Slang Today and Yesterday - Дипломная работа

Diploma Paper “Slang Today and Yesterday” Introduction Language constantly evolves and the meanings of words in it change. Slang refers to words or phrases that begin to be used in a widespread way. This way, our language renews itself and changes with the times. Slang words show the attitudes of the group or sub-culture that uses them. Slang can appear as a brand new word, a new meaning for an existing word, an abbreviation for a word, or a word that becomes more generalized than its former, narrow meaning. Slang is a kind of language consisting of very informal words and phrases. Slang is more common in speech than in writing. Slang words are often used in a particular context or by a particular group of people. Slang is a type of language consisting of words and phrases that: - are considered to be very informal - are more common in speech than in writing - are typically restricted to a particular group of people or context Slang may be all things to all people. According to the American poet Carl Sandburg (1878-1967), slang is language which takes off its coat, spits on its hands - and goes to work. The Concise Oxford Dictionary is more prosaic: words, phrases, and uses that are regarded as very informal and are often restricted to special contexts or are peculiar to a specified profession, class, etc (racing slang; schoolboy slang). The problem for learners of English is to know when or when not to use slang. Many people condemn slang, but in fact we all use it. The trick is to use slang in the right context. For the learner, perhaps the first thing to remember is that slang is normally spoken, not written. The second thing is that you may wish to learn slang so that you can understand it when you hear it, but not necessarily to use it. With the view at the above-said, the topic of our investigation was chosen to be “Slang Today and Yesterday”. The topicality of our investigation is predetermined by the wide popularity of slang in modern language. The object of the investigation is slang language. The subject of our investigation is peculiarities of slang development and functioning in the historical prospective. The aim of our investigation is to determine specific features of slang functioning in previous years and in our today life. To gain the aim of our investigation we have specified the following tasks of our investigation: slang origin jargon - determine the origins of the word Slang ; - specify the nature of slang; - investigate slang definition; - analyze the history of slang; - determine specific features of slang use; - identify slang origin; - studykinds of slang; - analyze modern slang formation; - specify chat slang categories; - investigate youth slang. Paper structure. The paper consists of the introduction, theoretical and practical parts, conclusions, and bibliography. Theoretical part The Origins of the Word Slang The word “slang” is defined by Webster’s Third New International Dictionary (1961) as a language belonging to some group, such as the code-language used between thieves or the jargon used within a particular profession. It is also defined as a vocabulary composed mostly of very informal, colloquial words that are often coined words, shortened words, or words given arbitrary meanings. Such words are, therefore, generally outside the bounds of the standard language, and usually experience a brief stint of popularity and a rapid death, or a gradual inclusion into the standard vocabulary of the language. The Random House Dictionary of the English Language (1966), meanwhile, gives a definition that, while much shorter, may be more illustrative of the nature of the word “slang”: “A very informal usage in vocabulary and idiom that is characteristically more metaphorical, playful, elliptical, vivid, or ephemeral than ordinary language.” The actual origin of the word “slang” is unknown. The Oxford English Dictionary (1991) suggests it has possible connections to the Norwegian word sleng, due to a certain similarity in meaning, but largely rejects the idea due to the dates and early uses associated with the two words. A “white slang” was a silver watch chain, while a “red slang” was a gold one. This usage may have come from the rhyming pattern “watch and chain/clock and slang,” and may also have passed at least somewhat into today’s standard English; at least, this definition is found in the Oxford English Dictionary. The British also have a slang use of the word “slang” that is different from the American “watch-chain” meaning. Norman Schur’s British English A to Zed (2000), a collection of British slang and colloquialisms, gives a definition of “slang” as a verb meaning to use slang or abusive language, and as a noun in the form “slanging match,” meaning an argument “in which everybody washes everybody else’s dirty linen but nobody’s gets clean.” This is a sort of exchange of abuse between verbal combatants. Overall, while the origin of the word “slang” is unknown, its definition