Topic: About "slang"

I haven't a clue about this word.
The only thing that I know is, that slang refers to a certain words and that slang words or terms are often a metaphor or an allegory.
Slang terms: are frequently used in music too
WHY: To avoid social taboos such as sexuality, violence, crime and drugs, when singing.
Do Some of these words, written exactly the same, have an entirely different meaning?
Am I right if I say that a lot of people, use different words, when it's about SEXUALITY ?
Like using other words for "penis"?
Where are the slang specialists here. A Belgium band had a huge hit with a song:
"she goes nanana" a word used in the UK for "making love" (this word, even in my language, is the usual terminology, but if you read it you should be able to compare it with a factory where they make love!!!) big_smile   smile

[color=blue]- GITAARDOCPHIL SAIS: TO CONQUER DEAD, YOU HAVE TO DIE[/color]   AND [color=blue] we are born to die[/color]
- MY GUITAR PLAYS EVERY STYLE = BLUES, ROCK, METAL, so I NEED TO LEARN HOW TO PLAY IT.
[color=blue]Civilization began the first time an angry person cast a word instead of a rock.[/color]

2 (edited by Oldnewbie 2008-02-04 06:34:27)

Re: About "slang"

Very interesting topic, Gitaardocphil.

Here's my take:

Slang is one of the things that makes the American language such a cool medium.

We have so many ways of saying things. This, I would assume, makes "Americanese" harder to learn, but also adds to the poetic quality of the language. A writer can lend an emotion or a mood to a passage by the slang which is used. Much of our (American) slang is regional and its use can identify where someone is from.

For example, in the midwest, if you were thirsty, you might order a "pop". If you were from the south, you would order a "soda". If you ordered a soda in the north, you would be given an antacid (baking soda and water). 

Some of our slang is used purely for "color" in our language. We say things like "cut the rug" "get your groove on" and other (and more current) phrases which mean to dance. Certainly all of our slang is not sexual, but I suppose a lot of it is.

I think the sexual slang is usually a social courtesy. It would be considered rude to say certain things publicly, so we use inuendo and inference to get our point across. This has become so profuse, that some people try to be as obscure in their references as possible, but the point is still taken. In this manner, ANYTHING can be construed as inuendo. (i.e. "I'd like to butter her muffin" or "We really 'cleaned the carpet' if you know what I mean")

This kind of stuff, in my opinion, is the hot sauce on life's chicken wing. What would language be without slang? Boring, stiff, and much less fun!

Great topic. I would love to see what others have to say about it.

Just play

Re: About "slang"

well I thin kit looks like the word slang mean differently in america than it does in the UK
A slang word is more like dialect  I think in some ways.
i.e  the word house in glasgow will be pronounced hoose and mouse will be moose although you do get another animal called moose,lol.
other words are

do......dae
to......tae
what......whit
to be drunk ...... blootered  which would be pronounced bloot- urd

to speak slang is to not speak proper english.
The Londoners ( the cockneys) have their own slang, it is called "Rhyming Slang "
i.e
blood and blister.........sister
dog and bone......the phone
china plate...... mate ( which is usually shortened to just "china"
trouble and strife.....the wife


Ken

ye get some that are cut out for the job and others just get by from pretending

Re: About "slang"

Slang is "improper" English.

upyerkilt is talking about two things: accents and dialects.
We have a profusion of both here. too.

Most notably, the southern "drawl", and the New York accent.

We also have some dialects.

I have traveled just about every region of this country (except the Pacific Northwest), and I have found several dialects:

In southern Texas, many folks, especially in small towns along the boarder, speak what I have heard called "Texican", which is a blend of Spanish and English.

The folks in the Northwest, and Northern Midwest (The Dakotas, Wisconsin, and Minnesota notably) have a large scandanavian (?) influence on their culture and language, while, in Charleston, SC (and possibly Beaufort, SC, and Savannah, GA) some of the old-timers speak what is colloquially called "geechy". This is a combination of Gaelic and English mixed with bad grammar and poor pronounciation (and enunciation) which results in a language that is hardly recognizable to those on the outside.

Language fascinates me.

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Re: About "slang"

Oldnewbie, I'm afraid you're wrong about what UYK wrote.
I FOUND exactly the same on the internet.
- "Londoners ( the cockneys) have their own slang, it is called "Rhyming Slang "
ABOUT SOME WORDS:
- HEROIN = BROWN SUGAR
- HASHISH or MARIHUANA = SHIT. lol
About that word SHIT for HASH, I was told, and I found it somewhere on the web, that this word is used because of the fact that drug "kings", dealers, started to mix hash with CAMEL "droppings", so if this true, the word is correct too. cool        big_smile    wink

[color=blue]- GITAARDOCPHIL SAIS: TO CONQUER DEAD, YOU HAVE TO DIE[/color]   AND [color=blue] we are born to die[/color]
- MY GUITAR PLAYS EVERY STYLE = BLUES, ROCK, METAL, so I NEED TO LEARN HOW TO PLAY IT.
[color=blue]Civilization began the first time an angry person cast a word instead of a rock.[/color]

Re: About "slang"

I'm from Appalachia.  A Pennsylvania Ridgerunner through and through.  I've been living in Virginia for over half my life now, though, so I've got a mix of pronunciations and sayings.

Appalachian adds a lot of "a"s in their accent.  We talk about nackles (nickles) and pallows (pillows).  We use double or even triple negatives.  We use German grammar and English words.  My Momma had an old country saying for everything.  If you didn't already know what the saying meant, you wouldn't have figured it out from context. 

I thought the Pennsylvania Ridgerunner dialect/accent/slang accumulation was a mess.  Now I work in government contracting.  We are rife with acronyms.  The acronyms have taken on meaning all their own and have become slang.  Amazing.  I feel sorry for newcomers to the industry.  They'll have a hard time figuring out what the heck we're saying.

- Zurf

Granted B chord amnesty by King of the Mutants (Long live the king).
If it comes from the heart and you add a few beers... it'll be awesome! - Mekidsmom
When in doubt ... hats. - B.G. Dude

7 (edited by Oldnewbie 2008-02-06 15:01:44)

Re: About "slang"

I didn't mean to misinterpret. Not being familiar with the cockneys, the way it was described made the "rhyming slang" sound to me like a dialect, and I have always considered the Scottish enunciation of words as an accent.

Sorry UYK. I guess I am confused.

I need to get across the pond and discover the joys of the Scottish culture, sample some good whiskey, and figure out what Haggis is!

smile

Viva la differance!

Just play

Re: About "slang"

no need to appologise.
It is difficult to tell things when you dont actually live in a place. I should know, I am always saying things that are wrong, lol

I know what you are saying though about accents. You still get people with very strong scottish accents but will pronounce their P's and Q's. and would never pronounce the word House as hoose. So it is not really accents. There are many accents in scotland ( even though on the telly they all sound the same)
It is ..... it is.... I just forgot what I was going to say.........
errrrrmmmmm,
Na forget it.
aye, so slang is when yer not speaking proper english, or like I said and Lieven has found too, Londoners ( the cockneys on the east of london) have rhyming slang where they will pronounce the words but say things like dog and bone for phone, just like a secret code. I dont see why though, it is much easier just to say phone.



Ken

ye get some that are cut out for the job and others just get by from pretending

Re: About "slang"

I don't know if we're talking about slang or dialects here, but the one that gets me any more is "hook up".
I'm 46, and I'll say something like  "Lets try to hook up this weekend", meaning, lets try to get together.  But to the younger generation, "hook up" meens to have sex.  So I think I'm talking about something nice and tame like, going to a book store or something, and it's intrepreted like a proposition!! Got to watch that one.

Re: About "slang"

That, Mr. Frankster, is refered to as the "Generation Gap"!  smile

I was in California last week, and wanted to get my daughter something from there. I went into a surf shop and felt as if I lost 30 IQ points. I saw many cool T-shirts that looked very "West Coast", but I was afraid to get them because I didn't know what the saying on them meant! I might end up getting her a "hook up" shirt or something!

The more I learn, the less I know. I never realized what a big goober I was until my daughter hit her "tweens".

I ended up shopping at the airport. I know what "San Diego" means!

Just play

Re: About "slang"

thinking about it slang and dialects are either the same or go hand in hand with one another



ken

ye get some that are cut out for the job and others just get by from pretending

Re: About "slang"

Yeah, I think it's a fine line.

In my mind, the difference is tha a dialect is an accepted, proper way to speak, while slang is generally thought of as improper speech, which is sometimes accepted and used so often as to be part of the language.

??

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