Slang a Changed or Created Language, its Meaning and Examples

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Language change is the manner in which the phonetic, morphological, semantic, syntactic, and other features of a language are modified over time. All languages are continually changing. At any given moment the English language, for example, has a huge variety within itself, and this variety is known as synchronic variation. From these different forms comes the effect on language over time known as diachronic change. Two linguistic disciplines concern themselves with studying language change: historical linguistics and sociolinguistics. Historical linguists examine how a language was spoken in the past and seek to determine how present languages derive from it and are related to one another. Sociolinguists are interested in the origins of language changes and want to explain how society and changes in society influence language.

Causes of language change

1. Economy: Speakers tend to make their utterances as efficient as possible: they try to exert the least effort in communicating with language (abbreviations, simple grammar structures in spoken language).

2. Analogyis both the cognitive process of transferring information from a particular subject (the analogue or source) to another particular subject (the target), and a linguistic expression corresponding to such a process.

3. Language contact occurs when speakers of distinct speech varieties interact. The study of language contact is called contact linguistics.

Types of language change

All languages are constantly changing. The causes are many and varied.

Lexical changes

The constant influx of new words in the English language would make it an obvious choice of investigation into language change, although it is difficult to define precisely and accurately the vocabulary available to speakers of English. Throughout its history English has not only borrowed words extravagantly from other languages but has re-combined and recycled them to create new meanings.

Dictionary writers try to keep track of the change in language by recording the appearance in the language of new words, or new usages for old words.

Phonetic and phonological changes

The sociolinguist William Labov famously recorded the change in pronunciation in a relatively short period in the American resort of Martha's Vineyard and showed how this was the result of social tensions and processes. Even in the relatively short time that broadcast media have been available, we can observe the difference between the ‘marked' pronunciation of the newsreaders of the 1940s and the 1950s and the more neutral, ‘unmarked' pronunciation of today. The greater acceptance and fashionability of regional accents in the media may also reflect a more democratic, less formal society.

Small-scale phonological changes are difficult to map and record, especially as the technology of sound recording only goes back a hundred years or so. So the only evidence we have of how language has changed over the centuries is written evidence of what human languages have sounded like.

Spelling changes

The modern obsession with spelling is a fairly recent trend. Differences in spelling are very often the most immediately obvious thing about a text from a previous century. In the pre-print era, when literacy was much less common, there was no fixed system and in the handwritten manuscripts that survive, words are spelt according to regional pronunciation and personal preference.

The development of the printing press, however, presented printers with dilemmas: texts from the fifteenth through to the seventeenth centuries show many internal inconsistencies, with the same word often being spelled differently within the same text. Famously, Shakespeare spelled his own name in many different ways. Additionally, they were tempted to choose from the various spellings based on typographical criterion, e.g. to get uniform line lengths when assembling type pieces on a composing stick. It being easier to make one of the lines of type longer than to make the other lines shorter, word lengths tended to standardize on the longer spellings.

Semantic changes

The appearance of a new word is only the beginning of its existence. Once it becomes part of the language the meanings and applications it has for speakers can shift dramatically. Therefore, when reading a text from the past, you may think you recognize a word but may actually misunderstand the sense it conveyed when it was written. For example, 'villain' once meant a peasant, or farmhand, but now means a criminal individual. This has undergone pejoration, which means that a negative meaning has come to be attached to this word. Conversely, other words have undergone amelioration, where a positive meaning comes to be understood. If we consider the slang word 'wicked' (generally meaning 'evil'), it now means in a colloquial context, 'brilliant'.

Other semantic change includes narrowing and broadening. Narrowing a word semantically limits its alternative meanings. For example the word 'girl' once meant 'a young child' and 'hound' (spelt 'hund') meant 'all canines', and now of course it means a particular type. Examples of words that have been broadened semantically include 'dog' (which once meant a particular breed) and 'gay' which now means 'homosexual' as well as, albeit in an unfashionable, archaic way, 'brightly decorated' or 'joyful'.

Sociolinguistics and language change

The sociolinguist Jennifer Coates describes that linguistic change occurs in the context of linguistic heterogeneity. She explains that "[l]inguistic change can be said to have taken place when a new linguistic form, used by some sub-group within a speech community, is adopted by other members of that community and accepted as the norm." (Coates, 1992: 169)

Language change has been induced by a number of factors over the centuries. In modern times language change is for example being brought about by technology. The internet and mobile technology have drastically altered language with the use of instant messaging and texting from mobile phones.

I came across this page" By Dave Sperling's ESL Slang Page" with collections of commonly used Slang arranged alphabetically. This will help us familiarize some words which we will understand in case we hear them from some individual or group user. Actually in a way or another slang helps a speedy and more comprehensive way of communication among the group. They have created, modified / revised words into anew which are immediately understood. In this way all messages are being transmitted and conveyed to recipients in a more conventional and informative ways. There were only few cases that some words were destroyed and its etymology which its literally a wrong way of using slang. It must not destroy but must promote a good way of communication. For example the use of SMS, its not the form but the substance of the messages that were being transmitted is the essence of creating words that can help speedy communication s

airhead: stupid person. "Believe it or not, Dave can sometimes act like an airhead!"

amigo: friend (from Spanish). "I met many amigos at Dave's ESL Cafe."

ammunition: toilet paper. "Help! We're completely out of ammunition!"

antifreeze: alcohol. "I'm going to need a lot of antifreeze tonight!"

armpit: dirty, unappealing place. "This cheap motel is an absolute armpit!"

ass [offensive] (1): backside. "I fell on my ass on the ski slopes."

ass (2): an unworthy and hated person. "I cannot be friends when you act like an ass."

awesome: great and impressive. "Dave's ESL Cafe is truly awesome!"

baby boomer: a person born from the end of the Second World War until the early 1960s.

"Dave Sperling was born in 1961, so he's considered a baby boomer."

ball (1): a fun time. "I really had a ball in Dave's ESL class."

ball [offensive] (2): a testicle. "After getting kicked in the balls, his voice seemed much higher."

bang (1): a very powerful thing. "Disneyland is really a bang!"

bang (2): a powerful effect. "Japanese sake really has a bang!"

barf (1): vomit. "My dog barfed all over the carpet."

barf (2): vomit. "Don't step on the barf!"

barf-out: a displeasing person or affair. "That restaurant was a real barf-out."

bazillion: an infinite number of something. "Has Dennis really taught a bazillion students?"

B-ball: basketball. "Do you wanna play b-ball with me?"

beans: money. "I've worked for this company for ten years, but I still don't have beans."

beat: tired. "I'm really beat because I was awake all night."

beemer: a BMW. "He wants to buy a beemer when he makes more money."

biggie: something important. "I was hoping to get my homework completed, but it's no biggie. "

biker: a motorcycle rider. "Dave used to be a biker until he got into a serious motorcycle accident."

bitch [offensive] (1): a very unpleasant woman. "My boss can be such a bitch sometimes."

bitch [offensive] (2): complain. "Stop bitching and finish your homework!"

bitchy [offensive]: moody. "I like my friend Steve, even though he can be really bitchy."

bod: body. "Stalone has a great bod!"

bonkers; go bonkers: crazy. "If Dave works too hard, he sometimes goes slightly bonkers!"

booboo: a mistake. "I made a booboo on the last question of the exam."

boob tube: television. "Benjamin is always in front of the boob tube."

booze: alcohol. "The ESL party was fun, even though there wasn't any booze."

boss: excellent; great. "Dave's ESL Cafe is totally boss!"

bread: money. "Can I borrow some bread?"

brew (1): coffee. "Every morning Dave needs a fresh cup of brew."

brew (2): beer. "Do you want another brew, dude?"

brewski: beer. "I love drinking brewskies!"

B.S.: bullshit; lies. "I'm tired of listening to your B.S."

bull: bullshit; lie. "That's a bunch of bull!"

bullshit [offensive]: lie; dishonesty. "I don't like people that bullshit me"

buns [possibly offensive]: the rear end; buttocks. "Don't stare at my buns!"

bushed: extremely tired. "I'm completely bushed."

butt: the buttocks. "Stop sitting on your butt and help me wash the dishes!"

catch some rays: get some sunshine. "Let's go to the beach and catch some rays."

cheesy: cheap; outmoded. "Why are you wearing such cheesy clothes?"

chicken: coward. "Don't be such a chicken!"

cool: excellent; superb. "Dave's ESL Cafe is totally cool!"

cooler, the: jail. "If you drink and drive, you'll end up spending time in the cooler."

couch potato: a person who watches too much television. "Why did I have to marry such a couch potato?"

crap [offensive] (1): something worthless. "My furniture is a bunch of cheap crap."

crap [offensive] (2): excrement. "Yuck! I stepped on dog crap!"

crap [offensive] (3): falsehoods and lies. "I've had enough of your crap."

deck: to hit someone. "His wife almost decked him when he returned home with lipstick on his shirt."

dicey: unpredictable; risky. "Gambling is a dicey occupation."

dinero: money (from Spanish). "I wish I had more dinero!"

dirt: extremely bad person. "My ex-boyfriend was dirt."

dirty: offensive; pornographic. "Stop looking at the pictures in that dirty magazine!"

dorky: strange; peculiar. "If you keep acting so dorky, you'll never get a girlfriend!"

dude: a male. "That's really cool, dude!"

dynamite: powerful; excellent. "Dave gave a dynamite presentation."

dinosaur: something old fashioned or out of date. "I'd love to surf the Net, but unfortunately my computer is a dinosaur."

el cheapo: something cheap. "Since I don't make much money, I always purchase the el cheapo brand."

evil: great; excellent. "Your car is really evil!"

eyeball: to stare long and hard at someone or something. "Dave eyeballed his daughter's new boyfriend."

eyepopper: something or someone visibly astounding. "Wow, that girl is truly an eyepopper!"

fab: fabulous. "Dave's ESL Cafe is really fab!"

face-off: confrontation. "I think it's time we had a face-off."

fart [offensive]: to expel intestinal gas. "It's embarrassing to fart on the first date."

fender-bender: small accident. "This morning I had a fender-bender on the Ventura Freeway."

flaky: unpredictable. "I waited four hours for my flaky friend to show up."

flashback: sudden memory. "In Little Tokyo I had a flashback to my days living in Japan."

flick: movie. "Let's go out tonight and watch a flick."

fox: attractive, alluring person. "Is it true that Dave is a fox?"

freebie: something that does not cost money. "My trip to New York was a freebie."

French kiss [possibly offensive]: kissing with the tongue. "Dave's dog is always trying to French kiss him!"

geek: someone who works too hard, is more intelligent than usual, and is slightly unattractive. "Bill Gates is kind of a geek."

get it: to understand something. "Sorry, but I just don't get it."

get naked [possibly offensive]: to completely relax and have a good time. "Let's get naked tonight!"

glitch: flaw. "There must be a glitch in this softwware."

go bananas: go slightly mad. "This project is causing me to go bananas!"

gomer: a dumb person. "Stop acting like a gomer!"

goof (1): a silly and foolish person. "What a goof you are!"

goof (2): make a mistake. I really goofed on the test today."

goof off (1): waste time. "Stop goofing off and help me clean the house!"

goof-off (2): someone who wastes time and isn't serious. "A goof-off never does well in school"

goof up: make a mistake. "Oh no! I really goofed up!"

goofy: silly. "Kids always make me feel goofy!"

grabbers: hands. "Have you washed your grabbers, Benjamin?"

grand: one thousand dollars. "He's making over a hundred grand a year!"

grass: marijuana. "Have you ever smoked grass?"

grub: food. "Where's the grub?!"

grubby: not clean. "I always feel grubby in the morning."

grungy: unclean and stinky. "Grungy people are not allowed in Dave's house!"

gut: a person's stomach; belly. "Dave is getting a big gut because he loves chocolate ice cream and beer!"

guts (1): courage. "It took a lot of guts to ask his boss for a raise."

guts (2): the nature of something. "Let's get to the guts of Dave Sperling!"

hairy: difficult; dangerous. "The steep and windy road was really hairy."

hang a left: make a left turn. "Hang a left at the next corner."

hang a right: make a right turn. "Hang a right at the next corner."

head: toilet. "I really need to use the head!"

hep: sensible; informed. "She's a really hep student."

hickey: a love bite on the skin. "Wow! Is that a hickey on your neck?"

hip: sensible; informed. "He really tries hard to be hip."

hooker [possibly offensive]: prostitute. "You'll find a lot of hookers in the red light district."

horny [possibly offensive]: sexually stimulated; in the mood for sex. "Red wine seems to make my boyfriend horny. "

hot (1): popular. "Brad Pitt is really hot now."

hot (2): sexy. "Wow! Cindy Crawford is really hot!"

humungous: really big. "American supermarkets are humungous."

hungries, to have: be hungry. "I don't know about you, but I've got the hungries."

hyper: overly excited. "Children often get hyper when they are tired."

icky: unpleasant. "The food is really icky in the school cafeteria."

I.D.: identification. "If you want to order a beer, you'll need your I.D."

I'm outta here: I'm leaving; I'm departing. "Sorry, but I'm outta here, dude."

in: fashionable. "Ray-Ban sunglasses are really in now."

ivories: teeth. "Tom Cruise has really beautiful ivories."

jack around [possibly offensive]: waste time. "Will you please stop jacking around?"

jam, in a (1): trouble. "If you're in a jam, I promise to help you."

jam (2): improvise (musically). "I'd love to jam with Bon Jovi!"

jamming, to be : going well. "Dave's ESL Cafe is really jamming!"

jerk: stupid or annoying person. "How could you go out with such a jerk?"

jillion: an immense number. "Do you really have a jillion problems?"

jock: someone good at sports. "I've never been much of a jock."

john: toilet. "Where's the john?"

K (k): a thousand. "I could retire with 100 K (k)!"

kick back: relax and enjoy. "I wish I could kick back at the beach today."

kick off: die. "My dog finally kicked off."

killer: something exceptional or great. "Wow, your boyfriend is killer!"

knock: condemn. "Don't knock it unless you've tried it."

knockout: beautiful woman; handsome man. "Benjamin is already a knockout!"

kook: peculiar person. "Stop acting like a kook!"

laid back: relaxed; calm. "I always feel laid back at the beach."

lame: incompetent. "Dave is really lame when is comes to fixing his car."

lip: cheeky talk. "My students are always giving me lip!"

loser: a bungling and worthless person. "Why are you dating such a loser?"

love handles: excess fat around the waist. "Is it possible for Dave to lose his love handles?"

luck out: to be lucky or fortunate. "You really luck out by visiting Dave's ESL Cafe!"

make waves: cause problems. "Teachers don't like students to make waves."

max, to the : maximum. "I'm happy to the max."

mega: big. "American restaurants serve mega portions of food."

megabucks: a large amount of money. "It takes megabucks to live in Japan."

mellow: relaxed. "I'm feeling very mellow this evening."

mickey-mouse: unimportant; time-wasting. "I'm sick of this mickey-mouse job."

monkey bite: a kiss that leaves a mark on the skin. "I don't want any monkey bites tonight, okay?"

munch out: to eat voraciously. "Let's munch out on a large pizza!"

nada: nothing (from Spanish). "I know nada about politics."

neat: cool; great. "Isn't my new car neat?"

noid: someone that's paranoid. "Why are you so noid?"

nuke (1): nuclear weapon. "This world had too many nukes."

nuke (2): destroy; delete. "Sorry, but I accidentally nuked your e-mail message."

nuke (3): cook something in the microwave oven. "Can you nuke this frozen pizza for me?"

nut (1): odd or crazy person. "Why are you always acting like a nut?"

nut (2): someone passionate about something. "I'm a nut about computers."

nuts [offensive]: testicles. "Don't ever kick me in the nuts."

okay: decent. "My boss is an okay person."

OK: decent. "Dave is an okay person."

pad: someone's home. "Can I sleep at your pad tonight?"

party: celebrate. "Let's party tonight!"

party animal: someone that loves parties. "Dave has been known to sometimes be a party animal."

paws: hands. "Get your paws off me!"

peanuts: very little money. "I love my job, but the pay is peanuts."

pee: to urinate. "I always have to pee after drinking beer."

pickled: drunk. "He got pickled on vodka."

pig out: eat too much. "Dave is famous for pigging out on chocolate ice cream."

piss: to urinate. "My dog pissed on me!"

pissed (off): angry; upset. "I'm really pissed (off) at you."

plastered: drunk. "Why does he always get plastered?"

pad: someone's home. "Can I sleep at your pad tonight?"

poop, the (1): knowledge; information. "What's the poop on Michael Jackson?"

poop [offensive] (2): defecation; shit. "Be careful not to step on dog poop."

poop out: get tired and quit. "I got pooped out after spending eight hours at Disneyland."

pot (1): toilet. "Who's on the pot?"

pot (2): marijuana. "It's easy to buy pot in the big city."

pro: someone who's good at something; professional. "She's really a pro at golf."

psycho: crazy person. "Stay away from that psycho!"

puke: vomit. "Alcohol makes some people puke."

pumped (up): excited. "I'm really pumped (up) about Dave's ESL Cafe!"

puss: the face. "My girlfriend slapped me right on the puss."

quarterback: leader. "Dave is the quarterback of Dave's ESL Cafe."

quick and dirty: done fast, but not well. "The mechanic did a quick and dirty repair on my car."

racket (1): noise. "Small kids can make a lot of racket."

racket (2): something that's dishonest or deceptive. "The Tobacco Industry is quite a racket."

racket (3): an occupation. "I've been in the ESL racket for fourteen years."

rank: give someone a difficult time. "She's always ranking her teacher."

rat: a despicable person. "I thought I loved you, but now I know you're really a rat."

razz: annoy someone. "Will you please stop razzing me?"

rear (end): buttocks. "Dave fell on his rear (end)."

riot, a : something or someone very funny. "Jim Carrey is a riot!"

rip off (1): stealing. "Someone ripped off my car."

rip off (2): fraud. "I paid $10,000 for my computer. What a rip off!"

rocking: great; excellent. "Dave's ESL class is really rocking!"

rubbish: nonsense; not true. "That rumor is a bunch of rubbish."

rug rat: a child. "Dave has a couple of rug rats at home."

runs, the: diarrhea. "Oh no! I've got the runs!"

scarf: to eat. "I can easily scarf an entire banana split."

screw up: to make a mistake. "I screwed up on the driving test, so I didn't pass."

screw-up: a person who makes a mistake. "Why are you such a screw-up?"

scum: a despicable individual. "Don't hang around with that kind of scum."

shades: sunglasses. "Those are really cool shades!"

shoot some hoops: play basketball. "Let's shoot some hoops!"

silks: clothing. "Those are really awesome silks!"

smarts: intelligence. "It takes a lot of smarts to become a doctor."

smurfbrain: a dumb or stupid person. "Stop acting like a smurfbrain!"

snookered: cheated. "I got snookered into buying swamp land in Florida."

sofa spud: a person who watches too much television. "I'm usually a sofa spud on Sunday."

solid (1): really good; cool. "Dave's ESL Cafe is totally solid!"

solid (2): consecutive. "It's been raining for seven solid days."

specs: eyeglasses. "I didn't know that you wore specs."

split: to leave. "Let's split from here now."

spunk: spirit. "She might be small, but she's got a lot of spunk."

stoned (out): drunk from drugs or alcohol. "I'm really stoned (out), dude!"

street smart: knowledgeable about city life. "Since Dave is from Los Angeles, he's very street smart."

suck: to be bad and unacceptable. "That song really sucks!"

technicolor yawn, to do a : vomit. "My dog just did a technicolor yawn all over the carpet!"

thou: thousand. "I need to borrow a hundred thou."

threads: clothing. "My wife spent $900 on new threads."

ticker (1): the heart. "My grandfather has a bad ticker."

ticker (2): a watch. "Wow! That's a really cool ticker!"

tints: sunglasses.

"You have to wear tints in California."

totally: really; completely.

"That's totally awesome, dude!"

to the max: maximum.

"I studied to the max."

turkey (1): failure; flop.

"Thank goodness that Dave's ESL Cafe is not a turkey!"

turkey (2): dumb person.

"Turkeys are not allowed to work for this company."

turn-off: something that repulses a person.

"Bad breath is a real turn-off."

umpteen: many; countless.

"I've asked you umpteen times to show me the money!"

unlax: relax.

"Dave needs to definitely unlax with his family."

upchuck: vomit.

"She got sick and upchucked three times."

uptight: nervous; anxious.

"Why are you so uptight?"

vanilla (1): plain.

"She drives a vanilla car."

vanilla (2): Caucasian. "The Midwest is too vanilla for me."

wad: roll of money. "It's dangerous to carry a big wad in your pocket."

wasted: killed. "A lot of people get wasted in the streets of New York."

wheels: car; motorcycle. "If you want to live in Los Angeles, you've got to get some wheels"

whitebread: plain; boring. "Dave's ESL Cafe is definitely not whitebread!"

whiz (1): someone who shows a special talent for something. "Einstein was a whiz in Physics."

whiz [offensive] (2): to urinate. "I really have to take a whiz."

wimpy: weak. "Don't be so wimpy!"

winks, get some: sleep. "I really need to get some winks"

wrongo: wrong. "That is totally wrongo!"

yank (1): bother; harass. "Stop yanking me, okay?"

Yank (2): a Yankee; an American. "Dave is a Yank."

zero: an unimportant person. "If you don't work hard, you'll end up a zero."

zip (1): nothing. "I don't know zip about you."

zip (2): energy; vigor. "I need something that will give me more zip. "

zit: pimple; acne. "Teens often have a lot of zits."