Linguistic Analysis: Slang as a Phenomenon in the Aspect of
Perception of Modern Society
Munisa Aminova
1
1
University of Tashkent for Applied Sciences, Gavhar Str. 1, Tashkent 100149, Uzbekistan
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10439584
Keywords:
linguistic analysis, modern society, slang, perception, linguacultural, literary language, colloquial speech.
Abstract:
The purpose of writing this article is linguistic analysis in the aspect of linguacultural of modern society and
the influence of slang. The term “slang” usually refers to those linguistic expressions that do not coincide with
the literary language. The study of colloquial speech, including slang, is necessary, since this form is the only
true language and the norm for assessing other forms of speech.
INTRODUCTION
The term “slang” appeared in Russian lexicology
relatively recently. Unlike jargon, it is not recorded
either in Dahl’s Dictionary of the Living Great
Russian Language or in the Brockhaus and Efron
Encyclopedia. The penetration of this word into
linguistic and cultural studies came about through the
study of English-speaking cultures. Initially, slang
related exclusively to foreign language reality, but
later the scope of the word expanded [1].
Ten to twenty years is an insignificant period for
the development of a language, but there are periods
in history when the rate of linguistic change increases
significantly. Thus, the state of linguistics in the
seventies and nineties can serve as an excellent
confirmation of this fact. The changes affected the
language itself and, first of all, the conditions of its
use. If we use linguistic terminology, we can talk
about a change in the linguistic situation and the
emergence
of
new
types
of
discourse.
Communication between a person from the seventies
and a person from the nineties could very well end in
communicative
failure
due
to
a
simple
misunderstanding of the language and, perhaps,
incompatible linguistic behavior. As confirmation, it
is enough to point out the most noticeable, although
not the most interesting, change: the appearance of a
huge number of new words, including borrowings
and the disappearance of some words and meanings,
that is, a change in the vocabulary of any language,
unlike the literary language, colloquial speech is
being transformed in the aspect of modern society.
In this regard, issues related to the semantics,
structure and composition of jargon, the features and
rules of their use, their communicative and pragmatic
properties are being actively studied. The specifics of
slang are covered in the works of a number of
researchers: V.S. Elistratov, E.A. Zemskaya, P.V.
Likholitov, T.G. Nikitina and others. The structural
and semantic features of slangisms are described
(T.V. Zaikovskaya, V.S. Elistratov, A.I. Marochkin),
the place of these units in the Russian language is
determined (V.N. Shaposhnikov), methods of
formation of slangisms are studied (V.V. Lopatin).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In the process of studying a living spoken
language, it became clear to researchers that the
concepts of “jargon” and “argot” historically indicate
a limited range of their speakers, as well as the
narrowness of the semantic field of lexical units. At
the same time, a linguistic environment of oral
communication, different from the norm, uniting a
large number of people, became apparent. It is this
concept that is called “slang”.
Based on traditional definitions of slang, youth
slang is the language of a certain age group, but this
concept is somewhat more complex. It should be
taken into account that young people are people of
different professions, hobbies and beliefs, and levels
of education, therefore youth slang is as
heterogeneous as the youth themselves. The
vocabulary of a young “Internet user” is different
from that of teenagers who gravitate towards criminal
adventures; rock fans speak differently than “fans” of
Western bands and followers of hippies; all these and
other numerous communities of teenagers and youth
contrast themselves not only with the world of boring
adult “civilians”, but also, to a greater extent, with
each other. Therefore, it is among young people that
the slang of certain groups is one of the ways of
knowing “one’s own” and a means of isolation,
creating a certain “esoteric” sphere. The slang of
various youth groups borrows from other slangs:
criminal, software, hippie, sports; elements that are
most consistent with the value system and aesthetic
preferences of a particular group.
Slang is understood as a type of colloquial speech
that is assessed by society as emphatically informal:
“everyday”, “familiar”, “confiding”. At the same
time, slang tends to borrow slang and slang units,
metaphorically reinterpreting and expanding their
meaning. These are varieties of speech with
artificially exaggerated expression, language games
and fashionable neologisms. If the informant refers to
the actual camp guards as "guards", he is using
jargon. If he calls the janitor in the hostel a
“gatekeeper,” then we are dealing with slang [2].
The Dictionary of Linguistic Terms gives two
definitions of the term “slang”:
1. Conversational version of professional speech.
2. Elements of the colloquial version of a
particular professional or social group, which,
penetrating into the literary language or in general
into the speech of people who are not directly related
to this group of people, acquire a special emotional
coloring in these varieties of language. and expressive
coloring [1].
As we can see, in the first definition, slang is
simply a series of non-terminological words used in a
terminological sense, like “windshield wiper” or
“spare tire” for motorists. Such words are not suitable
for formal instructions, but are convenient for
business conversations between professionals.
In the second case, it’s completely different: we
are faced with words that have already left the
professional sphere and gone “into the world.”
Perhaps an example of this would be "six": in the
world of thieves, one of the meanings of this word is
"a person who serves thieves." In modern colloquial
vocabulary of any language, “six” is a derisive
designation for any insignificant person, possibly (but
not necessarily) with criminal tendencies. Another
quality noted by researchers is very important: all
such words are clearly expressive [1].
CONCLUSIONS
In conclusion, it should be said that often in the
public consciousness, this or that state of language is
subjected to evaluation, and usually it is the "bad"
state of language that is noted. Such criticism is
usually caused by too rapid changes in language and
the resulting gap between the discourses of different
generations. This is the situation we are in now.
REFERENCES
[1]
Akhmanova O.S. Slang. Dictionary of linguistic terms
[Сленг. словарь лингвистических терминов]. –
Moscow: AST, 2018.
[2]
Mordvinov В. Educational practice for the study of
colloquial Russian speech [Учебная практика по
изучению разговорной русской речи]. Omsk: Luch,
2020.
[3]
Salyaev V. A. The lexicon of argot and slang origin in
the explanatory dictionaries of the modern Russian
language [Лексика арготического и жаргонного
происхождения в толковых словарях современного
русского языка]: diss. Candidate of Philological
Sciences / Moscow, 2021.
THE TERM
“SLANG”
Speech of a
professional or
social group
Colloquial
version
