AmSlang - DEAC



American Slang (use Delta Ebonics commercial and TSOE e5/p6 5:30-8:40)

7/1 History of the Study of English Slang

7/2 The Emergence of American Slang

7/3 Sources of American Slang

7/4 The Subject Matters of American Slang

7/5 Distinctive Properties of American Slang

7/6 American Attitude to American Slang

7/7 Impact of American Slang on Other Varieties of English

7/8 Slang Glossaries/Collections/Lists

(Start with a ref to DYSA3 excerpt on Chicano slang 6:00-8:28)

7/1 History of the Study of English Slang

1785—The Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (Francis Grose, soldier & drinker)

1890-1904—Slang and Its Analogues Past and Present (John S. Farmer & William E. Henley, >

seven volumes w close to a thousand pages—the first comprehensive slang dictionary)

1937—A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (Eric Partridge, eight editions)

1939—Hepster’s Dictionary (Cab Calloway’s Revised 1939 Edition) TSOE e5/p5 -5:30

1942—The American Thesaurus of Slang (L.V. Berrey & M. Van den Bark)

1960—The Dictionary of American Slang (Harold Wentworth & Stuart Berg Flexner)

1994—Historical Dictionary of American Slang (J.E. Lighter) >>show pages

7/2 The Emergence of American Slang

1619-1772—limited to anatomical terms used by the 20,000 felons transported from England;

Civil War (middle of the 19th c.): a stage when “literate, complex, heterogeneous culture(s) recognizing a standard usage whose primacy is upheld by a strong pedagogical tradition.”

Working definition: Slang is a variety of lg which is used by its speakers to differentiate themselves from or go against existing norms of the standard variety and the corresponding dominant mainstream culture. (101, Lighter) >>introduce def-s and classifications page

SLANG (DEFINITIONS AND CLASSIFICATIONS)

The American Heritage Dictionary (printed version)

The nonstandard vocabulary of a given culture or subculture, consisting typically of arbitrary and often ephemeral coinages and figures of speech characterized by spontaneity and sometimes by raciness.

The American Heritage Dictionary (electronic version)

1. A kind of language occurring chiefly in casual and playful speech, made up typically of short-lived coinages and figures of speech that are deliberately used in place of standard terms for added raciness, humor, irreverence, or other effect. 2. Language peculiar to a group; argot or jargon.

Collins English Dictionary (electronic version)

1. vocabulary, idiom, etc. that is not appropriate to the standard form of a language or to formal contexts, may be restricted as to social status or distribution, and is characteristically more metaphorical and transitory than standard language

2. another word for jargon.

American English: An Introduction

General slang: is used or at least understood by most native speakers of a language; arises in part from the creative use of language by speakers of the standard; also draws on specialized slang for its words and expressions

Specialized slang: is restricted to particular groups or subcultures; often called cant or jargon; produces some words and idioms that are taken up by most speakers of the language who in turn use these with the purpose of showing differences with or explicitly denying values and norms of the mainstream

The Oxford English Dictionary

identifies three types of slang:

1. (mid-18th century) the special vocabulary used by any sets of persons of a low and disreputable character (thriving today in the vocabulary of the underworld, street gangs, drug-trafficking)

2. (soon afterwards the meaning broadened to include) the special vocabulary or phraseology of a particular calling or profession (printers’ ~, doctors’ ~)

3. (from the early years of the 19th century) any language of a highly colloquial type, considered as below the level of standard educated speech, and consisting either of new words or of current words employed in some new special sense

Today slang covers all of these areas: not all colloquial or informal vocabulary is slang, but all slang is colloquial or informal.

7/3 Sources of American Slang

Criminal underworld (godfather, hitman, contract) Armed forces (dog tag, hit the sack, snafu)

>> The Sopranos: Mobspeak page ()

The frontier Gambling (you bet, big deal, up one’s sleeve) gold diggers (lucky strike, to pan out) cowboys (to bite the dust, to die w one’s boots on, etc.)

Black English (to badmouth, brother, sister, to dig sg, to dis sy, bad, cool, groovy, square, etc.)

>> Airplane: Jive scene******

Yiddish (sch-words: schmaltz, schlemiel, schmuck; kibitzer, kosher) German (nix, scram, and how)

Subcultures Surftalk and Valleytalk (awesome, for sure, vicious) homosexuals (drag queen, closet)

More recent jargons Sports (first base, score) showbiz (turkey, dj, mc) drugs (stoned/twisted, reefer)

Computers (mode, ROM, interface w/ sy)

7/4 The Subject Matters of American Slang (the two most productive domains)

Drinking/Drugs (plastered, bombed, pissed, booze) sex (get laid, dick, beaver) see list (111)

>>illustrate with The Alternative English Dictionary

+ ()

A

[pic]arse bandit

HomoSexual John is an arse bandit

[pic]Arsehole

anus British equivalent of asshole

[pic]arvo

afternoon This word is used extensively in Australia and also in England in some places.

[pic]ass boy (noun)

Derogatory term for male homosexual. "Whatever you say, ass boy."

[pic]ass

buttocks Now acceptable term on US television. 'John has a big ass.'

[pic]assfuck

asshole, shithead Adj; Said in place of saying no, or when someone says something stupid and a smart retort is needed. Usage: Not quite, assfuck.

[pic]asshole

anus; detrimental person second meaning very common nowadays. 'Mary thinks that John is an asshole.'

[pic]asswipe (compound noun)

human male Used detrimentally. 'Hey, asswipe, when are you going to give me back the five bucks you borrowed from me?'

toilet paper Not commonly used today.

[pic]asswipe

Worthless piece of paper, like a parking ticket

[pic]aunty (noun)

likable older gay male, not necessarily effeminate

7/5 Distinctive Properties of American Slang

Productivity Compounding (gate crasher, short change artist) derivation (freebie, mobster)

functional shift (ditch, break) borrowings (loco, boss) acronyms (PDA, BS) >> Street Talk

Imaginativeness Metaphor (humor + hyperbole: crap knockout) Metonymy (brew, vicious)

>>illustrate with Brief Sports Terminology Reference *

Slang as Male Lg “direct” and “straightforward” >> macho lg

Action/Violence-orientation images of activity & dynamism (hit the road, push up daisies)

Lack of certain kinds of slang Rhyming slang (titf’r, trouble) & back slang (yob) >> ~ that rhymes

Cultural knowledge (to bogart a joint, chip)

>>illustrate with Street Talk4, “At the Mall” (audio 1 side 1 24:30- + transcript)**

7/6 American Attitude to American Slang

Ambivalence (at least 10% of the vocabulary, BUT officially it is discouraged)

>>illustrate with DYSA3 excerpts and transcripts, (+ Student Slang Examples) 16:00-22:30

(+ Surfer Dude, etc.) 24:00-33:30 ***

7/7 Impact of American Slang on Other Varieties of English

Am. slang >> the slang of the E. lg

>>illustrate with The Power of Slang () ****

7/8 Slang Glossaries/Collections/Lists

>>illustrate with Cal Poly Pomona List, Butler University, Group Slang, etc.

() *****

+ The Most Ridiculous… at

*

Brief Sports Terminology Reference

A Guide to Political, Sexual and Social Connotations

FAST-US-8 'Power, Pride & Politics in American English'

Department of Translation Studies, University of Tampere

GENERAL SPORTS AND BASEBALL REFERENCES

To Play Ball (with) To cooperate with, deal with

Ball park figures Within acceptable limits, rough estimate

II. AMERICAN FOOTBALL REFERENCES

Take the ball and run Make the most of your opportunities; to with

it, capitalize on options when offered

The clock's run out no time left

III. BOXING REFERENCES

Knockout (boxing) Used as a compliment for a good-looking woman

Below the belt Being unfair, unjust, in a destructive way,

unethical, illegal (boxing)

Saved by the bell getting out of a bad situation just in time by

something out of your control

IV. HORSES AND HORSE-RACING

Wasn't up to scratch Wasn't of the quality expected to even start

competing in something

To jockey for positon Maneuver for tactical advantage

V. REFERENCES FROM OTHER SPORTS

Your serve (tennis) Your turn to lead, take the initiative

Dealt a poor hand (Cards): fate was against someone

TV Sports Announcer Lingo

1. CURTAIN TIME: Pick up the hymn books, it's all over.

2. DYNAMITE: Out of sight. Top shelf.

3. THREE O'CLOCK SHOOTER: Great practice player, zero in game.

4. THOROUGHBRED: God given athlete or a Final Four team.

**

At the Mall… Debbie and Alicia are out shopping. (Street Talk 1 side 1 24:30)

Debbie: Oh, brother! Get a load of that number she’s wearing. I wouldn’t be caught dead in that. What a scream!

Alicia: I forgot you always get the kick out of trashing everyone in the mall. I think that’s the only reason you drag me here.

Debbie: Okay, okay. I’ll behave. Let’s go hit the stores but I can only window shop ‘cause I’m broke… unless you let me sponge a few bucks off you.

Alicia: Sure, What do I care? I’m rolling in it.

Debbie: Great, then let’s shop till we drop!

Alicia: Gee, look at that blouse in the window. It’s drop-dead gorgeous! I’ve got to have it. Holy cow! 200 bucks? Talk about a rip-off! Like I’m really going to fork out that kind of dough for a blouse…

Debbie: Hold it down! Let’s just get going. This joint’s a little too rich for my blood.

Alicia: That really bugs me. That thing had my name on it. Come on, I wanna go drown my sorrows in a vat of ice cream.

Debbie: Now you’re talkin’!

***

STUDENT SLANG EXAMPLES:

do the whatevers… (Whatever, moron, get the picture, you’re a total loser.) (From the movie Clueless)

Tight (Tiiiight)

Uber. (uber-nerd, or super nerd. Or, uber-anything)

Fob. (Asians who came to America not too recently. “Fresh Off the Boat/Boeing”)

Like, when you speak and you still have an accent and like your English is still kind of fobby.

Word (Like I Agree): “That test was so hard. Word.” (the other person says ‘word’)

What’s up? / Whatsup girl? : Guys always like they’re walking and they see another guy and they’re like hey “’sup.”

the bitch seat, dude,

“You nailed that test, and like you aced it or yeah, you did really well on it.”

SURF SLANG EXAMPLES:

He’s gonna set up for a little barrel on the inside.

Well, like, you, know I got this new stick and I was like cranking on some radical tubes…

Oh yeah, sure, how big was it? < It was like radically overhead…

So check it out dude, like, you know, I was cruising the beach yesterday

it’s pretty off the wall

when the wave curls over, that’s like the tube, or the pocket, so if you’re in the tube, you’re taking the highest risk and you’re very rad.

I saw this chick and she had a totally tight bod and she was totally buff

wearing some rad outfit and just go wow, that’s rad, that’s pretty gnarly. Cookin’.

the same watches, they’re totally rad, right? Way rad. Way rad. Fully rad.

Full on, Off the wall, Right on, or like That was phat, like a phat air, It’s phat like with a ph.

GEORGE DESCRIBES THE PERFECT “RIDE”:

“You know, waves break in sections, so you can talk about like – wow you know that first section was sick, you know, that drop was really heavy, it made that bottom turn came around, went through that mushy part and then it just jacked on that second bowl, got that floater, came into the inside and just cracked that lip as hard as I could, set up for that barrel and just – right on into the green room man - sick.”

SKATEBOARDING SLANG EXAMPLES:

goofy foot, regular foot, switch, going fakey.

Rippers, you know ripping are just, adjectives to describe kids or skaters that are just ripping, tearing it up.

blast the biggest airs you can, and do the longest grinds you can.

One little false move, one little thing off and you're, you're slamming. But I like blasting airs, for sure.

a front side air over the gap,

Coping is basically the steel pipe or plastic PVC that's on the tops of the lip of the ramps, we call it coping.

That's what you grind on.

Street skating, vert skating, pool skating ---- “And downhill bombing, which you know most skaters love just the basic natural form of just going down a hill and going as fast as you can and carving it up and eh, and having fun with it.”

SNOWBOARDING SLANG EXAMPLES:

Sticking it clean means pulling off a trick to perfection.

If you can repeat that trick again and again, you’ve got it dialed in.

That’s sick. That’s the super-like super sick stuff.

Like, someone goes off and does something and stomps it clean than that’s you’re gonna like give him props and that’s gonna be something sick. And that’s what you’re gonna like, it’s gonna raise the level of riding and everybody’s just gonna, like just get everybody amped up.

USING LIKE FOR UM OR ER OR TO MEAN “QUOTE – UNQUOTE”.

Yeah like I like what I say like sometimes people just don't understand it like I, like my terminology for certain things which is like, like whom I clique, my group, like my friends, like nobody else understands it so if I go someplace else, or some place new they are like, they don't know it so like and they are like, they are like what are you talking about?

****

The Power of Slang by Tom Dalzell ()

Slang is everywhere — and youth slang, in particular, exerts enormous power.

Slang is to a large extent ephemeral, and so to survive it must constantly regenerate; both the ephemeral and regenerative traits are nowhere more apparent than in the slang of American youth.

Slang pervades American speech to a startling degree.

By design, slang is wittier and cleverer than Standard English.

With slang, each generation or subculture/counterculture group has the chance to shape and propagate its own lexicon, and in so doing to exercise originality and imagination.

Slang establishes a sense of commonality.

In a society preoccupied with status, slang’s varied and explicit vocabulary addressing the nuances of status guarantees its widespread use. Slang plays a critical role whether it delineates

winner (top dog) from loser (toast),

in-crowd (BMOC) from outcast (dweeb),

or oppressor (the Man) from oppressed (doormat),

providing catchy and memorable labels for us versus them.

Slang is also much more effective than standard or conventional English when it comes to describing sports, sex and intoxication.

American slang is also known for its fertility; it reproduces itself in abundance with each new generation.

The four factors that are the most likely to produce slang are youth, oppression, sports and vice.

Of these four factors, youth is the most powerful stimulus for the creation and distribution of slang, as we are all young once.

Youth slang derives some of its power from its willingness to borrow from other bodies of slang. Despite its seeming mandate of creativity and originality, slang is blatantly predatory, borrowing without shame from possible sources: the African-American vernacular or the slang graveyard of generations past.

Whatever its source, youth slang is a core element of youth culture, as a defiant gesture of resistance and an emblem of tribe identity.

As we move into our twenties, we gradually stop acquiring new slang and then ultimately just stop; we also slowly stop using our existing slang vocabulary. For most of our adult lives, we use the core slang vocabulary acquired in our youth.

*****

Definitions

A USA Today article says, "...Take words already in use, imbue them with new connotations that have meaning for you and a circle of like-minded or like-aged acquaintances, and you have codes that signal you are part of a group."

„Slang is a complex and lively form of language, interesting to linguists not only for its forms but for the reactions people have in both embracing and rejecting slang. Slang often arises as a form of in-group communication, and attempt to identify with one‘s friends, family, social class, occupation, ethnic group, or age mates. It can be a kind of private language, devised to keep out the uninitiated or to test just who is a member of a particular group. It can also be a kind of shorthand, an informal style of speaking (or writing) that evokes a feeling about how things are being said. Most slang is short-lived. As a term makes its way into the larger language, it loses its special slang flavor and may be replaced by a new term. But a few slang terms may persist for generations, though not in the original group. Boss is slang today only for very few speakers, booze for many more. Dennis Baron, in Ask a Linguist (~ask~ling/msg01021.html), 7/97

„(The word slang ) refers to words and phrases peculiar to a particular group and often regarded as non-standard and inferior.“ Todd&Hancock, International English Usage, 1986

I find it incredibly ironic that parents in the 90‘s (who grew up in the 60‘s) would be complaining about the slang that kids speak nowadays, and that it is just another sign that their values are deteriorating. Ironic, since the parents of the teenagers in the 60‘s said exactly the same thing. John O‘Neil, Harvard on Ask a Linguist, 7/97

Although the phenomenon has frequently been discussed, the term SLANG has rarely been defined in a way that is useful to linguists. Annoyance and frustration await anyone who searches the professional literature for a definition or even a conception of SLANG that can stand up to scrutiny. Instead one finds impressionism, much of it of a dismaying kind. Dumas, Bethany K. and J. Lighter, „Is Slang a Word for Linguists?“, American Speech, 1978, 1-2: 5

Slang "consists basically of unconventional words and phrases that express either something new or something old in a new way." Encyclopedia Britannica

[pic]

The Importance of Informal Language and Slang in TESOL: A Survey of Thanet.

Over a four year period the researcher became increasingly aware that many EFL students who were reasonably proficient in English and who had been studying in the UK for three months or more strangely seemed to have little understanding of may common items of everyday informal language. This in itself was an interesting phenomenon, but there were other implications, namely that acquisition of informal language was not taking place, perhaps due to a lack of interaction with native speakers. The researcher socialised regularly with many students over an eighteen-month period and found that students invariably socialised with their peers rather than with native speakers. Given that informal language is invariably acquired rather than learned, this seemed particularly significant. Initial enquiries revealed an apparent absence of previously documented research on the acquisition of informal language, which highlights the novelty of the subject. The extent of students' knowledge of informal language was tested using data obtained by means of questionnaires to native speakers living in the Thanet area (Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate). Local EFL teachers were also asked to complete a questionnaire relating to informal language, as were the students themselves. The most significant factors revealed were a distinct lack of interaction between students and native speakers, which may be a contributory factor to the lack of acquisition, and the relative unimportance attached to slang by the students. More than half had "neutral" feelings about it. Furthermore, the fact that the mean score on the test was 48% is particularly significant. It is important to stress that this research was intended to be open-ended. Beyond the initial supposition that in general informal language was not acquired by students, it was very much a grey area. Hopefully, this research has gone some way towards making the whole issue a great deal clearer.

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Questions on Slang

Is it true that the slang that kids speak nowadays is just another sign that their values are deteriorating?

Of course not. It's an example of false reasoning. Parents assume that kid's values are deteriorating (whether or not it's true isn't important), and we can hear kids using words parents don't know (which, parents assume, shows language deterioration). Therefore, their values and their language must be connected in this supposed "deterioration."

I read somewhere that parents and teachers are trying to find a cure for slang--evidently to keep their kids from talking in a language other than what they can under- stand. Is there really a "cure" for it?

No -- language changes, and people have been bemoaning the fact probably since people evolved to use language. Certainly the Sumerians complained about it in the first written documents five thousand years ago. It's like the weather -- people complain bitterly about language change, but no one has ever been able to do anything about it.

I find it incredibly ironic that parents in the 90's (who grew up in the 60's) would be complaining about "the slang that kids speak nowadays," and that it is "just another sign that their values are deteriorating." Ironic, since the parents of teenagers in the 60's said exactly the same thing.

John O'Neil

[pic]

Slang research

A pump and a quiver, ace, aggro, airhead, airtight, all (as in be all, be all like etc.) and all-nighter.

Are you down with that? Because these are the first seven words found in "U.C.L.A. Slang 2 ," a dictionary written by 25 students from UCLA. But it's OK if you don't understand, the book was published in 1993, and, like, for sure, the slang has changed since then.

UCLA Professor of Linguistics Pamela Munro is familiar with the ephemeral-nature of today's college slang - she teaches Linguistics 88A, a lower division seminar dedicated to the study of slang. She has taught the course twice before, once in 1988 and also in 1992, which resulted in dictionaries with full entries of slang words, including parts of speech, and many even with an example of its use in a sentence.

"It could be as much as one week that a slang word is used, up to a hundred years," said Munro, a graduate of Stanford University and UCSD. "Some say they change really fast, and some words people were using before your parents were your age."

Using the slang word "cool" as an example, Munro says it is still used today, despite it's fluctuating popularity. It began as a common slang term in the 1950s.

Munro isn't all slang however. She spends much of her time concentrating on American Indian languages. Her mentor is Edward Sapir, who she says is one of the greatest American linguists of the 20th century.

An enlarged black-and-white photo of Sapir hangs in Munro's office. Her faculty advisor in college was one of Sapir's students.

"Linguistics is a weird, in-groupy field," Munro said. "We like to trace our ancestry, he's like my great-grandfather."

Munro began her interest in studying slang when she met Connie Eble, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill at a linguistics conference. Eble publishes a new paper almost every year, discussing slang used by students at U.N.C.

Eble's work interested Munro, and from there, she began a project in which she asks students in Linguistics 110A to submit slang expressions. The first time she intensively looked at the words was in 1988.

"We pushed at finding a good, exact definition," she said. "You get a clearer definition of the word if you talk about it," she said. Her Linguistics 88A seminar has only met twice so far this quarter, and yesterday, students submitted four or five slang expressions to discuss later in class.

"Most of the definitions of the words will change (when they talk about it)," she said. "Other people have different things to contribute."

Munro makes note of the backgrounds of the students in her class, since each student has a different angle to offer.

"Slang is so neat because people use slang expressions to define who they are ... how they feel about themselves."

One of the obstacles Munro has faced in approaching a subject like slang is that often the words used in class discussions are offensive. She makes the first move in helping students to open up.

Today, she brought up the slang term "bitch," a word that many people are offended by and disagree upon its meaning.

"I brought it up, and I knew it would get people talking ... It happens naturally, eventually people will want to talk about (controversial words)," she said.

The actual definition of slang, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica is, "consisting basically of unconventional words and phrases that express either something new or something old in a new way." However, Munro says that everyone has an idea of what slang is, but still it is difficult to define. She didn't want to reveal her definition, since that will be a future assignment for her students to discover on their own. New words come about in various ways, says Case Western Reserve University's Associate Professor Emeritus of English Prosanta Saha. There are a "dozen ways" slang words originate, he said. In the dictionary "Slang and Euphemism," by Northwestern University Associate Professor of Linguistics Richard A. Spears, he describes the increase of slang use as a product of the 60s free speech movement. But Munro is emphatic that slang use is not increasing. "Everybody always feels there is more slang," she said. "If that were the case, nobody would be using the standard English language now." In the first study done by her and her students in 1988, the terms that generated the most slang terms were the actions of throwing up, being drunk, and having sex. "Barfing, boozing and boffing," respectively, was what the media then referred to as the lifestyle of UCLA students after the first publication of UCLA Slang , which was then turned into a commercial publication called "Slang U." The publication received media attention from Rolling Stone, Newsweek and USA Today. Despite some individual's sensitivity to slang, Munro thinks slang is only rude when hoarded to oneself. "It may be rude if it excludes the other person," she said. "If you were using terms that they couldn't understand, then it might be inappropriate."

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[pic][pic]About the College Slang

Research Project

[pic]

The Nature of the Project:

The College Slang Research Project centers around the use of slang as a communication means by college students. The project considers the nature of slang, its usage and the effects of its usage. The project is directed by: Judi Sanders, Department of Communication, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. .

[pic]

Project History:

How did this all get started? I'm not completely certain . . . but I think that what happened was this: One day I was listening to speeches in class and a student was talking about someone bagging on her and I wasn't quite certain what that meant. I thought I knew from the context, but I had some doubt. Then the obvious dawned on me: I was no longer hip enough to speak the lingua franca of the pancake steps even though I spent much of my time talking with college students. Suddenly I felt like an outsider; I experienced the boundary of a speech community. I'd had similar experiences before but this one seemed like it might give rise to interesting teaching and learning possibilities because college students experience this (and a kind of bilingualism) everyday. Thus, slang could serve as a site to study the relationship between communication and culture and be relevant to the experiences of students. As a result, the examination of slang became a project in my intercultural communication classes.

Students in my intercultural communication classes at Cal Poly Pomona have been collecting and recording college slang since 1990. Slang terms are collected by having college students listen to other college students speak in natural environments. Thus, the terms recorded are those that are currently in use by college students. We have produced dictionary collections of this slang in 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1997. I also spent a term at Iowa State University in 1994 where another dictionary was produced.

The project has now expanded to seek submission of slang from college and university campuses worldwide through this web site. Data collected here are archived to a database and the edited collection appears here. Data are also used as one means of teaching some forms of social science research.

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The Cal Poly Dictionaries:

The current dictionary, Da Bomb. Dis is Dope, Dude. Dig it! was compiled during Winter Quarter 1997. It contains over 800 terms. Due to good fortune, we were also able to produce a Summer Supplement to Da Bomb with data gathered during Summer Quarter 1997 (including over 300 terms).  You may obtain a copy of the dictionary and the supplement by sending $4.00 (for shipping and handling) with a note of request to:

Department of Communication

Slang Dictionary

Cal Poly Pomona

3801 West Temple Blvd.

Pomona, CA 91768

 

You may also request these by telephone at:  (909) 869-3522.  Or you may print out and mail a  written order form .

Prior dictionary editions are available from the same address at the cost of $5.00 per edition.

1994: Mashing and Munching in Ames

1993: Faced and Faded, Hanging to Hurl

1992: Kickin' Like Chicken with the Couch Commander

1991: Don't Dog My Do, Dude!

1990: The Cal Poly Slang Dictionary

Look for the next dictionary in July, 1998!

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Savvy Reading on College Slang:

Get a clue! Not many books have been written about college slang in modern times (though there are several old ones). Here are some recent books that are relevant to understanding college slang:

• Dalzell, T. (1996). Flappers 2 rappers: American youth slang. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster. [Visit their page.]

• Eble, C. (1996). Slang and sociability: In-group language among college students. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press. [Visit their page.]

• Eble, C. (1989). College slang 101. Georgetown, CT: Spectacle Lane Press.

Other college slang dictionary collections include:

• Munro, P. (1989). Slang u. New York, NY: Harmony Books.

• Munro, P. (1993). U.C.L.A. slang 2. Westwood, CA: Department of Linguistics, UCLA.

• Munro, P. (1997). U.C.L.A. slang 3. Westwood, CA: Department of Linguistics, UCLA. [Visit their page.]

General slang references include:

• Chapman, R. (1986).  American Slang.  New York, NY:  HarperPaperbacks.

• Dickson, P. (1990).  Slang!  New York, NY:  Pocket Books.

• Lighter, J. (1994).  The Historical Dictionary of American Slang.  Volume 1. A-G.  New York, NY:  Random House.

• Lighter, J. (1997).  The Historical Dictionary of American Slang.  Volume 2. H-O.  New York, NY:  Random House.

• Spears, R. (1997).  Slang American Style.  Lincolnwood, IL:  NTC Publishing.

• Watts, K. (1994).  21st Century Dictionary of Slang.  New York, NY:  Dell.

Az űrlap teteje

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Az űrlap alja

Surfing for Slang:

The web is ever-expanding. Some fun places to look for slang are:

College Slang Sites:

The CyberDorktionary

DePauw University Slang

Hep Cat Central

Jennifer Doyle's 1989 Usenet College Slang Dictionary

The Maryland Academic Quiz Team Lexicon

U.C.L.A. Slang Excerpts

Williamette University Slang

 General Slang Sites:

The Alternative Dictionaries

Chocolate City: Gay Slang Archives

Cribbage Inc. Cribbage Glossary

The Devil's Dictionary

Disco Slang!

Drug Related Slang

Emergency Room Slang

Gay-MART - Queer Slang in the Gay 90's

IPRC: Drug Street Terms Database

IRC Slang Dictionary

Jargon File Resources

The Jive Page

Maledicta Links

Masato Takano's (Japanese) Collection of American Slang

Matt Lerner's Slang Dictionary

NetLingo: The Internet Language Dictionary

The Online Slang Dictionary

The Totally Unofficial Rap Dictionary

Truckers' Dictionary of CB Slang

Twists, Slugs and Roscoes: A Glossary of Hardboiled Slang

United T's Homeboyz Guide to Street Slang

Urban slang

Web Surfing Lingo

Weird Trucker CB Jargon

The Word Detective

 Geographically-based sites for U.S. Slang:

The American·British - British·American Dictionary

American Slanguages

AmeriSpeak: expressions of our American ancestors

Bay Area Slang

Bayou Slang

Beach Speak Lexicon

Las Vegas Lingo

Louisiana Lingo

Monk:  How to Talk Portland

Monk:  How to Talk San Franciscan

The Old West Slang

Seattle Lexicon: Lingo from the Far Corner

Speak 'Scansin

Steve's Silicon Valley Slang

Geographically-based sites for International Slang:

The Alternative Dictionaries

The American·British - British·American Dictionary

Aussie Slang Dictionary

BritSpeak

Koala Net's glossary of Australian slang

London slang: Mad Land Guide To Slang

Outrageous Aussie Sayings

Sinhala Slang

South Pole Lingo

Swearing in Many Languages

Ye Olde English Sayings

 Sports Slang sites:

BodyBoarding-Lingo

The Climbing Dictionary

Dictionary of Mountain Bike Slang

Dictionary of Roadie Slang

In-Line Skater: Hockey Lingo 1:2:2

Waco Wizards hockey lingo

Assignments: rhyming slang

Fill in the missing words:

to be drunk as a -- [extremely intoxicated];

to get into a fender- -- [a small car accident];

to belong to the jet -- [group of wealthy individuals];

lovey- -- [extremely affectionate];

to get down to the nitty- -- [to discuss the most important elements];

hocus- -- [magic tricks]

Translate into English:

I went up the apples and pears, opened the Rory O’Moore, looked out of the burned cinder and saw oats and barley in the Dolly Varden. Then I lay on the Uncle Ned and went to Bo-Peep.

Read the poem in (“proper”) English:

I was sitting in front of the Jeremiah I opened the Rory and standing there

A-warming me plates of meat Was me one and t’other--Ted

When there comes a knock at the Rory O’More Who says, “I’m back from foreign parts.”

That made me raspberry beat Says I, “We thought you ‘brahn bread’.”

“It’s Ted,” I cried, “(or his pillar and post.)” A grasshopper was passing by

I was in a two and eight And saw me look unwell

So I slammed the Rory in his Jem So he picked up Ted and took him off

And I left him to his fate To be locked in a flowery dell.

The next day said the Garden Gate,

“You’ll have to do some bird,

And when you come out you’ll take my tip

And ‘scarper’ like bloody hell!”

Cockney Rhyming Slang

|  Adam and Eve |Believe |Would you Adam and Eve it? |

|  Alligator |Later |See you later alligator. |

|  Apples and Pears |Stairs |Get up those apples to bed! |

|  Army and Navy |Gravy |Pass the army, will you? |

|  Bacon and Eggs |Legs |She has such long bacons. |

|  Barnet Fair |Hair |I'm going to have my barnet cut. |

|  Bees and Honey |Money |Hand over the bees. |

|  Biscuits and Cheese |Knees |Ooh! What knobbly biscuits! |

|  Bull and Cow |Row |We don't have to have a bull about it. |

|  Butcher's Hook |Look |I had a butchers at it through the window. |

|  Cobbler's Awls |Balls |You're talking cobblers! |

|  Crust of Bread |Head |Use your crust, lad. |

|  Daffadown Dilly |Silly |She's a bit daffy. |

|  Hampton Wick |Prick |You're getting on my wick! |

|  Khyber Pass |Arse |Stick that up your Khyber. |

|  Loaf of Bread |Head |Think about it; use your loaf. |

|  Mince Pies |Eyes |What beautiful minces. |

|  Oxford Scholar |Dollar |Could you lend me an Oxford? |

|  Pen and Ink |Stink |Pooh! It pens a bit in here. |

|  Rabbit and Pork |Talk |I don't know what she's rabbiting about. |

|  Raspberry Tart |Fart |I can smell a raspberry. |

|  Scarpa Flow |Go |Scarpa! The police are coming! |

|  Trouble and Strife |Wife |The trouble's been shopping again. |

|  Uncle Bert |Shirt |I'm ironing my Uncle. |

|  Weasel and Stoat |Coat |Where's my weasel? |

******

Jive talk transcript from Airplane (translation/subtitles in parentheses)

Jiveman #1: Sheeeet, man, that honkey mus' be messin' my old lady got to be runnin' col' upsihd down his head! (Golly, that white fellow should stay away from my wife or I will punch him.)

Jiveman #2: Hey Holm, I can dig it! You know he ain't gonna lay no mo' big rap upon you man! (Yes, he is wrong for doing that.)

Jiveman #1: I say hey sky, s'other say I won say I pray to J I get the same ol' same ol. (I knew a man in a similar predicament, and he ended up being sorry.)

Jiveman #2: Knock yourself a pro slick. Gray matter back got perform' us' down I take TCBin, man'. (Don't be naive Arthur. Each of us faces a clear moral choice.)

Jiveman #1: You know wha' they say: See a broad to get that booty action lay'er down an' smack 'em yack 'em. (Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.)

Together: Col' got to be! Yo! (How true!)

Together: Sheeeeet! (Golly!)

**********************************

Elaine: Would you gentleman care to order your dinners?

Jiveman #1: Bet babe, slide a piece a da porter, drink si' run th' java. (I would like the steak please.)

Jiveman #2: Lookie here, I can dig grease and butter on some draggin' fruit garden. (I'll have the fish.)

*************************************

Attendant: Can I get you something?

Jiveman #2: S'mo fo butter layin' to the bone. Jackin' me up. Tightly.

Attendant: I'm sorry I don't understand.

Jiveman #1: Cutty say he cant hang.

Woman : Oh stewardess, I speak jive.

Attendant: Ohhhh, good.

Woman : He said that he's in great pain and he wants to know if you can help him.

Attendant: Would you tell him to just relax and I'll be back as soon as I can with some medicine.

Woman : Jus' hang loose blooood. She goonna catch up on the`rebound a de medcide.

Jiveman #2: What it is big mamma, my mamma didn't raise no dummy, I dug her rap.

Woman : Cut me som' slac' jak! Chump don wan no help, chump don git no help. Jive asss dude don got no brains anyhow.

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