英语论文网

for new things and feel bored with the old daily language, and can be satisfied by slang. They are glad to challenge old customs and old language form, so they create a lot of slang words, which replenish the vacancy of the normal English. For example, they use ‘sawbones, mouthpiece, foxtrot’ in place of ‘doctors, lawyer, dance’; ‘the cat’s pajamas’ instead of ‘fantastic’ etc. Another hand, they often use old words to express new meaning. Take the simple word ‘cool’ as an example, it originally means ‘slightly cold, pleasantly cold’, but now more people use the word to describe somebody who is extraordinary. In the end, the individuality and national spirit of Americans give rise to slang word. E． New Things and New Concepts At last, the emergence of new things and concepts give a huge impetus to the expanding of slang. New objects, ideas require new words to describe them. With the development of media, a lot of slang words are created and widely spread. Such as ‘sitcom’(situation comedy), ‘phone-in’(a radio or television broadcast during which telephoned questions or opinions from the public are heard), ‘chat show’(talk show), ‘bomb’(failure)etc. we can also take the modern science and technology as an example, ‘bird’(the satellite of dispatch), ‘chip head’(enthusiast of computer). Similarly, creation of slang occurs in other fields, such as sports, campus and so on. So the development of all aspects of society gives tremendous amount birth to the slang. Finally, American slang is quickly appearing and expanding under the above-mentioned backgrounds. The existence of language is restricted by cultural context of society and sentiment of the speaker. Ⅲ．The Function of Slang A．Refraction 1．Fact 1.1. Refracting the Discrepancy of Identity The appreciation rate of slang could be the basis that measures the man and his social status. Therefore we could judge the speaker’s identity throughout his oral words. The same language mode can emphasize the cultural attitude of a man or a group. Various society and profession has its own slang, so the slang can hint the career and status of the speaker. If a person usually uses such words ‘Gabridl, metal, disco’, which indicates the speaker may be the member of jazz band or addict to the jazz. The slang of youth and college students always show a kind of strange humor. When you meet a person who high-frequently use ‘cut class, apple-polishing, bears (male teacher), Mickey mouse (the courses which easy to learn)’, you can assure that he is a college student. In the mind of a speaker, slang is neither vulgar nor low, but bringing a prestige to them. So whether to use slang or use which kind of slang always expresses their sense of cultural value in the daily life. People always copy the action and language form of their idols. Such as the fans of some singer often use words which is commonly used by the singer, so you can guess who his idol is. Slang has become the mark and symbol of the station, view on life, sentimental tendency of some Americans. 1.2. Refracting the Trend of Oral English The slang is usually used in our oral English. We could know the trend of oral English throughout learning slang. The Standard English is easy to absorb multi-syllable words, but slang is partial to single syllable words. It is not only easy to speak but also vigorous. On the other hand, the birth-rate and death-rate of slang words are very high. Some of them was eliminated by the elapse of the ti