A Brief Analysis of American Slang and American Culture.docx

A Brief Analysis of American Slang and American Culture.docx

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ABriefAnalysisofAmericanSlangandAmericanCulture

美国俚语和美国文化

ABriefAnalysisofAmericanSlangandAmericanCulture

Contents

Abstract………………………………………………………….………….1

Keywords…………………………………………………………….……..1

I.Introduction……………………………………………………………...2

II.DefinitionsofSlangandCulture……………………………….………2

1.Differentdefinitionsofslang……………………………….……………2

2.Differentdefinitionsofculture…………………………….……………3

III.TheRelationshipbetweenSlangandCulture………….…………….4

1.Languageandculture…………………………………….……………..4

2.Slangandculture……………………………………….………………5

IV.TheOriginsofSlang……………………………….…………………...5

1.Literarymasterpieces…………………………….……………………6

2.TheBible…………………………………….…………………………6

3.GreekandRomanmythologies……………….…………………………6

4.Ancientfables…………………………………………………………7

5.Historicaffairs…………………………………………………………7

6.Anecdotes……………………………………………………………7

7.Customs………………………………………………………………7

8.Theanimals’habitualbehaviors………………………………………8

9.Seafaring………………………………………………………………8

10.Agriculture…………………………………………………………8

11.Dailylife……………………………………………………………9

V.TheUsageofSlang…………………….………………………………...9

1.Setting………………………………………………………………...9

2.Medium………………………………………………………………9

VI.AmericanSlangandSubcultureGroups…………………………..10

1.TeenagerGroup………………………………………………………10

2.BeatGeneration………………………………………………………11

3.Politicalgroup………………………………………………………...11

4.Homosexualanddrugaddictiongroup………………………………...12

5.Criminalgroup………………………………………………………12

VII.ReasonsforUsingslang…………………………………………….13

.Conclusion………………………………..………………………….14

References…………………………………………………………………14

Abstract:

Languageisasymbolofanation’sculturetoacertaindegree.Ontheotherhand,languageinfluencesculturealot.Fromadynamicview,languageandcultureinteractwitheachotherandshapeeachother.Languageisthecarrierofculturewhichinturnisthecontentoflanguage.Wecandigoutculturalfeaturesfromlanguageandexplainlanguagephenomenawithculture.Learningaforeignlanguage,infact,isinseparablefromlearningitsculture.AmericanEnglishisrichinwordsthatarehumorous,vividandhomonymous,whichareso-calledslang.SuchwordplaysarenotwithinthelegitimacyEnglishteachingwhichleadstotheEnglishlearner’smisunderstandingofsomesimpleconversations.However,slangplaysaveryimportantroleinAmericandailylives.Whenwearegoingtolearnthemweneedtoknowthebackgroundoftherelevantslang.Slangasaspecialformoflanguagecarryalargeamountofculturalinformationsuchashistory,geography,religion,custom,nationalitypsychology,thoughtpatternandetc,andthereforearecloselyrelatedtoculture.Consequently,wecanknowmuchaboutculturethroughstudyingslangandinturngetbetterunderstandingofslangbylearningtheculturalbackgroundbehindthem.LearningAmericanslangcouldalsohelpusunderstandAmericanculturefartherontheotherwayround.

Keywords:

background;dailylife;reflection;Americanslang;Americanculture

摘要：

在一定程度上语言是文化的标志。

另一方面，语言在很大程度上影响文化。

从动态角度看，语言和文化相互影响。

语言是文化的载体，还是文化的一部分。

我们可以从语言中发觉文化的特征以及通过文化来解释语言现象。

事实上学习一门外语是和学习其文化是相辅相成的。

美国英语中有很多富有幽默、生动、一语双关的词汇并被称为俚语。

然而这些双关语并不在常规教学当中出现。

因而导致很多英语学习者们遇到俚语时一头雾水。

但是俚语在美国人的日常生活中起着非常重要的角色。

我们学习俚语时需要掌握相关背景知识来有效的学习俚语。

俚语作为一种特殊的语言其本身承载着很多文化的信息，例如：

历史，地理，信仰，风俗，国人的心理状况，思维方式等等。

因此，对于美国俚语的学习还可以进一步了解美国文化。

关键词：

背景；日常生活；影射；美国俚语；美国文化

I.Introduction

Anycountryornationhasitsownlanguage,whichconsistsofformallanguageandinformallanguage.Inordertosucceedincommunication,weneedtoknowbothofthemwell.Slangarethewordsorphrasesthatarevivid,humorous,andhomonymous;butitisnotwithinthelegitimacylanguageteaching.Therefore,toforeignlanguagelearners,therearealwaysmanymisunderstandingswhensomenativespeakersuseslang.Whereupon,knowingtheculturalcontextofslangistheshortcutofgraspingthewayofunderstandingandusingthem.

AmericanEnglishisaspopularasHollywoodmoviesamongtheyoung.Itsbeautifulpronunciationandintonationattractmanybeginnerstoimitateit.However,tomostEnglishlearners,theycannotunderstandsomeblackhumororconversationsinthemovies.CommunicationwithAmericansbecomesanannoyingobstacle.Themainproblemisthatpeoplefromnon-EnglishspeakingcountriesalwaysmisunderstandormisuseagreatamountofAmericanslang.Infact,studentscannottrulymasterthelanguageuntiltheyhavealsomasteredtheculturalcontextsinwhichthelanguageoccurs.（NationalstandardsinForeignLanguageEducationProject,1996.p.27）.Inaword,slangbecomealioninthewaytolearnEnglish.Tolearnslangeffectively,itishelpfultoknowthebackgroundofrelevantslang.LearningAmericanslangcouldalsohelpusunderstandAmericanpeople’sthinkingstyle,dailylife,andcustomsandbeliefsontheotherwayround.

ForweChinesestudents,Americanslangareastumblingblock.Itisverypossiblethattheyoftennotonlyfeelatalossinunderstandingconversationsbecauseofakeyslangbutalsomisuseslang. Inthispaper,Iamgoingtomakeastudyoftherelationshipbetweenslangandcultureandthrowsomelightonthelearningofslang.ThispaperwillintroducethebackgroundofsomeAmericanslangindifferentaspectsofAmericanpeople’sdailylifesoastoreflecttheAmericanculturebehindslanginmyeye.IdohopeitwillhelpthereadersacquirethewayoflearningslangandrealizeAmericanculturethroughtheanalysisofsomebackgroundofslanginallaspects.

II.DefinitionsofSlangandCulture

1.Differentdefinitionsofslang.

Manylinguistsandlexicographershavebeentryingtodefinethetermslang.Mostofthemmadesimilarremarkstoe.g.EricPartridge,namelythatslangmightbebeyonddefinition,butthatitis“incapableofprecisedefinition”（1988:

69）.Inthefollowingparagraphsdifferentdefinitionsofslangshallbecitedandexaminedcritically.

AnearlydefinitioncanbefoundintheEncyclopediaBritannicafrom1926,inwhichslangisdefinedas

…inwhatisnowtheusualsense,ageneralnamefortheclassofwords,moreorlessartificialoraffectedIoriginoruse,whicharenotrecognizedasbelongingtothestandardvocabularyofthelanguageintowhichtheyhavebeenintroduced,buthaveanextensivecurrencyinsomesectionofsocietyeitherasameansofconcealingsecretsorasintentionallyundignifiedsubstitutesforthosemodesofexpressionthatareemployedbypersonswhovaluethemselvesonproprietyofspeech

Theabovedefinitionnamestwomajorpoints.Firstly,itsaysthatslangisinthe“words”orthe“vocabulary”.Alinguistmaydescribethisasbelongingtothelexicon.Secondly,itstatesthattheslangwordsdonotbelongtothestandardvarietyoflanguagespokeninthelargersociety.Lateron,inthesamepageitclaimsthat“…slangisaconsciousoffenceagainstsomeconventionalstandardofpropriety.”Thisstatementclearlyshowsagenerallyprescriptiveviewtowardslanguagewhichwascommonatthebeginningofthe20thcentury,butthispartofthedefinitionalsoexpressesthataspeakerwhousesslangdoessointentionally.

AneminentauthorityinthefieldofslangandtheauthorofAdictionaryofSlangandUnconventionalEnglishisEricPartridge,whodedicatedmanyyearsofhislifetothecollectionofslangexpressions.Hedidnotgivehisowndefinitionforit.HepreferstoandseemstofavorthedefinitioninWebster’sThird[New]InternationalDictionarywhichdescribesslangas:

…anon-standardvocabularycomposedofwordsandsensescharacterizedprimarilybyconnotationsofextremeinformality[…]composedtypicallyofcoinagesorarbitrarilychangedwords,clippedorshortenedforms,extravagant,forcedorfacetiousfiguresofspeech,orverbalnovelties

TheWebsterdefinitionalsohintsattwopointsthatarerelatedtoeachother:

thecreativeandrapidchange.Normally,languagechangeisaveryslowprocess.However,itisduetoitsrestrictiontoarelativelysmallspeechcommunityortoitscreativity.Slangaltermorequickly.

2.Differentdefinitionsofculture

Therearemorethan250definitionsconcerningculture.Culturecanbeinterpretedinbothbroadandnarrowsense.AccordingtoTyler（British,oneeminentanthropologist,）,culturecoversawiderangeoffields,includingpolitics,ideology,valuesandothercapabilitiesacquiredbyhumanbeings.

Cultureisdefinedbrieflyasthetotalityofbeliefsandpracticesofasociety;nothingisofgreaterstrategicimportancethanthelanguagethroughwhichitsbeliefsareexpressedandtransmittedandbywhichmostinteractionofitsmemberstakesplace.（Nida,1991）.

Cultureisthecustomsandbeliefs,art,wayoflifeandsocialorganizationofaparticularcountryorgroup.（Huwenzhong,2000）

Since“nolanguagecanexistunlessitissteppedinthecontextofculturewhichdoesnothaveatitscenter,thestructureofthenaturallanguage”（Uspensky,1978）.

Fromtheabovedefinitionswecouldseethatculture,inabroadsense,isanintegratedpatternofhumanbehaviorthatincludesthoughts,communications,languages,practices,beliefs,values,customs,courtesies,rituals,mannersofinteractingandroles,relationshipsandexpectedbehaviorsofaracial,ethnic,religiousorsocialgroup.Ascultureissoinclusive,itpermeatesvirtuallyeveryaspectofhumanlifeandinfluencespredominantlypeople’sbehavior,includinglinguisticbehavior.

III.TheRelationshipbetweenSlangandCulture.

AccordingtoTyler（British,oneeminentanthropologist,）,culturecoversawiderangeoffields,includingpolitics,ideology,valuesandothercapabilitiesacquiredbyhumanbeings.Languageisanimportantpartofculture.Languageinsomesenseisthereflectionofculture.Indifferentcultures,we