Untitled Essay, Research Paper
Slang in America
For hundreds of years, English has been continuously changing. Words that were
unacceptable 300 years ago are now commonplace. English has always had a trademark of
being a comfortable language, the language of the common people (MacNeil 143). Change in
the grammar and diction of a language is natural, and English is always confronted with
changes. Among them are the use of slang, clipped word endings, and new dialects. Some
Conservatives do not like changes because they claim that standard English is a perfect
language; they do not want to corrupt it. Others simply do not like change. Neither group
of Conservatives has any new arguments, and nothing to fear from change.
Slang worries Conservatives the most because it affects the vocabulary of English.
American English, especially, is always adding new words to its vocabulary for social,
scientific, or artistic reasons. The scientific and artistic words do not bother these
people; only the social, or slang, words do. Slang is usually created by children or teens
who seek social status (Morrow 137). Because kids are the source of new slang, some adults
look down on it with the assumption that kids are unintelligent and simply rebelling
against established English grammar and diction. However, most of the adults did the same
thing when they were children. Adults have been frowning on slang for generations (Crystal
104).
Conservatives also look down upon slang because slang is not used by people of high
status. If they hear someone speaking in Jive, they will be angry because Jive is not the
way that high class people speak. People who do not like slang are usually prejudiced as
well. They do not want to hear other ways of talking because it deviates from the way they
talk. Also, much slang comes from other languages, of which Conservatives might also be
prejudiced. The dialect that a person uses may make him comfortable, but this is not
considered. If a language is not comfortable, why would you want to speak it?
Language has always changed to fit the paradigms of society (Crystal 105). For example, in
Shakespeare’s time, many contractions used today were considered poor English. Rarely
could a person of high social status be found using "don’t" in a sentence.
Today, however, people may use contractions without fear of being scorned by society. This
simply illustrates The same types of people who opposed contractions in the past are
opposing slang and new dialects of English. They do not realize that the way they speak
differs from the way that their predecessors spoke. People opposed to language change only
defend their dialect, which will die out anyway, and prove their intolerance of change.
Language will be thought of differently in the future because new mediums of communication
will be used, the largest one being the Internet. Today, many people are using the
Internet to "talk" to people all over the world. The Internet has its own
language, which Conservatives view as computer slang. No matter what diction or dialect
you speak, you still have to type out an Internet message in standard Internet. There are
words used specifically for the Internet, usually acronyms that are universally
understood, that will probably appear in dictionaries in the future. Conservatives have no
reason to bother with whether a person’s dialect or diction will be understood in spoken
language, because most communication will be typed, not spoken, in a neutral Internet
language.
Conservatives claim that the lack of standard English is due to an education deficiency.
They explain that the reason some slang is created by kids in inner-city areas is that the
kids drop out of school, because the kids are stupid, and therefore never learn standard
English. In reality, the kids drop out of school because they are told that the way they
speak is stupid (Seymour 123). The Conservatives are not willing to help the kids with
"bad" dialects. Perhaps this is because of a prejudice, sort of "once
slang, always slang" mentality. The Conservatives should use the kids’ dialects to
help the kids learn standard English.
Conservatives have one reason to oppose language progression: fear. Conservatives have a
fear that the language they speak will not be the primary one. For this reason, they will
put down other dialects simply because these dialects are not standard English. Standard
English is just another dialect, however, and thinking one dialect greater than another is
mere bigotry. If Conservatives had their way, people would never be able to express
themselves in new ways because there would never be any new words. There would be
academies for English, academies that go against every principle of freedom to which
speakers of English are heir.Works Cited
Crystal, David. "The Prescriptive Tradition." Language Awareness. 4th Ed. Eds.
Paul Eschholt, Alfred Rosa, Virginia Clark. New York: St. Martin’s, 1986. 101-107.MacNeil, Robert. "English Belongs to Everybody." Language Awareness. 4th Ed.
Eds. Paul Eschholt, Alfred Rosa, Virginia Clark. New York: St. Martin’s, 1986. 140-144.Morrow, Lance. "If Slang is Not a Sin." Language Awareness. 4th Ed. Eds. Paul
Eschholt, Alfred Rosa, Virginia Clark. New York: St. Martin’s, 1986. 135-139.Seymour, Dorothy Z. "Black Children, Black Speech" Language Awareness. 4th Ed.
Eds. Paul Eschholt, Alfred Rosa, Virginia Clark. New York: St. Martin’s, 1986. 122-129.
318
Другие работы по теме:
Untitled Essay Research Paper On vacation this
Untitled Essay, Research Paper On vacation this summer I glanced out the window and sawa beautiful handglider hovering in these pretty mountains.A great looking background surrounded the mountains. About four-hundred feet above the mountain soaredthe handglider. The pilot who appears about five footeleven inches wears a yellow jacket and black snow pants.The handglider hangs with a span of about twenty-ninefeet.
Untitled Essay Research Paper I messed up
Untitled Essay, Research Paper I messed up; I made a mistake, But please, haste do not take. I love you more than any action or words could ever express, Still I find my heart drowning in loneliness.
Untitled Essay Research Paper MATERIAL SAFETY DATA
Untitled Essay, Research Paper MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEET WOMEN: A Chemical Analysis ELEMENT: Woman SYMBOL: WO DISCOVERER Adam ATOMIC MASS: Accepted as 118 lbs, known to vary from 110 to 550 lbs. OCCURRENCE: Copious quantities throughout the world. PHYSICAL PROPERTIES: 1. Surface usually covered with a painted film. 2.
Untitled Essay Research Paper I am afraidI
Untitled Essay, Research Paper I am afraid. I am lonely. I want to be at home now. I hate the silence. I hate the circumstances. I want to feel love now. I want to feel passion not emptiness.
Untitled Essay Research Paper In the Heart
Untitled Essay, Research Paper In the Heart of Darkness, it is very easy to forget what is real and what is civilized. The rivets that Marlow talks about, to fix his boat, are very symbolic of his need to become riveted to reality. Marlow feels that he is slipping into savagery from what he sees around him. In the story, The Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, there is a fine line between civilization and savagery and Marlow needs the rivets to help him find himself in his own soul or where his own reality is.
Untitled Essay Research Paper Animal FarmMr Jones
Untitled Essay, Research Paper Animal FarmMr. Jones owned and managed Manor Farm. He was a bad man who liked to drink. Things on the farm got so bad one night that he fell asleep so drunk that he forgot to lock in the animals. The beasts took advantage of the situation and held a secret meeting. Led by the pigs, they ran the Joneses from their home.The animals of the renamed “Animal Farm” formed a system they called “Animalism.
Untitled Essay Research Paper Being a dental
Untitled Essay, Research Paper Being a dental assistant would be a great job because it has a variety of interesting duties. It has goo hours, pay and benefits. There are always advancement opportunities. Jobs will be available because the dental assistant is needed to help the dentist. Being a dental assistant has many good qualities.
Untitled Essay Research Paper Dear Mr Peace
Untitled Essay, Research Paper Dear Mr. Peace, The Connecticut River also known as by it s Algonquin name Long River is very rich and still useable for transportation. The chemical plant that you are proposing to put on the
Untitled Essay Research Paper Pride and Prejudice
Untitled Essay, Research Paper Pride and Prejudice has two main characters, Elizabeth and Darcy, who at the beginning seem to be disgusted at each other. During the book, their views toward each other seem to change and slowly make progress. At the end of the book, their opinions have completely turned around about each other and they even get engaged and later married.
Untitled Essay Research Paper 7 I have
Untitled Essay, Research Paper 7. I have chosen the character Abigail and will show the impact she had on the witch hunt in Salem because of her strong leadership and the accusations she made towards others in Salem.Abby was a very fluensul girl in the play and the other girls looked up to her and would follow along for what ever she told them.
Untitled Essay Research Paper NonHodgkins Lymphoma
Untitled Essay, Research Paper Non-Hodgkin?s Lymphoma Non-Hodgkin?s lymphoma is a disease in which cancer calls are found in the lymphsystem. The lymph system fights infections found in the body. People with AIDStend to pick up this disease. There are no specific early detections for this disease.Every body is different, and this disease is already difficult to diagnose.
Untitled Essay Research Paper In both the
Untitled Essay, Research Paper In both the traditional and not so traditional tales of ?Snow White? and ?Snow White Tale of Terror?despite there many differences, the plots are both based on jealousy. As viewers watch the movies they are dazzled by the mysterious mirror, entranced by the different takes of the story line, and know that there will be a happy ending.
Untitled Essay Research Paper November 6 1996
Untitled Essay, Research Paper November 6, 1996 Dear Joe, It was nice to hear from you again, I enjoyed hearing about your new business venture and I hope it works out. School is going great and I can’t wait to graduate in two months. The other day I finished reading a book by Michael Crichton called “JURASSIC PARK” you may have heard of the movie.
Untitled Essay Research Paper Analysis of Crito
Untitled Essay, Research Paper Analysis of Crito The question is raised within the dialogue between Socrates and Crito concerning civil disobedience. Crito has the desire, the means, and many compelling
Untitled Essay Research Paper Business has always
Untitled Essay, Research Paper Business has always been the major of my choice because of the endless possibilities. You are on your own in a business – but you are also your own boss. And with this comes the privileges. Structure your business to the limits of your imagination. Anything can be sold for the right price.
Untitled Essay Research Paper One day a
Untitled Essay, Research Paper One day, a woman called herself ?Want the Truth in Westport? wrote to a columnist with a question that she had to have the answered. ?Please find out for sure,? she begged the columnist, ?whether or not Oprah Winfrey has had a facelift.? The columnist refused to answer the question for Ms.
Untitled Essay Research Paper Words 361
Untitled Essay, Research Paper Words = 361 At the conclusion of Barn Burning Sarty faces a major dilemma: go back to his family or just walk away. The consequences of this decision are great. For such a young boy, choosing to leave his family must be overwhelming and frightening. However, Sarty knows that in order for him to actually live, he must do this.
Untitled Essay Research Paper In the novel
Untitled Essay, Research Paper In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, the author comments onlife. Specifically, Harper Lee comments on racism and true courage. Racism is the first subject that the author comments on. It is obviousfrom her writing that she feels racism is that it is wrong. This is displayed inseveral ways.
Untitled Essay Research Paper A hacker is
Untitled Essay, Research Paper A hacker is a person obsessed with computers. At the heart of the obsession is a drive master the computer. The classic hacker was simply a
Untitled Essay Research Paper A Biographical Report
Untitled Essay, Research Paper A Biographical Report on Thomas Fitzsimons Thomas Fitzsimons, or Fitzsimmons as his last name was sometimes spelled, was born during 1741 and died on August 26, 1811. Originally from Ireland,
Untitled Essay Research Paper Hmmmm I havent
Untitled Essay, Research Paper Hmmmm? I haven?t seen that many plays, but I did see this one, so here comes the review. Produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Cats is not his most famous production. Webber also did the Phantom of the Opera. I?ve never seen ?Phantom?, but I would imagine it is better than Cats. That?s not to say Cats was particularly bad, just cheesy.
Untitled Essay Research Paper Physics Geosynchronous Orbits
Untitled Essay, Research Paper Physics Geosynchronous Orbits Geosynchronous Orbits + Geostationary Orbits Webster’s dictionary defines a Geostationary orbit as of, relating to, or being a satellite that travels above Earth’s equator from west to east at an altitude of approximately 35,900 kilometers (22,300 miles) and at a speed matching that of Earth’s rotation, thus remaining stationary in relation to Earth. 2.
Untitled Essay Research Paper A Farewell to
Untitled Essay, Research Paper A Farewell to Arms The overall tone of the book is much different than that of The Sun Also Rises. The characters in the book are propelled by outside forces, in this case WWI, where the characters in SAR seemed to have no direction. Frederick’s actions are determined by his position until he deserts the army.
Untitled Essay Research Paper Sand Pebbles essay
Untitled Essay, Research Paper Sand Pebbles essay The movie Sand Pebbles focus was on the flag. The flag was not only a symbol of a nation, but of nationalism, militarism and imperialism. During the 1800’s and early 1900’s there was a severe foreign influence in China. During this time period the European nations wanted to trade with the Chinese, but the Chinese had no interest in the European products for at the time China was self sufficient.
Untitled Essay Research Paper As John Stuart
Untitled Essay, Research Paper As John Stuart Mills, I believe that my philosophy on government will satisfy the needs of the society. Throughout the 1880?s people have revolted under the circumstances that the government is focused on the society and the individual. My system focuses on liberty, meaning the rights and principles of the individual of a society.
Slanguage Essay Research Paper Slang when used
Slanguage Essay, Research Paper Slang, when used as a noun, refers to nonstandard terms or nonstandard usage of standard terms. Slang provides different symbols from which communication messages can be constructed. Slang is more than a noun though. Slang is a process. This means slang is also a verb. We slang as well as speak slang.
Summary And Responce To
“Black English” Essay, Research Paper Summary and Response Word Count 366 Summary In the essay titled, ?If Black English Isn?t a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is??
Symbols Of Women Essay Research Paper Symbols
Symbols Of Women Essay, Research Paper Symbols of Women There are many symbols placed on women in today’s society. These symbols act as stereotypes that usually degrade women on a daily basis. However, many of these symbols are just a term, and have no meaning behind them. An example of this is the reference of women being referred to as “dogs.”