slang in modern english

Table of contents
Introduction
The goal of term paper
Origins of slang
Different types of slang
Rhyming slang
The Cockney Alphabet
Internet slang
Gay slang
List of slang terms for police officers
Slang dictionaries
Conclusion
The list of literature

W/ or W/O - With or without
WB - Welcome back
W/E - Whatever
WRT - With respect / regard to
WTB - Want to buy
WTF - What the fuck
WTG - Way to go
WTH - What the hell
WTS - Want to sell
WTT - Want to trade
WUG - What you got?
WUBU2 - What (have) you been up to?
WUU2 - What (are) you up to?
WYSIWYG - What you see is what you get
W8 - Wait 9
Gay slang
Gay slang or LGBT slang in linguistics refers to a form of English slang used predominantly among LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) people.
Modern gay slang has origins in the English language. Polari was a cant or cryptolect used in the gay subculture in Britain. Polari derives from Italian languages, Mediterranean Lingua Franca, Yiddish and French.
Another difference between gay slang and Polari is that gay slang has become descriptive of the overall experience of life in the gay community, whereas Polari includes names for common words that have no exclusive relation to the LGBT culture (e.g., «glossies» for «magazines»). Gay slang also coexists along side regional slang and many gay men will combine them.
Although there are differences, modern gay slang has adopted many polari words, as detailed in the table below:
Glossary of gay slang taken from Polari Word Approximate meaning basket the bulge of male genitals through clothes bumming the act of gay sex chicken young boy cottaging having or looking for sex in a public toilet zhoosh style Source: Fantabulosa: A Dictionary of Polari and Gay Slang List of slang terms for police officers
Many slang terms for police officers exist. These are often used by the public rather than the police themselves, but not all are considered offensive.
The precise sociological and etymological provenance of some of these terms is significant:
5 - 0: Slang for police officers and/or a warning that police are approaching. Derived from the television show Hawaii 5-0.
Babylon: Jamaican English term for corrupt establishment systems, often applied to the police.
Bacon: Derived from Pigs: often used in the structure «I smell bacon» to warn of the approaching presence of an officer.
Barney: Term coined after Barney Fife from The Andy Griffith Show.
Bear: Short for «Smokey the Bear» in reference to the hats worn by some U.S. state police being similar to that of «Smokey the Bear». «Bear bait» is a reference to speeders, who may draw the attention of the police and allow slightly slower traffic to exceed the speed limit in their wake. «Bear in the Air» is a reference to a police chopper.
Berry: Originating from blueberry, referring to the blue uniform most officers wear.
Bizzies: Common Liverpool slang term for the police, it was invented as the police were always too «busy» to help. An alternative explanation of the term is that the police are seen as "busy-bodies" i.e. that they ask too many questions.
Blue Heelers: This is a term used in Australian and is after a breed of dog, the Australian Cattle Dog. This term is use because it accurately describes the personality and appearance (blue uniform) of a police officer. This term became used more frequently as it was used for the Australian police drama series Blue Heelers.
Blue Meanies: This is a 1960s hippy slang term for the police, it was used in the Beatles film the Yellow Submarine, although many viewers may not have realised its significance.
Bluebottle: A British term for policeman that may have derived from Cockney rhyming slang. 'Bottle' is an abbreviation of 'bottle and glass', which is rhyming slang for 'arse'. (See also Bottles).
Bobby: This is not now widely used in Britain (except by the police, who still commonly use it to refer to themselves), though it can occur with a mixture of affection and slight irony in the phrase «village bobby», referring to the local community police officer. The term «Bobby on the beat» is often used in politics in reference to return to more community based policing including footpatrols by one local officer(bobby) of a his own small area(beat). It is derived from Robert Peel (Bobby being the usual nickname for Robert), the founder of the Metropolitan Police.
Bottles: Cockney rhyming slang for Coppers (see below), from Bottles and Stoppers.
Boys in blue: A reference to the blue uniform worn by some officers.
Brass: Term originating from the brass badges that police carry in order to identify themselves.
Bronze: A term used for police officers in the 1979 Mel Gibson movie Mad Max .10
Slang dictionaries
Slang dictionaries have been around for a long time. The Canting Academy, or Devil's Cabinet Opened was a seventeenth century slang dictionary written in 1673 by Richard Head that looked to define Thieves' cant. Another early slang dictionary was Francis Grose's 'A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, first published in 1785.
In recent years dictionaries with a more academic focus have tried to bring together etymological studies in an attempt to provide definitive guides to slang while avoiding problems arising from folk etymology and false etymology. The study of slang is now taken seriously with academics, especially lexicographers like Eric Partridge, devoting their energies to the field and publishing on it, including producing slang dictionaries.
Examples include:
Cassell Dictionary of Slang (by Jonathon Green, Cassell Reference, originally published 1998, current edition 2006, ISBN 0304366366)
A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (by Eric Partridge and Paul Beale, Routledge, 2002, ISBN 0415291895)
The Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang (by John Ayto and John Simpson, Oxford University Press, 2005, ISBN 0198610521)
UrbanDictionary.com
There have also been more tongue-in-cheek efforts which tend to focus on the more vulgar slang terms:
Roger's Profanisaurus Rex: The Ultimate Swearing Dictionary (third edition, Viz, 2005, ISBN 0752228129)
The Urban Dictionary occupies a similar end of the spectrum. While offering definitions for actual terms, it relies on user contributions which can introduce both humour and inaccuracies. It has also recently been published in book form:
Urban Dictionary: Fularious Street Slang Defined (by Aaron Peckham, Andrews McMeel, 2006, ISBN 0740751433)
The Shesaurus: Hip Hop Women's Dictionary (by Keshia Kola, Penmar Press Publishing, 2005, ISBN 1427602719)
Conclusion
To sum up, it’s needless to notice that people prefer to use informal words and expressions to describe an object in order to do their speech more colorful or peculiar. Nowadays it exists many types of slang in modern English for example, internet slang, rhyming slang, even special slang is used by police officers and gays. Despite the fact that many people consider it vulgar, because slang contains many obscene and offensive words and phrases, many people as you can see prefer to use it in their speech. Also, it exists even special slang dictionaries.
The list of literature
Researches:
Ayto, John. 2002. The Oxford Dictionary of Rhyming Slang. Oxford University Press.
Franklyn, Julian. 1960. A Dictionary of Rhyming Slang. Routledge.
The Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang (by John Ayto and John Simpson, Oxford University Press, 2005
Green, Jonathon. 2000. Cassell's Rhyming Slang. Cassell.
Internet-sources:
http://usefulenglish.ru/idioms/standard-slang-common-sense-and-good-reference-materials
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_slang
http://www.phespirit.info/cockney/alphabet.html
http://slangsearch.siteburg.com/
http://www.multitran.ru/c/m.exe?a=ShowMorphology&t=173447_1_2
http://www.study.ru/online/dict/slang.html
1 The Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang (by John Ayto and John Simpson, Oxford University Press, 2005
2 http://usefulenglish.ru/idioms/standard-slang-common-sense-and-good-reference-materials
3 Green, Jonathon. 2000. Cassell's Rhyming Slang. Cassell.
4 Green, Jonathon. 2000. Cassell's Rhyming Slang. Cassell.
5 http://en.wikipedia.org
6 http://www.phespirit.info/cockney/alphabet.html
7 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_slang
8 ibidem
9 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_slang
10 http://usefulenglish.ru/idioms/standard-slang-common-sense-and-good-reference-materials
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