Slang versus "Proper English" in the modern world

СЛЕНГ НА ПЕРЕВАГУ «PROPER ENGLISH» У СУЧАСНОМУ СВІТІ

Офіційна мова часто використовується в публічних повідомленнях, ділових ситуаціях та ввічливих розмовах із незнайомцями. Вона має більш жорсткі правила граматики й часто використовує складнішу лексику, а також частіше використовується в письмовій формі, ніж у мовленні. Офіційна мова дотримується конвенцій стандартної мови й використовує мовні форми, які часто граматично та лексично вважаються доцільними або погоджуються більшістю освічених користувачів мови. Неформальна мова має менш суворі граматичні правила й часто - скорочені речення. Вона часто порушує умовності офіційної мови. Мова не є стійкою, а така мова, як англійська, - це сукупність та об'єднання слів багатьох інших мов. Як ростуть, змінюються й розширюються цивілізації, так само і слова в мові. Сленг також постійно змінюється. Нові слова постійно доповнюють лексикон, і люди перестають використовувати старі слова. Це може утруднити розуміння мови.

Не всі сленгові вислови зникають з мови після того, як вони виконали своє призначення. Насправді вислів може настільки поглинутись англійською мовою, що це вже не просто сленгове слово чи вираз, а повноцінна частина повсякденної мови.

Сленг часто використовується як спосіб проявити доброзичливість до когось або показати, що ви належите до певної групи людей або що ви розумієте популярну культуру. Це показує, що ви є частиною «в натовпі» і що мова, якою ви спілкуєтесь, є частиною кодової мови.

Сленг завжди був частиною нашої повсякденної мови. Він знаходить своє місце в усному спілкуванні по всьому світу. Сленг - це область лексики в постійному стані розвитку та змін, котрий складається з яскравих і барвистих слів і фраз, які характеризують різні соціальні та професійні групи, особливо коли ці терміни використовуються для спілкування всередині групи. Сленг забезпечує й посилює соціальну тотожність, але він також використовується в суспільстві загалом, щоб досягти атмосфери неформальної та дружньої ситуації.

Ключові слова: стандартна англійська, неформальна мова, сленг, сленгова лексема.

Formulation of the problem

Carl Sandburg once said “Slang is language which takes off its coat, spits on its hands and goes to work.” Standard English is often referred to as “the proper language”. However, that Proper English is not “a language” in any meaningful sense of this term. Proper English is less than a language but one of the varieties of English. Proper English is considered to be the most important variety of English, in all sorts of ways: it is the variety of English normally used in writing, especially printing; it is the variety associated with the education system in all the English-speaking countries of the world, and not only, because in Ukraine at schools Standard British English is taught. Moreover, the variety spoken by those who are often referred to as “intelligent people”. But most native speakers of English in the world are native speakers of some nonstandard variety of the language. Proper English deals with the pronunciation too. In Britain there's a high status and widely described accent known as Received Pronunciation (RP), that it is not associated with any geographical area, being instead a purely social accent associated with speakers in all parts of the country, or at least in England, from upper-class and upper-middle-class backgrounds (Lerer S., 2008: 65-68).

There is considerable confusion concerning the relationship between Proper English and the vocabulary associated with formal varieties of the English language. Styles are varieties of language which can be ranged on a continuum ranging from very formal to very informal. Formal styles are employed in social situations which are formal, and informal styles are employed in social situations which are informal. Speakers are able to influence and change the degree of formality of a social situation by manipulation of stylistic choice. All the languages of the world would appear to demonstrate some degree of stylistic differentiation in this sense, reflecting the wide range of social relationships and social situations found, to a greater or lesser extent, in all human societies. In many areas of the world, switching from informal to formal situations also involves switching from one language to another. Sociolinguists agreed that Proper English is a dialect. It is simply one variety of English among many. It is a sub-variety of English. Sub-varieties of languages are usually referred to as dialects, and languages are often described as consisting of dialects (Barber C., 1993: 223-228).

Standard English is however of course an unusual dialect in a number of ways. It is for example by far the most important dialect in the English-speaking world from a social, intellectual and cultural point of view; and it does not have an associated accent.

Analysis of recent research and publications

Tony Thorne is a British author, linguist and lexicographer specializing in slang and cultural history. In this article his masterwork Dictionary of Contemporary Slang is used as the greatest reference. This work remains based on the examples of authentic speech rather than purely upon written or broadcast sources. We have also studied the work of Professor Paul Kerswill, who works in sociolinguistics, specifically language variation and change. History of the English Language by Seth Lerer is outstanding source to get deep into the language roots.

It may sound ridiculous but analyzing slang and modern expressions the best source to find updated information is by following the bloggers sites, where authentic slang lexemes can be found.

The scientific novelty is caused by the necessity of learning the ways of formation and developing of the slang in the English language. The society swiftly changes, and with it the language standards are changed too. Slang will always tend to stay in the language as long as there is a demand for something new and unique, we do not refer to the vulgarisms or obscene expressions. The only question is left to ask is, if Proper English will always stay stable or soon it will shift its notions of proper language.

The aim of the research is the slang, as part of the today's speech in the modern world and how it is being affected by it. We set the task to differentiate the notion of the Proper English apart from Slang.

Main material presentation

Slang is language deliberately selected for its striking informality and is consciously used in preference to `proper' speech. It usually originates in small social groups. For these groups, it is a private code that embodies their particular values and behaviour and reinforces their exclusivity. Slang expressions may escape the originating group and become more widely used, and although slang draws much of its effect from its novelty, some terms (booze, dosh, cool) may stay in the language for decades, while even supposedly shortlived youth slang, for example peng, choong or hench, remains in circulation for years rather than months (Thorne, 2014: 7).

Slang has also been referred to, most recently by the eminent US linguist Michael Adams, as `the people's poetry'. In emphasizing its democratic credentials he's right, but although it does make use of poetry's rhetorical tricks (and more devices besides), poetry is allusive while slang is anything but, depending for its power on either complete, shared understanding (by insiders) or complete bafflement (on the part of outsiders).

Slang is also by definition used particularly to talk about transgressive behaviour and about activities which speakers either want to keep secret or for which there may not be an adequate vocabulary in standard language. Slang is not only used for communication purposes - to exchange data - but for social purposes to reinforce relationships: solidarity, belonging, membership of an in-group, and to exclude outsiders. This means that sometimes it is used in different ways from normal language - words and phrases may be repeated, chanted, used ungrammatically or used like slogans, for example. This can seem alien and suggest - wrongly - that the language is crude, impoverished or deficient. So nonstandard language such as slang or youth-identified vernacular is certainly part of a repertoire of performance, a pattern of behaviour which can include rebelliousness, antisocial attitudes, educational failure and even violence, crime and prejudice. It also plays an important part, though, in bonding, belonging, play and pleasure, and in constructing and negotiating individual and group identities (Thorne, 2014: 7).

Many people find it much easier to use correct Grammar when they are writing. This may be because students are taught Grammar through writing, or it could be a result of written words giving the writer a chance to change their mind.

When people speak, they cannot change their mind mid-sentence without appearing to be a crazy person.

Therefore, “proper” English is not often used in speech. When writing, though, people are expected to meet such standards.

In addition, British English may be considered more proper than American English. While proper English may seem like an impossible goal, it only seems so because of how rarely it is used. By simply taking a couple of seconds to think before speaking, anyone can avoid saying something they regret (Grammarly, 2015).

The 1920s were a particularly rich decade for slang in the United States. Many expressions are still in use today. For instance, a wet blanket is a person who is no fun or who ruins the good times of others. Other expressions, though not commonly used, may at least sound familiar. It's the bee's knees, for example, means it's the best. In the 1920s, to take someone for a ride meant to lure them into your car and drive off with the intent to murder! But the modern-day meaning of the idiom is less nefarious than the previous definition. It means to dupe someone, usually with a clever lie. The unfortunate majority of 1920s slang disappeared completely.

Yet a certain sociological idea of slang underlies the consideration of metropolitan life and popular speech. General slang is mostly words and phrases that have escaped from the myriad subcultures of society and found favor in wider usage.4 Slang emerges from the plural structure of society and, in subsequent usage, helps in small ways to maintain as well as to modify social diversity, usually toward more diversity. Slang is a necessary and inevitable cultural product of diverse, complex, and highly interdependent modern society. Slang grew where diverse peoples met at the cultural crossroads of the ancient market city; it flourished in the more diverse and occupationally interdependent medieval city. For the same but now infinitely more complex reasons, slang is part of the life of modern cities, or more correctly today, of modern society in general (Irving, 1995: 19).

Much of modern slang evolves from social media. Some expressions explode into existence, spread rapidly, and die out just as fast. The over use of the expression YOLO (You Only Live Once) earned widespread ignorance just months after its initial popularity. Following the historical trend, other expressions evolve to encompass wider or different meanings. Ride, which used to mean car, now includes anything that gets a person from point A to point B, whether it's a bike, motorcycle, or even a pair of designer shoes. Still other terms may survive far into the future.

Since its appearance the English language went through a big metamorphosis. New words have appeared while some went lost. Words have changed in meaning. The grammatical endings of words have been modified, and many such endings went out of use. There have been turns in word-order. Pronunciation modulated drastically. All together these transformations made the English language develop during the centuries.

From the Cockney rhyming calls of London's East End traders to teen speak, slang has always been part of Britain's rich and diverse language. But young people are increasingly unable to distinguish when it's appropriate to use it, say some linguists. Their language is becoming saturated by slang, leaving them ill-equipped to communicate in the wider world.

Paul Kerswill, professor of sociolinguistics at Lancaster University, is studying street language in London. He says an entirely new dialect is emerging. A long time ago slang was about work. Market workers, carpenters, public houses, farmers had their own slang. Now slang comes from people bringing new words from other languages. Zoo came from France,pyjamas from India, shampoo comes from Urdu. Television is part Latin, part Greek, yet we think of it as one word. The English language no longer simply belongs to the English, it's multicultural (Thorne, 2009)

Slang is also a natural human tendency, says Mr. Thorne. “All groups - it doesn't matter whether they are soldiers, policeman, criminals or whatever - always generate to some extent their own language. It's not just to communicate information, it's in order to include people into your group and exclude people out of your group”. Slang has not become more prevalent, simply more public, he says (Thorne, 2009).