Робота МАН 11 клас `` Modern British Slang``

 

ТЕМА   Modern British slang

 

 

 

 

 

Modern British slang

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contents

 

INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 3

CHAPTER 1. THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF THE CONCEPT OF SLANG...5

1.1. Etymology of the concept of “slang” ............................................................5

1.2. The problem of the definition of “slang” ......................................................8

CHAPTER 2. PECULIARITIES OF WORD-BUILDING AND FUNCTIONING OF SLANG UNITS ............................................................................................15

2.1. Sources of replenishment of slang units ......................................................15

2.2. Functions of slangisms .................................................................................20

CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................................24

BIBLIOGRAPHY ...............................................................................................26

LIST OF DATA SOURCES……………………………………………………28

ANNEX ………………………………………………………………………...29

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION

 

This scientific paper deals with the peculiarities of Modern British slang, because the study of colloquial speech is of great importance today.

Slang belongs to the most studied, or, in any case, the most detailed described, and at the same time, the most controversial layers of vocabulary. Slang is called rough or humorous spoken words and expressions, claiming novelty and originality [1, p. 116].

Slang is a widespread phenomenon, because it is a means of communication in a wide variety of layers of the population and reaches its roots in ancient times. There is no single and comprehensive slang definition until now. Numerous attempts to differentiate between slang and commonly used vocabulary or slang and obscene language did not produce results.

Some scholars view slang as a component of the subjective lexical layer in line with professionalisms, slangisms, dialecticisms. Others – as a more general concept, sometimes identifying it with the notion of social dialect, while another scientists consider slang in the context of variants of the actual English language [6, p. 112].

Review of scientific literature related to the slang problem (L.G. Verba, I.R. Galperin, V.N. Krupnov, I.V. Arnold, O.N. Morokhovsky, etc.) makes it possible to argue that in modern linguistics the slang problem is not well developed.

The topicality of the research is determined by the fact that the problem of investigation of Modern British slang is insufficiently elaborated in contemporary linguistics and translation studies.

The object of the research is slang.

The subject of the research is peculiarities of Modern British slang.

The aim of this research is confined to the analysis of peculiarities of Modern British school slangisms.

The realization of the given purpose is expressed in special objectives:

− to consider theoretical aspects of the concept of slang;

−  to define etymology of the concept of “slang”;

− to analyze the problem of the definition of “slang”;

− to investigate sources of replenishment of slang units and functions of slangisms.

The data sources of the research are English-Russian and English-Ukrainian translation dictionaries, English glossaries.

The following methods are used in the research: descriptive, comparative, the method of context interpretation, the method of definitions.

The theoretical value of this research is ensured by the contribution that the obtained result may be used in general linguistics, communicative linguistics, text and discourse theories, lexicology, stylistics, translation studies.

The practical value of the research is determined by the potential ability to apply the results obtained to teaching translation, theoretical grammar, text linguistics and semantics in the institutions of higher learning.

Structure of the paper. Scientific paper consists of introduction, two chapters, conclusions, bibliography, list of data sources, annex.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER 1

 

THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF THE CONCEPT OF SLANG

 

1.1. Etymology of the concept of “slang”

 

Slang refers to words, phrases and uses that are regarded as very informal and often restricted to special context or peculiar to a specified profession class and the like. Slang words are used in specific social groups, like teenagers [11, p. 78].

In its earliest attested use (1756), the word slang referred to the vocabulary of “low or disreputable” people. By the early nineteenth century, it was no longer exclusively associated with disreputable people, but continued to be applied to language use below the level of standard educated speech [17]. The origin of the word is uncertain, although it appears to be connected with  thieves’ cant. A Scandinavian origin has been proposed (compare, for example, Norwegian  slengenavn, which means “nickname”), but is discounted by the Oxford English Dictionary based on “date and early associations”. J. Green however agrees with the possibility of a Scandinavian origin, suggesting the same root as that of sling, which means “to throw”, and noting that slang is a thrown language – a quick, honest way to make your point [17; 20].

It is often difficult to collect etymologies for slang terms, largely because slang is a phenomenon of speech, rather than written language and etymologies which are typically traced via corpus.

E. Partridge, cited as the first to report on the phenomenon of slang in a systematic and linguistic way, postulated that a term would likely be in circulation for a decade before it would be written down [10, p. 127]. Nevertheless, it seems that slang generally forms via deviation from a standard form. This “spawning” of slang occurs in much the same way that any general semantic change might occur. The difference here is that the slang term’s new meaning takes on a specific social significance having to do with the group the term indexes.

Coleman also suggests that slang is differentiated within more general semantic change in that it typically has to do with a certain degree of “playfulness”. The development of slang is considered to be a largely “spontaneous, lively, and creative” speech process [10, p. 128].

Still, while a great deal of slang takes off, even becoming accepted into the standard lexicon, much slang dies out, sometimes only referencing a group. An example of this is the term “groovy” which is a relic of 1960’s and 70’s American “hippy” slang. Nevertheless, for a slang term to become a slang term, people must use it, at some point in time, as a way to flout standard language [11, p. 234]. Additionally, slang terms may be borrowed between groups, such as the term “gig” which was originally coined by jazz musicians in the 1930s and then borrowed into the same hippy slang of the 1960s [11, p. 127]. The word “groovy” has remained a part of subculture lexicon since its popularization. It is still in common use today by a significant population. The word “gig” to refer to a performance very likely originated well before the 1930s, and remained a common term throughout the 1940s and 1950s before becoming a vaguely associated with the “hippy slang of the 1960s”. The word “gig” is now a widely accepted synonym for a concert, recital, or performance of any type. “Hippy” is more commonly spelled “hippie”.

Generally, slang terms undergo the same processes of semantic change that words in the regular lexicon do [10, p. 276].

Slang often will form from words with previously differing meanings, one example is the often used and popular slang word “lit”, which was created by a generation labeled “Generation Z”. The word itself used to be associated with something being on fire or being “lit” up until 1988 when it was first used in writing to indicate a person who was drunk [15, p. 187] in the book “Warbirds: Diary of an Unknown Aviator”. Since this time “lit” has gained popularity through Rap songs such as ASAP Rocky’s “Get Lit” in 2011. As the popularity of the word has increased so too has the number of different meanings associated with the word. Now “lit” describes a person who is drunk and/or high, as well as an event that is especially awesome and “hype”.

A. Liberman, a highly respected etymologist who is in no way averse to hedging when warranted, tries to put the practice to rest in a recent Oxford University Press blog post titled “The Origin of the Word SLANG is Known!” That important exclamation point says not “exciting discovery!” but “Sheesh! Stop acting like it isn’t known already!” [16]

As Liberman explains, it goes back to an old use of slang for “a narrow piece of land running up between other and larger divisions of ground.” It’s related to Scandinavian terms having to do with free movement and wandering, and the word’s “route was from ‘territory; turf’ to ‘those who advertise and sell their wares on such a territory’, to ‘the patter used in advertising the wares’, and to ‘vulgar language’ (later to ‘any colorful, informal way of expression’) [16]”.

A.Liberman has made his life’s work the thorough investigation of words marked “origin unknown” in etymological dictionaries. Though the explanation of slang laid out above appeared in his 2008 dictionary and is often credited to him, he gives credit to J. Sampson, who set it forth in 1898. It was overlooked at the time, and Liberman laments, Few English words of disputable origin have been explained so convincingly, and it grieves me to see that some dictionaries still try to derive slang from Norwegian regional slengja ‘fling, cast’ or the phrase slengja kjeften ‘make insulting allusions’ (literarally ‘sling the jaw’), or from the old past tense of sling (that is, from the same grade of ablaut as the past tense of sling), or from language with s- appended to it (even if the amazing similarity between slang and language helped slang stay in Standard English, for many people must have thought of some hybrid like s-language)” [16].

All those hypotheses lack foundation. The origin of slang is known, and the discovery made long ago should not be mentioned politely or condescendingly among a few others that stimulated the research but now belong to the museum of etymology.

 

1.2. The problem of the definition of “slang”

 

Few linguists have endeavored to clearly define what constitutes slang. However, what is known is that slang is a linguistic phenomenon ever present and consistently changing among every subculture worldwide. Some suggest that the reason slang exists is because we must come up with new ways of defining new experiences that have surfaced with time and modernity [12, p. 14]. Attempting to remedy the lack of a clear definition, however, B.K. Dumas and J. Lighter argue that an expression should be considered “true slang” if it meets at least two of the following criteria [12, p. 15]:

It lowers, if temporarily, “the dignity of formal or serious speech or writing”; in other words, it is likely to be considered in those contexts a “glaring misuse of register”.

Its use implies that the user is familiar with whatever is referred to, or with a group of people who are familiar with it and use the term.

“It’s a taboo term in ordinary discourse with people of a higher social status or greater responsibility”.

It replaces “a well-known conventional synonym”. This is done primarily to avoid discomfort caused by the conventional synonym or discomfort or annoyance caused by having to elaborate further.

M. Adams remarks that, “[Slang] is liminal language... it is often impossible to tell, even in context, which interests and motives it serves... slang is on the edge” [9, p. 127]. Slang dictionaries, collecting thousands of slang entries, offer a broad, empirical window into the motivating forces behind slang” [18, p. 678].

While many forms of language may be considered “sub-standard”, slang remains distinct from colloquial and jargon terms because of its specific social contexts. While considered inappropriate in formal writing, colloquial terms are typically considered acceptable in speech across a wide range of contexts, while slang tends to be considered unacceptable in many contexts.  Jargon  refers to language used by personnel in a particular field, or language used to represent specific terms within a field to those with a particular interest. Although jargon and slang can both be used to exclude non-group members from the conversation, the intention of jargon is to optimize conversation using terms that imply technical understanding. On the other hand, slang tends to emphasize social and contextual understanding.

While colloquialisms and jargon may seem like slang because they reference a particular group, they do not fit the same definition, because they do not represent a particular effort to replace standard language. Colloquialisms are considered more standard than slang, and jargon is often created to talk about aspects of a particular field that are not accounted for in the standard lexicon [11, p. 276].

It is often difficult to differentiate slang from colloquialisms and even more standard language, because slang generally becomes accepted into the standard lexicon over time. Words such as “spurious” and “strenuous” were once slang, though they are now accepted as standard, even high register words.

The literature on slang even discusses mainstream acknowledgment of a slang term as changing its status as true slang, because it has been accepted by the media and is thus no longer the special insider speech of a particular group. Nevertheless, a general test for whether a word is a slang word or not is whether it would be acceptable in an academic or legal setting, as both are arenas in which standard language is considered necessary and/or whether the term has been entered in the Oxford English Dictionary, which some scholars claim changes its status as slang [11, p. 209].

The word “slang” is quite popular, the problem of slang is devoted to a large number of works, both in native and in foreign linguistics. However, the very concept of “slang” remains unclear to this day. Under the slang, they understand spontaneous words, dialecticisms, neologisms, jargon, humorous word formations, etc. The signs that are usually attributed to slangizms – pronounced expressiveness, roughness, evaluation, humor, a shade of contempt – are descriptive in nature and  characteristic of almost all layers of the vocabulary of a low stylistic tone.

The interest of the native linguistic, psychological and translation circles in relation to slang is evidenced by the work of G.O. Suzilovsky, in which he lists the following among the most significant features of slang [8, p. 123]:

1) Slang is a lexical phenomenon.

2) Slang does not belong to the literary vocabulary.

3) Slang is a vocabulary that is typical of oral speech.

4) Slang is a vocabulary that has an emotional coloring.

5) Slang is characterized by some familiar coloring.

6) Slang usually includes any kind of humorous, ironic and other expressions.

7) Slang can be conventionally divided into well-known and commonly used and little-known and limited in use.

8) Slang is characterized by limited clarity.

Due to a large number of characteristic features and conventionality of the concept of “slang”, many linguists and psychologists in speech prefer other concepts. However, since almost all American and English (British) dictionaries have the mark sl. (slang), an interpreter needs to know this concept and understand what is slang. English and American linguists are also aware that the concept of “slang” is too broad, but continue to use it in the absence of another.

Compilers of the “Big English-Russian Dictionary” under the general direction of I.R. Galperin generally refused this term, while many other scholars still recognize it, I.V. Arnold in particular.

The Moscow linguistic encyclopedia from 1990 identifies slang with jargon, that is, the social form of speech, which is characterized by professional vocabulary with expressive polysemantics and phraseology. The category “slang” is presented here as a set of jargonisms, forming a kind of colloquial vocabulary and reflecting familiar, humorous attitude to the subject of speech. Sometimes slang – distorted, abnormal, vulgar speech (close to argos) when the subject is giving a humiliating assessment. Unlike argos, slang / jargon is based on literary language or foreign language embedding [19, p. 25].

Some scholars believe that the term “slang” is used in two meanings: either as a synonym or as a collection of slang words, slang meanings of well-known words, slang word combinations inherent in the origin of various jargon, and which have become, if not universal, then understandable for a sufficiently wide range of native speakers of the given language [19, p. 58]. Slangizms of general slang and “low” colloquialisms (two lexical layers with blurred borders between them) together form a fragment of the national vocabulary, which the researchers call the expressive vernacular.

І.Р. Galperin notes that various dictionaries with the sign “slang” mark the following grades of words and phrases:

a) words relating to thieves’ slang;

b) words belonging to other jargons: military slang, sports slang, theater slang, student slang, parliamentary and even religious “slang”;

c) neologisms are also classified as slang – spoken words and expressions characteristic of alive informal communication;

d) slang is also also understood as the casual formations that arose as a result of literary associations and whose significance is due to their content links with the original concept;

e) figurative words and expressions;

e) words created as a result of using one of the most productive ways of word formation in modern English – conversion;

g) abbreviations and commonly used shortings are also considered as slang [14, p. 89].

We would like to emphasize that slang includes also vernacular phonetic, morphological and syntactic forms, for example, the word ain’t, the form gi'n (given), the word-phrase one of them slippers, misuse of conjunctions such as as instead of whom or which, pronunciation of the sound [n] instead of [ŋ] in the present participles, etc. [5, p. 39].

Precisely because the term “slang” combines heterogeneous phenomena, one of the most characteristic features of this lexical layer is its instability.

According to I.R. Galperin, slangisms must be separated from jargonisms, dialectisms, and vulgarisms, which are much harder to fall into the commonly used spoken vocabulary [14, p. 91].

It should also be noted that the stylistic functions of slangisms are determined by their nature, since most often they are used in order to give more emotional characteristics of the described subject and phenomenon.

The fuzziness of the concept of “slang” has led to the fact that in linguistics attempts to clarify it. Most often, they are aimed at distinguishing between two types of slang:

a) general slang, or words and phrases that are outside the literary language, commonly known and widely used in spoken language figurative words and phrases of emotional and evaluative coloring, claiming novelty and originality and acting as synonyms of words and phrases of a literary language,

b) special slang, or words and phrases of one or another professional class jargon [14, p. 114].

In modern linguistics, a term has emerged to denote a common slang – inter-jargon. Words referring to both interjargon, and to special slang or jargon, are marked in the functional-stylistic opposition (since they belong to the spoken speech and usually do not penetrate the literary-spoken language) and in the lexical-stylistic (since they have synonyms in other types of vocabulary).

As an example of English interjargonisms, we can bring words that mean:

 −  money in general: berries, cabbage, jacks, potatoes, lolly; the crisp and crackling – cash, real script – money in checks, bawbee – copper, fiver – five, smacker – one pound, bob – shilling, tenner – ten pounds;

− names of alcoholic beverages:

Bloody Mary – “Kryvava Meri” – horilka with tomato juice;

blue ruin – gin;

boomerang, dog’s nose, granny, pile driver, sidecar, stinger – cocktails;

blowed, boozy, cock-eyed, corned – words defining the concept of “drunk”, etc. [3, p. 79].

Consequently, interjargon, or general slang, is used by all members of society for a grossly-low expression of thought.

In any group of people, united by something common – work, leisure, hobbies, education, age, etc., along with the commonly used vocabulary there is a specialized, usually quite limited, vocabulary layer that is used only in the environment of this collective. Most often, these are neutral words that are used in figurative meaning and are called corporate vocabulary or special slang [4, p. 80]. Among them, one can distinguish between professional, social and age-related jargon, the latter being represented by the so-called youth jargon.

Thus, in professional slang/jargon, jargons of musicians, athletes, soldiers, sailors and others are allocated. It should be noted that the emergence of many professionalisms is related not so much to the intentions of the speakers to increase the expressiveness of speech, but with the need to refer to the various concepts that are transmitted in a narrative way in the literary speech, such as, for example, the professionalisms of high school and secondary school life:

blue funk, brolly – student,

bully – whacker who is mocking the little ones ,

to crib – copy out,

to smoke – to shy away from shame,

to grind (swat) – cram,

bung – lie,

Dame – teacher,

dry (wet) Bob – a cricket player; rower,

grease – a fight, a shovel,

to muck about (play hookey) – stroll through the lessons; miss,

real razor – brawler; blusterer,

a sat (satellite) – censor; carper,

snubber – rebuke; reproval [13, p. 77 – 127].

A kind of special slang, or jargon, is the social jargon, or the layers of vocabulary used by certain social groups, in particular the jargon of declassed elements: the thuggish jargon cant in England and argot. Unlike professionalisms, the peculiarity of this layer of vocabulary is the lack of expressiveness, although the rethinking of the usual words used here may be based on metaphorical transitions. Consequently, the main function of these words is to hide the meaning of some notions from the uninitiated: for example, they include the names of drugs – grass, pot, tea, weed, speed, junk, goofball, reefer, etc.

In the second chapter, we will consider the peculiarities of the word-formation and functioning of slang units selected by us from translated dictionaries and glossaries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER 2

PECULIARITIES OF WORD-BUILDING AND FUNCTIONING OF SLANG UNITS

 

2.1. Sources of replenishment of slang units

 

In our study, we used translated English-Ukrainian, English-Russian and English, Ukrainian dictionaries and glossaries. During the processing of the material, using the method of continuous sampling, we selected 50 text fragments for denoting English slang expressions and performed their translation into Ukrainian. The results of the study are shown below.

According to E. Yvette, slang is “a variant of the language used in a certain context, through which people express their belonging to a certain group within a society that is not limited to geographical location” [21, p. 67].

From the point of view of the genetic principle, slang vocabulary has the most diverse origins and ways of formation. The most common methods of word formation are [7, c. 205]:

1) affixation – more characteristic of the creation of British vocabulary; prevail the formed:

− nouns, mainly with suffixes -er, -o:

clobber n

I’ll just get my clobber, then I’ll be ready to go.

I like your new clobber (22, p. 132).

Хвилинку, я тільки візьму своє барахло і буду готовий поїхати з вами.

Мені подобається твій новий одяг.

− significantly fewer – adjectives with suffixes -ic, -ish, -al:

chronic adj

She’s got a chronic sense of humour.

The weather here is chronic (22, p. 125).

У неї зовсім немає почуття гумору.

Погода тут жахлива.

− even fewer adverbs:

champion adv

‘How do you feel?’ ‘Champion, thank you’ (22, p. 115).

«Як ти себе почуваєш?» - «Краще нікуди».

2) the merger of stems – a phenomenon more characteristic of the British word-formation; expressiveness arises at the expense of the semantic complication of the act of word formation by metaphorical or metonymic transfer of the value of interacting stems:

brew-up n

Let’s have a brew-up, shall we? (22, p. 83)

Ну що, поп’ємо чайку, а?

argy-bargy n

Only yesterday they had an argy-bargy about something (24, p. 18).

Буквально вчора вони про щось шумно сперечалися.

3) abbreviation is a fairly common way of creating slengisms:

aggro n

In any case it is not worth the aggro it causes (24, p. 7).

У будь-якому випадку це не варто того, щоб через це виходити із себе.

The fragment presents one of the most common forms of abbreviations – the apocope, that is the truncation of the ending of the word. By the way, lexeme aggro  is a borrowing and is formed from a clipping of aggravation + -o (diminutive suffix), influenced by aggressive.

The root slang expressions are also quite common in youth British slang, for example:

beak n

He was promptly brought up before the beak (22, p. 39).

Його негайно потягли до судді.

bite n

She’s good for a quick bite (22, p. 57).

У неї запросто можна перехопити трохи грошей.

Thus, the slang is in close connection with the society, its history, certain economic, political, socio-cultural and other extra-language factors. Characteristic features of this sociolect are the use of:

− emotional and emphatic interjections:

nellie, not on your interj

Would I change this for the sun, sand and sea breeze of any sea-side resort? Not on your Nellie! (22, p. 456)

І я проміняю це на сонце, пісок і морський бриз приморського курорту? Так ні за що!

big thrill interj

Big thrill!

So she speaks three languages? Big thrill! I speak five (22, p. 52).

He’s invited her to the party? Big thrill! I just can’t think what she sees in that lousy fellow (22, p. 52).

Подумаєш!

Вона розмовляє трьома мовами? Ну і що! Я розмовляю  п’ятьма.

Він запросив її на вечір? Знайшла чим хвалитися. Я не знаю, що вона знайшла в цьому мерзенному типі.

− unique socio-ethical phraseology:

put on the acid: expr sl.

Don’t listen to him. He’s just putting on the acid.

The chick is just putting on the acid (24, p. 4).

Не слухай його. Він просто трьокає.

Ця чувіха явно заливає.

Among the stable slang forms in the British slang are very common:

1) exclamatory sentences:

bit of all right, a noun phrase

That’s a bit of all right!

‘What’s she like?’ ‘The girl?

Bit of all right, from her pictures’ (22, p. 58).

Чудово!

«Ну як вона?» - «Дівчина?» Судячи з фотографій, дуже навіть нічого».

get out of it expr excl

Get out of it! You can’t expect me to believe that! (22, p. 277)

Та годі тобі! Невже ти думаєш, що я цьому  повірю?

2) noun phrases:

bits and bobs n pl

He felt in his pockets and pulled out all that was inside throwing the handful of bits and bobs on the table (22, p. 58).

Він понишпорив у кишенях і вивалив на стіл усіляку всячину.

bit of skirt etc, a n

I met a nice bit of skirt yesterday (22, p. 58).

Вчора я познайомився з такою дівчиною!

3) adverbial phrases:

billy-o, like adv

He was running down the street like billy-o (22, p. 53).

That home-made wine was selling like billy-o (22, p. 53).

Він щодуху мчав вулицею.

Це домашнє вино розкуповувалося нарозхват.

Through the continuous sample from English translation dictionaries and glossaries, we selected 50 text fragments to indicate the phenomenon of slang. Analysis of the collected actual material shows that the distribution of lexical units (LU) involved in the formation of slang expressions is rather heterogeneous. The results are presented in the table (see Table 2.1.).

                                                                                              

                                                                                         

 

 

 

Table 2.1.

 

Distribution of slangisms in the British Colloquial Discourse on the material of dictionaries and glossaries (structural aspect)

 

British slangisms	%
1) Nouns and noun phrases	24 (48%)
2) Verbs (including Phrasal verbs)	9 (18%)
3) Adjectives	6 (12%)
4) Adverbs	4 (8%)
5) Expressions (exclamatory)	5 (10%)
6) Interjections	2 (4%)

 

Structural analysis of slang expressions (50 LU) has found that in British spoken language of students are most common the nouns with suffixes -er, -o and nouns formed by compounding, contraction, conversion, as well as direct root slangisms and noun expressions (48%). The second place is dominated by verbs, including phrasal verbs (18%). The third place is occupied by adjectives (12%) and exclamatory expressions (10%). Adverbs and adverb expressions make up 8%, while exclamations and exclamation sentences take up only 4%.

Thus, nouns that are used to refer to sports teams, cars, cigarettes, relations etc. belong to groups of slang colloquial vocabulary. The use of such vocabulary is a means of styling informal, and even familiar communication. This vocabulary contributes to the implementation of the principle of dialogue speech, that is contacts with peers, since the use of these words is a means of stylization of informal communication. Slang vocabulary attracts the attention of the consumer of information, although the addressees in this way sometimes violate the generally accepted ethical and moral standards.

 

 

2.2. Functions of slangisms

 

Slangisms are brightly and emotionally colored, most often imagionary. The most commonly used means of creating slang forms is the change of the meaning of words (most often through metaphorization and metonymization):

bind v

Oh, do stop binding!

I’m doing my best so do stop binding (22, p. 54).

Що ти все нудиш?!

Досить тобі чіплятися, я ж стараюся.

bird, do expr

They get a certain amount of pride at having done ‘bird’ before their seventeenth birthday (22, p. 55).

Вони навіть пишаються тим, що вже «відсиділи», перш ніж їм виповнилося 17.

Slang is characterized not only by the specific use of word-formation models for the building of the new units, but also by semantic shifts from those already existing. The emergence of the latter in the dialogue is not necessarily connected with violation of grammatical norms and shows not so much the lack of educational level of the speaker, but emphasized gross or rough negligence:

 bizzy n

It’s the bizzies down here that piss me off. I’ve got pulled nearly every day since I’ve been here (22, p. 58).

Особливо мене тут дістають поліцейські. Не минає буквально жодного дня, щоб вони мене не захомутали.

British slang of English is characterized by considerable expressiveness, often has an ironic coloring and considerable mobility:

dickybird n

Я ні чорта нічого не побачив.

Вона навіть рота не розкрила.

I didn’t see a dickybird.

She didn’t say a dickybird (22, p. 182).

moo n

Don’t listen to that moo! (22, p. 442)

Не слухай цю дурну бабу!

Here, for example, the words-slengisms belonging to the metonymic group:

cod v

You’re codding me! (22, p. 137)

Ти смієшся з мене!

cheese, the n

This motorbike is the cheese.

That’s the cheese (22, p. 119).

Цей мотопед – кльова штука.

Це те, що треба.

Fresh, unexpected metaphor, acting as a means of transmitting humorous or ironic look at things, is often found in the youth British slang to denote various actions, deeds, events:

bang, go off with a expr

The pop festival went off with a bang (22, p. 33).

Фестиваль поп-музики пройшов з великим успіхом.

Thus, in the dictionaries of spoken vocabulary there is a significant number of slang expressions, in particular metaphorical and metonymic, which are expressive phrases related to the theme of auto, smoking. Let us illustrate this phenomenon on concrete examples:

gasper n

He lighted a gasper (22, p. 270).

Він закурив дешеву сигарету.

banger n

How many bangers can you eat at a sitting? (24, p. 33)

He used to drive about in a battered banger (24, p. 33).

Скільки сосісєк ти зможеш з’їсти за один раз?

Він зазвичай роз’їжджав на пошарпаному автомобілі.

Thus, slang as a stylistic phenomenon necessarily combines the emotional, expressive and evaluative components of connotation, distinguishing it from among other expressive means of subjective modality.

Spoken English style is characterized by so-called intensifiers of adjectives and adverbs, c.f.:

bleeder n

A real bleeder of a snowstorm hit the town (22, p. 61).

На місто обрушилася жахлива сніжна буря.

The only difference is that in a more slang-oriented English language, such intensifiers are observed much more often and show more diversity:

blinder n

You played a brilliant game last week, Len, a real blinder… (22, p. 61).

Минулого тижня ти показав блискучу гру, Лен, повний «атас».

bally adj

What a bally nuisance! (24, p. 32)

He asked the whole bally lot to dinner (24, p. 32).

Як мені все це набридло!

Він запросив усю цю довбану братію до себе на обід.

In addition, in the English language, cases of use of a combination of intensifiers are possible, in which one of them is modified by another.

Stylistic functions of slangisms are determined by their nature. Most often they are used for the purpose of a more emotional description of the subject or phenomenon described.

In all cases, the use of stylistically low vocabulary, slang expressions in particular, indicates a decrease in the level of situational communication, or the marked decrease in the assessment of events.

The use of slang practically covers different spheres of communication and refers to appearance, actions, character traits, expression of positive and negative emotions. However, the British slang further deviates from the generally accepted norms of the language and is accordingly more difficult to perceive by adults. Of course, the use of slang is inevitable in the youth environment, and as practice has shown, many slang expressions and words are firmly fixed in the language and even become a normative lexicon. Though, it is necessary to develop students’ speech in such a way that slang does not completely displace normal language and does not become the only language of communication, as in the case of British schoolchildren.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONCLUSIONS

 

1. Slang refers to words, phrases and uses that are regarded as very informal and often restricted to special context or peculiar to a specified profession class and the like. Slang words are used in specific social groups, like teenagers. Due to a large number of characteristic features and conventionality of the concept of “slang”, many linguists and psychologists in speech prefer other concepts. However, since almost all American and English (British) dictionaries have the mark sl. (slang), an interpreter needs to know this concept and understand what is slang. English and American linguists are also aware that the concept of “slang” is too broad, but continue to use it in the absence of another.

2. Various dictionaries with the sign “slang” mark the following grades of words and phrases: words relating to thieves’ slang; words belonging to other jargons: military slang, sports slang, theater slang, student slang, parliamentary and even religious “slang”; neologisms are also classified as slang – spoken words and expressions characteristic of alive informal communication; slang is also also understood as the casual formations that arose as a result of literary associations and whose significance is due to their content links with the original concept; figurative words and expressions; words created as a result of using one of the most productive ways of word formation in modern English – conversion; abbreviations and commonly used shortings are also considered as slang.

3. Structural analysis of slang expressions (50 LU) has found that in British spoken language of students are most common the nouns with suffixes -er, -o and nouns formed by compounding, contraction, conversion, as well as direct root slangisms and noun expressions (48%). The second place is dominated by verbs, including phrasal verbs (18%). The third place is occupied by adjectives (12%) and exclamatory expressions (10%). Adverbs and adverb expressions make up 8%, while exclamations and exclamation sentences take up only 4%.

 

4. The language of British colloquial discourse of young people has a tendency to increasingly use of slang expressions. They are used to enhance the expressive-emotional coloraring of information or to provide negative evaluative speech. The penetration of slangisms into the language of youth is conditioned by the need to characterize the environment of certain social groups, as well as to use them as a means of emotional expression. Slengisms perform predominantly evaluative and expressive functions, facilitate contact with the recipient, attract attention to certain information.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

1. Арнольд И. В. Стилистика современного английского языка / И.В. Арнольд. – Л. : Просвещение, 1990. – 300 с.

2. Гальперин И. Р. Очерки по стилистике английского языка / И.Р. Гальперин. – М. : Литература   на иностранных языках, 1958. – 449 с.

3. Иванова Т. П. Стилистическая интерпретация текста / Т.П. Иванова, О.П. Брандес. – М. : Высшая школа, 1991. – 144 с.

4. Косоножкина Л. В. Практическая стилистика английского языка: анализ художественного текста / Л.В. Косоножкина. – М. : Март, 2004. – 192 с.

5. Крупнов В. Н. В творческой лаборатории переводчика / В.Н. Крупнов. – М. : Международные отношения, 1986. – 192 с.

6. Мартос С. А. Сленг як складова молодіжної субкультури  / С.А. Мартос // Південний архів. Філологічні науки: Збірник наукових праць. Випуск ХХІ. – Херсон: ХДУ, 2003. – С. 111 – 114.

7. Радченко М. І. Сленг як складова частина англомовного студентського соціолекту / М.І.Радченко // Мовні і концептуальні картини світу. – 2010. – Вип. 31. – С. 205 – 207.

8. Стилистика английского языка / А.Н. Мороховский, О.П. Воробьева, Н.И. Лихошерст, З.В. Тимошенко. – К. : Вища школа, 1991. – 272 с.

9. Adams M. Slang: The People’s Poetry / M. Adams. – Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. – 256 p.

10. Coleman J. Life of slang / J. Coleman.  – Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. – 368 p.

11. Dickson P. Slang: The Topical Dictionary of Americanisms / P.Dickson. – N.: Walker Books, 2010. – 432 p.

12. Dumas B. Is Slang a Word for Linguists? / B. Dumas, J. Lighter // American Speech. – 1978. – 53 (5): PP. 14 – 15.

13. English Vocabulary in Use. – London: Cambridge University Press, 2002.  – 315 p.

14. Galperin I. R. Stylistics / I.R. Galperin. – M. : YSSAYA SKOLA, 1981. – 335 p.

15. Girder J. Warbirds: Diary of an Unknown Aviator / J. Girder. – Texas A & M University Press, 2007. – 277 p.

16. Okrent A. The origin of the word Slang has been found: [Електронний ресурс]. – Режим доступу: http://mentalfloss.com/article/86809/origin-word-slang-has-been-found

17. Oxford English Dictionary // Oxford University Press. 4 March 2010:

[Електронний ресурс]. – Режим доступу:

http://public.oed.com/?post_type=page&s=slang

18. Partridge E. A dictionary of slang and unconventional English (Slang itself being slang for Short Language) : colloquialisms and catch phrases, fossilized jokes and puns, general nicknames, vulgarisms and such Americanisms as have been naturalized (8th ed.). – London: Routledge, 2002. – 1440 p.

19. Richard A. Spears. Super-Mini Common American Phrases. A Guide to  Conversation and Small Talk (about 1700 units). – M.: Russky Yazyk Publishers NTC Publishing Group, 2002. – 445 p.

20. Slang // Online Etymological Dictionary: Електронний ресурс]. – Режим доступу: https://www.etymonline.com/word/slang

21. Yvette E. What is Slang? – Contemporary France Online, 2002. – 342 p.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LIST OF DATA SOURCES

 

22. Глазунов С. А. Новый англо-русский словарь современной разговорной лексики / С.А. Глазунов. – М.: Рус. яз. – Медиа, 2006. – 776 с.

23. Словник сучасного українського сленгу / Т.М.Кондратюк. – Харків: Фоліо, 2006. – 350 с.

24. Amerogen van Lucy. The A-2 of Teen Talk. – Ravette, 2007. – 39 p.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ANNEX

 

Fragments with the British school slangisms on the material of the Dictionaries of Colloquial English

 

British English	Ukrainian
1. put on the acid: expr sl. Don’t listen to him. He’s just putting on the acid. The chick is just putting on the acid (p. 4).	Не слухай його. Він просто трьокає. Ця чувіха явно заливає.
2. actual, your adj ‘Is this your home-made bread we’ve heard so much about?’ – ‘Oh yes, it’s your actual!’ (p. 5)	Це ваш домашній хліб, про який ми так багато чули? – Він самий.
3. aggro n In any case it is not worth the aggro it causes (p. 7).	У будь-якому випадку це не варто того, щоб через це виходити із себе.
4. all that, and adv He’s known her all his life. Childhood sweethearts and all that (p. 12).	Він знав її все життя. Любили один одного ще в дитинстві, і все таке.
5. argy-bargy n Only yesterday they had an argy-bargy about something (p. 18).	Буквально вчора вони про щось шумно сперечалися.
6. bally adj What a bally nuisance! (p. 32) He asked the whole bally lot to dinner (p. 32).	Як мені все це набридло! Він запросив усю цю довбану братію до себе на обід.
7. banger n How many bangers can you eat at a sitting? (p. 33) He used to drive about in a battered banger (p. 33).	Скільки сосісєк ти зможеш з’їсти за один раз? Він зазвичай роз’їжджав на пошарпаному автомобілі.
8.  bang, go off with a expr The pop festival went off with a bang (p. 33).	Фестиваль поп-музики пройшов з великим успіхом.
9. bang on phrv You can bang on about them repairs till the cows come home. He wouldn’t even lift his bloody finger to do them (p. 34).	Ти можеш скільки завгодно торочити йому про ремонт. Він і пальцем не поворухне.
10. beak n He was promptly brought up before the beak (p. 39).	Його негайно потягли до судді.
11. beetle off phrv After work we all beetled off for a drink. She beetled off without waiting for an answer (p. 45).	Після роботи ми відразу рвонули в пивну. Вона гайнула, не дочекавшись відповіді.
12. big thrill interj Big thrill! So she speaks three languages? Big thrill! I speak five (p. 52). He’s invited her to the party? Big thrill! I just can’t think what she sees in that lousy fellow (p. 52).	Подумаєш! Вона розмовляє трьома мовами? Ну і що! Я розмовляю  п’ятьма. Він запросив її на вечір? Знайшла чим хвалитися. Я не знаю, що вона знайшла в цьому мерзенному типі.
13. billy-o, like adv He was running down the street like billy-o (p. 53). That home-made wine was selling like billy-o (p. 53).	Він щодуху мчав вулицею. Це домашнє вино розкуповувалося нарозхват.
14.  bind v Oh, do stop binding! I’m doing my best so do stop binding (p. 54).	Що ти все нудиш?! Досить тобі чіплятися, я ж стараюся.
15. bird, do expr They get a certain amount of pride at having done ‘bird’ before their seventeenth birthday (p. 55).	Вони навіть пишаються тим, що вже «відсиділи», перш ніж їм виповнилося 17.
16. bite n She’s good for a quick bite (p. 57).	У неї запросто можна перехопити трохи грошей.
17. bit of all right, a noun phrase That’s a bit of all right! ‘What’s she like?’ ‘The girl? Bit of all right, from her pictures’ (p. 58).	Чудово! «Ну як вона?» - «Дівчина?» Судячи з фотографій, дуже навіть нічого».
18. bit of skirt etc, a n I met a nice bit of skirt yesterday (p. 58).	Вчора я познайомився з такою дівчиною!
19. bits and bobs n pl He felt in his pockets and pulled out all that was inside throwing the handful of bits and bobs on the table (p. 58).	Він понишпорив у кишенях і вивалив на стіл усіляку всячину.
20. bizzy n It’s the bizzies down here that piss me off. I’ve got pulled nearly every day since I’ve been here (p. 58).	Особливо мене тут дістають поліцейські. Не минає буквально жодного дня, щоб вони мене не захомутали.
21. bleeder n A real bleeder of a snowstorm hit the town (p. 61).	На місто обрушилася жахлива сніжна буря.
22. blinder n You played a brilliant game last week, Len, a real blinder… (p. 61).	Минулого тижня ти показав блискучу гру, Лен, повний «атас».
23. blink the fact expr There is no blinking the fact that secondary education has so far failed to develop as a going concern (p. 62).	Не можна заперечувати того факту, що середня освіта поки не набула належного розвитку.
24. bloomer n He made a gorgeous bloomer (p. 63).	Він припустився недопустимого промаху.
25. bog off phrv Bog off! Get out of here! (p. 70)	А ну, звертай звідси! Забирайся!
26. bovver n A spot of bovver was reported to the police (p. 79).	Поліції повідомили про те, що мала відбутися бійка між рокерами.
27. brace of shakes, in a adverbial phr I’ll be with you in a brace of shakes (p. 80).	Почекай трохи, я зараз.
28. brew-up n Let’s have a brew-up, shall we? (p. 83)	Ну що, поп’ємо чайку, а?
29. bung  v Bung me a cigarette, will you? The kid was bunging rocks through the neighbor’s window (p. 95).	Кинь мені сигарету. Пацан жбурляв каміння у вікно сусіда.
30. bunk v He suddenly got frightened and bunked  (p. 95).	Він раптом злякався і втік.
31. burn-up n They went for a burn-up (p. 97).	Вони влаштували гонки.
32. butchers n sing Give us a butchers Take a butchers at that Do you want a  butchers? (p. 100)	Дай подивитись. Глянь-но на це. Хочеш подивитися?
33. camp out phrv They had to camp out with her parents in their house in Dorset (p. 106).	Їм довелося деякий час жити з її батьками у їх будинку в Дорсеті.
34. champion adv ‘How do you feel?’ ‘Champion, thank you’ (p. 115).	«Як ти себе почуваєш?» - «Краще нікуди».
35. cheese, the n This motorbike is the cheese. That’s the cheese (p. 119).	Цей мотопед – кльова штука. Це те, що треба.
36. choked off adj I’m choked off (p. 124).	Мені все це набридло.
37. chronic adj She’s got a chronic sense of humour. The weather here is chronic (p. 125).	У неї зовсім немає почуття гумору. Погода тут жахлива.
38. clobber n I’ll just get my clobber, then I’ll be ready to go. I like your new clobber (p. 132).	Хвилинку, я тільки візьму своє барахло і буду готовий поїхати з вами. Мені подобається твій новий одяг.
39. clottish adj It was a clottish thing to do. It was clottish of him to say that (p. 134).	Треба ж було додуматися таке зробити? Він ляпнув, не подумавши.
40. cod v You’re codding me! (p. 137)	Ти смієшся з мене!
41. dickybird n I didn’t see a dickybird. She didn’t say a dickybird (p. 182).	Я ні чорта нічого не побачив. Вона навіть рота не розкрила.
42. earthly, not an n “Will he win the prize?” “No, he hasn’t an earthly” (p. 212).	«Він виграє приз?» - «Навряд чи, у нього немає ніяких шансів».
43. fair do’s n I believe in fair do’s for everybody. Come on, man, that’s not fair do’s! (p. 224)	Я вважаю, що до всіх треба ставитися по справедливості. Але це ж нечесно!
44. gasper n He lighted a gasper (p. 270).	Він закурив дешеву сигарету.
45. get out of it expr excl Get out of it! You can’t expect me to believe that! (p. 277)	Та годі тобі! Невже ти думаєш, що я цьому  повірю?
46. local talent, the n The whole place teemed with local and imported talent (p. 412).	Там не можна було проштовхнутися від місцевої і заїжджої молоді.
47. moo n Don’t listen to that moo! (p. 442)	Не слухай цю дурну бабу!
48. nellie, not on your interj Would I change this for the sun, sand and sea breeze of any sea-side resort? Not on your Nellie! (p. 456)	І я проміняю це на сонце, пісок і морський бриз приморського курорту? Так ні за що!
49. nervy adj She’s quite nervy. He’s pretty nervy. Now, don’t get nervy (p. 456).	Вона нервує. Він чогось боїться. Без паніки.
50. pip v She pipped her examination. Her bad grammar pipped her (p. 497).	Вона не здала іспит. Її підвела граматика.