mean any food actually, in the following context it denotes “an easy thing” (легкотня).

“- She is gonna leave the brief case near the escalator.

You make the pick up”

“- Piece of cake”

When Lloyd said to Harry “Get out of here” it did not mean that he wanted Harry to disappear. In the following context it is obvious that saying this he expressed his disbelief. This phrase is applicable in any case of expressing disbelief and can be used instead of simple “You are kidding!” (Не гони).

“- You know I talked to her”

“- Get out of here!!!!”

“To freak out” in this movie stands for “to get nervous” (психовать).

“They always freak out when you leave the scene of an accident”

Speaking about being nervous the act of making someone mad can be rendered with the help of two verbs: “to piss somebody off”, “to chaff somebody” (бесить, вырубать кого-либо).

“That pisses me off. That pisses me right off”

“You know what really chaffs my ass, though?”

If somebody pisses Harry and Lloyd off, then there also must be something that makes them relax, and not just relax but “lay back”, “straight out” or “flat out”. These three verbs substitute a traditional and common verb “relax”. Obviously they relax “boozing” or with the help of the “booze”, which must mean “to drink alcohol” and “alcohol”.

“This is a lot easier if you just lay back”

“Straight out, flat out and give me the honest answer”

“Where is the booze? I know you’ve got it because I see you’ve been doing a bit of boozing”. [50]

“Relax” in “Pulp Fiction” is replaced by the verb once used in the song of Avril Lavigne “Complicated”. Here this meaning is revealed by the verb “to chill out”.

“I go there once a year to chill out for a month”

This movie, “Pulp Fiction”, is a combination of episodes which are not actually connected with each other. But here drugs find their place and that is why vulgar slang (Dirty English) is possible to be found here too. And it is really mostly vulgar slang that can be heard in this movie. Primarily it is “fuck” and its derivatives, they basically serve for emotional intensification.

“I’m in a big fucking trouble”

“She is fucking dying in my car, man!”

It has been mentioned that “Pulp Fiction” is connected with drugs. In this movie “drugs” can be heard as “hash”, which is clipped from “hashish”. And the place, where the ‘hash” can be purchased is called “hash-bar”.

“Ok, tell me again about the hash-bar”

The girl in the hash-bar was eating cool ice-cream and then she said “Yummy!!!” This meant her satisfaction, by this she expressed that the ice-cream was tasty or delicious, although it seemed a little childish. Besides “cool” does nit always mean “cold” or “great’. This is obvious in the following example:

“- There is no “you” and no “me”. No more”

“_ So we are cool”

“_ Yeah, we are cool”

So it is evident that “to be cool” here does not express somebody freezing or being great. And with the help of the context suggested above it can be understood as “мы в расчете”. “Goof “and “goofy” are applied when characterizing a person. If one says “I’ve been a goof” it means that he is a fool. Therefore “goofy” characterizes something which is typical of fools, i.e. of “goofs”. In other words “goofy” can be rendered as “silly”.

“I brought you a case. You left it in the airport, you big goof”

“Get that goofy look off your face” [51]

Evidently Jamal Wallace is not a goof if he was awarded a scholarship in a very popular American University. He is a main character in the next movie analyzed “Finding Forrester”. “Finding Forrester” is a story of a University student, Jamal Wallace, who gets a scholarship and takes classes in a very expensive University in the States. He is a skillful basketball player but his secret passion is writing poetry. Accidentally he meets a man, William Forrester, who proves to be a writer but due to some circumstances got forgotten. Forrester teaches Jamal how to write and eventually Jamal in his turn teaches Forrester to appreciate friendship.

Of course Forrester did not teach Jamal a slang language, but it is not him who always speaks it, Jamal’s friends do. Again when greeting Jamal’s friends never say “Hi” or “Hello”, they usually greet with “What’s up?”

“-What’s up, J?”

“-What’s up, man?”

Besides this “man” may appear in any speech phrase and actually does not have any syntactic function:

“No problem, man?”

“Come on, man!”

“Are you okay, man?”

“Dude” has been mentioned when the movie “Don’t Be a Menace South Central” has been described. This word can be replaced by “buddy” or “pal” and mostly refers to male people.

“I gotta go over to this dude’s house”

“Seems like a different kind of dude, man”

“To screw up” actually means “to have a sexual intercourse” but in certain context this verb may have a meaning “to do something wrong” or “to spoil something”.

“If you don’t screw it up by being a 16-year-old guy, okay?”

The meaning “to have sexual intercourse” can also be expressed by another verb “to get laid”. Basically this verb is not so offensive as “to screw up”:

“Cause they wanna get laid!”

The word “nothing” has its slang synonyms too, it can be substituted by “zip” or “nada”. The latter was borrowed from Spanish. In “Finding Forrester” Jamal’s friend made use of these words for intensification:

“There is nothing, nada, zip!!!”

Probably Jamal’s friend was nervous about having nothing, nada, zip. The state of being nervous can be expressed by slang, and a mad person has its slang substitute. “To go nuts” denotes “to be nervous”, “to go mad”; and “psycho” means “a mad, crazy person”.

“This lady is a psycho! She’s gone nuts” [52]

The last source analyzed where slang has been figured out is Internet. In the course of analyzing this source no definite websites were browsed. The data for the analysis were drawn from the English-speaking chat-room at mail.ru Different people from all over the world visit this chat-room and make acquaintances. Here an on-line live conversation can be observed. It is quite a real conversation but all the speaking is performed by means of typing. Since it is speaking, Spoken English can be applied here. But apart from the usual slang words applied in verbal communication, text-messaging slang is used in the chat-room. Text-messaging slang is apparent when typed. This kind of slang is characterized by the lack of vowels. But the absence (or almost absence) of vowels does not affect the pronunciation of the slang words. The below suggested example displays the usage of text-messaging slang in the chat-room.

Ppl, u have a good chance 2 talk 2 a normal person, talk 2 me pls!

First it seems to be an odd combination of words, letters and figures, but actually together they make sense. Expressed by ordinary words this expression would look like this one: “People, you have a good chance to talk to a normal person, talk to me please!” such slang words as ppl (people) and pls (please) are obviously built by consonants only. The figure “2” replaces the particle “to”, sometimes when chatting it can substitute “too”.

I’m a student 2.

The reason of using this kind of slang is to save time, because typing requires high speed. The letter “u” in the above suggested example stands for “you”, the point is that the letter “u” is pronounce in the same way the personal pronoun “you” is pronounced. On the basis of the same principle the auxiliary verb “are” is replaced by the letter “r”.

What r u talking about?

How old r u?

Since “you” is substituted by “u”, so “ur” stands for “your” and “urs” or “urz” means “yours”.

What’s ur name?

My country is bigger that urz.

U got my picture, can I see urs?

Besides the figure “2” text-messaging slang include “4” which replaces “for”.

I’m ready 2 die 4 u.

The bell rings 4 ya.

Here “ya” means “you”, sometimes it may express “your” or “you are”.

What’s ya name?

Ya so funny!!!

The word “people” is not expressed by a sheer consonant word “ppl”. This word can be expressed by a single letter “p” or by a strange word “pips”.

Hello 4 all p!!!

Hey there pips!!!

It someone in the chat-room types such a word as “tnx” or “thx”, this means that s/he wants to say “thanks”.

Tnx 4 saying it.

It’s great, thx!

This kind of slang causes great troubles for new chat-room comers. And not everybody on the first day of chatting understands such things as “Hi ppl! How ru? I want 2 talk 2 somebody”. Language is constantly developing and maybe some day the slang words indicated above will be ordinary Standard English words and people will write them only this way. [60]

Thus summing everything up it would be correct to state that knowledge of slang considerably simplifies comprehension of chat phrases, literary works, movies and songs and gives a PC user/reader/TV watcher or any listener great opportunities to assess a style and to understand an idea of a literary work /movie/song. It is necessary to mention that such sources as those analyzed contain many slang words and expressions and one has a good chance to get acquainted with them and then use them in his/her speech thereafter thus filling a gap between him/her and native speakers.

2.2. The place of slang in teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL)

English has won a great popularity in today’s society. It has become an energizing factor in the progress of science and technology, economics and culture. This emphasizes the importance of English as a school subject. Today Kazakhstan witnesses intercultural development in business, science and politics. This causes the demand for people having a good command of English. Therefore, the process of teaching EFL should be organized in such a way so that to let English learners reach the level of communicative competence.

Communicative competence is one’s ability to perform communication with the help of linguistic means and with regard to the purpose and situation of this communication. [18, 91]

Since the 70’s of the XXth century EFL teaching has focused mostly on phonetics, grammar and lexicology. However, when one is in the contact with native speakers, his/her knowledge obtained due to such an approach comes to nothing. The fact is that while working different teaching aids and textbooks out the material of the so-called literary English was used. As a result of this “correct” teaching some learners who are really good at grammar and vocabulary happen not to be able to apply their knowledge in real communicative situation, i.e. they misunderstand the things described or said in seemingly familiar English. That is why while teaching EFL it is necessary to teach an “authentic” language, the one spoken today.

Today the final aim of EFL teaching is having English learners perform communication close to the one performed by native speakers, i.e. having them really speak. However, speaking does not mean only one’s ability to reveal his/her thoughts fluently. This also means one’s awareness of current Spoken English peculiarities. [46, 69]

The subject of this article is an important but sometimes overlooked issue of the treatment of substandard vocabulary and its place in teaching EFL. Substandard vocabulary includes slang and all its subdivisions: jargon, cant, vulgar slang.

Most definitions of slang resemble this: Slang is a highly informal language, which is not to be used in formal situations, or when speaking to a person of higher social status. [36, 5] This definition might get one to an erroneous conclusion that slang is a mere set of highly informal words.

If the final aim of teaching EFL suggests having English learners speak and development of their awareness of all Spoken English features [46, 11] and if slang belongs to the Spoken English vocabulary, it follows that slang finds its place in EFL teaching. However, there is some contradiction: even though most experts in methodology and EFL teachers are conscious of this final aim, they avoid slang in teaching considering it rude and vulgar. Nevertheless, not all slang words are rude vulgar. And if there are some restrictions to the use of slang, they do not always center on its rude nature. To figure these other restrictions out different native speakers from different States were interviewed. The interview consisted of two questions: 1) “Name 5 slang word that you do not use (except for vulgar ones). Explain why”. The explanations demonstrated what characteristics a slang word might have to restrict its usage (apart from being rude); 2) “Name 5 slang words that you like to use or that are frequently used by native speakers”.

The aim of this interview has been to single out other reasons of misusage of slang and to destroy the established opinion that the only restriction to the use of slang can be its rude nature and to suggest analyzing the interview results and, probably, reconsidering the status of slang for including it in EFL teaching, which would emphasize the essence of the hypothesis. The answers have fallen into several categories:

1) Regional distribution. Many slang words have habitual associations with a certain region of the country or state. Significant differences between the slang of urban and rural districts can be revealed:

e.g. A new York resident does not use the word “wicked” (meaning “wonderful”) because it is used in Boston.

e.g. An interviewee from Maine does not use the word “phat” (meaning “pretty” or “hot”) because she lives in the rural district while this slang word is of urban character.

e.g. A Californian resident does not use the slang word “awesome” because it is mostly used in the Southern States.

e.g. “Y’all”, a slang contraction for “you all”, is not used by people in the Northern part of America because it is used only in the South”- said a representative from Maine.

2) Social distribution. It is well known that the use of some slang expressions is often restricted to certain social groups:

e.g. A representative from Arizona does not use the words “bro” (brother) and “homey” (friend) because they are used by the members of a street gang.

e.g. A Pennsylvanian resident does not use the word “dude” (friend) because it is a part of the surfer vocabulary.

e.g. An interviewee from Texas would not use the slang expression “the big house” (prison) because it belongs to a criminal vocabulary; “to punch somebody’s lights out” (to knock somebody unconscious) because it refers to people who are professionally fighting; “to loose one’s shirt” (to loose one’s money) because it is mostly used in gambling.

3) Pragmatic reasons (politeness or correctness). Some interviewees pointed out slang words which they did not use to avoid impoliteness or incorrectness.

e.g. A male representative from Virginia would not call a young woman “chick” because it is some sort of impolite.

e.g. A Maine resident does not use the slang expression “my bad” (my fault) because she finds it grammatically incorrect.

Fashion and obsolescence. One of the main characteristics of slang words is that they may date and go out of fashion very fast.

e.g. A Wyoming resident does not use the word “hip” (trendy and fashionable) because it is an early 90’s word.

e.g. A representative from South Carolina avoids using the words “threads” (clothes) and “to rock” (to dance) because these were fashionable in 80’s.

5) Wrong age group. Many slang words are associated with a particular generation and the members of the previous or following generations do not consider these words as a part of their vocabulary. Mostly it is adults who avoid using youth slang:

e.g. A Californian resident of 31 does not use the phrase “hang out” (to gather for social interaction) because it is a slang phrase teenagers tend to use.

e.g. A woman of 40 from Maine does not use the phrase “sweet ride” (nice car)- the same reason.

e.g. A Virginia representative of 38 does not use the words “stems” (legs) and “kicks” (shoes) – the same reason.

6) Stereotypes.

It is connected with the regional distribution of slang and relations within a subculture. It mostly concerns black people who are said to have some certain slang words typical of these representatives of society.

e.g. An Arizona resident does not use the word “dope” (nice) because she says black people use it.

e.g. The phrases “bad ride” (nice car) and “bad threads” (great clothes) are ignored by a Californian resident on the basis of the same reason.

The results of the interview suggested above cause one to conclude that not all slang words are misused only due to their vulgar meaning. This interview aims at convincing EFL teachers that such slang items which have their own kinds of restrictions (except for being rude) should not be ignored in teaching EFL. And if a Pennsylvanian residents does not use the word “dude” for his own reasons it does not mean that no one should use it either, on the contrary, it may prove to be the most favorite slang word for people from other States. Thus, this paper calls for EFL teachers to pay a proper attention to slang and to give it the way into teaching English learners an authentic language, the one spoken by native speakers.

The responses to the second question of the interview, “Name 5 slang words that you like to use or that are frequently used by native speakers”, were analyzed with the aim of issuing a recommendation for EFL teachers. The responses give a general picture of current slang words used in the USA today and suggest including them in Teaching EFL so that to provide English learners with “authentic tools” for the development of their linguistic competence (as the hypothesis suggests). (Appendix 4)

Every year many people from Kazakhstan leave for the USA as international students. On the arrival all international students must sign up for classes of English as a Second Language (ESL), where they learn real and authentic English. ESL classes focus on slang so greatly that there are special classes on American slang. For example, professor A.C. Kemp teaches American slang classes at Cambridge Center for Adults Education; Bessie Karras Lazaris guides Program at California State University, Northridge. [28, 69] This ultimately proves that slang is relevant in teaching English and its popularity in the filed of teaching EFL is the matter of time. David Burke, the author of “The Slangman Guide to the Street Speak” (Slang Dictionary) says: “Now every ESL teacher understands how important slang is, even conventional ESL courses are increasingly including slang in their curricula.” Burke says that to avoid pitfalls students must be prepared to recognize different forms of Spoken English. He predicts that the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) – the premiere exam for foreign students planning to enter American Universities – will soon include slang and idiomatic expressions. [34, 215]

If TOEFL contains questions on slang, EFL students will have to inevitably know slang. That is why Burke’s prediction is a reasonable ground for including slang in EFL teaching.

To emphasize the hypothesis of the paper and to prove that slang is relevant in teaching EFL, college 1st-, 2nd-, 3rd-, and 4th- year students were tested. The slang test contained 10 questions and for each question 4 variants of answers were suggested (Appendix 6). The test included the most popular slang words used in the United States. 80 students were tested. The aim of doing this test was to figure out whether the students knew slang or not. The results were different but no student got 100% of right answers and no one even got 50% of right answers, there were some students who had no right answers at all. On the completion of the analysis of the test results it was discovered that out of 80 students (100%) 8 students (10%) got 4 right answers, 10 students (13%) got 3 right answers, 20 students (25%) got 2 right answers, 17 students (21%)- 1 right answer and 25 students (21%) got no right answer. The slang test results are displayed in the diagram. (Appendix 7) The test results reflect the students’ knowledge of slang and they support the opinion that slang should be involved in EFL teaching.

Thus it must be concluded that according to the hypothesis of this paper and with regard to the practical aim of teaching EFL and to the results of the slang test, slang should be paid a proper attention in teaching, for it contributes to the development of one’s linguistic competence thus reinforcing his/her awareness of the Spoken English peculiarities.

Review on Chapter II

While studying the practical significance of slang the following sources have been analyzed: literature, songs, movies and Internet. The analysis of these sources has been aimed at displaying the most typical examples and situations where slang can be revealed and how it can be applied. The sources have proved to contain a lot of slang expressions, which are very hard to understand if one does not know slang. That is why this analysis has proved the hypothesis set.

Besides, the paper identifies the place of slang in teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL). To identify its place there has been the interview with Native American speakers performed. With regard to the hypothesis of the paper and the final aim of teaching EFL knowledge of slang is of much importance. But it proves to be avoided in the classroom, because it is thought to be entirely rude. The interview has been aimed at figuring out the reasons of misusage of slang and to correct an opinion that slang is avoided only because it is rude; and to suggest analyzing the interview results and, probably, reconsidering the status of slang for including it in EFL teaching, which would emphasize the essence of the hypothesis. The paper suggests teaching slang in schools, for it also promotes the development of one’s linguistic competence.

The interview consisted of two questions: 1) “Name 5 slang word that you do not use (except for vulgar ones). Explain why”. The explanations demonstrated what characteristics a slang word might have to restrict its usage (apart from being rude); 2) “Name 5 slang words that you like to use or that are frequently used by native speakers”.

The answers have fallen under the following groups:

Regional distribution.

Social distribution.

Pragmatic reasons (politeness or correctness).

Fashion and obsolescence

Wrong age group.

Stereotypes.

Conclusion

The research work made on the theme “Slang as a part of the English language” helps to make the following conclusion: due to the fact that there is a growing necessity to learn an authentic language, slang should also be learned because it is also a part of the language.

The aim of the paper has been analyzing the importance of knowledge of slang. Accordingly, there has been suggested a hypothesis that knowledge of slang is a very important component in the development of one’s linguistic competence, for it simplifies communication and guarantees more accurate understanding.

On the completion of the research work the following tasks have been accomplished:

Studying and systematizing the theoretical material on the topic;

Defining the notion “slang”;

Tracing the origin and sources of slang;

Singling out the classification of slang, its forms and characteristics;

Analyzing the use of slang in movies, literature, songs and Internet;

Interviewing native American speakers;

Describing the results of the research work.

The methods used in the course of research work are:

Analysis of the theoretical material;

Content-analysis;

Study of literary works;

Analysis of the American movies;

Analysis of the songs;

Method of research work;

Interview.

In the course of analyzing the theoretical material on the topic facts about it has been discovered that slang is understood as a language of a high colloquial type, below the level of standard educated speech and consisting either of new words or of current words employed in some special sense. Slang is believed to be stupid and vulgar because it occurs in informal conversation, accompanied by grammatical errors. But there is an opposite opinion: the reasonable use of slang promotes lively speaking it keeps the language fresh and alive.

Slang is said to have originated mostly in subcultures of occupational and professional groups. Teenagers, criminals and uneducated people also play a great role in creating and maintaining slang. Since slang is a part of spoken English, it diffuses verbally, and not only via real communication but also via television and even the Internet

There are two classifications identifying the place of slang: 1) cant, jargon and argot together make special slang. There is also general slang, which is not restricted to any particular professional group; 2) slang, jargon, argot and cant together make a group of social dialects. All of them are regarded as independent. Colloquialisms have no place in either of these classifications. It is quite a different phenomenon and should be differentiated from slang.

Slang expressions arise in the same ways that other words come into being. Slang words can be presented in different forms: old words used in new meanings, clipped or lengthened words, metaphors and metonymies, acronyms, coinages, blends and rhyming slang.

Slang can be regarded not only from the lexical point of view as a particular vocabulary typical of Spoken English; it can be viewed phonetically, orthographically and grammatically. These can be standard words applied with some phonetic, orthographic or grammatical alterations, what brings to the utterance some slangy coloring, expressiveness and freshness.

There are two languages that are also said to belong to slang: rhyming slang – the language of the Cockneys, Polari – the language of gay men. But they are said to be extinct because rhyming slang has almost lost its rhyming slang and there seems to be no ground to call this language rhyming; gays now have no need to encode their speaking (with acquiring equal rights), and therefore they do not need this language.

While studying the practical significance of slang the following sources have been analyzed: literature, songs, movies and Internet. The analysis of these sources suggests practical examples and situations where slang can be revealed and how it can be applied. Literary sources analyzed are:

“The Catcher in the Rye” by JD Salinger;

“A Patchwork Planet” by Anne Tyler;

“Rachel’s Holiday” by Marian Keyes;

The movies watched are:

Don’t be a Menace South Central (while drinking your juice in the hood).

Dumb and Dumber

Pulp Fiction

Finding Forrester

The songs listened to are those performed by: Smash, Britney Spears, Jamelia, Roxette, Craig David, Ronan Keating, Madonna, Mariah Carey, Black Eyed Peas, Shakira, Rondor Music, Eminem.

To trace the slang units in the Internet the English-speaking chat-room at mail.ru has been visited.

Besides, the paper identifies the place of slang in teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL). To identify its place the interview with Native American speakers has been carried out.

With regard to the hypothesis of the paper and the final aim of teaching EFL knowledge of slang is of much importance. But it proves to be avoided in the classroom, because it is thought to be entirely rude. The aim of the interview has been to single out the reasons of misusage of slang and to destroy the established opinion that the only restriction to the use of slang can be its rude nature and to suggest analyzing the interview results and, probably, reconsidering the status of slang for including it in EFL teaching, which would emphasize the essence of the hypothesis. The paper suggests teaching slang in schools, for it also promotes the development of one’s linguistic competence. To emphasize the hypothesis of the paper and to prove that slang is relevant in teaching EFL college 1st-, 2nd-, 3rd-, and 4th- year students were tested. The aim of doing this test was to figure out whether the students knew slang or not. The test results display the students’ knowledge of slang and they support the opinion that slang should be involved in EFL teaching, because no student got 100% of right answers and there was no student to have got even 50 % of right answers, there were some students who had no right answers at all.

After studying and systematizing the theoretical material on the theme and after analyzing the practical significance of slang, the hypothesis suggested has been proved and one can come to a conclusion that knowledge of slang is of great importance and considerably simplifies comprehension of chat phrases, literary works, movies and songs. It gives a PC user/reader/TV watcher or any listener great opportunities to express his/her thoughts effectively and to understand an idea of a literary work /movie/song. It is necessary to mention that such sources as those analyzed contain many slang words and expressions and one has a good chance to get acquainted with them and then use them in his/her speech thereafter thus filling a gap between him/her and native speakers.

Now on the completion of the paper it would be correct to state that slang, as a part of the English language should also be paid a proper attention in teaching. The urgency of this problem consists in the fact that people of our country contact with native speakers more than ever and they feel a great demand to know an authentic language.

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DVDs

“Don’t be a Menace South Central” 1999 West Multimedia. All rights Reserved.

“Dumb and Dumber” New Life Cinema. Artwork & Design, 2003 Image arts. All rights Reserved.

“Pulp Fiction” 2002 Layout and design Columbia Tristar Home Video. All rights Reserved.

“Finding Forrester” 2000 Columbia Pictures Industries. INC. All rights Reserved.

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Origins, sources and diffusion of slang