Slang (Age) Flashcards
Slang (Broad) (5)
signifier of identity
primarily used by a subset of people
tendency to go out of fashion when people becomes more conscious of it.
Slang would be marked.
mostly Lexis
What kind of -lect would slang be?
NOT a dialect- closer to a sociolect
Who came up with the idea of Sociolinguistic Maturation
Paul Kerswell
What is Sociolinguistic Maturation?
The age at which a speaker becomes far less susceptible to the influence of different varieties of language on their own usage.
Why might Sociolinguistic Maturation happen?
a. Maybe because when you are a teenager you are around mostly people your own age but then this is going to change.
b. At something like university even if the same age you might mingle with more people with different regional dialects.
c. Brain develops so take in less language.
d. Humour might change so you might use certain slang terms because its funny but not any more.
e. If you hang out with older people then you might become more aware that you could be judged/not taken seriously for using them and so you might need to ‘prove yourself’.
Who came up with the “Life Cycle of Slang”?
Julie Coleman
What is the Life Cycle of Slang?
Innovative use by a subculture
Popularised
Use by teens and peeps in 20s
Used by celebs
Used by marketing agencies (it’s likely dead by now)
Slang vs Coolness
If it’s going to be cool, it cant be used in the mainstream. If it doesn’t have to be cool but rather just language, it’s fine and it might not die.
When was the term “slang” first used?
late 1700s
What was the original definition (no clue if actual definition or just meaning but just go with it) of slang?
“the special vocabulary used by any set of persons of a low or disreputable character; language of a low and vulgar type.” Paraphrasing: ‘vulgar vocabulary used by sets of disreputable people’
Who compares slangs life to the lifecycle of a frog (spawning / fertilising / growing in right habitat)
Julie Coleman
What is the “right habitat” for slang to grow? (7)
- A standard, official form of a language exists
- A hierarchy
- A threat to individuality or self expression
- A sense of group identity at bottom of hierarchy
- Awareness that conditions could be better (2)
- Frictions that can only be expressed verbally
- Some toleration of slang from those in authority. (2)
What is the “right habitat” for slang to grow? (7)
5. Awareness that conditions could be better (2)
a. Gotta feel cross.
b. Things in society have to change
What is the “right habitat” for slang to grow? (7)
7. Some toleration of slang from those in authority. (2)
a. I think that it means that if in total dictatorship that controls language it would not evolve but im not 100,000% sure that that’s actually true.
b. Might be true for slang in how we think about it (slang not other code)
