I wonder if they intentionally put in the translation of "Sik - cool" in the sidebar to emphasise how ridiculous the opening contention of this article is. Or is "cool" no longer slang, daddy-o?
I do find it amusing that both moist AND dry can mean the same thing. "I'm ghost" is an awesome bit of slang though. I like that one very much.
Something funny that I've started seeing a bunch of people use with the recent release of Modern Warfare 2 is "Oscar Mike" because of its use within the game for "On Mission" or "On the Move".
"Appropriacy simply means using the right variety of language for the right context"
And what is wrong with the term "appropriate usage," which is much better attested in dictionaries, for that?
The article is somewhat confused, because it's not clear whether the concern is really teenagers using teen-specific slang, which they always do as part of participating in youth culture, or NOT using standard adult English. Maybe today's teens in today's schools in Britain don't read much classic literature and aren't exposed to worldwide adult usage of English. That would be an argument for improving the quality of the school lessons. But improving the school lessons, while producing graduates who can communicate with speakers of English of all ages from many places, might not reduce use of teen slang for teen-to-teen communication.
The basic question of teaching students how to speak and write in appropriate registers has been an essential project of schooling for a very long time. Everything else in here is fluff or misinformation. The author of this article clearly had a paucity of material at his disposal, because he almost immediately flies wildly off the rails and just starts paragraphs about any form of non-standard language he can find. Slang, argot, jargon, foreign loanwords, accents, dialects: all of these disparate topics she lumps under the umbrella of 'slang', and solicits 'experts' to just provide some sound bite, any sound bite, about any of the above, so she can fill out space.
The BBC, sadly, is consistently wretched when it comes to reporting about language.
I have to say, though, I do appreciate the subcurrent of racist fearmongering that she could slip in there. Even though the article is allegedly about the dangers of slang and its overuse, she manages to wend around to let us know that our beloved English Cockney (a non-standard variety, of course) is itself under threat by some barbarous cocktail of foreign influences. Oh, and hoodies!
So when this slang-using generation grows up and joins the real world they will become the real world, and slang will become acceptable there and everyone will understand it. I fail to see the problem.
That might work if generations were discrete, but they're not. I've recently tried to hire a programmer, and while some of the candidates were excellent programmers, none could stand up and give any kind of explanation to a customer of anything. My customers are conservative (to say the least!) and none of the candidates could change their language style to match the listener.
In many industries getting a job early and having work experience is very important, and your employers and colleagues will all be older. Being able to communicate effectively outside your peer group is critical for many jobs. Those that have the skill will benefit. Those that don't could easily get left behind.
Inability to communicate effectively outside your peer group doesn't matter much if you just program and don't try to talk to VCs, bankers, customers or potential mentors.
There is a difference between slang and jargon. Jargon is specific to the domain of discourse, and uses words that are sometimes neologisms and sometimes ordinary words given particular technical meanings, the better to communicate quickly and accurately.
Slang is to use words that create "tribes" or sub-cultures, often to create bonds and connections with your peers, and often do not involve significantly new or specific ideas.
In each case, using your own dialect (slang or jargon) with your peers is one thing, but the ability to drop to a possibly less precise, possibly less efficient, but generally more widely understood common language is important.
That's what the article is about - the apparent inability of the target group (in this case teenagers) to use language appropriate to their listener.
Most half-way competent children of my generation used completely different language at school as compared with home. That's to be expected. What concerns me is the mono-linguality that seems to be emerging.
Yes, it is what it is, and probably nothing can be done about it, and maybe it's not a problem. But recognising that it's happening is at least linguistically interesting.
A recent study claimed that (at least in written text) youngsters were actually better than previous generations at writing for a particular audience and switching modes appropriately (kairos).
I find it amusing, but unsurprising, that something that gets people all upset (txt messaging and email "slang") is actually shown to enhance kids skills. I really wouldn't be surprised to hear the same about spoken slang.
I find it awfully hard to speak without slang, too. The bad news is that most of my slang is at least twenty years old, so teenagers might tend to look at me funny, the way I used to look at middle-aged people when I was a teenager.
The good news is that most of my slang is at least twenty years old, so it's a cherished and time-honored part of the traditional English language and is in all the dictionaries.
As you get older it becomes easier to notice how rapidly one can start an ancient tradition. It only takes a couple of decades. Your kids won't necessarily know the difference between venerable wisdom and some nonsense you invented back in college.
There isn't a problem with slang, until you work with those who do not speak English as their primary language. A lot of aid workers I've spoken to actually practice speaking without slang, as the life/death things they need to explain to others needs to be understood.
I talk in slang like crazy, but I find it really easy to switch into different speaking modes. I think the issue could be that some kids aren't having enough experiences where they need to switch modes.
I love the side bar with the slang terms defined. It reminded me of an article in the NYT in 1992 about grunge slang in Seattle... which was made up on the spot during an interview:
Squadron Leader Top-hole. Bally Jerry, pranged his kite right in the how's your father. Hairy blighter, dicky-birdied, feathered back on his Sammy, took a waspy, flipped over on his Betty Harper's and caught his can in the Bertie.
Bovril Er, I'm afraid I don't quite follow you, Squadron Leader.
Squadron Leader It's perfectly ordinary banter, Squiffy. Bally Jerry...pranged his kite right in the how's yer father...hairy blighter, dicky-birdied, feathered back on his Sammy, took a waspy, flipped over on his Betty Harper's and caught his can in the Bertie.
Bovril No, I'm just not understanding banter at all well today. Give us it slower.
Squadron Leader Banter's not the same if you say it slower, Squiffy.
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