POLY POST
TUESDAY, May 18, 2010
www.thepolypost.com
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What you talkin’ ‘bout Willis? Slang is like, so totally rad ANNE MARIE ANABEZA Staff Writer Everyone uses slang. English professors should not be victims of migraines caused by their students’ incomplete sentences said inside or outside their classrooms. It is most likely they use slang terms just as many times as their students. Many terms start as slang and then are adapted as standard language. For instance, the word “Okay” is slang. How many times do people say this a day? Today, it means “all right,” “yes” or a sign of happiness or neutrality. The everyday expression was first seen and recorded in the leading 1930s Boston newspaper “The Morning Post.” According to the History Channel, “OK” was an abbreviation for “oll correct,” which was a popular misspelling of “all correct.” Soon after, politicians added it in their speech. Even English professors’ literature heroes are founders of slanguage. Tonia Lee, author of “Romeo and Juliet in Urban Slang” and “Macbeth in Urban Slang,” believed William Shakespeare created and used various slang words and phrases in his masterpieces. Other famous literary works are filled with slang expressions ranging from the works of Geoffrey Chaucer to Mark Twain. Slang should not be considered the ramblings of just teenage minds. Many highly-paid professional occupations have a lingo. The medical field is littered with slang. For example, “stat” means to imply urgent or rush, which was derived from the Latin word “statim.” Statim means “immediately.”
Courtesy of Misterkitty.org
The 1940s and 1950s’ comic book “The Kellys” used its generation’s slang in its plots. This tactic helped publishers attract more to its readers.
In Walt Whitman’s essay “Slang in America,” he considered slang to be the life of language because it was “the start of fancy, imagination and humor, breathing into its nostrils the breath of life.” “Slanguage” is one of the most important parts of any language because of how much character it adds to the conversation. Instead of saying “that sucks” in a monotone voice, there are options like “that was whack” or “that was jacked up.” A study conducted by the Texas A & M University found that language is heavily influenced by the younger generation. Slang helps bring the younger generation together and it helps build an identity. The youth of today should be surprised about the amount of idioms passed down from their parents’ generations. Most current sayings originate from the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s. Some even trace as far back as the 1920s. The term “cheaters” meant “eye glasses” in the 1920s. An example using it in a sentence is, “She can’t see that far without using her cheaters.” It has evolved dramatically to one who betrays his or her significant others in having another sexual relationship. According to urbandictionary.com, an online dictionary dedicated to contemporary slangisms, the most popular definition is “cool,” which is “the best way to say something is neat … The phrase ‘cool’ is very relaxed, never goes out of style, and people will never laugh at you for using it.” “Cool” originated in the 1930s, which has kept its meaning of excellent, clever or enjoyable. The 1960s generation passed down a great amount of slang to younger generations with words such as “badass,” “right on” and “peace.” Oddly enough, “dude” in the 1970s described someone as a geek rather than its general meaning today of “friend.” Culture is not only creating new adaptations of slang words but also
Illustration by Roland Tran/Poly Post
shortening them. While texting, “TX” is used instead of “thanks,” which is short for “thank you.” “Thank you” is short for “many thanks to be to you.” “Bye” is short for “goodbye,” which during the Elizabethan Era, meant “God be with you.” “I will see you later” is shortened to “late.” Technology has fashioned numerous new sayings and jargon, as well as use of acronyms and abbreviations. “FML,” “LOL,” “FTW,” “G2G,” “TTYL,” “Facebooking,” “Google it,” “Wikipedia that,” “Follow me,” “Tweet that” and “Blogging” are among the growing list. “I know that I shorten a lot of my words,” said Amanda Borgquist, a fourthyear biology student. “Probably turns into prolly.” Borgquist explained that her habit of shortening words was probably from talking too fast and from texting. “The Internet is a whole ‘nother’ genre,” said Borgquist. “Like ‘LOL,’ everything is shortened because of technology.” However, technology isn’t the only source of new lingo. Pop culture has always been an outlet for new phrases for the young generation to use on a daily basis. Many students can be familiar with the “that’s what she said” bunt. The joke’s origin is unknown but the first known documented usage is from the 1992 movie “Wayne’s World.” In the scene with Garth holding a Claudia Schiffer poster, Garth tells Wayne, “I’m getting tired of holding this.” Wayne responds, “Yeah, that’s what she said.” People wait to do the same with anything that can be twisted to a sexual reference. Another popular phrase to tack on
everything is “your mom,” which is used when a real retort cannot be used. Advertisements use creative and catchy campaign slogans to grab consumers. For example, “are you gellin?”
More idioms from the past: 1920s: baby, beat it, blind date, crush, dolled up, level with me, stuck on, take for a ride 1950s: are you writing a book? Bad news, blast, cat, cloud nine, cool, cool it, cooties, dig, go ape, hang, hip, hipster, jacked up, later, make out, no sweat, pad 1960s: Badass, bummed out, bummer, chick, cool, crash, cruising, cut out, decked out, dibs, dig, don’t sweat it, dork, dope, drag, dude, easy, fab, five finger discount, flake, freak out, heavy, hip, hunk, kiss up, knocked up, lay it on me, peace, right on, ripped off, screwed up, shades, shot gun, so fine, solid, stoned, stuck up, zits. 1970s: psyche, crib & gig, spaz, dream on, far out, in your face, phony, that’s sick, you know, your mama, chill out, like, 4-sho, all right, awesome, bangin’, the bomb, bummer, down with, hard core, jack squat, jell, kicks, man, pimpin, psyched, right on, rip-off, right quick, say what?, stoned, wassup, word, yeah right, 1980s: 411, amped, bite me, bombdigity, bootleg, bounce, chill (from take a chill pill or chill out), deep s***, fantabulous, fave, fugly, hard core, hella, I kid you not, jam, kick ass, legit, later (days), shut up, trippin’ Andrea Waitrovich, lifestyle editor, contributed to this article. Reach Anne Marie Anabeza at: lifestyle@thepolypost.com
BFF: Jump into character by visiting film locations for less continued from page 8 food to locals and tourists. Sample international cuisine as you meander through more than 50 food stalls of inexpensive items. When Peter went on a man date with Sydney in the 2009 comedy “I Love You, Man,” the pair enjoyed fish tacos at James’ Beach Restaurant on Venice Boulevard. The casual seafood spot offers moderately-priced entrees
and an upbeat environment. Replay more of the movie’s funny moments by visiting the Grove on Fairfax. Sydney agrees to be Peter’s best man while strolling through this outdoor shopping center, which also features a daily farmer’s market. Feel like a movie star while viewing actual stars at the iconic Griffith Observatory in Hollywood’s
Griffith Park? Numerous blockbusters such as “The Terminator,” “Jurassic Park,” “Charlie’s Angels” and “Transformers” have used the planetarium’s striking architecture as a film setting. Check out nearby movie locations like the Puente Hills Mall from “Back to the Future,” San Dimas’ Circle K from “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” and
Pomona’s downtown antique district from “Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat.” For the ultimate local movie destination, walk past the CLA Building, which was used in the 1997 science fiction drama “Gattaca,” starring Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman and Jude Law.
Reach Annette Vitkievicz at: lifestyle@thepolypost.com