AnAnalysisofCharacteristicsofAmericanSlang美国俚语的特征分析

1、邯郸学院外国语学院School of Foreign Languages of Handan College论文题目：美国俚语的特征分析Title :An Analysis of Characteristics of American SlangiAn Analysis of Characteristics of American SlangAbstract： With the development of the society, slang is widely used by more and more people,especially in America, sla ng can be

2、 found favorable in the America ns eyes. Sla ng has graduallybecome popular among En glish speakers, since it appeared in En glish Ian guage in the 16th cen tury.It is very popular in the English-speaking countries nowadays. Rich and colorful slang is animporta nt comp onent in En glish. However, it

3、 is difficult for people to un dersta nd. Therefore, it isnecessary for us to study it. To have a glimpse into the nature of English slang is helpful tounderstand. This thesis expounds the characteristics of English slang. It concludes that slang isplayi ng a more and more importa nt role in the soc

4、iety of En glish-speak ing.Key words:sla ngcharacteristics America nIntroductionSlang is a rather special parole. It is neither the word that beyond the regular role ofgrammatical usage, nor rural dialect. Although it is quite differe nt from acrolect which used on the formal occasi on, people quite

5、 like to use it in daily speech. That is to say, sla ng can be defi ned to com mon colloquial la nguage, and sla ng is usually used as colloquial words and phrase. In other words, slang is Nonstandard-English. It is brimming with youth vigor. It is rather a spoken Ian guage tha n a writte n one. Un

6、like sta ndard Ian guage, it does not from its own grammar rules.Mainly employed by sub-cultural groups, sla ng is highly colloquial, i nformal and esse ntially notrespectable. Most of sla ng is more forceful, emoti onal or humorous forms tha n sta ndard words.Sla ng is very in formal and com mon ly

7、 used in speech. Betwee n people from same social group orwho work together, not con sidered suitable for formal con texts and ofte n not in used for long.Slang has become an indispensable part of modern English. With the popularity of slang, we should know how to use slang and master its characteri

8、stics. This paper intends to make a ten tative study on the characteristics of sla ng in America.1. Highly ColloquialSlang is highly colloquial, non-sta ndard in formal Ian guage. Being the quin tesse nee ofcolloquial speech, slang is always related to convenience rather than to scientific laws, gra

9、mmatical rules and philosophical ideas. It does not bel ong to the register of Ian guage used in formal records, epics, poetry, religious prose and other varieties of literature. As it origi nates from colloquial speech, so it flourishes best in colloquial speech.Slang, as a whole, is mainly employe

10、d in everyday, oral com muni cati ons betwee n friends and acqua intances or just with in some special groups. On in formal, private occasi ons, sla ng is the favorite means for oral com muni cati on. On some frie ndly occasi on, whe n you talk in very formal way, maybe it will give others a feeling

11、 that you are talking with them in a commanding tone. Such feeling will broaden the distanee between you and your friend. However, when you add some proper sla ng in your talki ng, you can have the talki ng atmosphere more frie ndlily.For example, a person wants to get his friend agreement eagerly.

12、If the friend can un dersta nd the speakers feeli ng and his eager ness, he may say the follow ing senten ces:“ willdrink that sentence. It means “ definitely agree with you. ” or “will to accept advice. ” Not only can the friend have his compa nion relaxed, but also express his agreeable attitude.2

13、. Transience of slangs lifeSlang is gen erally tran sie nt. Gen erally speak ing, sla ng spreads very quickly yet it is un stable and temporary. That is to say, sla ng is the most un stable eleme nt of En glish and its life expecta ncy is gen erally short. Usually a popular sla ng of last year may n

14、o Ion ger be heard this year or some slang once used by one generation may sound Greek to the next. The use of slang is closely related to the circumstances in which it is used. Once the circumstances changed, the slang releva nt to it disappears too. However, not all the sla ng words die soon after

15、 its birth. Some lin ger on decade after decade, cen tury after cen tury, n ever beco ming respectable or dying out. Take the word booze” for example; it was used as slang in the Middle Ages, yet now it is still ranked among slang in some dictionaries. The word dough” , a slang word for money, is ju

16、st as hardly possible to become a sta ndard word as it ever was, though no more respectable. Many old words have been cut off and a large amount of new words are added to slang. People s attitudes toward sla ng vary from pers on to pers on. Some think that sla ng cannot be used on the formal occasi

17、on, for the illiterate people speak it only and the sla ng terms are so coarse. However, others hold the opposite idea. They think that slang play an important role in English Ianguage, because of its fresh, lifelike, humor and adequate expressi ons.3. Abundance of SynonymsSlang is abundant of synon

18、yms. By the phrase “ abundanOf synonyms ” it refers to two phe nomena. One is that sla ng almost exists side by side with ano ther more gen eral term for the same thing. For example, the slang phrase “ asuck would have it has been used by some speakers in the meaning “ fortunately The differenee bet

19、ween “ asuck would have it and“ fortunately” can be stated only in reference to the people who use the word. Some saywould have it, I found exactly what I was looking for” , othersctlorwhnatte ly, I found exawas look ing for ” “Asuck would have it “ isela ng and “ fortun ately is not. Because “ Aslu

20、ck would have it ” is used by limited part of population, whereas,“ fortunately” is used by eveis found that slang can be regarded as words and phrases or particular meanings of words in com mon in formal use, but gen erally it is not see n as sta ndard in a Ian guage that used by specified expressi

21、on or class. It is natural to refer it as the words that are commonly used, and can be un derstood by all people in America.4. Visualization of languageYou can express the same meaning with the sta ndard Ian guage as well as sla ng. Nevertheless, sla ng maybe used to make your Ian guage more picture

22、sque. It reveals someth ing about the feeli ng or attitudes of the speaker. For example, a boss was very angry with his workers because they were dilatory in doing thin gs. To emphasize his an ger, he says, Two hours off with the pay, why the hell are they dragging their tails. The slang drag ones t

23、ail means, “ Dosomething too slowly .The speaker angry is displayed. Take ano ther case for example Thomas, a sad apple. Can he finish such special task? In his sentence, sad apple means a person who is always discouraged The speaker expresses his deep suspicion with the aid of slang better than in

24、the formal way.In a word, colloquialism is one of the characteristics of sla ng .It is spoke n rather tha n writte n. Although more and more writers make use of America n sla ng of con temporary tee nagers, no matter how many slang words one can find in the novel, they are all used in the dialogues

25、or con versati on of its characters in stead of in the n arrati on or descripti on. Therefore, they are still spoken though in writing.ConclusionIn the recent years, slang has been changing with each passing day and with the world developme nt. Many old words have disappeared and lots of new words a

26、re added to sla ng. In a word, since sla ng appeara nee, it has bee n gaining respectfu In ess and plays importa nt role in the social status. In the social life, even the words hi and bye-bye” are slang words. Therefore, it is wrong if some one n eglect sla ng study and sla ng tran slati on. Slang

27、has its special means and prin ciples. Although sla ng is popular now, the people should selectively use it. If it is not special situati on and has no con text, we must not use it ran domly. Slang can express differe nt meaning and differe nt in formati on, but what it can perform actually depe nd

28、on the Ian guage backgro un d. If we do not con sider the occasi on of talk ing, but only want to choose some sla ng to show out Ian guage character, maybe our talk ing will be thought as un civil and improper.BibliographyDe Klerk, V. Hall. New Dictionary of American Slang M. New York: Harper and Ro

29、w,1986 Rodma n. House Historical Dictio nary of American Sla ng M.New York: Cambridge, 1994 Wen tworth, Harold & Stuart Berg Flex ner. Dictionary of America n of SlangSecond suppleme ntedEditio n M. New York: Thomas Y Crowell,1975Gree nough, J.B, G. L. Kittredge, Words and Their Ways in En glish Spe

30、echM New York: Lon gmanGroup Ltd.,1985霍利.美国口语惯用例句集粹M.北京：北京大学出版社，1996“空中英语”编委会.美国俚语精选M.北京：机械工业出版社，2003牛津高阶英汉双解词典Z.美国：牛津大学出版社，2002汪福祥.英语口语精学本J.外文出版社2004王爵鸾.英语俚语及其风格特征J.外语学刊，1999（ 1）12英语俚语背景DINK 丁克（家庭）DINK是（一对夫妻）Dual In come, No Kids（双份收入，没有孩子）的首字母缩合词。婚宴上 （wedding reception）宾客（guests）常按习俗 customs祝新娘bri

31、de新郎groom 早生贵子、添丁 （have a baby bornsintosthe family）。而今DINK 之风日盛，对于那些多（D）喝了些墨水（INK）的” DINK lovers 来说，It is certain that they can afford to rear （养育）a kid.可就是没空 However, they cant make time.他们做 丁克”，要把 丁克了，够绝！can tee n n.食堂那学校的can teen真够呛，菜（dishes）不够，就拿美国罐头（AmE: can）凑，专糊弄teen们 （teen = teenager年龄在13至U

32、19岁的青少年）。bargain n.便宜货v.谈条件“ Hey,buddy!（嘿，老兄）Do you often go to the pub （常去泡吧吗）？ Let me tell you a top secret （绝密）.”Whats it?嘘）! Watih（have ears.隔墙有耳。Its between you and me（天知地知，你知我知）.If we go to the UETM Bar （ 悠逸 TM 酒吧）,we can gain（收获）a bargain（便宜 货）.”Youre telling me还轮得到你来告诉我？我早知道了！ ）Its a public

33、secret.（众人皆知的 秘密）”girl-kiss-me-quick n.额发；刘海= fringe ; bang“ Com mon talk第一期曾登照片：一个女孩在蹦极（bu ngee）时说：Girl,Kiss me quick, Imdying.快吻我，我要死了！另一层意思是：刘海，我就要死了，还不回原位呆着，让我在最 后时刻保有漂亮的发型（hairdo）。说到发型（hairstlye）,美国人最在乎不过了 ，对他们来说，最严 重的个人危机 personal crisis是a bad hair day头发糟糕的一天”。egret n.白鹭（厦门市鸟 City Bird of Xiam

34、en）Hi, I regret to say I cant come to your hen party （ 妇女会）.You know, bird watching is my hobby. Last time I wan ted to take some photos of the egret. To my regret （rigret遗憾）,I did ntsee one. Now rm on my way to Xiamen Haicang Safari Park （厦门海沧野生动物园 ）.Ah 啊（r）,egret!nine-to-five n.朝九晚五/上班族你是朝九晚五的上班族

35、（office worker）吗？工作压力大 stressful吗？ Take it easy!保持轻松 愉快的心情，悠着点儿！ Keep smiling!保持微笑哦！spooky玄，可怕的A : This morning Keith came in wearing the same clothes he had on in my dream!今天早上凯思竟穿着和我梦里见到的一样的衣服进来。B: Thats spooky!真玄！zit青春痘A:Stop popp ing your zits. Yor know youre only making it worse.别再挤你的青春痘了，这只会让它

36、更糟。B: But I look so stupid with this big zit on my no se.但它就长在鼻子上，我显得很傻。tell it like it is 实话实说I always tell it like it is but, unfoe it easy保持轻松愉快的心情，悠着点儿！ Keep smiling!保持微笑哦！spooky玄，可怕的A : This morning Keith came in wearing the same clothes he had on in my dream!今天早上凯思竟穿着和我梦里见到的一样的衣服进来。B: Thats sp

37、ooky!真玄！zit青春痘A:Stop popp ing your zits. Yor know youre only making it worse.别再挤你的青春痘了，这只会让它更糟。B: But I look so stupid with this big zit on my no se.但它就长在鼻子上，我显得很傻。tell it like it is 实话实说I always tell it like it is but, unfortun ately, sometimes the truth hurts.我一向实话实说，只是有时候实话会伤心。babe美女；帅哥A good thi

38、ng is about livi ng by the pool is you get to see all the babes.住在泳池边的好处之一是可以看美女。jerk差劲，没品的人A: Can you believe that? David sold the bike that be borrowed from me to somebody else.你相信吗？大卫竟把向我借的自行车卖人啦。B: Really? What a jerk!是吗？真差劲！cheapskate 小气鬼A : Larry wants me to buy him a new CD simply because I a

39、ccidentally scratched the back of his CD case.拉瑞要我买个新 CD还他，只不过我不小心把他的CD盒背面刮了一下。B: rm not surprised. Hes known as a cheapskate.我一点也不惊讶，他是有名的小气鬼。home free大功告成I just need two more days of good work and then ni be home free ！再好好工作两天我就大功告成了。old老；cold冷；scold骂，责备人人一旦old 了，就怕cold，天一 cold， old man就开始scold。（此

40、条为读者 aven创作）oar船桨；boar野猪；board木板，甲板，上船（飞机等）;boa蟒蛇大路road宽broad你不走，想挨揍？看我用 oar把你们这群boar通通赶上board甲板！ 嘿嘿，董事会a board of directors说了，boar在国外可以卖好价钱，等你们aboard上船了，到 abroad 国外了，我也可以 live abroad 了。” Freeze! Ha nds u不许动，举起手来！ you re under arrest!你被捕了。中华人民共和国海关缉私队等候多时了！”报告队长，在board上发现boa和boar，人证物证俱在，他们罪责难逃！”can

41、didate 候选人= can+ did + ate= can did + ate;can did n.坦白；adj.偷拍的（照片）别看我廉颇老矣，我不仅过去是 did现在也can能ate吃，这次出征选大将军，我一定 是can didate! ”可我听说你一饭三屎啊！出征不是儿戏，你要be can did坦白，到底还能不能ate? ”赵襄王说着，拿出a can did sn apshot偷拍的快照）。can didate源自拉丁文表示穿白衣服的人。古罗马官职选举，为表示自身清白必须白衣步行。Mass n.弥撒，堆、块；adj.大量的Mass就是 Millions of Ants Sing So

42、ngs.不计其数的蚂蚁唱圣歌。据圣经 Holy Bible说,人 是上帝用泥造出来的man was formed of dust by the Lord，人在造物主面前如 ant样渺小。蚂蚁是如此之多，于是mass又有了另一层含义，大众、大量的。Mass media大众媒介mistletoe槲寄生;tile瓦;toe脚趾传说冬青holly和槲寄生mistletoe可以辟邪，所以圣诞节，许多家庭在室内门框或天花 板挂一束槲寄生。嘿，这可乐坏了那些爱在心里口难开”的男子，西方习俗custom，如果一个女青年偶尔occasionally经过或站在槲寄生 mistletoe下面，旁边的男青年就可以走上

43、前亲 吻她（kiss under the mistletoe）。嘿，兄弟，勇敢点，要爱，就大声说“I miss you, miss your tileand toes想你，想你屋上的瓦和你美丽的脚趾。我I爱死s你了！ （mis-tle-toe） ”window 窗户； widow 寡妇； widower 鳏夫知道吗，最早的广告语slogan居然与widow和window有关哩！相传三百多年前，英国一个widow贴出一个租房广告：有一套间出租，推开window您就拥有了泰唔士河最美的风景!Wow! A Room with a view !说起 widow,很多女士就来气：那个FIFA组织什么 W

44、orld Cup,害得姐妹们每四年就得当一个月的足球寡妇football widow，真恨不得变成黑寡妇blackwidow把你们这些官员吃了。merry愉快的；marry娶嫁；price价格；prize奖励我哥们的老婆是双胞胎twin sisters，朋友们常常打趣他：两姐妹一个模子as like as twopeas,可别认错老婆了。其实英语单词里也有双胞胎，你也别认错哦。前天，收到老同学的圣诞贺卡，这位仁兄倒好，把merry写成marry , Marry Christmas难道我能娶走圣诞不成！上周三，看一个应聘者 can didate的简历resume,嘿！她居然曾经获得三次the f

45、irst price,又不是拍卖，哪来好价格，原来，她把prize误为price 了。mess混乱；message信息；mass 弥撒；massage按摩惟女子与小人难养也！” what a mess只要伊（E）在，世界就一团混乱 mess。害得man们只好上教堂做 mass希望远离是非。一个小时下来，体力透支，马杀鸡massage轻松一下，碰巧又被哪个伊（E）看见了，惟恐天下不 mess, 下子当成桃色 message传开了去，咳！pawn小卒；lawn草坪；yawn打哈欠三者惊人地相似。士兵小卒pawn个个争先跑到草坪lawn上，打哈欠yawn，伸懒腰，一副疲惫不堪的样子，pawn在law

46、n上yawn。Dutch荷兰的，荷兰语的英国曾号称 日不落帝国empire on which sun never sets ,由于其霸权多依靠海上军事力 量，所以特别痛恨其海上发展的劲敌Dutch荷兰。为了泄愤，与Dutch相关的短语大多带着贬义，女口 Dutch courage酒后之勇；Dutch treat自己付钱的聚餐；in Dutch失宠。正式场合中, 荷兰多用 Netherla nds。通常又作 Holla nd 。John Bull约翰牛（英国人绰号）；Uncle Sam山姆大叔18世纪，Arbuthnot作讽刺诗，他的主角John Bull :浑身红脸，戴着礼帽，穿着靴子的农人模样的男子。后成为典型的英国人的绰号nick name。美国人也给自己取了绰号吉祥人Uncle Sam :