general-futures-of-english-lexicon-in-postmodernism-culture-英语专业语言学毕业论文设计

PAGEPAGE13本科毕业论文（设计）（2013届）题目：GeneralFeaturesofEnglishLexiconinPostmodernismCulture学院：外国语学院专业：英语学生姓名：学号：指导教师：职称（学位）：合作导师：职称（学位）：完成时间：2013年月日成绩：AcknowledgmentsInwritingthispaper,Ihavebenefitedfromthepresenceofmyteachersandmyclassmates.TheygenerouslyhelpedmecollectmaterialsIneededandmademanyinvaluablesuggestions.Iherebyextendmygratefulthankstothemfortheirkindhelp,withoutwhichthepaperwouldnothavebeenwhatitis.Particularly,IamdeeplyindebtedtoProfessorHuang,mysupervisor,whoguidedmethroughoutmywritingofthisthesis.Hecarefullyreadthewholedraftandofferedpainstakingandpreciouscriticism.Hisstandardsofacademicexcellencehavemademyrevisionanexcitingandgratifyingexperience.IalsowishtosincerelythankmyclassmatesandfriendsMinaandSophia,whosebrilliantideasandperceptiveobservationshaveprovedimmenselyconstructive.MyparentstookgoodcareofmylifeandgavemealotofencouragementwhenIwasworkingatthisthesis.Theyalwayssharemywealandwoe.Ifeelmuchgratefulandheartilyowemyachievementtothem.Furthermore,noneofthiswouldhavebeenpossiblewithoutthehelpofthoseindividualsandthelibraryofHuangshanUniversityanditsstaff.AbstractThepostmoderncultureisaffectingthetheorythinkingandpracticalreformationofourlanguagepatterninitsownway.However,themixtureofblurnarrationandviewshindersitspermeabilityintothestudyofmodernlanguagesystem.Onlythroughgraspingitsclearlogicandideologicalquintessence,canpostmodernculturebenefittheinnovationofmodernlanguagesystem.Inthispaper,IwillanalyzethegeneralfeaturesofmodernEnglishlexiconintheatmosphereofpostmodernismfromthefollowingfouraspects:morebrief,newmeaningforoldwords,foreignwords,coinagesoastoofferenlightenmentsforEnglishlearnerstoknowtherelationshipbetweenlanguageandcultureandtheessenceoftheEnglishlanguage.KeyWords:postmodernism；language；influence；societydevelopment

摘要后现代主义文化正在以自己独特的方式影响人们的思维方式和语言的形成。然而叙述和观点的模糊性阻碍了对语言系统研究的渗透性。只有真正抓住后现代文化的本质逻辑，后现代文化才能真正有利于语言系统的创新。本文将从后现代文化的角度出发，从四个方面总结现代英语词汇的基本特征：英语词汇的简洁性，旧词新意，外来词及新造词。本文的目的是希望可以启发英语学习者，帮助听他们了解语言与文化的关系，从而更好得把我英语语言的精髓。关键词：后现代文化主义；语言；影响；社会发展

CONTENTSAcknowledgements iAbstract ii摘要 iii1.Introduction 11.1Abriefintroductiontothepostmodernculture 11.2Researchmotives 22.Relationshipbetweenlanguageandculture 32.1Theinfluenceofcultureonlanguage 32.2Influenceexertedbylanguageonculture 42.3Shapingeachother 53.GeneralfeaturesoftheEnglishlexiconinpostmodernculture 53.1Morebrief 53.2Newmeaningsforoldwords 63.3Foreignwords 63.4Coinage 74.Causesforthefeatures 74.1Rapiddevelopmentinscienceandtechnology 74.1.1Scientificdevelopment 74.1.2Advancementintechnique 84.2Changeineconomyandpolitics 94.2.1Economicchange 94.2.2Politicalinfluence 95.Conclusion 11Bibliography 12GeneralFuturesofEnglishLexiconinPostmodernismCulture1.Introduction1.1AbriefintroductiontothepostmoderncultureCurrently,duetotheswarmingofglobalizationtrendandtheexpansionofmulti-culture,thepostmoderncultureiswidelyknownbymoreandmorepeopleinawiderfield.Nevertheless,intheprocessofapplication,postmoderncultureiseithermisunderstoodortoogeneralized.Notallpeoplecangrasptheauthenticmeaningofpostmodernculture.Someofthemjustfollowthetrend,notreallyunderstandingwhatpostmoderncultureimpliesandhowitaffectsus,ourthoughtpattern,ourinterpersonalrelationship,andourmoralvalues,etc.Someexplanationforpostmoderncultureisambiguousandconfusing.Thissituationcanbeattributedtotwofactsasfollowing.Ontheonehand,thepostmoderncultureitselfdoesnothaveafixedtheme.Itscasualexpression,paradoxicalviewpointandextensiveargumentsallresultinpeople’smisunderstandinginpostmodernculture（陶水平，1995）.Ontheotherhand,asitisacomparativelynewconcept,people’sunderstandinglevel,viewpointangleandsubjectivityandcasualnessinapplicationallcontributetotheinappropriateunderstandingofpostmodernculture(凯尔纳.贝斯特,1999).Consequently,neverwillwerevealitsinfluenceinotherfield,likelanguage,untilweauthenticallyunderstandtheessenceofpostmodernculture.Postmoderncultureisatermdescribinglarge-scalechangesinintellectualthought,culturalproduction,andglobalsocietiesarisinginthemiddle20thcentury.Postmodernistthoughthashadlargeimplicationinphilosophy,art,criticaltheory,literature,architecture,history,andculture.Thetermhasbeenstretchedovernumerousheateddebates,andmanywouldarguethatanysinglecohesivedefinitionisimpossible.Nevertheless,themajordefinitionsoftheterm,undoubtedly,arerelatedandabasicsummaryispossible.Postmodernistscholarstendtoemphasizetheculturalcontingencyorrelativityofdifferentformsofintellectualproduction,claimingthatthereisnowayforhumanbeingstocommunicateinalanguagecompletelyemptiedofmyth,metaphor,orculturalbias.Thuspostmodernistsportrayallcommunicationandanalysisasinherentlypoliticizedandcriticizethosewhoattempt“pure”,“objective”,or“disinterested”intellectualendeavors.Postmodernistartworksinvariousdisciplinestendtorecognizetheinherentlypoliticizednatureofcommunication,callingattentiontotheideologicalunderpinningoftheirownrepresentationthroughalotofrepresentationalplaysandirony.Postmodernistscholarshipandartworks,althoughoftenmeantforasmallaudience,arefrequentlyunderstoodasmerelyonereflectionofthelargecollectivecultureofpostmodernity.Scholarsarguethatthepostmodernera,orpostmodernity,ischaracterizedbyaculturallypluralisticandprofoundlyinterconnectedglobalsocietylackinganysingledominantcenterofpoliticalpower,communication,orintellectualproduction.Otherscholarsunderstandpostmodernismasaproductoflatecapitalism,arguingthattheeconomicandtechnologicalconditionsofouragehavegivenrisetoamediadominatedsocietyinwhichthereareonlyinterferentialrepresentationswithnorealoriginalreferent.Forthesescholarspostmodernismemphasizesthelackofanystableorobjectivereferentforcommunicationandisoftenaprofoundlynegativehistoricaldevelopment.1.2ResearchmotivesThispaperdiscussesthecommonfeaturesandexploresthecausesofwordformationformodernEnglishvocabulary.Asitisknown，theEnglishlanguagehasbecomeaworldlanguage,which,asthecarrierofculturesandcustomsofhumansociety,changeswithsociety.Vocabularyoflanguageisthemostsensitiveparttoreflecthumanactivitiesandthinkingpatterns.Englishenlargesitsvocabularybysuchmeansaswordborrowing,wordcombination,wordimitation,theshiftofmeaningandabbreviation.ManyauthorsoverseasorinAsiahavemaderesearchestoanalyzethegeneralfeaturesoftheEnglishlexicon.However,seldomdidtheyconsideraboutthepostmodernculture.Themotiveofthepaperistoarousepeople’sattentiontopostmodernculture.Andthispaperaimstoremindpeoplethatpostmodernismisaffectingpeople’sdailylife,includingEnglishlexicon,thefrequentlyusedlanguage.Postmodernism,thoughinvisible,castswiderandwiderinfluenceonmanyaspectsofourdailylifeinsuchaspectsasthoughts,language,moralsense,etc.Thispaperattemptstofindouthowpostmoderncultureaffectsthecurrentsocietysothatwecanbetteradapttothe21stcenturyandbetterourlife.2.Relationshipbetweenlanguageandculture2.1TheinfluenceofcultureonlanguageLanguageispartofculture.Forexample，ChineseispartofChineseculture.Thereisnoculturethathasnolanguageasitspart.Languageandculturearenotseparable.Therelationshipbetweenlanguageandcultureisnotjustthatbetweenapartandawhole.Itismuchmorecomplexthanthat.Languageisthecarrierandcontainerofculturebecausecultureisexpressedbylanguageandalsopassedonfromonegenerationtoanotherbywrittenlanguage.Earlyinancientapeera,humanbeingsdidnotknowmodernlanguage.Stilltheyusedgesturelanguageorsignsmadebystoneorstickstoexpresstheirthought,theirexperience.Foranindividual,customs,habits,andbehavioralpatternscanbedescribedandanalyzedinlanguage.Forsociety,valuesystem,socialinstitution,worldviews,belief,canalsobedescribedandsummarizedinlanguage.Butlanguageasthemediumofcommunicationisindispensableintheirproductionanduse.Withoutthecooperationbetweendesignersandengineers,moderncommunicationmediumsuchastelevision,computerandnewspaper,couldneverhavebeenproduced.NeithercouldIwritemypaperinthiscomputer.Withoutlanguage,evencooperationisahardthing.Sowecansay,languageisthemirrorofculture,whichstronglyinfluencesandshapeslanguage.Eskimotribes,whoarefamousforlivinginhousesmadebyice,commonlyhavemoredifferentexpressionstodistinguishamongdiversetypesofsnow:fallingsnow,snowontheground,fluffysnow,wetsnow,etc.Whytheycancreatemorewordsthanpeopleinotherpartsoftheworldtodescribesnow.Theansweristheyliveinaworldsurroundedbysnow.Eventheirhouseismadeofsolidsnow.Undoubtedly,itisnecessarilyimportantforthemtobeabletodistinguishamongandrefertodifferenttypesofsnow.Bycontrast,peoplelivingintropicalzone,suchasAfrica,seldomorneverhavethechancetoseesnowintheirlife.Sotheydonothavesomanyexpressionwaysforthesingleword-snow.Thereisnoneedforthem.Nevertheless,theyhavecamel,whichisanimportantpartoftheirdailylife,dealingwithmostofthetransportationworkforpeopleindesertarea.ItissaidthattherearemorethanfourhundredwordsforcamelinArabiccountrieswhilethereisonlyonewordforitinChineseorEnglish.Eskimosusedifferentwordstodistinguishdifferenttypesofsnow.Similarly,Arabicspeakingpeoplecreatedmanydifferentwordsofcameltoshowdifferenceincamelage.Thecaseisinanotherexample.InEnglish,wecallfather’sbrotherorothermanwhoisyoungerthanyourfather“Uncle”.BycontrastweChinesehavefourdifferentcounterpartsfortheword“Uncle”:“叔叔”,“伯伯”,“姨父”,“舅舅”.ThisisbecausefamilialrelationshipistraditionallyimportanttoChinesepeople.SoweChinesehavemorekinshiptermsforthesamerelativethanEnglishspeakingpeopleinChina.Perhapsweshouldnotgosofarastostatethatlanguageisentirelydeterminedbyculture.Eachexistinghasitsownreason.Soitiswiththeitem.Eachlanguageisasysteminitsownright.Somelanguagefeatures,tosomeextent,mayreflectthedevelopmentoflanguageasasystem.2.2InfluenceexertedbylanguageoncultureLanguagealsoexertsitsinfluenceonculture.Anexamplecanexemplifythemeaningofthisstatement.Weknowthateachlanguagecanbeusedtoexpresswhateveritsspeakerswanttoexpress.Forexample,bothChineseandEnglishhavetheirowntermstoexpresskinshiprelation.ButinChina,kinshiprelationcanbeexpressedmoreeasilyandaccuratelycomparedwithEnglishexpression.Inkinshiprelations,thewoman,whoisyourfatherormother’ssister,oryouruncle’swife,iscalled“Aunt”.TheEnglishterm“Aunt”hasthreecounterpartsinChinese:“阿姨”，“婶婶”，“舅妈”.“阿姨”isthewifeofyouruncle,whoistheyoungerbrotherofyourfather.InChina,youcanalsocallyourmother’ssister“阿姨”.Thewifeofyourfather’selderbrotheriscalled“婶婶”.“舅妈”isthewifeofyourmother’sbrother’swife.Really,theexpressionfor“Aunt”ismorecomplexinChinesethanthatinEnglish.ThisexpressionreflectsthefactthatthekinshiprelationismoreimportantinChinathanthatinotherEnglishspeakingcountries.Andalso,suchexpressionhelpstoreinforcetheconceptofkinshipbetweenrelatives.ForusChinese,eachtimewecallsomeone“婶婶”or“舅妈”,wecanfeelthedifferentkinshiprelations.Sothesekinshipitemshelptoreinforcetherelationbetweenfamilymembers.2.3ShapingeachotherGenerally,wecanstatethatlanguagedevelopsatthesamestepwithculture.Withoutculturetherewouldbenolanguage.Thesamegoestolanguage.Languageisthepremisefortheformationanddevelopmentofculture.Thedevelopmentofculture,inreturn,helpstoenrichthedevelopmentoflanguage.Thankstolanguage,humanbeingshavetheirownculture.Itislanguagethatsetspeopleapartfromanimals.Fromtheviewpointofbiology,primitivemanresemblesanimaltoalargeextent,butonlyhumanbeingscanspeaklanguage.Thatisbecauseonlymenhaveculture,suchasreligion,belief,morality,customs,whichstimulatestheappearanceoflanguage.Inaword,cultureandlanguageshapeandpromoteeachother.3.GeneralfeaturesoftheEnglishlexiconinpostmodernculture3.1MorebriefTodaytheEnglishlanguagehasbeenmoreconcisethanbeforepartlybecauseweliveinafast-pacedsociety.Wewanttograspsthemeaningoflanguageassoonaspossible.Sothemoreconcisethelanguageis,thequickeritwillbeforustounderstandthemeaning.Besides，wewishtosavetimeinwriting.So,weusetheshortform,forthemosttime,toreplacethelongwordsorexpressions.Forexample,weuse“AD”toreferto“advertisement”;“USA”for“theUnitedStates”;“TB”for“tuberculosis”;“GM”for“gymnastic”;“asap”for“assoonaspossible”(汪榕培,2000).Innewspaper,thelanguageshouldbeasconciseaspossibleastheplaceforeachwordislimitedandthecostforpublicationisexpensive.Besides,ifthewordsaretoolongandcomplicated,itwillbetime-consumingforreaderstoreadthenewspaperinshorttime,forexample,wheninbus.WiththepopularityofEnglish,ithasbeenappliedtomoreandmorefields.MoreandmorepeoplehavetounderstandEnglish,inthiscase,themorebriefthelexiconis,theeasieritisforthemtobetterhandlethislanguage.Currently,peoplethinkthatthemainpurposeoflearninglanguageistocommunicate.Soaslongasweunderstandeachother,whynotmakethelanguageeasier.Soitistheworldtrendtomakethelanguagemoreconcise(陈建生,2000).3.2NewmeaningsforoldwordsSince20stcentury,especiallythelate50years,moreandmorenewwordsandoldwordsareendowedwithnewmeanings,justastheEnglisholdproverbsays,clothesmaketheman,wordsmaketheculture”.Newmeaningscomeintobeingfromthefollowingways.First,thefluctuationinsocietyandrevolutioninpoliticsbothintroducenewmeanings.AfterWorldWarTwo,significantpoliticalthings,suchaswarhavesuccessivelytakenplace.Forexample,theoriginalmeaningof“dove”isakindofbirdwhichsymbolizes“peace”.Butnowitcanrefertopeoplewholoveworldpeace.“hawk”,theoriginalmeaningofwhichisaferociousbird,nowreferstopeoplewhoprefertodealwithpoliticalconflictionwithviolence.Second,newmeaningcomesfromeconomicdevelopment.Duetotheworldeconomicintegration,theinternationaltradehasbeenmorefrequent,whichbringsnewmeanings.Forinstance,“special”which,inthefirstplace,meanssomethingunusualnowreferstoon-salegoodsinsupermarket.InAmericansupermarket,theword“special”printedwithredcolorremindspeoplethatthegoodsareonaloweredprice.Third,thenewmeaningderivesfromthescientificadvancement.Forexample,“bird”nownotonlyreferstoakindofbirdbutalso“girl”inorallanguage.“setsail”originallymeansakindofsportsintheseabutnowitcanalsoexpandtothemeaningof“startdoingsomething”.Otherfactorslikenewsubject,newideaalldrivethegenerationofnewmeaningsforoldwords.3.3ForeignwordsMoreandmoreforeignwordsarecompiledintoEnglishdictionarypartlybecauseofimmigrantswhobringtheirlanguageandculturetogethertothecountrywheretheymovedin.Meanwhile,Westerncountriesingeneralareopenmindedandarewillingtoacceptnewthings,includingnewlanguageAmericanEnglishisatypicalcase(吴光亭，2006)Thereisacommonsuffix:-eriainmodernAmericanEnglish.ThissuffixactuallyoriginatedfromtheSpanishword“cafeteria”.WhenwalkingintheplaceassembledbySpanishimmigrantsinAmerica,youcanseenumerousbuffetstores,suchas“carniceria”,“tintoreria”,“abarroteria”,etc.ThesuffixfromSpanishwordnowhasbeenwidelyusedinEnglish.Inaddition,warsbetweencountriesalsobringforeignwordsintoEnglish.AgaintakeAmericaforexample.WhenAmericaintervenedwithMid-eastAffairs,assistedtomediatetheconflictionbetweenIsraelandPalestine,manyArabicwordshavebeenimportedintoEnglish,suchasAl-Jazeera,al-qaeda,jihad,hezbollah,etc.NowforeignwordsarepartofEnglishlexicon.Andwiththeintegrationofthewholeworld,moreforeignwordsfromAsia,Africa,willbeaddedtotheEnglishlexicontomakeitricher3.4CoinageTheworldismovingforward;thescienceisdeveloping;thecivilizationisalsoprogressing.Peoplewholiveinthiscircumstanceunquestionablyneedtoupdatetheirlanguagetoreflectthenewchangeoradvancementofthesociety.Inlanguagefactors,lexiconismostsensitivetonewthings.Onceanewobjectappears,thecounterpartlanguagewillbecorrespondentlycoined.Inrecentyears,anincreasingnumberofpeoplemakeuseofInternettocommitacrime.Somenewwordslike“cyberporn”,“cybercrime”,“cybercop”arecoined(陶水平，1995,(01))Newsciencestimulatesthecoinageofnewwords.21stcenturyhasseenanewtechnologynamed“Clone”.Thetechnologyisnew,andthewordexpressionofitisofcoursenewtoo.Today,wehave“computer”,”Internet”,etc.Alltheseinventionsarenewandthewordsforthemneedtobecoinedbylinguistsorotherpeopleinotherfield.4.Causesforthefeatures4.1Rapiddevelopmentinscienceandtechnology4.1.1ScientificdevelopmentInthelatterhalfofthe20thcentury,greatchangetookplaceinscience.Justtakenewsubjectsforexample.The20thcenturyhasseenmanynewsubjects,suchasbehaviorscience(行为科学),cybernetics(控制论),bionics(仿生学),sociolinguistics(社会语言学)，etc.Withthedevelopmentofnewscience,weneedtocreatenewitemstoexpressnewinventions,newdiscoveries,andnewtheories.Consequently,manynewitemshavebeencoined.Thewaytocreatenewwordsisdiverse.Somewordsarecreatedbycombiningpartoftwodifferentwordstogether.Forinstance,“sociolinguistics”iscombinedby“society”and“linguistics”.Somewordsareproducedbymakingsmallchangeinexistingwords,suchas,“movement”,whichisformedbyaddingsuffix“ment”after“move”.Forsomeotherwords,theirspellingisnotchanged,buttheyhavebeenendowedwithnewmeanings.Take“coin”forexample.Itsoriginalcommonmeaningis“硬币”，butnowithasanewmeaning“创造”，newchangebothinmeaningandspeech.The20thcenturyhasseenunprecedentedprogressinmanyfieldsespeciallyinspace,whichisunreachableandmysteriousinthepast.Inmyfather’stimeneverdidheimaginethathumanbeingscouldflytospace,tomoon,whichcouldonlybeachievedby“hanger”,animaginarylegendaryfigureinChinesefolklore.Neverthelessithasbeenafactthat,indeed,peopleareabletoflytothemoontoexplorewhetherornotthereisa“GuanghanGong”(广寒宫)inthemoon.Ofcoursethisisjustajoke.Astronautswenttothemoontoexplorewhatreallythemoonisandtodoexperimentsthere.Alltheseexplorationsstimulatethecreationofnewwords,suchasspace-age(太空时代)，space-station(太空站)，satellite(卫星),etc.Thesewordshavealreadybeenusedbyordinarypeople,notjustscientists,indailylife.Additionally,moreterminologyaboutmoonhasbeenmadewiththedevelopmentofmoonexplorationproject.Meantime,otherscientistsareexcavatingmysteriesintheearth,wherewehumanbeingsareliving.Thankstotheirhardwork,numerousnewfindingsbothinsubstanceandtheoryhavebeenknown,togetherwithnewitemstoexpressthesenewphenomena.Youmaybeeverheard“quasars(类星体)”,“plusars(脉冲星)”,“neutronstars(中子星)”andthemysterious“blackhole(黑洞)”.Newtheories,suchas“bigbangtheory(宇宙大爆炸理论)”and“steadystatetheory(恒稳态状态理论)”providetwodifferentexplanationsforcosmogenicorigin.4.1.2AdvancementintechniqueExceptforscientificdevelopment,advancementintechnologyhasalsoexertedstimulantonnewwordscreation.Soonerorlater,thedevelopmentinscientifictheorywillbereflectedorvisualizedinpractice.Thankstotheunremittingeffortsofmanyinventors,wepresentlyhavethehonortoseenewtechnicalmachines,suchaslasercomp(电脑激光照排),fax(传真),camcorder(手提摄像机),flatscreentelevision(液晶显示超薄电视机),transistorradio(半导体收音机),cassetterecorder(盒式录音机),washingmachine(洗衣机),egg-timer(煮鸡蛋计时器),immersionheater(浸没式加热器),hovercraft(气垫船),etc.Allthesemachinescannotbeseen,evencannotbeimaginedhowtheylike,severaldecadesago.Duetotheemergenceofelectronicbook,thepapermaterialsprintedonpaperweremockedas“deadtreeedition(死树版)”.Newinventioncomesintobeing,sonewwordsareneededtonameit.4.2Changeineconomyandpolitics4.2.1EconomicchangeSinceWorldWarTwo,thewholeworldhasseenhugechangeinsociety,economicsituation,andpolitics,especiallyinpolitics.Since1972whenRichardNixonwasrunningforpresident,severalcommitteemembersfromtheRepublicanPartywhowerestrivingforpresident’sre-electionsneakedintoWatergateofWashington,theheadquarterofDemocraticNationalCommitteeandendedupbeingarrested.Thisscandalresultedintheresignofpresident,whowasunluckytobethefirstpresidenttoquitinAmericanhistory.SincethenWatergatehasbeenafamouswordwhichmeans“apoliticalscandalreminiscentoftheWatergateincident”.Latertheitemwasgivennewmeaning:todealwithinacovertorcriminalmanner.Even“gate”itselfhasthemeaningof“similartothescandalofWatergate”.Thecounterpartof“gate”isevenwidelyknowninChina.Thenewmeaningofgatehasbeenputintonewcompileddictionary,suchasBriefing-gate,Contragate,copygate,Debategate,etc.Eachwordcombinedwith“gate”hasitsuniquestoryasabackground.Timepassedby,butpeoplestillrememberthestorybehindthem.4.2.2PoliticalinfluenceThechangeinsocietygivesexpressiontonewwords.Forexample,inAmerica,youngpeopleindifferentgenerationsweremarkedbydifferentlabels.Inthe1960s,theyweremarkedas“hippies”whorejecttheexistingvaluesystemandcustoms.Insteadtheylookedforwardtoandstrivedfornaturalanddirectrelationshipininterpersonalcommunication.Justdowhatyouwantanddonotberestrainedbyoldvalues.Mostofthehippiesworebizarreclothesandstrangeaccessories.Inthe1970s,wehear“yuppies”whoarethemembersofYouthInternationalparty.Theseyuppieswerepoliticallyradical,againstmainstreamculture.Similartohippies,theyalsotookdrug.Additionally,“yippies”performed“politicalplay”tomockandcriticizepoliticalauthorityandthevaluesofMiddleClassin1970s.The1980ssaw“yuppies”whichisshortforyoungurbanprofessional.Oppositeto“hippies”and“yippies”,“yuppies”agreewiththeMiddleClass,highlyappraisingtheirlifestyle,whichadvocatesluxuryconsumptionpatterns.These“yuppies”evencomplywithcapitalistsysteminsteadofproposingtheirownsocietysystem.AfterWorldWarOne,theseyoungpeoplewhofeltdepressedaboutthesocietyandtheirnewlifeafterwarwerelabeledas“lostgeneration”.ThefamousAmericanwriterHemingwayevenwroteabooknamed“lostgeneration”toreflectthelifesituationandvaluesofthisgeneration.AfterWorldWarTwo,anothernewgeneration“thebeatgeneration”turnedup.Theseyoungpeoplewhoexperiencedorwitnessedthecrueltyofwarfeltunsatisfiedaboutthesociety,includingtheexistingtraditionalvalues.The1940ssaw“theWorldWarTwogeneration”.In1950s,youngpeopleweremockedas“thesilentgeneration”.During1947and1961,Americansocietysawababyboom.Peoplewhowereborninthatperiodwerecalled“babyboomers”who,later,turnedintothe“Vietnamgeneration”andthe“megeneration”.In1990s,anothernewgeneration“thegenerationX”grewup.“Cynical,lazy.ThesearesomeoftheadjectivesthatareoftenusedtodescribeAmericansintheirtwenties,anagegroupdubbedgenerationX”(USNews&Wor