University St.

"Kliment Ohridski- Bitola Faculty of

Education
ME Lexicology

SLANG

Mentor: Prof Irina PetrovskaPhD

Done by: Kristina Popovska 4828

What is slang?
A type of language that consists of words

and phrases that are regarded as very

informal, are more common in speech
than writing, and are typically restricted
to a particular context or group of people.
Rude;
Not polite;
Not educated;
Words used in some special sense ;
Special words of a profession;

Why did I choose this topic :

the slang is pushing the regulatory

language;
there are a lot of specific words and
expressions,
understandable to certain groups and
populations;
English slang has a great influence on
every language,
the slang is used in professional spheres.

There are many types of

slang:
Worker
Pupil
Computer
Student
Football
Hooligans
Police
Telephone addicts

What is the age group which

uses slang most often?
The people of 25-

40 years old, as
they use
professional slang;
the youth.

But generally the

use of slang does

not depend on age.

Characteristics of slang
Colloquial
Not standard
Restricted
Imaginative
Variable

Colloquial
Colloquial Slang is almost always

spoken.
When it is written, it is used to convey
the flavor of spoken language
For example, dialogues in novels

Restricted
Restricted slang is used only by small

groups of people, e.g., college students

Subcultures, e.g., drug culture
People in one profession, e.g., police,
medicine

Variable in 3 ways:
By region
American vs. Australian slang
Breeder in San Francisco
Bouncing beef in Sydney

Variable gender
In Australia
Males use mate, dude or bro to describe

other male friends

Females use babe or bud to describe
other female friends
Swearing
For males using the F word is acceptable
in more situations than for females

Variable time
Most slang disappears quickly
Groovy (1960s)
Main squeeze (1950s)
One generations slang becomes the next

generations standard language

Bus from omnibus
Zoo from zoological garden
Piano from pianoforte
Jazz

Where does slang come

from?
Originates from subcultures in societies

- For example, occupational groups, teenagers,

racial minorities, drug addicts, criminals
Slang from subcultures
- Pre-stiff = a patient who is close to dying
(from U.S. hospital slang) Homey = friend or
buddy (American black slang) Pot =
marijuana (1960s drug culture) C-note =
$100 (criminal slang)

Slang is created by playing

with words
Rhyming o Trouble and strife = wife

(Cockney rhyming slang)

Making words shorter Brill = brilliant
(Glasgow, Scotland and parts of the U.S.)
Fab = fabulous (American 60s slang; the
Fab 4 = the Beatles)

 Borrowing words from other languages

Cushy = comfortable (From the Hindi

Khush; no longer slang) Yadda yadda = and
so on (from Yiddish and made popular by
the sitcom Seinfeld)
Giving words the opposite meaning Bad =

good (U.S. college slang in the 1990s) Sick

= good (skateboarding slang)

 Changing the spelling of words Phat =

cool, very good (U.S. college slang in the

1990s)
Being imaginative with words Taxed =

mugged or robbed (Honolulu slang)

Gimme some skin = lets shake
(American 60s slang)

Used literature:
http://www.manythings.org/slang/
A Dictionary of Rhyming Slang by John

Ayto
Fresh Rabbit: A Dick 'N' Arry of
Contemporary Rhyming Slang by Ray
Puxley