AnAnalysisofCharacteristicsofAmericanSlang美國俚語的特征分析

1、邯鄲學(xué)院外國語學(xué)院School of Foreign Languages of Handan College論文題目：美國俚語的特征分析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.美國口語慣用例句集粹M.北京：北京大學(xué)出版社，1996“空中英語”編委會.美國俚語精選M.北京：機械工業(yè)出版社，2003牛津高階英漢雙解詞典Z.美國：牛津大學(xué)出版社，2002汪福祥.英語口語精學(xué)本J.外文出版社2004王爵鸞.英語俚語及其風(fēng)格特征J.外語學(xué)刊，1999（ 1）12英語俚語背景DINK 丁克（家庭）DINK是（一對夫妻）Dual In come, No Kids（雙份收入，沒有孩子）的首字母縮合詞?；檠缟?（wedding reception）賓客（guests）常按習(xí)俗 customs祝新娘bri

31、de新郎groom 早生貴子、添丁 （have a baby bornsintosthe family）。而今DINK 之風(fēng)日盛，對于那些多（D）喝了些墨水（INK）的” DINK lovers 來說，It is certain that they can afford to rear （養(yǎng)育）a kid.可就是沒空 However, they cant make time.他們做 丁克”，要把 丁克了，夠絕！can tee n n.食堂那學(xué)校的can teen真夠嗆，菜（dishes）不夠，就拿美國罐頭（AmE: can）湊，專糊弄teen們 （teen = teenager年齡在13至U

32、19歲的青少年）。bargain n.便宜貨v.談條件“ Hey,buddy!（嘿，老兄）Do you often go to the pub （常去泡吧嗎）？ Let me tell you a top secret （絕密）.”Whats it?噓）! Watih（have ears.隔墻有耳。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（收獲）a bargain（便宜 貨）.”Youre telling me還輪得到你來告訴我？我早知道了！ ）Its a public

33、secret.（眾人皆知的 秘密）”girl-kiss-me-quick n.額發(fā)；劉海= fringe ; bang“ Com mon talk第一期曾登照片：一個女孩在蹦極（bu ngee）時說：Girl,Kiss me quick, Imdying.快吻我，我要死了！另一層意思是：劉海，我就要死了，還不回原位呆著，讓我在最 后時刻保有漂亮的發(fā)型（hairdo）。說到發(fā)型（hairstlye）,美國人最在乎不過了 ，對他們來說，最嚴 重的個人危機 personal crisis是a bad hair day頭發(fā)糟糕的一天”。egret n.白鷺（廈門市鳥 City Bird of Xiam

34、en）Hi, I regret to say I cant come to your hen party （ 婦女會）.You know, bird watching is my hobby. Last time I wan ted to take some photos of the egret. To my regret （rigret遺憾）,I did ntsee one. Now rm on my way to Xiamen Haicang Safari Park （廈門海滄野生動物園 ）.Ah ?。╮）,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）嗎？工作壓力大 stressful嗎？ Take it easy!保持輕松 愉快的心情，悠著點兒！ 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!今天早上凱思竟穿著和我夢里見到的一樣的衣服進來。B: Thats spooky!真玄！zit青春痘A:Stop popp ing your zits. Yor know youre only making it worse.別再擠你的青春痘了，這只會讓它

36、更糟。B: But I look so stupid with this big zit on my no se.但它就長在鼻子上，我顯得很傻。tell it like it is 實話實說I always tell it like it is but, unfoe it easy保持輕松愉快的心情，悠著點兒！ 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!今天早上凱思竟穿著和我夢里見到的一樣的衣服進來。B: Thats sp

37、ooky!真玄！zit青春痘A:Stop popp ing your zits. Yor know youre only making it worse.別再擠你的青春痘了，這只會讓它更糟。B: But I look so stupid with this big zit on my no se.但它就長在鼻子上，我顯得很傻。tell it like it is 實話實說I always tell it like it is but, unfortun ately, sometimes the truth hurts.我一向?qū)嵲拰嵳f，只是有時候?qū)嵲挄?。babe美女；帥哥A good thi

38、ng is about livi ng by the pool is you get to see all the babes.住在泳池邊的好處之一是可以看美女。jerk差勁，沒品的人A: Can you believe that? David sold the bike that be borrowed from me to somebody else.你相信嗎？大衛(wèi)竟把向我借的自行車賣人啦。B: Really? What a jerk!是嗎？真差勁！cheapskate 小氣鬼A : Larry wants me to buy him a new CD simply because I a

39、ccidentally scratched the back of his CD case.拉瑞要我買個新 CD還他，只不過我不小心把他的CD盒背面刮了一下。B: rm not surprised. Hes known as a cheapskate.我一點也不驚訝，他是有名的小氣鬼。home free大功告成I just need two more days of good work and then ni be home free ！再好好工作兩天我就大功告成了。old老；cold冷；scold罵，責(zé)備人人一旦old 了，就怕cold，天一 cold， old man就開始scold。（此

40、條為讀者 aven創(chuàng)作）oar船槳；boar野豬；board木板，甲板，上船（飛機等）;boa蟒蛇大路road寬broad你不走，想挨揍？看我用 oar把你們這群boar通通趕上board甲板！ 嘿嘿，董事會a board of directors說了，boar在國外可以賣好價錢，等你們aboard上船了，到 abroad 國外了，我也可以 live abroad 了。” Freeze! Ha nds u不許動，舉起手來！ you re under arrest!你被捕了。中華人民共和國海關(guān)緝私隊等候多時了！”報告隊長，在board上發(fā)現(xiàn)boa和boar，人證物證俱在，他們罪責(zé)難逃！”can

41、didate 候選人= can+ did + ate= can did + ate;can did n.坦白；adj.偷拍的（照片）別看我廉頗老矣，我不僅過去是 did現(xiàn)在也can能ate吃，這次出征選大將軍，我一定 是can didate! ”可我聽說你一飯三屎?。〕稣鞑皇莾簯?，你要be can did坦白，到底還能不能ate? ”趙襄王說著，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。古羅馬官職選舉，為表示自身清白必須白衣步行。Mass n.彌撒，堆、塊；adj.大量的Mass就是 Millions of Ants Sing So

42、ngs.不計其數(shù)的螞蟻唱圣歌。據(jù)圣經(jīng) Holy Bible說,人 是上帝用泥造出來的man was formed of dust by the Lord，人在造物主面前如 ant樣渺小。螞蟻是如此之多，于是mass又有了另一層含義，大眾、大量的。Mass media大眾媒介mistletoe槲寄生;tile瓦;toe腳趾傳說冬青holly和槲寄生mistletoe可以辟邪，所以圣誕節(jié)，許多家庭在室內(nèi)門框或天花 板掛一束槲寄生。嘿，這可樂壞了那些愛在心里口難開”的男子，西方習(xí)俗custom，如果一個女青年偶爾occasionally經(jīng)過或站在槲寄生 mistletoe下面，旁邊的男青年就可以走上

43、前親 吻她（kiss under the mistletoe）。嘿，兄弟，勇敢點，要愛，就大聲說“I miss you, miss your tileand toes想你，想你屋上的瓦和你美麗的腳趾。我I愛死s你了！ （mis-tle-toe） ”window 窗戶； widow 寡婦； widower 鰥夫知道嗎，最早的廣告語slogan居然與widow和window有關(guān)哩！相傳三百多年前，英國一個widow貼出一個租房廣告：有一套間出租，推開window您就擁有了泰唔士河最美的風(fēng)景!Wow! A Room with a view !說起 widow,很多女士就來氣：那個FIFA組織什么 W

44、orld Cup,害得姐妹們每四年就得當(dāng)一個月的足球寡婦football widow，真恨不得變成黑寡婦blackwidow把你們這些官員吃了。merry愉快的；marry娶嫁；price價格；prize獎勵我哥們的老婆是雙胞胎twin sisters，朋友們常常打趣他：兩姐妹一個模子as like as twopeas,可別認錯老婆了。其實英語單詞里也有雙胞胎，你也別認錯哦。前天，收到老同學(xué)的圣誕賀卡，這位仁兄倒好，把merry寫成marry , Marry Christmas難道我能娶走圣誕不成！上周三，看一個應(yīng)聘者 can didate的簡歷resume,嘿！她居然曾經(jīng)獲得三次the f

45、irst price,又不是拍賣，哪來好價格，原來，她把prize誤為price 了。mess混亂；message信息；mass 彌撒；massage按摩惟女子與小人難養(yǎng)也！” what a mess只要伊（E）在，世界就一團混亂 mess。害得man們只好上教堂做 mass希望遠離是非。一個小時下來，體力透支，馬殺雞massage輕松一下，碰巧又被哪個伊（E）看見了，惟恐天下不 mess, 下子當(dāng)成桃色 message傳開了去，咳！pawn小卒；lawn草坪；yawn打哈欠三者驚人地相似。士兵小卒pawn個個爭先跑到草坪lawn上，打哈欠yawn，伸懶腰，一副疲憊不堪的樣子，pawn在law

46、n上yawn。Dutch荷蘭的，荷蘭語的英國曾號稱 日不落帝國empire on which sun never sets ,由于其霸權(quán)多依靠海上軍事力 量，所以特別痛恨其海上發(fā)展的勁敵Dutch荷蘭。為了泄憤，與Dutch相關(guān)的短語大多帶著貶義，女口 Dutch courage酒后之勇；Dutch treat自己付錢的聚餐；in Dutch失寵。正式場合中, 荷蘭多用 Netherla nds。通常又作 Holla nd 。John Bull約翰牛（英國人綽號）；Uncle Sam山姆大叔18世紀，Arbuthnot作諷刺詩，他的主角John Bull :渾身紅臉，戴著禮帽，穿著靴子的農(nóng)人模樣的男子。后成為典型的英國人的綽號nick name。美國人也給自己取了綽號吉祥人Uncle Sam :