CONTENT
INTRODUCTION.. 3
CHAPTER I SLANG AS ONE OF THE EXPRESSIVE MEANS OF THE LANGUAGE 4
1.1 The origin of slang. 4
1.2 Types of slang. 6
CHAPTER II EXERCISES ON SLANG.. 8
CONCLUSION.. 14
BIBLIOGRAPHY.. 16
SUPPLMENT. 17
CHAPTER I SLANG AS ONE OF THE EXPRESSIVE MEANS OF THE LANGUAGE
1.1 The origin of slang
... Vulgarisms are swear words of an abuisive character [demon, to Hell, goddamn], and obscene words. They are of Anglo-Saxon character and are never to aquire the status of Standard English though they are widely used.
Colloquial coinages or non-words are spontaneous. They are not fixed in dictionaries. They dissapear from the language without a trace. Built by means of affixes they are based on certain semantic changes of words [to be the limit = unbearable]. Semantic changes in word meaning can be really striking [expeculiar = odd]. Every adult speaker has a concept of slang-knowing at the least that some words and expressions transgress generally accepted norms of formality or appropriateness and in some way do not fit the measure of what "good" language is. Despite such recognition by almost all speakers, scholars with formal training in linguistic analysis have almost ignored slang - though they acknowledge having the same intuitions about this type of vocabulary as do all speakers. In truth, most linguists have given no more thought to slang than have people who claim no expertise in language. In the English-speaking world in particular, the description of the form and function of slang has been left largely to lexicographers rather than to others who study language for a living.
Webster’s "Third New International Dictionary" gives the following definition of the term slang:
1. Language peculiar to a particular group as:
a) the special and often secret vocabulary used by a class (as thieves, beggars) and usually felt to be vulgar or inferior: argot;
b) the jargon used by or associated with a particular trade, profession, or field of activity.
2. A non-standard vocabulary composed of words and senses characterized primary by connotations of extreme informality and usually a currency not limited to a particular region and composed typically of coinages or arbitrarily changed words, clipped or shortened forms, extravagant, forced or facetious figures of speech, or verbal novelties usually experiencing quick popularity and relatively rapid decline into disuse.
The "New Oxford English Dictionary" defines slang as follows:
a) the special vocabulary used by any set of persons of a low or disreputable character; language of a low and vulgar type;
b) the cant or jargon of a certain class or period;
c) language of a highly colloquial type considered as below the level of standard educated speech, and consisting either of new words or of current words employed in some special sense."
As it is seen from these quotations slang is represented both as a special vocabulary and as a special language. This causes confusion. If this is a certain lexical layer, than why should it be given the rank of language or a dialect of even a patois, and then it should be characterized not only by its peculiar use of words but also by phonetic, morphological and syntactical peculiarities.
In general all linguists agree that slang is nonstandard 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. They are identified and distinguished by contrasting them to standard literary vocabulary. They are expressive, mostly ironical words serving to create fresh names for some things that are frequent topics of discourse.[1;249]
Slang consists of the words and expressions that have escaped from the cant, jargon and argot (and to a lesser extent from dialectal, nonstandard, and taboo speech) of specific subgroups of society so that they are known and used by an appreciable percentage of the general population, even though the words and expressions often retain some associations with the subgroups that originally used and popularized them. Thus, slang is a middle ground for words and expressions that have become too popular to be any longer considered as part of the more restricted categories, but that are not yet (and may never become) acceptable or popular enough to be considered informal or standard. (Compare the slang "hooker" and the standard "prostitute.")
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Арнольд И.В. Лексикология современного английского языка.: учебник для ин-тов и фак. иностр. языка.- 3-е издание, перераб и доп.- М.: Высшая школа, 1986.- 295с.
2. Голденков М.А. Осторожно! Hot Dog!:Современный активный английский.- ТОО "ЧеРо",1999-148с.
3. Каушанская Л.В. Грамматика английского языка.: Учебник для студ. пед.институтов.- 4-е издание.- Л.: Просвещение,1973.- 319с.
4. Раевская Н.М.. Теоретическая грамматика современного английского языка.: Для студентов факультетов романо-германской филологии университетов и педагогических институтов иностранных языков (на английском языке).-К.: Высшая школа,1976.- 383с. ...
