Slang
Early one morning as I embarked on an adventure down Lane’s Lane to the Sheehy Student Center, I seemed to notice things I never really paid much attention to. Looking desperately for a topic for my next paper, I tried to notice things in my everyday life that I could possibly write about. As I walked into the bookstore, the person standing behind the ACE desk asked me if I wanted to sign up for an activity. I politely declined, noting that if I had stopped for one more thing after this I would be late to class. As I turned my back to walk into the store, he said to me: “Fine. Dis a brotha like dat.” That was when it hit me. Slang is such a major part of our daily lives, but yet, is so common that no one really notices it anymore. Wherever you walk nowadays, popular culture has shaped our dialect, whether it be from as early as elementary school age children, to full grown adults. To many people, slang is just an easier way to communicate with people. People feel more comfortable using slang than the formal language it is based on. In fact, every generation seemingly has its’ own slang dialect. In the 1950’s and 1960’s, rock and roll music was the big fad. Teenagers were becoming more rebellious, and the English l . . .
To get someone’s attention, people will say “yo” instead of hi. According to Maslow, when people develop an identity, it makes them different in their own way. People develop the self esteem they need from being accepted in their own social groups. The 1980’s brought back the rock and roll culture, only with a little more of a rebellious attitude with it. and the Sunshine Band, and The Commodores were leaving their marks at Radio City Music Hall, slang changed yet again to fit the times and popular culture. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were “gnarly,” roller skating was “rad,” and people would come back from a night out with the “dudes,” either having a “crappy” or a “phat” time. While music groups such as the Bee-Gee’s, K. We just need to stop viewing the glass as half empty, and view it as half full. MTV helped highlight groups such as Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, U2, Van Halen and the Simple Minds as the “cool” things to listen to. Words are often now shortened and played with in may ways. From 50’s slang to the “Ebonics” of today, it has also made many changes, and turned over many new leaves. Using slang language has always been the “cool” thing to do. In developing a somewhat different dialect, that identity that Maslow preaches is helped along its development. Slang is one thing that could help a person develop his/her own identity. Television shows such as Different Strokes, The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Charles In Charge, and Who’s the Boss warped the minds of Americans every night.
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