Slang - what is it? What is included in slang? Slang in the modern world

ACCORDING TO DICTIONARIES

JARGON, - [French. jargon] Some kind of speech. a social or professional group containing a large number of words and expressions unique to this group (often artificial, secret or conventional); Argo. Student, youth Marine railway Vorovskaya. Use jargon. Speak jargon.

SLANG, [English] slang] 1. Speech of a socially or professionally isolated group; jargon. 2. Elements of speech that do not coincide with the norm of the literary language (usually expressively colored).

ARGO, [French argot]. Linguistic Some kind of speech a small social closed group that differs from the national language in vocabulary, but does not have its own phonetics and grammatical system; jargon. Vorovskoe a.

A COMMENT

These three terms have both similarities and differences. All of them belong to the language of certain social or professional groups, but differ in the degree of isolation, in the volume of use in speech and in the level of stability and renewal.

ARGO is the language of a closed SOCIAL group with a complete replacement of commonly used vocabulary.

JARGON spans both social and professional groups; in addition, he is less closed towards these groups and is not completely isolated from ordinary speech.

SLANG is the same jargon, but even more vague, it can go beyond social and professional groups and is used by ordinary users to denote the expression of speech. In addition, its composition is constantly changing and updating, which is most characteristic of the youth environment. Accordingly, youth slang is often spoken about.

Are you in favor of grandparents actively mastering slang in order to be able to understand their grandchildren? Stopping a few steps away, they looked at Dolores and made jokes, the underground meaning of which he had not yet grasped - perhaps it was some kind of youth slang. Oh, this newfangled slang, I’ll never get used to it, sir, excuse the old woman). This slang is already familiar to ordinary people who watch TV carefully.

“Bepeshka” (from BP - without breed) is professional slang for “horse people”. Bank money, sorry for the slang, is ruined. This is also his latest performance - despite today's slang, he came to 2002 from another time. We won’t be executed for such songs, but they won’t be played on the radio either; even light slang is not welcome there. This slang is already familiar to ordinary people who watch TV carefully.

Previously, jargon was the province of distinct social and professional groups. (Sergey Dovlatov). Well, I knew how to track (follow a trail, hunting jargon - RR). Computer jargon is the world's fastest growing language.

Every language has its own teenage slang. They abound in films, music, media, social networks and the Internet. come into the vocabulary of teenagers from the mouths of famous actors, pop performers, especially in the stand-up genre.

What is slang

Slang is non-standard vocabulary used in casual communication. Almost all professions have their own professional slang. Lawyers and doctors are even required to communicate on it in the presence of a client, this is required by ethics. Moreover, every family passes on its own words from generation to generation, the authors of which were sometimes children. They reinterpret words in a way that seems more logical to them. Examples:

• String beads (on a thread, of course).
• Malet (they use it to beat).
• Maseline (spread on it).

Similar creativity of words is demonstrated by the slang of teenagers, examples:

• Krasava - well done. It looks like “handsome” and “ah, well done!” combined together.
• Bratella - brother or peer. The root remains, but the word itself has an Italian connotation. And something criminal is already visible. The word "brother" is used between gang members. In general, it is used in the Mitki community.
• The brake is dull. The one who slows down does not “catch up” with the others in terms of intelligence. Often used in relation to a computer or the Internet when there is a slow speed of information transfer.

Teen slang doesn't come out of nowhere. It, like real languages, has the origin of words: borrowing from professional slangs, new Russian and criminal feni, anglicisms, newly formed words by combining two words or a root and a suffix.

Often, when there is no word in the literary language that denotes a particular concept of a teenage subculture, a new word enters the language. It can even move into the literary category if it describes this concept sufficiently fully.

There are many examples of this from the programming language. For example, the word “freeze”. At first it was used in relation to the violation of computer loading. Later the meaning of “staying in a place” was added. This is how Wiktionary interprets it.

Whether we like it or not, teenage slang has an influence on the Russian language. This is exactly how it should be viewed.

Slang as a means of communication

The language of the teenage subculture is highly expressive, full of metaphors, and there is a tendency to abbreviate words (person, internet, computer). Deliberate distortion of verbal forms is a protest and a way to get away from openly obscene language, covering the meaning of what was said with a slang shell.

Modern teenage slang is essentially a coded language. Everything in it is subject to confusion and clouding of clear meaning. Teenagers would be burned with shame if they found out that a teacher or parents understood their speech. Despite their apparent maturity, they are not ready to take responsibility for their words.

Slang turns what is said into a game, something frivolous, a hobby of youth. Indeed, its use wears off over time. There is no need to encrypt one's actions; an adult calls things by their proper names. But for teenagers it is still important that adults “don’t poke their nose into their affairs.”

Let's look at modern teenage slang: a dictionary of the most common expressions.

• Ava - avatar, a picture under the username. There is an abbreviation of the word.
• Go - from the English “go”, start, give, call to action. Compare “let's go” (English) - let's go. Explicit Anglicism.
• Zashkvar - from the prison word “to zashkvar”, that is, to use the dishes of a lowered (passive bugger), shake his hand, smoke his cigarette or simply touch him. In teenage slang it means “madness,” something unfashionable and inconsistent with conventional wisdom.
• Why - why?
• Pal is a fake. Obviously, from “singed” - fake.
• Nyashny - cute, adorable.
• Cute - extremely adorable.
• Top - from the English “top”, something better.
• If you persecute, you deceive.
• Gamat - from the English “game”, to play.
• Funny - joke.
• It's a bummer to end up in a bad situation.
• Carrots are love.

Processes occurring in the Russian language

Language changes within the span of one generation. And this despite the fact that each generation has its own teenage and youth slang. Journalism, modern literature and numerous blogs are now picking up and spreading slang words.

The writer, bringing a teenager onto the stage, studies his speech for a realistic reflection. Here a gradation of terms occurs and words characteristic of certain social groups are defined.

Apparently, more educated teenagers use less jargon because they have a larger vocabulary. The vocabulary of teenage slang from rural and urban groups also differs.

Philologists are of the opinion that new words arise mainly in two capitals - Moscow and St. Petersburg. Within six months they spread to the periphery.

Reasons for the origin of teenage slang

Each subculture has its own language. Teenage is no exception. Her area of ​​interest determines the vocabulary used to denote concepts:

• Studying at school, college, technical school, university.
• Cloth.
• Music, popular groups, their style of clothing and behavior.
• Communication with friends, the opposite sex, parents, teachers.
• Leisure activities - discos, walks, meetings and dates, concerts of favorite bands, attending matches of favorite sports teams.

Reasons for the entry of new words into the vocabulary of teenagers:

1. A game.
2. Finding yourself, your Self.
3. Protest.
4. Poverty of vocabulary.

Youth slang as a form of self-affirmation for teenagers, it can be considered as a stage of growing up. Where do these words come from? They are invented in passing, trying to explain something, choosing a suitable expression or comparison. If a new word finds a response and is successful in a team, it will almost certainly spread.

Slang is replenished from professional jargon, for example computer jargon:

• Broken link - error 404.
• Glitch - failure.
• Make a video - upload a video file.
• Copy-paste - “Copy” - copy, “Paste” - paste.
• Bug is an error.
• Fix - correct errors.

Many words have roots in thieves' argot:

• Raise the market - become the initiator of a serious conversation.
• Bull shaker - dancing at a disco.
• Sitting on treason means being afraid of something.
• Shmon - search.
• Chepushilo is a person who does not follow his speech.
• Hit the arrow and make an appointment.

The words of drug addicts are also reflected in teenage slang:

• Gertrude, white, heroin in charge.
• Marusya, milk, plasticine - marijuana.
• Cupcake, flour, nose, accelerator - cocaine and crack.
• Wake up, daddy, shnyaga - raw opium.
• Wheels are tablets.
• Wheeling - taking pills.
• Get drunk, rub yourself in, get stoned - give an injection.
• To smack, to kick - to enter a state of drug intoxication.

Hearing jargon in a timely manner will help you understand what the teenager is interested in and help the child if necessary.

Teenage slang of the 21st century also comes from the TV screen. Films about gangsters, action films, and trailers add new words to the vocabulary. Unfortunately, negative characters are readily imitated. They are cool". Swear words that were previously purely American are penetrating into the Russian language. With them come obscene gestures. It's all sad.

Teenage slang and its meaning

It is worth noting that not all teenagers introduce slang into their speech. Some people use it as a joke. Such guys are usually not considered “one of our own,” although they may be treated with respect.

The use of slang words begins as a game: they don’t understand us, you can talk about anything. Then comes adolescence, when a person searches for himself, accepts or rejects generally accepted norms. Teenage subculture comes as an alternative to the boring life path of parents, boring teachers and narrow-minded neighbors.

This limited world is not difficult to comprehend. The vocabulary of teenage slang is small; anyone can master it. Here everyone is equal, you can talk about topics that would make parents’ hair stand on end with horror. This apparent freedom so attracts a young heart!

It’s worth giving teenage slangs and a list of everyday words:

• Hammer - came from prison jargon, discarding the three-letter swear word. Now they forget not about something, but about something: forgetting about homework means not doing your homework.
• Damn - replacing an obscene expression with the corresponding letter. Means annoyance.
• Kidalovo - from the jargon of scammers who change money. Means deception.
• Klevo is an old Ofen word. Means "good".
• Cool - funny
• Dumb - embarrassing, awkward, old-fashioned.
• A feature is a highlight, something that surprises, a feature.
• Schmuck is an outcast.
• Shnyaga is something bad.
• Nice - “let’s run!”, also from the language of criminals.

To sum it up, we can say that the meaning of using teenage slang is as follows:

1. The desire to stand out from the crowd, the gray mass. In this case, the teenage subculture is perceived as avant-garde.
2. The desire for freedom, the lifting of prohibitions. Children who have escaped the iron grip of their parents rush to such an extreme as changing the common language to slang. They even deliberately shock with their behavior.
3. Protest against the hypocritical system of adults, when some can do everything, while others are responsible for the misdeeds of others.
4. Slang saves you when you have a poor vocabulary; obscene speech helps you express your thoughts. Communication often occurs with half-hints and jokes.

Youth slang, its influence on the speech of teenagers

One could treat slang as a temporary and easily passing phenomenon if it were not deeply rooted. Having started using slang speech patterns, a teenager begins to think the same way. As is known, humans do not have imaginative thinking, like animals. Thought is closely related to words.

As a result, modern teenage slang begins to seep into writings. Soon such a teenager will need a translator. Still, slang is a limited language, without nuances, highlights and subtle shades. To accept it instead of literary means to impoverish not only your life, but also your very thoughts about life.

There is a mirror effect of the word: after introducing it into the lexicon, thoughts use it for their expression. Then, according to the principle “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks,” the tongue brings out the thought in slang form. Getting rid of it is not easy and will require conscious effort. If you leave the fuel, that is, communication in slang, it will become impossible to get rid of it.

Consequences of passion for slang

During the formation of personality, and this is precisely the teenage years, the establishment of patterns of behavior or solutions to problems that arise in adulthood occurs. The influence of slang on the speech of teenagers is very great.

Without enough life experience, teenagers try to learn everything about life. And they think they can achieve it. When in their circle, they may appear wise in their own eyes. But this wisdom is shattered by the waves of adult life.

It is impossible to use slang without accepting its ideology. He will definitely influence actions and decision making. The bravado that comes through in slang expressions only appears to be “cool.”

Teen slang, dictionary:

• dose - homework;
• dzyak - thank you;
• Dostoevsky - the one who got everyone;
• emelya - email address;
• tin - horror;
• fat - the highest class;
• lighter - a girl who likes to have fun;
• an ambush is an unexpected obstacle in business;
• shy - gets drunk quickly;
• zoo - insult;
• bend - do something unusual;
• imbecile - retarded;
• jock - a person with developed muscles;
• kipish - disorder;
• kiryukha - a drinker;
• sausage - cool music, cool music;
• to look like someone - to be like;
• the rat is a traitor;
• ksiva—document;
• cupcake - boy;
• smoking bamboo - doing nothing;
• labat - play a musical instrument;
• lave—money;
• fox is a fan of the group "Alice";
• lohovoz - public transport;
• loser - loser;
• burdock - fool;
• major - boy with money;
• makhalovka - fight;
• frost - talking nonsense;
• Mulka is a cool thing;
• stir up - meet;
• mersibo - thank you;
• run into trouble - ask for trouble;
• nane - no (gypsy);
• nishtyak - very good;
• head off - the highest degree of admiration;
• to spectacle - to be afraid;
• fall - sit down;
• drove - nickname;
• pepper is a tough guy;
• steam - worry;
• turnip - rehearsal;
• to steer - to be the very best;
• ramsit - have fun;
• session - concert, meeting;
• banter - joke, mock;
• to leave the market - to change the topic of conversation;
• one hundred pounds - exactly;
• studen - student ID;
• like - like;
• torch - pleasure;
• trouble - trouble;
• junkie - drug addict;
• tip-top - everything is fine;
• fumes - funny;
• fak - swear word;
• flood - chatter;
• bullshit - nonsense;
• hata - housing;
• I don't know - who knows;
• hi-fi - hello;
• civil - good conditions;
• chika - dear girl;
• chick - girl;
• spur - cheat sheet;
• user - computer user;
• Yahoo - hooray.

This is just a small part of teenage slang; the dictionary of expressions is far from complete. Expressions that are obscene and describe sexual acts or the exercise of natural needs are excluded. Yes, children talk about this too. But this is enough to understand the danger of accepting a teenage subculture for life.

What else is fraught with the use of slang?

If you do not get rid of this speech, problems will not keep you waiting. It will be difficult to get a decent job, it will be difficult to stay in it due to the use of certain words. Suddenly, the teenager will feel that he cannot explain what is happening to the doctor. He will discover that the postman, social worker, and salesperson do not understand him.

Living in the world of people and speaking in a language that they do not understand is loneliness in a crowd. For a child who finds himself in a difficult situation, this can end disastrously. Depression is a frequent guest in this case.

Parents can help by explaining that slang is a game. You can't play all your life. They will try to find contact with their child and go through this period of growing up together. Trust can go a long way during this time.

How to solve a problem

Parents are very annoyed by teenagers' slang. Especially when they don't understand what their own child said. At the same time, parents often forget themselves at a young age. They also used buzzwords, and their parents were perplexed.

First of all, to solve a problem, you should start with yourself. How often do informal words come out of the mouths of the older generation? Sometimes they are not noticed. Surely you have heard (or even used) such expressions:

• Fuck it.
• Get hurt.
• To die is not to rise.
• Waste.
• Covered himself with a copper basin.
• Flew like plywood over Paris.

These are once fashionable words of the late twentieth century that have already been published. If parents use such jargon, it is not surprising that their child will look for his own vocabulary that matches the time. The teenager will not even understand that he is doing something wrong. He just wants to become modern. Shouldn’t he communicate in “old slang”?

The trouble is that often the child uses words whose meaning is not fully clear to him. In his communication group, there is often no explanation to be found either. That's just what everyone says. This is where sensitive parents can help. They will try to convey to the teenager the meaning of some jargon. Talk about their affiliation with the criminal world, for example.

Some words can be used, the main thing is to know: when, where and with whom. The girl, having called the annoying young man a goat, may not know anything about this word, which is derogatory for criminals. But the thief’s code of honor is to immediately hit the person who calls him a goat. Whether it's a girl or an old man, it doesn't matter.

Language of the street

Unfortunately, in society the boundaries between literary and obscene expressions are blurred. Swear words attack from all sides: in public transport, in a store, on the street and even from the TV screen. If everyone says this, then this is the norm - this is what a teenager thinks.

In this case, it's time to sound the alarm. Bring to the child's attention that a free society is not freedom of vice, but a conscious choice of actions. There are elementary ethics that cannot be pronounced in the presence of women, children and the elderly, in public places. Only marginalized people do this.

Like the cannibal Ellochka, there are people who use several swear words in their lives. They turn them into different parts of speech, decline and combine. This is enough to communicate at the level of a monkey trained in sign language with its own kind.

Parents should not be afraid that their expression of contempt for profanity will offend or make the child withdrawn. And, of course, it is not permissible to use “salty words” ourselves.

Set out to explore what words come out of the mouths of literary characters during times of extreme passion. Share this with your children. In general, good literature is a vaccine against obscenity.

Tell your child about the danger that awaits those who use the words of drug addicts, homeless people, and punks. What impression is created about a person who uses such words on social networks? Give examples of how photos and captions posted on the Internet ruined the reputation of a boy or girl.

Tell us that expressions of national, racial, social and religious intolerance are criminal offenses. If a child promotes extreme views, it is necessary to find out who their ideologist is. Maybe the teenager is imitating someone? In any case, measures should be taken to prevent the child from immersing himself in this subculture.

youth slang linguistics

The concept of slang. Slang and jargon

The concept of slang is increasingly beginning to gain the attention of modern philology. Currently, there are quite a large number of definitions of slang, often contradicting each other. These contradictions relate, first of all, to the scope of the concept “slang”: the dispute is, in particular, about whether to include in slang only expressive, ironic words that are synonymous with literary equivalents, or also all non-standard vocabulary, the use of which is condemned among educated people.

It is noteworthy that the term “slang” is more often used in English, although recently it has been actively used in relation to the Russian language. Often the word “slang” is used simply as a synonym for the word “jargon”.

Therefore, it would make sense to finally try, firstly, to give a clearer definition of slang, and secondly, to clarify the difference (or identity) between the concepts of slang and jargon.

As you know, there are still doubts in modern linguistics regarding the origin of the word “slang”. According to one version, English. slang comes from sling (“throw”, “throw”). In such cases, they recall the archaic to sling one's jaw - “to speak violent and offensive speeches.” According to another version, “slang” goes back to slanguage, and the initial letter s was allegedly added to language as a result of the disappearance of the word thieves; that is, originally the speech was about the thieves' language.

It is unknown when the word slang first appeared in spoken English in England. It was first recorded in writing in England in the 18th century. Back then it meant “insult.” Around 1850, the term began to be used more widely as a designation for "illegal" vernacular language. At the same time, synonyms for the word slang appeared - lingo, used mainly in the lower strata of society, and argot - preferred by the colored population

The scope of the very concept of “slang” is evidenced by the descriptive definitions that appeared later, such as “obscene colloquial speech” or poetic “dithyrambic” descriptions of slang as a “mint of language” (D. Galsworthy); or “slang is a language that rolls up its sleeves, spits in its palms and gets to work” Karl. Sandburg), this is “the poetry of the common man,” etc. It is clear that in a scientific sense the value of such definitions is small, although it is still clear from them that slang is considered the language of the common people and the basis for the production of a national dictionary.

Let's look at some of the many scientific definitions of slang.

In Russian linguistics, the definition most often given is V.A. Khomyakova: “Slang is a relatively stable for a certain period, widely used, stylistically marked (reduced) lexical layer (nouns, adjectives and verbs denoting everyday phenomena, objects, processes and signs), a component of expressive vernacular, part of the literary language, very heterogeneous in its origins, degree of approximation to the literary standard, possessing pejorative expression” [Khomyakov V.A. S1980.. 43-44].

In this definition, the following signs of slang attract attention: slang, according to V.A. Khomyakova, although it belongs to “expressive vernacular” and is included in the literary language, its degree of approximation to the literary standard is “very heterogeneous”, that is, one can find examples of “almost standard” and “not at all standard”. And, of course, pejorativeness is inherent in slang as its most characteristic feature: it is difficult to imagine slangism with a strong meliorative connotation, although, probably, a certain degree of “standardization” is still imaginable.

A completely different interpretation is offered in the “Dictionary of Linguistic Terms” by O.S. Akhmanova: Slang - 1. Colloquial version of professional speech.

2. Elements of the colloquial version of a particular professional or social group, which, penetrating into the literary language or in general into the speech of people who are not directly related to this group of people, acquire in these languages ​​a special emotional and expressive coloring [Akhmanova O.S. 1966: P. 419].

As we can see, in the first definition, slang is simply a series of non-term words used in a terminological sense, such as “windshield wiper” or “spare tire” among motorists. Such words are not suitable for official instructions, but are convenient for professional business conversations.

In the second case, this is something completely different: before us are words that have already left the professional sphere and have been published. Probably, “six” could be cited as an example: in the world of thieves, one of the meanings of this word is “a person serving thieves” [D.S. Baldaev, V.K. Belko, I.M. Isupov. M.: Regions of Moscow, 1992: P. 287]. In modern colloquial Russian, “six” is a contemptuous designation for any insignificant person, possibly (but not necessarily) with criminal tendencies. Another very important thing noted by O.S. Akhmanova quality: all such words are clearly expressive.

A slightly different solution is proposed in the 1980 Encyclopedic Dictionary. There are also two definitions here.

• 1. Slang here is the speech of a professionally isolated group, as opposed to literary language.
• 2. This is a variant of colloquial speech that does not coincide with the norm of the literary language [Soviet Encyclopedia, 1980: p. 1234]

This definition seems very inadequate. As we see, in (1) it is simply a synonym for professional language (speech), clearly contrasted with literary language. It is not clear how slang in this case differs from terminology and in what relationship it still has a literary language. In (2) it is a non-literary version of colloquial speech; very "vague definition". The problem of slang (in)decency is completely ignored.

The definition of the Big Encyclopedic Dictionary of 1998 differs from these definitions: Slang - 1. The same as jargon (in domestic literature mainly for English-speaking countries). As you can see, here slang is simply declared to be a synonym for jargon, moreover, predominantly the jargon of English-speaking countries.

2. A set of jargon that makes up a layer of colloquial vocabulary, reflecting a rudely familiar, sometimes humorous attitude towards the subject of speech. Used mainly in casual communication: English. junkie - drug addict, gal - girl [Galperin I.R. About the term “slang: 1956 P. 161].

Unlike some other definitions, the rudeness and familiarity of slangisms is emphasized here. “Humorous attitude” is not considered a mandatory feature of slang. Slang here is part of the slang layer of vocabulary.

The 1985 “Dictionary-Reference Book of Linguistic Terms” simply equates slang, jargon and argot: Slang - words and expressions used by persons of certain professions or social strata. Slang of sailors, artists, cf. argot, jargon.

Such discrepancies in the definition of slang gave I.R. Galperin a reason to completely deny the very fact of the existence of slang.

His argument is based on the study of lexicographical marks: the same word in various dictionaries is given with the marks “slang”, “vernacular” or without any marks, which seems to indicate in favor of the literary norm. Therefore I.R. Galperin does not allow the existence of slang as a separate independent category, proposing to use the term “slang” as a synonym for the English word “jargon” [Galperin I.R. About the term slang: 1956 pp. 107-114].

Argumentation by I.R. Galperin does not seem too convincing due to the insufficient development of the system of lexicographic marks: the discrepancy in this case can be explained not so much by the features of the style, but by the features of each lexicographer’s approach to this problem.

To the various interpretations of slang already given, we can add equally diverse definitions of English philologists. The term “slang,” notes the famous American linguist Charles Freeze, has expanded its meaning so much and is used to designate so many different concepts that it is extremely difficult to draw a line of demarcation between what is slang and what is not.

A number of English researchers use the word slang simply as a synonym for jargon, argot or kent. The author of the slang dictionary, R. Spears, spoke in the most detail about the term “slang”. He notes that the term "slang" was originally used to refer to British criminal jargon as a synonym for "cant". Over the years, “slang” has expanded its meaning and currently includes various types of non-literary vocabulary: jargon, vernacular, dialects and even vulgar words [.Spears Richard 1982: pp. X-XI].

Thus, it can be stated that, despite all its popularity (or perhaps precisely because of it), “slang” currently does not have terminological accuracy.

Nevertheless, the above points of view allow us to somehow summarize its most essential properties.

• 1. Slang is not literary vocabulary, i.e. words and combinations that are outside the boundaries of literary English (Standard English) - from the point of view of the requirements of modern literary norms.
• 2. Slang is vocabulary that arises and is used primarily in oral speech.
• 3. Slang is emotionally charged vocabulary.
• 4. Slang is characterized by a more or less pronounced familiar connotation of the vast majority of words and phrases. This property of slang limits the stylistic boundaries of its use.
• 5. The familiar emotional connotation of many slang words and expressions has a wide variety of shades (joking, ironic, mocking, dismissive, contemptuous, rude and even vulgar).
• 6. Depending on the scope of use, slang can be divided into well-known and commonly used (General Slang) and little-known and narrowly used (Special Slang).
• 7. Many words and expressions of slang are incomprehensible or incomprehensible to the bulk of the population (especially during the period of their emergence and transition to a wider sphere of use), because they are primarily associated with a peculiar form of expression - for example, in numerous cases of transfer of meaning (figurative use ), so characteristic of slang.

The incomprehensibility may also be the result of the fact that these slangisms are borrowings from dialects and jargons of foreign languages ​​[Sudzilovsky G.A.: 1973. P. 9-12].

• 8. Slang includes various words and phrases with which people can identify themselves with certain social and professional groups.
• 9. Slang is a bright, expressive layer of non-literary vocabulary, a style of language that occupies a place directly opposite to extremely formalized speech. Slang is a living, moving language that keeps up with the times and responds to any changes in the life of the country and society.

However, if when discussing the definition of “slang” there has not yet been a consensus on what it is, then the term “jargon” has a fairly clear interpretation. Analyzing the definitions of jargon found in Russian linguistics, it can be noted that they are all more or less identical, which eliminates the need to quote them here. Jargon is interpreted as a kind of language, a social dialect, which differs from the national language in its special lexical composition, phraseology, etc. An essential feature of jargon is that it is used by certain social, professional or other groups united by common interests (cf. military or criminal jargon).

Some linguists, for example V.A. Khomyakov, identify such a function of jargon as the “function of secret communication,” especially when it comes to criminal jargon [Khomyakov V.A. 1980: P. 43-44]. A.D. adheres to the same point of view. Schweitzer, who believes that jargon is “ciphered speech”, incomprehensible to the uninitiated [Schweitzer A.D. 1963: P. 158]. This point of view is disputed by L.I. Skvortsov, noting the successful assimilation of many jargons into common speech and their transition to the expressive base of colloquial speech, which would hardly have been possible if the jargon had a secret character [Skvortsov L.I. 1977:S. 53-57].

slang is also characterized by some social limitations, but not a specific group one, but an integrated one: it does not have a clear socio-professional orientation, it can be used by representatives of different social and educational status, different professions, etc. Therefore, we can note such a feature of slang as well-known and widely used: cf. “party”, “cart”, “dark”, “get”, “run into”, “bucks” and many others. etc.

Another distinctive feature of slang is its secondary formation in comparison with jargon, since it draws its material primarily from social-group and social-professional jargons. But in addition to jargon, slang includes certain colloquialisms and vulgar words. However, with such borrowing, a metaphorical rethinking and expansion of the meaning of the borrowed units occurs.

Slang

slang (English slang), expressive and emotionally charged vocabulary of colloquial speech that deviates from the accepted literary language norm (the term “S.” is most often used in relation to the English language and its functioning in England and the USA). Distributed mainly among schoolchildren, students, military personnel, and young workers. S. is subject to frequent changes, which makes it a linguistic sign of generations. Easily penetrating the literary language, it is used for speech characteristics of characters and author’s speech; for example, in Sov. literature by F. I. Panferov, F. V. Gladkov, I. E. Babel, I. Ilf and E. Petrov, V. Aksenov and others, in English and American literature by C. Dickens, W. Thackeray, J. Galsworthy, T. Dreiser, J.D. Salinger and others. The term “S.” is a partial synonym for the terms argot and jargon.

Lit.: Galperin I.R., On the term “slang”, “Issues of Linguistics”, 1956, No. 6 (lit.); Schweitzer A.D., Some current problems of sociolinguistics, “Foreign languages ​​at school”, 1969, No. 3 (lit.); Skvortsov L.I., On assessments of the language of youth, “Issues of speech culture”, 1964, century. 5 (lit.).

T.V. Ventzel.

Great Soviet Encyclopedia. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. 1969-1978 .

See what “Slang” is in other dictionaries:

Slang, a [le] ... Russian word stress

slang- slang, and... Russian spelling dictionary

slang- slang/… Morphemic-spelling dictionary

- (from the English slang) terminological field, a set of special words or new meanings of existing words used in various human associations (professional, social, age and other... ... Wikipedia

- [English] slang] slang, often youth; interspersing English or American colloquial vocabulary into speech. Wed. ARGO, JARGON. Dictionary of foreign words. Komlev N.G., 2006. slang (English slang) in English words or expressions used... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

Slang- (English slang) 1) the same as jargon (in domestic literature mainly in relation to English-speaking countries). 2) A set of jargon that makes up a layer of colloquial vocabulary, reflecting a rudely familiar, sometimes humorous... ... Linguistic encyclopedic dictionary

A; m. [English] slang] 1. Speech of a socially or professionally isolated group; jargon. 2. Elements of speech that do not coincide with the norm of the literary language (usually expressively colored). ◁ Slang, oh, oh. Oh word. Designation of the item. * * … encyclopedic Dictionary

- (jargon, argot), a type of language, primarily vocabulary, fashionable in certain social groups, often youth. Slang uses the resources of other languages, so modern slang is replete with Americanisms. Literature and language. Modern... ... Literary encyclopedia

Jargon Dictionary of Russian synonyms. slang noun, number of synonyms: 2 argot (9) jargon (15) ... Synonym dictionary

slang- slang. Pronounced [slang] and acceptable [slang]… Dictionary of difficulties of pronunciation and stress in modern Russian language

- (English slang), 1) the same as jargon, mainly in English-speaking countries. 2) A layer of colloquial vocabulary, reflecting a rudely familiar, sometimes humorous attitude towards the subject of speech and not coinciding with the norm of the literary language (blat... Modern encyclopedia

Books

• Slang as a problem of sociolectics, A. T. Lipatov. The monograph - multilaterally and in a broad aspect - explores the problems of slang as part of Russian and European sociolectics; issues of etymology and history of slang in its...
• Hippie slang. Materials for the dictionary, F. I. Rozhansky. The first professionally prepared dictionary of the language of Russian hippies based on material from Moscow, St. Petersburg and other big cities. The language includes a powerful layer of transformed Anglicisms,…

Along with the literary language, there is a huge lexical layer called slang. Answering the question: “Slang - what is it?”, it should be noted that these are words that are not commonly used; they are usually used by a specific, certain circle of people in common parlance. Although in some cases it is also found in fiction, if the author needs to convey the living speech of a character.

Composition of slang

Slang did not arise out of nowhere. It just appeared quite recently. Just a couple of decades ago, people didn’t use the word “slang”; they didn’t know what it was. But there were such definitions as jargon, argot, vulgarism, obscene language, dialectisms, vernacular, and professionalism. Today, all these separate lexical layers have merged together, forming a group called “slang”. What it is, whether the Russian language needs it, is a controversial question that cannot be answered unequivocally.

Slang that has no place in the language

It is safe to say that the presence of jargon, argot, obscene language and vulgarisms in speech greatly spoil the language. Therefore, every self-respecting cultured person needs to avoid using this kind of words. Unfortunately, today even the media, venerable writers and politicians consider it possible to use base slang, calling this position linguistic democratization. Many pseudoscientists add ridiculous evidence to their platform, trying to convincingly argue the harmlessness of the layer of speech in question. In fact, such an attitude towards language is the first step towards lack of culture and loss of national pride. We can explain the reason for the emergence of this slang group, but we should not forget that swearing and obscene language are a curse that falls on the speaker himself.

Professionalisms as part of slang

There is a semantic group of lexical units called “professional slang”. words that are not considered generally accepted, but are used exclusively by a group of people of a particular profession. For example, among sailors, flasks represent bells that chime the hours. And railway workers call a shoe a device used to brake cars. This also includes computer slang: “clava” - keyboard, “mother” - motherboard, “window” - Windows operating system, “dead” - spoiled, and so on. And since almost all young people today are interested in computers, computer professionalism is also included in youth slang. Let's look at what this is next.

The language of the young: you can’t do without a translator!

Indeed, this layer of Russian vocabulary is quite difficult to understand for an ordinary person who does not move among the younger generation. You can even compile a dictionary of informal vocabulary that young people use. For example, “gamka” is the name for chewing gum, and “razvodyaga” is for fraud. “Gansyuk” - this word in the mouths of young people means a German, and “diss” is the name of a rap that humiliates the work of another rapper. It’s interesting that today the word “lavrukha” is used to describe money. And quite recently, the slang words “cabbage” and “grandmothers” were synonymous with financial resources, which happily migrated from the youth lexicon into the vernacular.

Spoken slang

Many words from narrow professional vocabulary or youth slang pass into the speech of most people. For example, drug addiction doctors began to call delirium tremens “squirrel” among themselves. Social networks are filled with lol pictures illustrating the process of transferring meaning from a phrase to a homonym word. People also often use the words “shabashka” or “kalym” - part-time work, “bayan” - an old joke, “bearded joke”. Most lexemes have become colloquial slang due to changes in their etymological meaning. Take, for example, the word “bitch”, which, by the way, means the dead carcass of an animal (that’s why vultures). At first it became a definition of the type of woman and had a negative connotation. But today the negative connotation has evaporated, and being called a bitch is not only not offensive, but also prestigious. Many words appear in colloquial slang by shortening their names. These are: “telly”, “great”, “microwave”, “washing machine”, “store”, “sotik”, “computer”, “laptop” and others. There is another way words appear in colloquial slang - this is the use of foreign units adapted to the Russian language by adding endings or letter (incorrect) reading. The first case can be illustrated by the word “ahtung” - to pay attention, and the second case is demonstrated by the word “girl”.

Thus, slang is informal vocabulary, the use of which is unacceptable in literary speech, with the exception of artistic techniques. The language of a politician or teacher who litters his speech with slang words, thus trying to “get closer” to the people, is perceived as inappropriate and vulgar.