The use of slang words in today’s society is a fascinating
area of language to study because it is so prominent in popular culture. People
are either repulsed by it or embrace it as a new way to express themselves and
also as a way to create new language. However, slang has deeper roots than
people realize. Many slang words we use today have been around for decades.
Although, with the growth of social media and the increasing recognition of pop
culture, it seems like slang is more commonly used today. It is interesting to
see the expansion of slang in our dialects, in marketing, and even on
television. The articles I am using today are from the New York Times and The Guardian.
Slang seems to change over time where new words are created
and old ones are discarded, but according to the articles I found, the slang
words we use today are derived from words that already existed. Some popular
slang words used today that have already appeared in our language include swag,
hipster, and bae. One article
mentioned that “sensory slang” such as the word “cool” has a far better chance
of surviving because it is more memorable. It states that “psychological
processes of memory and transmission shape language” and that this “cultural
selection determines what succeeds and what fails.” Basically studies have
shown that our brains remember “sensory metaphors” better than others because
they can “express abstract ideas by comparing them to bodily experiences.”
As mentioned earlier, some of the typical slang words we use
today have already existed. Another article mentioned the slang word “swag” which
dates back to the 1640s and was used by Shakespeare’s contemporaries, John
Fletcher and Philip Massinger: “Hansom swag
fellowes and fitt for fowle play” (The Tragedy of Sir John van Olden Barnavelt).
This same article states that slang often falls prey to what linguists call the
“recency illusion” which basically means that people believe a word is new when
it actually has been around for quite some time. This illusion causes people to
believe that language is static and unchanging when language is actually fluid
and constantly evolving with new words produced frequently.
Even though slang has been used for decades, it seems it is
more prominent today because of lyrics in songs or social media posts. However,
there are people who resist this popularity of slang. The last article I found
spoke of the banning of slang in schools in London. The school felt that by
banning slang, it would force the students to speak properly and therefore help
them compete for jobs as well as university places. However, by banning slang, it
was only making certain students feel unwelcome. It situates the school as a
place that only invites middle-class students who were brought up using
different language.
Slang is mostly ridiculed by the critics who don’t use it and
they usually cannot come up with a reason as to why it is so bad. I think we
can all agree that there is a time and a place to use slang, but there is no
need to shun those who use it in the wrong setting. Students should become
aware of the proper language, but an occasional slippage of slang does not
warrant marginalization.
This video is from YOUTUBE from the REACT Channel. It shows commonly used slang words today and how older people try to define them. It is actually hilarious!
