Slang
Early one morning as I embarked on an adventure down Lane's Lane to the Sheehy Student Center, I seemed to notice things I never really paid much attention to. Looking desperately for a topic for my next paper, I tried to notice things in my everyday life that I could possibly write about. As I walked into the bookstore, the person standing behind the ACE desk asked me if I wanted to sign up for an activity. I politely declined, noting that if I had stopped for one more thing after this I would be late to class. As I turned my back to walk into the store, he said to me: "Fine. Dis a brotha like dat." That was when it hit me. Slang is such a major part of our daily lives, but yet, is so common that no one really notices it anymore. Wherever you walk nowadays, popular culture has shaped our dialect, whether it be from as early as elementary school age children, to full grown adults. To many people, slang is just an easier way to communicate with people. People feel more comfortable using slang than the formal language it is based on. In fact, every generation seemingly has its' own slang dialect. In the 1950's and 1960's, rock and roll music was the big fad. Teenagers were becoming more rebellious, and the English l
their life. If time proves correct, people will never stop giving slang a bad reputation. We just need to stop viewing the glass as half empty, and view it as half full. develop an identity for their own generation. With each generation, dialect has changed along with popular culture. According to Maslow, when people develop an identity, it makes them different in their own way. Slang is one thing that could help a person develop his/her own identity. Think about it. How many times has your mother or father told you a saying was inappropriate, knowing very well that the only reason they find it that way is because they had never heard it before? It sure as hell has happened to me. I'm sure that has happened to my parents with their parents, and so forth. The problem is that it is regarded to as a bad thing when really it isn't. In developing a somewhat different dialect, that identity that Maslow preaches is helped along its development. The 1980's brought back the rock and roll culture, only with a little more of a rebellious attitude with it. Television shows such as Different Strokes, The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Charles In Charge, and Who's the Boss warped the minds of Americans every night. MTV helped highlight groups such as Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, U2, Van Halen and the Simple Minds as the "cool" things to listen to. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were "gnarly," roller skating was "rad," and people
Some common words found in the essay are:
Fine Dis, According Maslow, Ninja Turtles, Jon Bowblis, Maslow's Hierarchy, Student Center, York City's, Music Hall, Who's Boss, , popular culture, develop identity, people develop, people develop identity, slang language, own slang, using slang, rock roll, slang changed, maslow's hierarchy, daily lives,
Approximate Word count = 964
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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