If you’re learning about attitudes to slang for English Language GCSE, here are some interesting examples of recent slang, from 2013 and 2014. Get a slang transcript here.
How is slang invented?
- words are borrowed from other languages, like ’emoji’ from Japanese.
- new words are created from bits of other words, like ‘wackadoodle’, from ‘wacky’ and ‘cockadoodle’
- nouns become verbs, as in ‘to google’, ‘to friend’, as in ‘I’ll friend you on Facebook’, or ‘message me’ from the noun ‘a message’
- abbreviations become words, as in LOL (laugh out loud)
- two words are squashed together (elision), as in ‘innit’ from ‘isn’t it’
- words are shortened, as in ‘diss’ (for ‘to disrespect’), ‘wellies’ from ‘Wellington boots’
- adding a new prefix or suffix to an existing word, as in ‘Hipster’, ’empowering’ (from ‘power’), ‘demotivated’.
- new inventions need new names, e.g. ‘Bitcoin’, ‘selfie’
- metaphors, e.g. ‘gutted’ (not literally having your guts ripped out, but feeling as if you did); ‘knackered’ (not literally being an old worn out horse sent to be killed, but feeling like one).
Examples of Slang now Widely Accepted
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emoticon vs emoji (noun) portmanteau ‘emotion’ ‘icon’ vs Japanese e (picture) moji (character) also pictogram, ideogram, smileys. The pictorial versions were first used in 1999.
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to friend someone. This is a noun to a verb, as in Shakespeare: mud > muddied
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2013 dappy (adj) – silly, disorganized, or lacking concentration
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2013 FOMO (abbrev) fear of missing out, YOLO you only live once, LOL laugh out loud > from text
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2013 selfie (noun)- self portrait photo
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2013 bitcoin (noun) – a unit of digital currency, also the generic term for this digital currency
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to google (verb from trade name Google), as in to hoover (v) from Hoover (brand)
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to message (verb from noun ‘message’)
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to tweet (verb from Twitter)
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to post (verb, new meaning: post online)
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2014 demotivated (adj. prefix de- )
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2014 empowering (abstract noun from verb empower, em- power (noun))
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2014 sciency (adj from noun ‘science’)
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2014 wackadoodle (noun and adj) – a crazy but fun person
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Hipster
Less Accepted Slang
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innit, dunno
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like – as a filler
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sick – good
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epic – very good
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cool – okay, that’s good – back-channelling
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y’know – as a filler or as back-channelling
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bro (n) – elision, synthetic personalization
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blood (n) – good friend
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man (n) – synthetic personalization
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diss (v) – elision for ‘disrespect’
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bomb (v) – the film bombed, also bomb (n) that is the bomb
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knackered (adj.) – tired out, from knacker – place old horses are sent to be killed
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gutted (adj.) – very upset, cf. having your guts ripped out
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khazi (noun) – toilet, from Zulu or Swahili
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kip (noun) – a short sleep
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naff (adj.) – uncool
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peanuts (noun) – cheap, low price, e.g. ‘That job paid peanuts’ – from the phrase ‘if you pay peanuts you get monkeys’
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wellies (noun) – wellington boots
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mac (noun) – raincoat, abbrev. from the brand ‘Mackintosh’