Reading Dalzell's article was very interesting. I have heard many slang words in American English. When I came to the U.S. speaking poor English, I had a hard time to absorb slang. By the time, I learnt English, I noticed that a big part of my new vocabulary includes slang. I think that the reason why I or other people use slang is because of it is more comfortable and easier to describe our thoughts to somobody who is acquainted with this usage of current slang.
As I read his article, I totally agree about that slang usage as a new generation's idenity. The new generation wants to be special; they subconsciously fight for something new and resist to accept the old. Therefore, they invent new words which represent their feelings and opinions.
I assume that the purpose of speaking slang does not change depending on context. Yes, the words or expressions change but not the whole purpose of it. To hear people using slang makes me think about that I am their close friend.
My experience with slang is actually very funny. About one year ago, I met 45-year-old lady who after every third sentence said "that's neat". I had no idea what that meant but then I figured out that it was a slang. So, I started using it among my teammates but instead of saying that's neat I used to say "that's a need". Obviously, I did not know that I misspelled the word. Since then everybody has made a fun of me.
I think speaking slang can be confusing for foreigners but on the other hand, slang in every language is so powerful because it makes the language more flourished and impressivelly shows the vivid picture of language and behavior of every generation.
3 comments:
Hmm...To agree with his article would mean agreeing to 2 things:
->that "generation = identity" ->that current language is a sign of the past and that slang is a sign of the future
Now I'm not sure, but...
->shouldn't there be more markers for identity then "generation" itself?
->and to catagorize slang as the "new" would mean that there is a linear projectory between the old and the new...that there is a difference between "before" and "after"... a feeling of progress of sorts. Now, what if the "new" is just a new way of understanding the old... Would history not repeat itself under these conditions (since we'd be blind to the fact that we might be dealing with the same problems)?
Just a thought.
It was very interesting to hear from your perspective about slang as someone who is from another country. I never really gave much thought to how hard it might be for foriegners to speak slang. Perhaps you might know how to speak slang in your language. Maybe other languages have their own slang too. I find that interesting to think about.
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