Slang Use And Its Perception In The Society Term Paper

SLANG USE AND ITS PERCEPTION IN THE SOCIETYNameCourse Title/CodeInstitution
Introduction
Language has the power to connect people within a certain geographical area, and create an identity that is unique to themselves. In Sociolinguistic, it becomes imperative to understand how social systems shape the advent of language and its popularity among the people that speak it. The use of language goes beyond communication; it creates identity, connection, unity, harmony and status within the society. Language empowers people to communicate and name things in ways that seems meaningful and relevant to themselves. This helps people to create an easy way of communication that suits them and is different from the mainstream or common languages surrounding them.[] [Marcel. Language, society and New Media. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group; London UK. Pp. 02.]
Formation of words come from different needs of the people, which forces them to either revert the common words, compound them, give them a different meaning, shorten them or borrow words from other languages. When people have no word for something, they have the easy option of either forming it or borrowing it from another language. Formation of slang words has come from such influences mainly among the youth who want to create an identity among themselves. The advancement in science and technology has necessitated the use of short words and speech in chat rooms, instant messaging and social networks.College students are the greatest users or slang words and this is very common in using text messaging to shorten words.[Rahmawati Afifah. Words formation processes on slang words used by transsexual. 2012. Pp. 8.] [Ibid 2.] [Zamaletdinova, G. R. & Izmaylova, G. A. Features of Youth slang functioning. 2016. Pp. 02.]
Great debate still exists on the effect of slang words on the mainstream languages. Rather than looking at the negative effect of slang, many sociolinguists agree that slangs add unexpected wit, liveliness and flexibility to the language of its users. It makes it easy for them to express their thoughts easily. This study therefore seeks to understand the origin of slangs, reasons for its use and the challenges it poses to other languages and youth behavior generally.[Ibid.]
The Origin of Slang
Slang is predominantly the language of young people, who prefer using simple and easy language structures more often when communicating with their peers.However, slang is also associated with people from diverse form of backgrounds such as professions, criminals, students, political movements and people of certain age using it for different purposes. Slangs are commonly spoken in informal setups whenever people feel comfortable among their peers or friends. Almost all languages use slang and people in many languages find using it as necessary in order to show creativity or express their feelings.[Ibid.] [Ibid 3.] [Ibid 3.]
The use of slang words mostly in informal situations is preferred as it causes an intimate connection between people of the same socio-economic background. Slang mainly originate from the youths or people of certain class, who change common words or form new vocabulary, in order to make people from outside the group not to understand, or to enhance internal communication. The use of slang within the society has a different notions depending on where people use it and whom it is used against. Use of slang may either attract or repel someone depending on the perception of people in regard to it.[Ibid 3.] [Zamaletdinova, G. R. & Izmaylova, G. A. Pp. 02.]
In English and many other languages, slang mainly entail non-literary vocabulary. However, the nature of modern linguistic interaction entails mixing of words and using foreign words more often, making the creation and formation of other words inevitable.Many people look at slang with disdain because of its popularity in many informal speech and mainly people trying to hide something. The use of a slang called cant that originated from Romania and used by criminals created the mental perception to people that slang is a criminal language. However, research shows that people from different walks of life, age and economic situations form slang to suit their status and ease their communication power. The model of using slang in many groups in the society is to conceal certain aspects of vocabulary such as sexuality, violence, crime and professional jargons.[Ibid.] [] [Mudrikah, R. The Analysis Of Sociolinguistic AspectsOf Slang In “Save The Last Dance” Movie. 2012. Pp. 14.]
Slang words may originate from old words getting new meanings or as new words with new meanings. Because of its informal use and quick-fix in coining words that aid in faster communication, slang words are usually predominant in certain geographical regions and mainly short lived. Slang repertoires enter and exit the language with great rapidity, and in a few years rendering such words obsolete. Sometimes expressions have the ability to navigate the repertoire boundaries, making the expressions that simply began as slang finding themselves into the standard or mainstream language. Examples are the slang words bike, bus, and phone which emanated from bicycle, autobus and telephone finding their usage into the common English language.[Ibid.] [Agha, A. Tropes of Slang. 2015.]
The usage of slang in particular global language such as English changes from region to region. However, the usage of slang may be so common that it infiltrates other regions without people knowing. For example, the American youth slang is commonly spoken by Bengali, Thai and Japanese without their knowledge that is it slang. This is necessitated by the fact that global communication and processes are quickly helping in transferring and transforming regional versions of youth slang into something perceived as ‘cool’ by the society. Therefore, the formation and usage of slang languages in the society depends on the relationships and needs for their usage by the different groups in the society.[Ibid.]
Sociolinguistic Aspect of Slang Words
There has been a considerable interest from the literary world concerning the formation and use of slang words among the youth. In the United States, many researchers have carried out research on slang repertoires in many colleges such as Harvard University, Kansas University, and Stanford University among others. The fact that slang has become a prominent language is no longer a matter of concern as the inventors and users of such language create it to address their concern and interests. General slang words are spoken and used by people to break from the general standard language and therefore not restricted to any group or age. However, specific slang exists in people of the same age and social experience such as university or college students.[Arua & Alimi. The Creation of Students' Academic Slang Expressions in theUniversity of Botswana. 2013.] [Arua & Alimi. 2013.]
College students create and modify slang languages to reflect their preoccupations and academic life. These expressions may cover a hoard of issues ranging from courses, nicknames, examinations, grades, absenteeism, food types, punishments, students’ behaviors and attitudes of lecturers among others. The students use different etymological processes in the creation of these expressions. In 2006, Arua and Alimi carried out a study in the University of Botswana to study how students at the university create slang words to suit their academic needs. Their findings show that students use and exploit extensively the language they are co...