8/10/2019 Number 7 and 8 (Slang)

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7. How does languagespecifically slangreflect culture?

Language reflect the multiplicity of cultures and changes over time. Certain words or

phrases (jargons and slangs) are used in one culture/group/place and not in others, andonly the culture(s) that use(s) those words will be able to understand the implied meaning

in a conversation within that culture. Jargons are associated with fields of study, while

slangs are associated with social groups. Within a culture, new slangs that have the samedefinition as the existing slangs can arise to replace or coexist with them when theexisting slangs have lost their notability of meaning in that culture, as seen in the

relationship between take a hike(older slang) and swerve(newer slang). Many

slangs, such as chill, arises in one culture then became widely used among manycultures. In recent trend, new slangs usually arise among youth culture and Internet

culture. In youth culture, children and adolescents tend to associate themselves with other

people their own age and develop shared experiences, thus forming a common language

like slang. With technological progress such as the Internet, language reflects the thingsInternet allows: online community. Internet slangs such as LOL (laughing out loud),

ASAP (as soon as possible), emoticons (such as :))pwn (meaning to dominate

someone)reflects the need for fast communication.

8. What roles does language play in shaping culture or creating subgroups within

cultures?Language allows people from a certain culture/group to associate their members withtheir culture or distinguish other people not within their culture. Words that allow this

type of action are said to be "indexical":

1st order indexicality (pragmatic meaning understood immediately fromutterance): "Tu" (informal) and "Vous" (formal) in French for "you"

2nd order indexicality (possible, stereotyped characteristics can be drawn from

the way of speaking): Language accent, dialect, and sociolect

Higher order indexicality (meaningful only to members of certain groups):Jargon, Slang

Language such as profanity allows people to express their emotion (especially anger) just

by writing down a word in online forums, where people do not actually see each othersfacial expression. Language can also play a role in shaping a subculture (especially

naming). The Russian counterculturePadonki is named after an intentional misspelling of

the Russian word podonok, which means scoundrel. This intentional misspelling is ametaphor for their purpose to question and mock mainstream culture.

Work cited:Silverstein, Michael. "Indexical order and the dialectics of sociolinguistic life". Elsevier

Ltd., 2003.