Slang

BA Dissertation: 'What the Fuck?'

by Elizabeth Marsden

Unpublished dissertation submitted for completion of a Bachelors Degree with Honours in English Language. Supervised by Dr. Liz Holt and Dr. Jim O'Driscoll.

This paper provides an analysis of swearing in casual conversation using both a pragmatic and a conversation analytic... more This paper provides an analysis of swearing in casual conversation using both a pragmatic and a conversation analytic methodology using Gail Jefferson's 'Laughter in Interaction' study as a template. This dissertation helps to add to the growing body of research stating that swearing is not simply due to outbursts of emotion, but is a controlled phenomena, governed by observable rules.

Polskie dunder

by Marek Stachowski

(= Polish dunder 'thunder').
Summary:
The Polish word dunder (earlier also: donder) is only used as a part of the expression niech cię/go/ją dunder świśnie! ‘damn you!, to hell with you/him/her!’, lit. ‘let a thunder strike you/him/her’ (in somewhat older Polish, a phrase like u dondra ‘damn!, (what) the devil!, (what) the hell!’, too, is attested). The only etymology of this word one can find today is that given by A. Brückner in his etymological dictionary (1927): < Germ. Donner ‘thunder’. However, Brückner was satisfied with a blank formulation “nd in lieu of nn” which does not actually explain reasons and the mechanism of change. The aim of this article is to show that it was not a High German word but, instead, the Low German or/and Dutch word donder ~ dunder ‘thunder’ that was borrowed into Polish and used in the expressions mentioned above.

Situating language rights: English and Swahili in Tanzania revisited1

by Jan Blommaert

Recent advances in the documentation of Greek slang: The case of www.slang.gr.

by George J. Xydopoulos

Co-authored with A. Iordanidou and A. Efthymiou.

In Hatzopoulou, K., A. Ioannidou & S. Yoon Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Greek Linguistics (ICGL 9, Chicago, IL, USA, 29 – 31 October 2009, ISSN 2225-899X), 112-123.

Patterns of Age-Based Linguistic Variation In American English.

by Federica Barbieri

Published in Journal of Sociolinguistics, 12(1), pp. 58-88.

In prior sociolinguistic research, speaker age has been considered the principal correlate of language change, but it... more In prior sociolinguistic research, speaker age has been considered the principal correlate of language change, but it ‘has not yet been explicitly studied as a sociolinguistic variable’ (Eckert 1997: 167). Consequently, little is knows about how language varies across the life span. The present study employs key word analysis on a large corpus of casual conversation in American English to explore age-based linguistic variation in spontaneous conversation. Analyses of the key words point to two major patterns of age-based lexico-grammatical variation: use of slang, and use of stance and involvement markers. Younger speakers’ talk is characterized by an unusually frequent use of slang and swear words, and by a marked use of features indexing speaker’s stance and emotional involvement, including intensifiers, stance adverbs, discourse markers, personal pronouns, and attitudinal adjectives; older speakers favor modals. These patterns are suggestive of functional differences in the discourse of youth and adults. It is argued that the expression of personal stance is more explicit and plays a key role in younger speakers’ discourse.

The Black Fool's Colorful Language: Translating the Fool's Voice into Greek

by Nikoleta Dimitriou

This is my MA dissertation, an exploration of the issues pertaining to translating the narrator's voice in Christopher Moore's "Fool" into Greek, accompanied by three chapters of Greek translation of the novel.

My main focus is attempting to render into Greek the stylistic elements of the narrative voice, as well as the character's voice, in such a way that the target text reader's experience can approximate the source text reader's experience. After a general consideration of register as part of a character's or a narrator's voice, and this one's in particular, I explore the issue of translating general slang, and profanity and playfulness as stylistic elements frequently stemming from slang.