Abstract
HATIAROVÁ, Eva: Slang words. Bachelor paper, The University of Žilina, Faculty of
Science, Department of English Language and Literature. Head of bachelor work: Doc.
PhDr. Anna Hlavňová, CSc. Žilina: Faculty of Science ŽU, 2009. 36 p.
The Bachelor paper is conceived mainly in the theoretical level and its basic aim is to
provide the reader with the informal style and its subcategories, as colloquialisms,
dialect and slang. The theoretical interpretation which is supplemented with the
theoretical examples is the subject matter, covering wide range of information. We will
find out what the slang is, how slang words developed, what their subtypes and forms
are in general.
This work deals in the next part with the specific type of the slang, “Cockney rhyming
slang”. From the theoretical point of view we will focus on the origin and the use of this
slang. The practical part concerns a mini-dictionary of the phrases connected with the
parts of the body and the most frequent used expressions. In the last chapter we deal
with the evaluation of the questionnaire which is the part of our research.
Key words: informal style, subcategories, colloquialisms, dialect, slang, Cockney,
phrases.
2
Abstrakt
HATIAROVÁ, Eva: Slangové slova. Bakalárska práca, Žilinská Univerzita, Fakulta
prírodných vied, Katedra anglického jazyka a literatúry. Vedúca bakalárskej práce: Doc.
PhDr. Anna Hlavňová, CSc. Žilina: Fakulta prírodných vied ŽU, 2009. 36 s.
Bakalárska práca je koncipovaná hlavne v teoretickej rovine a jej hlavným cieľom je
oboznámiť
čitateľa
s neformálnym
štýlom
a jeho
podkategóriami,
ako
sú
kolokvializmy, dialekt a slang. Teoretický výklad, ktorý je na mnohých miestach
doplnený teoretickými príkladmi, je jadrom práce, pokrýva široké spektrum poznatkov.
Dozvieme sa čo je to slang, ako sa vyvíjali slangové slová, aké sú podtypy a formy
slangu vo všeobecnosti.
Táto práca sa vo svojej ďalšej časti venuje špecifickému druhu slangu, „Cockney“
slangu. Z teoretického hľadiska sa zameriame na vznik a použitie tohto slangu.
Praktické hľadisko zahrnie mini-slovník fráz spojených s časťami tela a najčastejšie
používané výrazy. V poslednej kapitole sa venujeme vyhodnoteniu dotazníka, ktorý je
súčasťou nášho výskumu.
Kľúčové slová: neformálny štýl, podkategórie, kolokvializmy, dialekt, slang, Cockney,
frázy.
3
Čestné prehlásenie
Čestne prehlasujem, že svoju bakalársku
prácu “Slang words” som vypracovala
samostatne pod odborným vedením Doc. PhDr. Anny Hlavňovej, CSc. a použitú
literatúru som uviedla v zozname bibliografických odkazov.
………………………………
Eva Hatiarová
4
Poďakovanie
Touto cestou by som sa chcela poďakovať konzultantke bakalárskej práce Doc. PhDr.
Anne Hlavňovej, CSc. za poskytnutie informácií, cenných rád a potrebných literárnych
zdrojov, ktoré prispeli k vypracovaniu tejto bakalárskej práce.
5
Contents
0 Introduction…………………………………………………………………….. 7
1. Informal style………………………………………………………………... 8
1.1 Subcategories of the informal style………………………………...
8
1.1.1 Colloquial words………………………………………….
8
1.1.2 Dialect words…………………………………………….. 9
2. Slang words………………………………………………………………….. 13
2.1 How was slang developed? ………………………………………..
15
2.1.1 Examples of slang words through the ages………………
16
2.2 Subtypes of slang words……………………………………………
19
2.3 Forms of slang……………………………………………………..
20
3. Cockney rhyming slang……………………………………………………… 22
3.1 History of Cockney rhyming slang…………………………………
24
3.2 Rhyming slang in the popular culture………………………………
25
3.3 Current rhyming slang……………………………………………… 27
3.1.1 A small Cockney dictionary of the parts of the body…….
28
3.1.2 A small Cockney dictionary of the most frequently used
expressions………………………………….…………………….
29
4. Analysis of the understanding Cockney rhyming slang………………….
32
4.1 Research……………………………………………………………
32
4.2 The evaluation of the questionnaire………………………………..
33
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………...
40
Resources………………………………………………………………………
41
Appendix 1 Cartoon jokes……………………………………………………..
45
Appendix 2 Questionnaire……………………………………………………… 46
Appendix 3 The key to the knowledge based tasks in the questionnaire……..... 48
6
Introduction
When using a language, we differentiate between these following styles: formal style,
informal and neutral style. The major style that we will draw on is the informal style. A
slang as its one of the basic subcategories is a phenomenon known to everybody. On the
one hand we can say that slang can be the element which joins people. Firstly, slang
words are not limited by a region or intelligence. Secondly, lots of slang words are
results of various coinages and figures of speech. This can be the sign of people’s
creativity. On the other hand it can be a dividing factor due to the fact that slang is only
intelligible to those people associated with the group or groups who use it (e.g. Cockney
rhyming slang). Nowadays the trend in the age of television and the Internet is the need
to communicate to the audience at its level, which also degrades the level of the
formality.
We will deal with the Slang words that will be divided into four basic parts (chapters):
1. Informal style
2. Slang words
3. Cockney rhyming style
4. Analysis of the understanding of Cockney rhyming slang - questionnaire
The first chapter will be oriented theoretically – it means that we will analyze the
informal style and its subcategories as: colloquial words and dialects. Because we put a
great importance on the slang words, they are part of the second chapter. The slang
words as the major part of this work will be elaborated in more detailed way. In the
third chapter we will try to clarify the Cockney rhyming slang, its development and
usage. In the last chapter (that will be practically oriented) we will try to evaluate the
questionnaire about slang, especially Cockney rhyming slang.
The whole bachelor paper will be written with the use of mostly theoretical methods
such as analysis, induction, deduction and summary when studying linguistic materials.
When characterizing the basic subcategories of informal style, and cockney rhyming
style the explanation method will be used. The comparative method for different
definitions of slang will be used. The analytical method of literary text (poem of
Thomas Brown) will be used in the chapter dedicated to dialect.
Finally, statistical methods will find their place in the third part in which data of
people’s answers will be used.
7
1
Informal style
The informal style is one of the two divisions of the functional styles. According to
Antrushina, informal vocabulary is used is one’s immediate circle: family and relatives
or friends. We can define the informal style as relaxed, free-and-easy and familiar. It is
obvious that the informal talk of well-educated people differs from that of the illiterate
and also the choice of words with adults is different from the vocabulary of teenagers.
“The choice of words is determined in each particular case not only by an informal (or
formal) situation, but also by the speaker’s educational and cultural background, age
group, and his occupational and regional characteristics.” (Antrushina, 2003: 13)
Informal words can be divided into three types: colloquial, dialect and slang words.
1. 1 Subcategories of the informal style
1.1.1
Colloquial words
“These are informal words that are used in everyday conversational speech both by
educated and uncultivated people of all age groups. Basically they are used by
everybody. One of the features of 20th century English and American literature is the
use of informal words in dialogues in which they realistically reflect the speech of
modern people:” (Antrushina, 2003: 13-14) e.g. “At first he only used to be kidding
when he called my stuff bourgeois, and I didn't give a damn — it was sort of funny, in
fact.” (From The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger)
The vocabulary of colloquial style is usually lower than that of the formal or neutral
styles, it is often emotionally coloured. Colloquial speech is characterized by the
frequent use of words with a broad meaning: speakers tend to use a small group of
words in quite different meanings, whereas in a formal style (official, business,
scientific) every word is to be used in a specific and clear meaning. “E.g. Different uses
of the verb get which frequently replaces in oral speech its more specific synonyms:
I got (means - received) a letter today; Where did you get (buy) those jeans?; I got
(caught) the ‘flu last month;
8
There are phrases and constructions typical of colloquial style: What’s up? (for What
has happened?); so-so (not especially good); Sorry? Pardon? (Please, repeat it, I didn’t
hear you); See you (Good-bye) etc.
In the grammar there may be:
a) the use of shortened variants of word-forms, e.g. isn’t; can’t; I’d say, he’d’ve
done ( would have done); shortenings: exam (examination); fridge (refrigerator),
flu (influenza)
b) the use of elliptical (incomplete) sentences; (Where’s he?) – At home; Like it? (
Do you / Did you like it?) – Not too much (I don’t like it too much); (Shall I
open it?) – Don’t!; May I? (May I do this?)
c) the use of verbs with post-positional adverbs (phrasal verbs): put up; put over;
make up; make out, etc.
The syntax of colloquial speech is also characterized by the preferable use of simple
sentences or by asyndetic connection (absence of conjunctions) between the parts of
composite sentences; complex constructions with non-finite forms are rarely used.”
<http://eng.1september.ru/2007/01/10.htm>
“Literary colloquial words are to be distinguished from familiar colloquial and low
colloquial. However the borderline between the literary and familiar colloquial is not
always clearly marked. The circle of speakers using familiar colloquial is more limited:
these words are used mostly by the young people and semi-educated.” This type of
vocabulary group borders with slang and admits also of the use of rude and vulgar
vocabulary: E.g. shut up (for keep silent), tipsy / under the influence / under the table /
has had a drop (drunk); cute /great! (Am.) (very good); hot stuff (something extremely
good); You‘re damn right (quite right). “Low colloquial then can be defined as the
language of uncultivated people.” (Antrushina, 2003: 15)
1.1.2 Dialect words
To understand the concept of dialect, it is important to see its relation to the concept of
language. In order to define dialect, one needs to refer to language. The Longman
Dictionary of Applied Linguistics defines dialect as: a variety of a language, spoken in
one part of a country (regional dialect) or by people belonging to a particular social
class (sociolect), which is different in some words, grammar and/or pronunciation from
other forms of the same language’ (Richards, 1985). On purely linguistic terms, the
9
Longman definition of dialect is precise and reflects universally accepted criteria of the
concept of dialect. Those include the notion of a dialect as a (sub-)variety of a particular
language, the differentiation between regional and social dialect, and the three main
dimensions in which dialects differ from each other: lexicon, grammar and phonology.
Regional varieties of English have historical causes that may go as far back as the Old
English period. The Nordic and Germanic tribes had great influence on the development
of English language. “In today’s English there are still many words that have their
origin in Old Norse. Examples of Norse loan words are they, gift, and skirt“
<http://www.ehistling.meotod.de/data/papers/group_c_pub.pdf>. In 1066 the Normans
invaded Britain. They had sailed down from Norway in the 10th century and invaded
French territory. The French king was forced to give away land to them where they
began to settle and quickly became one of the driving powers in Europe. They spoke a
variety of French called Norman French. Today’s dialect distribution still shows the
external influences by French and Old Norse. Northern and southern dialects differ from
each other in pronunciation and lexicon. This is because of the fact the northern dialects
were influenced longer by Old Norse while the southern dialects were under the
influence of French.
The high importance of the language development was and still is the social
stratification. In the early stages of language development class was marked by High
Languages (Latin, French). This supported the formation of clearly distinguishable
social dialects (sociolects). The strict stratification of the social classes over a long
period of time enhanced the differences. “From 1348 onwards, English was used as
school language and in 1362 it was declared the official language. Through this
standardization of English and the loss of French as the High Language a new form was
needed in order to separate the nobility from the proletariat. Thus, the dialect spoken by
the privileged classes was raised up to become the prestigious variety. In the late
nineteenth century, received pronunciation (RP) became the standard form of High
English. It is often referred to as the ‘Queen’s English’ since the Royal Family is
renowned
for
speaking
very
distinct
RP.”
<http://www.ehistling.meotod.de/data/papers/group_c_pub.pdf>.
Antrushina (2003: 19) claims, although is England a small country, yet it has many
dialects which have their own distinctive features (e. g. the Lancashire, Dorsetshire,
Norfolk dialects). Standard English is defined by the Random House Dictionary as the
10
English language as it is written and spoken by literate people in both formal and
informal usage and that is universally current while incorporating regional differences.
Dialectal peculiarities, especially those of vocabulary, are constantly being incorporated
into everyday colloquial speech or slang. From these levels they can be transferred into
the common stock, i. e. words which are not stylistically marked and a few of them
even into formal speech.
Some examples of Norfolk dialect: cor blarst me (when expressing shock or surprise);
fare y'well (goodbye); hoddy-doddy (very small); Old Year's Nyte (New Year's Eve);
suffin
savidge
(very
angry);
titty-totty
(very
small);
<http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Acres/5564/dictionary.html>
Yorkshire dialect: agate (to be/get on your way); bait (to feed); cletch (family of young
(children or chickens); gowk (a cuckoo); rick, reek (smoke, to smoke); skimmer (to
shine brightly) ;< http://www.viking.no/e/england/e-yorkshire_norse.htm>
In
following
poem
from
Thomas
Browne
<available
at:
http://www.fullbooks.com/Yorkshire-Dialect-Poems1.html>, we can see the use of
Yorkshire
dialect.
With
the
help
of
the
Yorkshire
dialect
dictionary
(http://www.silsden.net/yorkshiredialect/dictionary.html) I tried to translate some words
but as you can see although it seems there are some similar words to standard English,
it
is
very
hard
to
guess
what
the
When I was a wee laatle totterin' bairn (1),
An' had nobbud (2) just gitten short frocks,
When to gang I at first was beginnin' to lairn,
On my brow I gat monny hard knocks.
For sae waik, an' sae silly an' helpless was I
I was always a tumblin' doon then,
While my mother would twattle me(3) gently an' cry,
"Honey Jenny, tak care o' thisen."
When I grew bigger, an' got to be strang,
At I cannily ran all about
By misen, whor I liked, then I always mud gang
Bithout(4) bein' tell'd about ought;
When, however, I com to be sixteen year awd,
11
poem
is
really
about.
An' rattled an' ramp'd amang men,
My mother would call o' me in an' would scaud,
An' cry--" Huzzy, tak care o' thisen.(5)"
I've a sweetheart cooms noo upo' Setterday nights,
An' he swears at he'll mak me his wife;
My mam grows sae stingy, she scauds an' she flytes,(6)
An' twitters(7) me oot o' my life.
Bud she may leuk sour, an' consait hersen wise,
An' preach agean likin' young men;
Sen I's grown a woman her clack(5) I'll despise,
An' I's--marry!--tak care o' misen.
1. Child, 2. Only, 3. Prattle to me, 4. Without, 5. Yourself , 6. Argues, 7. Worries,
8. Talk
12
2
Slang words
Although slang words are one of the subcategories of the informal style, we decided to
put them into the individual chapter because of the fact they have the major importance
in this paper.
According to the Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia (Microsoft Encarta 2009), slang can
be described as informal, nonstandard words or phrases (lexical innovations) which tend
to originate in subcultures within a society. Slang often suggests that the person
utilizing the words or phrases is familiar with the hearer's group or subgroup, it can be
considered a distinguishing factor of in-group identity. Microsoft Encarta states: “slang
expressions often embody attitudes and values of group members.” In order for an
expression to become slang, it must be widely accepted and adopted by members of the
subculture or group. Slang has no societal boundaries or limitations as it can exist in all
cultures and classes of society as well as in all languages.
Slang expressions are created in basically the same way as standard speech. As stated
in Microsoft Encarta, “expressions may take form as metaphors, similes, and other
figures of speech.” In addition, it is noted that the words used as slang may be new
coinages, existing words may acquire new meanings, narrow meanings of words may
become generalized, words may be abbreviated, etc. However, in order for the
expression to survive, it must be widely adopted by the group who uses it. Slang is a
way in which languages change and are renewed.
Other definition of slang can be found in The Oxford English Dictionary that defines
slang as “language of a highly colloquial style, considered as below the level of
standard educated speech, and consisting either of new words or of current words
employed in some special sense.” Personally I have to agree with Antrushina´s notion
that this definition is inadequate because it equates slang with colloquial style. The
qualification “highly” can hardly serve as the criterion for distinguishing between
colloquial style and slang.
We have to make a distinction between slang words and colloquial words. According to
Ghil'ad Zuckermann (2003: 21), “slang refers to informal (and often transient) lexical
items used by a specific social group, for instance teenagers, soldiers, prisoners and
thieves. Slang is not the same as colloquial (speech), which is informal, relaxed speech
used on occasion by any speaker; this might include contractions such as you’re, as well
13
as colloquialisms. A colloquialism is a lexical item used in informal speech; whereas
the broadest sense of the term ‘colloquialism’ might include slangism, its narrow sense
does not. Slangisms are often used in colloquial speech but not all colloquialisms are
slangisms. One method of distinguishing between a slangism and a colloquialism is t o
ask whether most native speakers know the word (and use it); if they do, it is a
colloquialism. However, the problem is that this is not a discrete, quantized system but a
continuum. Although the majority of slangisms are of short duration and are often
replaced by new ones, some gain non-slang colloquial status.
According to the Webster's Encyclopedia of Dictionaries 77, colloquialism is defined as
“an expression used in ordinary conversation, but not regarded as slang", which also
confirms the thesis that slang and colloquial words are not equal.
“All or most slang words are current words whose meanings have been metaphorically
shifted. Each slang metaphor is rooted in a joke, but not in a kind or amusing joke. This
is the criterion for distinguishing slang from colloquialisms: most slang words are
metaphors and jocular, often with a coarse, mocking, cynical colouring (e.g men – guys,
nuts for heads, mugs for faces, and flippers for hands)” (Antrushina, 2003: 18)
Why do people use slang? Because most people are individuals who want to be unique,
it stands to reason that slang has been in existence for as long as language has been in
existence. As discussed before, foreign words are a common resource for the
development of slang, as are regional variations of standard words. David Crystal,
author of The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, calls the introduction
of foreign words into a language “borrowings.” So, slang may incorporate “elements of
the jargons of special-interest groups (e.g., professional, sport, regional, criminal, and
drug subcultures).” Sometimes these foreign words and regional variations become part
of the standard language. David Crystal in his encyclopedia cites examples from Eric
Partridge’s Slang, Today and Yesterday to illustrate the many uses of slang. I will
summarize it: “According to the British lexicographer, Eric Partridge (1894-1979),
people use slang for any of at least 15 reasons: “just for the fun of the thing”; in
playfulness or waggishness, to be “different”, to be picturesque (either positively or - as
in the wish to avoid insipidity - negatively), to escape from clichés, to enrich the
language. (This deliberateness is rare save among the well-educated, Cockneys forming
the most notable exception; it is literary rather than spontaneous.), to induce either
friendliness or intimacy, to show that one belongs to a certain school, trade, or
14
profession, artistic or intellectual set, or social class; in brief, to be 'in the swim' or to
establish contact or to be secret - not understood by those around one. (Children,
students, lovers, members of political secret societies, and criminals in or out of prison,
innocent persons in prison, are the chief exponents.) (Crystal, 1995)
2. 1 How was slang developed?
Slang was the main reason for the development of prescriptive language in an attempt
to slow down the rate of change in both spoken and written language.
Latin and
French were the only two languages that maintained the use of prescriptive language in
the 14th century. It was not until the early 15th century that scholars began pushing for
a Standard English language.
During the Middle Ages, certain writers such as Chaucer, William Caxton, and William
of Malmesbury represented the regional differences in pronunciations and dialects. The
different dialects and the different pronunciations represented the first meaning for the
term “slang.” However, our present-day meaning for slang did not begin forming until
the 16th or 17th century. The English Criminal Cant developed in the 16th century. The
English Criminal Cant was a new kind of speech used by criminals and cheats, meaning
it developed mostly in saloons and gambling houses. The English Criminal Cant was at
first believed to be foreign, meaning scholars thought that it had either originated in
Romania or had a relationship to French. The English Criminal Cant was slow
developing. In fact, out of the four million people who spoke English, only about ten
thousand spoke the English Criminal Cant. By the end of the 16th century this new style
of speaking was considered to be a language “without reason or order” (Thorne, 1990).
During the 18th century schoolmasters taught pupils to believe that the English Criminal
Cant (which by this time had developed into slang) was not the correct usage of English
and slang was considered to be taboo.
However, slang was beginning to be presented in popular plays. The first appearance of
the slang was in a play by Richard Brome’s and later appeared in poems and songs by
Copland. By the 1700’s the cultural differences in America had begun to influence the
English-speaking population, and slang began to expand.
Almost all of the slang words during this time were well known all through Britain and
in America due to the British colonists. Furthermore, certain events happened in the
15
18th century that helped the development of slang such as, Westward expansion, the
Civil War, and the abolitionist movement. By this time scholars such as Walt
Whitman, W. D. Whitney, and Brander Matthews all considered slang to be anything
that sounded new, and that was not in the “glossaries of British dialects” (Thorne,
1990). Walt Whitman considered slang to be the life of the language. Whitman wrote
“that slang was a wholesome.....of common humanity to escape the form bald literalism,
and express itself illimitably” (Thorne, 1990). This was a turning point for slang it was
starting to escape the harsh criticism of being associated with criminals or foreigners. It
was not until the early 1920’s that slang had gained the interest of popular writers. It
was during the post-World War I era that society gained new attitudes about slang.
There was now a demand for entertainment, mass media, and slangy fiction.
Today modern English and American slang has been shaped and reshaped by the
different cultures and the emergence of technology, which has left our society with
varieties of slang from extremes like e.g. Street/Drug Slang to African-American Slang
or Cockney rhyming slang. Other types of slang include SMS language used on mobile
phones, and "chat speak", which is widely used in instant messaging on the Internet.
2.1.1 Examples of slang words through the ages:
In 1920´s: and how - I strongly agree, balled up - confused, messed up, baloney nonsense!, cash - a kiss, Cat's Pajamas - something splendid or stylish, very similar to
„cool“, dead soldier - an empty bear bottle, handcuff - an engagement ring, "Now you're
on the trolley!" - Now you've got it, now you're right!, Whoopee - to have a good time,
also to make love, 23 skiddoo - It generally refers to leaving quickly, being forced to
leave quickly by someone else or taking advantage of a propitious opportunity to leave,
that
is,
“getting
out
while
the
getting’s
good”
<http://local.aaca.org/bntc/slang/slang.htm>
In 1930´s: all nighter – a restaurant that stays open all night, bananas – crazy, insane
(e.g. The guy went bananas when I asked him to leave), bash – a try, an attempt. chintzy
– cheap, ginchy – sexy, on edge – nervous, puke – to vomit, snoot – nose, tomato – a
female , lame-brain – a stupid or foolish person, yikes! – interjection of surprise
<www.alphadictionary.com>
16
In 1940´s: beat – tired, exhausted (After working all day I am really beat.), biz –
business, chicken – a coward, dome - the head or skull, gat –a gun, hitch – to marry,
jive – to make sense (Nothing you say jives with what your wife told me) , line – an
untrue story or statement, peanuts – little money, rub out – to kill, sugar daddy – a rich
man
who
supports
a
female,
whistle
Dixie
–
to
be
mistaken
<www.alphadictionary.com>
In 1950´s: badass – a tough guy, blitzed, bombed – drunk, intoxicated, can – a
bathroom or toilet, cut – to miss, to not attend (Let’s cut physics today and go to the
library), fess up – confess, garbage – nonsense, go ape – to lose control of yourself, go
crazy, jam – to make music informally, Mickey-Mouse – easy, simple, on cloud seven –
really happy, snow – to make someone adore you <www.alphadictionary.com>
In 1960´s: innit – contracted form of isn’t it? aced - to do remarkably well at
something, e.g. "I aced that test!; beast – ugly or unattractive girl , noddy – a
homosexual, pulling your chain – misleading someone in a humorous way; sluggos –
underpants, snap – a general reference to food,
(“I´m gonna go home and get some snap“).
<http://www.odps.org/glossword/index.php?a=srch&d=4&id_srch=2a1df29b9440f7fad
14c1e8b55f0747b&il=en&p=1>
In 1970´s: bail (on) – give up on, Benjamin – a one-hundred dollar bill, chopper –
a helicopter, couch potato – lazy person, gnarly – tough, challenging, heat – the police,
hit – a paid assassination, put a cork in it – to stop talking, shades – sunglasses, veggie
– vegetable, Yuck! – an interjection of disgust, fro – an Afro haircut
<www.alphadictionary.com>
In 1980´s: ball-and-chain – a marriage, cap – to shoot, crackalack – to happen, take
place (Hey dude, what’s crackalacking?), gear – clothes, high-five - slapping someone
else's palm stretched over the head, pull your chain – to annoy, bother, whoobang – to
gossip, <www.alphadictionary.com>
In 1990´s: dip – to leave, aiight – allright, okay, beans – money (dollars), chill out –
calm dow, take it easy, crib – house, apartment, dope – cool, great, freak out – go crazy,
17
get really mad, homey – buddy, friend; peace out – bye, throw down – to fight, YO –
hello, <http://www.inthe90s.com/generated/terms.shtml>
In 2000´s: tight, jiggy, fiya – cool, bling-bling – expensive jewelry, fall out – to sleep,
grip – a lot of money, hottie – an attractive female, punk – to embarrass, buzz – to
shave (your head), shorty – girlfriend, green – ecologically responsible (Management
thinks our company is green because we use paper cups in the Office.)
<www.alphadictionary.com>, wazzocked – drunk (Green, 2005)
Internet/SMS slang: abt – about, afk – away from keyboard, b2u – back to you, btw –
by the way, bzy – bussy, brb – be right back, c/t – cant talk, cu – goodbye (see you), h8r
– hater, hun – honey, m8 – friend (mate), mu – miss you, p.o.s – parent over shoulder,
pics – pictures, snog – kiss, t4a – thanks for asking, tl8r – talk later, w8am – wait a
minute, u2u – up to you, xoxo – hugs and kisses <http://www.noslang.com/dictionary>.
2.2 Subtypes of slang words
Slang is often connected with following types of vocabulary but as we can see due to
their definitions these special vocabularies can be considered as the subtypes of slang.
Jargon, is a vocabulary used by a special group or occupational class, usually only
partially understood by outsiders. The special vocabularies of medicine, law, banking,
science and technology, education, military affairs, sports, and the entertainment world
all fall under the heading of jargon. Examples of occupational jargon include such
formal technical expressions as perorbital hematoma (black eye, to the layperson), in
medicine, and escrow and discount rate, in finance, and informal terms such as licorice
stick (clarinet, among jazz musicians). Some writers reserve the term jargon for
technical language. Applied to colorful occupational expressions such as licorice stick,
the concepts of jargon and slang overlap greatly. In general, however, slang is more
casual and acceptable to outsiders than jargon.
<http://encarta.msn.com>
Argot is a secret language used by various groups—including, but not limited to,
thieves and other criminal, to prevent outsiders from understanding their conversations.
The earliest known recording of the term “argot” was in 1628, and the word probably
18
derives from the name, les argotiers, given to a group of thieves at that time.
<http://www.swarthmore.edu/SocSci/Linguistics/Papers/2007/peters_nathaniel.pdf>
Cant, sometimes defined as false or insincere language, also (like argot) refers to the
jargon and slang used by thieves and beggars and the underworld. Colorful terms and
phrases such as mug (either a police photograph or to attack a victim), payola (graft or
blackmail), hooker (prostitute), and to rub out or to blow away (to kill) are examples of
cant that eventually became commonly known to, and adopted as slang by society in
general. Slang and cant are more vivid than jargon, with a greater turnover in
vocabulary. <http://encarta.msn.com>
Taboo words, they exist in most, if not all, languages in the world. But why are some
words considered to be “taboo”? Bad language in English can be divided into three
broad categories, <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p271836_index.html>:
1) Religious words. These words are considered to represent holy or sacred
subjects and so they are offended when the words are used out of context or in a
disrespectful way (i.e. when names are “taken in vain”). Hence words such as
“God”, “Jesus” and “Christ Almighty” become taboo.
2) Words connected with the functions of the body. Especially lavatorial words
connected with things produced by the body. People generally do not like to
speak openly about toilet functions – human dignity is linked to this and is
partly preserved by the privacy surrounding our activities in the toilet. Thus,
disregard for this social nicety is perceived as offensive by many. Words such
as “piss” or “fart” are therefore taboo, (though their medical equivalents are
not).
3) Strongest words in the language. These words are all related to sexual acts and
the sex organs. Most of them are often only one syllable long - and are intended
to shock or offend in the most emphatic way. These words are generally
avoided in polite conversation as well as on TV and radio and in the
newspapers, although as time goes by and society changes more and more
swearing can be heard and read in the media. Other taboo words have very mild
equivalents which can be used relatively safely instead, and enable the user to
express strong emotions or reactions without actually using swear words.
“Flipping” can be used instead of “f*cking” (for example: “Don’t be so flipping
19
stupid!’). “Sugar” can be used instead of “sh*t” to express displeasure (for
example: “Oh, sugar! We’ve missed our train.”)
Apart from taboo words there are also taboo gestures. “Giving someone the finger” is
considered taboo in many countries though is not considered equally offensive in all
countries (i.e. it may be considered rather rude in one country but exceedingly offensive
in another). In Britain it is considered extremely offensive to raise two fingers (the
index and middle fingers) at someone, though only if the back of the fingers are
displayed to the recipient.
2.3 Forms of slang
There are several chief forms of slang, each created by a different process. As stated in
The World Book Encyclopedia (1992: 500), these forms are:
1. Old words used in new ways – most slang expressions are simply new uses for
old words or phrases. F.e to rip off (steal)a camera is slang, but to rip off the top
of a box is standard English
2. Shortened or lengthened words – there are produced many slang terms by
shortening, including phiz (face) which is short for physiognomy, psycho, short
for psychopath. In the process of back-formation there are verbs that were
formed by dropping the ending from a noun, f.e. burgle (to steal), from burglar,
nuke (to attack with nuclear weapon), from nuclear; in the reverse process, a
new word may be created by adding an ending to an existing one, f. e. payola
(graft) from pay, and slugfest, from slug (to hit)
3. Figures of speech – are expression in which words are used in unusual ways.
One of he most common slang figures of speech is a metaphot, in implied
comparison between two different things, f. e. the slang expression three sheets
to the wind compares drunkenness to a sailing ship or bean pole which describes
a thin person. Another type of slang figure of speech is metonymy, which
substitutes a quality of something for the thing itself. Examples of metonymy
include long green (paper currency) and skirt (woman)
4. Rhyming slang – is a slang that replaces a word with a word or phrase that
rhymes with it, f.e Rosie lea for tea, or apples and pears for stairs
20
5. Acronyms – are words formed from the first letters or syllables of the words in
a phrase. This form of slang includes D.J. or deejay from disc jockey
6. Coinages – are newly invented words or phrases. F.e. humongous (huge), moola
(money)
7. Blends – are new words created by joining the first part of one word to the
second part of another. Examples are gyrene (United States marine), from G.I.
marine; and sexplotation (commercial exploitation of people’s interest in sex)
21
3
Cockney rhyming slang
B. Kirkpatrick (2001) defines a Cockney rhyming slang as a variety of idiomatic speech
in which a particular word is replaced with a phrase of two or three words which rhymes
with it. E.g. look rhymes with butcher’s hook. There are cases where the rhyming word
is omitted. Instead of having a butcher’s hook at the book, it can be easily simplified as
having a butcher’s. It is not a rule to omit words just to something say more easily.
Unfortunately, many of the phrases then lose the second word, making it very hard for
the people who do not use cockney slang frequently to guess the original meaning.
Another example is rabbit for talk comes from the phrase rabbit and pork, but few
would be able to guess its meaning. Cockney expressions can vary in their
constructions, and it is only a matter of convention which version is used.
The word Cockney means the egg of a cockerel (male hen) and it was meant as an
insult, which implied dishonesty in business deals by trying to sell non-existent or low
quality goods. <http://www.english-for-students.com/Cockney-Rhyming-Slang-I.html>
The slang originated in London, especially in the East End of London and some of the
rhymes are true rhymes only if they are sounded in line with Cockney pronunciation.
This area, Cockney London, was once defined as being that which was within the sound
of Bow bells, the church bells belonging to the Church of St Mary Le Bow, in
Cheapside. ”Here, to be born “within the sound” signifies the radius around the Curch
of St Mary-le-Bow in the Eastside quarter of Cheapside, London, within which those
bells can still be heard. This feature applies to a distance of approximately three miles.
As this definition was given in 1617, the area of Cockney obviously has spread: today
the term Cockney is used for all speakers of this certain mode who live in the Home
Counties, also often referred to as Greater London. This term applies to the counties
surrounding the City of London, such as Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex,
Hertfordshire, Kent, Surrey and Sussex.” (Recknagel, 2006: 6)
Actually it is not a language but “a collection of phrases used by Cockneys and other
Londoners.” <http://www.cockneyrhymingslang.co.uk/cockney_rhyming_slang>. “The
Cockneys1 were considered stupid, poor and uneducated themselves.
1
The term Cockney describes both the dialect and the speakers.
22
That was the prevailing attitude towards Cockney until very recently when the
acceptance of the dialect and its speakers noticeably changed”. (Rusch, 2006: 6). There
is a slight difference between Cockney and Cockney rhyming slang. When one uses a
Cockney, he/she does not need to use also the rhyming phrases. The Cockney is
characterized mainly by its distinctive accent and dialect. Usually it differs from the
Standard English by its different pronunciation. For instance: “Richard Whiteing
(English author and journalist) spelt "Hyde Park" as Hy' Par'. “Clapham” can be said as
Cla'am. There is also a loss of dental fricatives: /θ/ becomes [f] in all environments.
[mɛfs] “maths”, /ð/ becomes [v] in all environments except word-initially when it is [d].
[bɒvə] “bother”, [dæɪ] “they”. (Wright, 1981:136)
There is a possibility that the Cockney rhyming slang came into being as a means of
keeping the police ignorant of what was happening around them. Therefore “rhyming
slang might have been originally a kind of code used by criminal groups, such as
thieves and the less honest street sellers, to pass on secret information to each other.”
(Kirkpatrick, 2001: 6)
Because of its humour and ingenuity it was gradually taken up by other people, usually
members of working classes, who had not necessarily anything to hide from the police.
Its playfulness and wit can be demonstrated in various jokes which are based on the
literal understanding of Cockney phrases. (See Appendix 1).
Through television and classic TV shows as “Steptoe and Son”, “Minder”, “Only Fools
and Horses” was Cockney slang brought to people’s attention in a greater degree.
Nowadays rhyming slang is enjoying a revival helped by the Internet. There are lots of
web sites where people invent new cockney phrases because they feel attracted to the
inventiveness of Cockney rhyming slang.
23
3.1 History of Cockney rhyming slang
Probably the earliest example of rhyming slang we can found in the Edward Jerringham
Wakefield's Adventures in New Zealand I. xi. 337, published in 1845. In which he
includes an account of the journey from the UK to the Southern Hemisphere. ”Boat
races, on which heavy bets depended, came off, and an occasional fight, arising from
the profound contempt which the whaler expressed for the “lubber of a Jimmy-grant,”
as he called the emigrant, completed the programme of the amusements during the
period.“ Who Jimmy Grant was isn't clear.
<http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-
WarEarl-t1-body-d14-d6.html>
The first who recorded rhyming slang in a systematic way were Ducange Anglicus, in
The Vulgar Tongue. A Glossary of Slang, Cant, and Flash Phrases, used in London
from 1839 to 1859 and by John Camden Hotten, in A Dictionary of Modern Slang, Cant
and Vulgar Words, 1859: Anglicus includes these example, all dated 1857: Apple and
Pears – stairs, Barnet-Fair – hair, Bird-lime – time, Lath-and-plaster – master, Oats
and chaff – foothpath. Hotten's book includes: Bull and cow – row, Chevy Chase – face.
<http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/cockney-rhyming-slang.html> Hotten was the
first to apply the name “rhyming slang” to the form, in his 1859 dictionary: “The cant,
which has nothing to do with that spoken by the costermongers, is known in Seven
Dials and elsewhere as the Rhyming Slang, or the substitution of words and sentences
which rhyme with other words intended to be kept secret. I learn that the rhyming slang
was introduced about twelve or fifteen years ago.” Gary M. (2009) claims that the slang
form was not known in the USA until the late 19th century. Here is an item from the
Lima Times Democrat, September 1894, which is the earliest reference he found from
America. It is in an editorial piece entitled “The Slang of London”, which describes
rhyming slang at length and is clearly intended for an audience who are new to it:
“Rhyming slang is peculiar to England and, I believe, to London.”
Rhyming slang has spread to many English-speaking countries, especially those that
had strong marine connections with the United Kingdom in the 19th century, in
particular Australia, Ireland and Canada/USA. There is even less justification for the
name these days than there was when it was coined. Many examples of Cockney
Rhyming Slang clearly originate in other countries, although England, and specifically
24
London, is still the major source. The spread can be shown by phrases that relate to
people or places only well-known in a particular country, or ones where the rhyme
depends on a regional or national accent. For instance:
Australian rhyming slang
It is said that Australian rhyming slang comes from Cockney and was brought to
Australia by the convicts who first settled the country. Examples: Reg Grundies Undies (Grundy is an Australian businessman), Steak and kidney - Sydney
Ireland rhyming slang
Flowers and frolics = bollocks (nonsense) or, with an Irish accent, bollicks.
Rhyming slang in Scotland
Corned (beef) = deaf or, in Scotland, deif.
Rhyming slang in United States
Eighty-six = nothing (nix).
<http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/cockney-rhyming-slang.html>
3.2 Rhyming slang in popular culture
People understood that it is a loss to use Cockney slang only in private conversations.
Therefore its genuine phrases and expressions should be presented to the whole world.
When having a look at popular culture today, one might have the impression that the
perception of the dialect has revolutionized. Cockney even seems to be on the rise
again, being promoted by British comedy series Mind Your Language (1977) features a
character (caretaker Sid) who uses Cockney rhyming slang extensively. The show also
had a whole episode dedicated to Cockney rhyming slang. The rhyming slang touched
also musical artists from South London such as Audio Bullys, The Streets, and Chas &
Dave who regularly use rhyming slang in their songs. Sham 69 had a hit song “The
Cockney Kids are Innocent”.
25
Cockney slang was also used in the movies such as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking
Barrels (1998) directed by Matthew Vaughn. This director brought Cockney rhyming
slang
again
to
the
thriller
called
Layer
Cake
(2004).
<http://www.slate.com/id/2131838/>. We can find a Cockney humor in Austin Powers
in Goldmember (2002), in the dialogue between Powers and his father Nigel which was
entirely in rhyming slang. Also the film Green Street Hooligans (2005) features a brief
explanation of the process by which rhyming slang is derived. A popular movie Ocean's
Eleven (2001) contains a piece of made-up rhyming slang, when a character uses
“barney” to mean trouble, and derives it from Barney Rubble. However, the use of
“barney” to mean an argument or a fight far precedes the Flintstones cartoon character
Barney Rubble though the origin is unclear. While the usage of barney to mean a
quarrel may or may not have originally been rhyming slang, its usage in the movie in a
way that is dependent on a 1960s era cartoon to get to the meaning of trouble is a good
example
of
the
changing
nature
of
speech.
< http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Cockney_rhyming_slang/id/1988133 >
In addition, Cockney is the best known urban dialect as the result of its special features,
which are excellently shown in the world famous musical My Fair Lady (1956), which
is based on the literary text “Pygmalion” written by George Bernard Shaw. There is a
little “fight” between the Standard English (represented by Henry Higgins) and the
Cockney dialect (represented by Eliza). On the one hand, Henry Higgins speaks
Standard English – the widely accepted form of English within the United Kingdom. He
pronounced his words clearly, making each sound easy to understand.
On the other hand, Eliza Doolittle, speaks the Cockney dialect of English – one of the
traditional dialects of London’s poor working class. As we know, Cockney is
represented by its distinctive pronunciations and word choices, some of which can be
seen here:
“Aoooow! I ain’t dirty: I washed my face and hands afore I come, I did.”
“Eliza uses the word “ain’t” instead of “I am not”, “afore” instead of “before”, and “I
come” instead of “I came”. She adds the phrase “I did” to the end of her sentence for
extra emphasis “<http://clevelandplayhouse.com/pdfs/06-07/MS0702-sg.pdf>
”The following example out of this musical (spoken by a Cockney girl) represents a
good portrayal of Cockney-speech: Ow, eez ye-ooa san, is e? Wat, fewd dan y’ de-ooty
26
bawmz a mather should, eed now bettern to spawl a pore gel’s flahrzn than ran awy athaht pyin. (In Standard English it would be the sentences: How, he’s your son, is he?
Well, if you’d done your duty by him as a mother better than to spoil a poor girl’s
flowers than run away without paying.) Wells once estimated Cockney as the most
influential source of phonological innovation in England and perhaps in the whole
English-speaking world.” (Müller, 2006: 4)
3.3 Current rhyming slang
Cockney rhyming slang is so widely spread in British English that many people
unconsciously use it in everyday speech. There are several established terms that are
used in conversation throughout Britain:
Let's have a butchers at that magazine. (butcher's hook = look)
I haven't heard a dicky bird about it. (dickie bird = word)
Use your loaf and think next time. (loaf of bread = head)
Did you half-inch that car? (half-inch = pinch, meaning steal)
You will have to speak up, he's a bit mutton. (mutt'n'jeff = deaf)
I'm going on my tod. (tod sloan = alone, or own)
Are you telling porkies? (porkies = pork pies = lies)
Are you going to rabbit all night? (rabbit and pork = talk)
Scarper lads! The police are coming. (scarpa flow = go)
<http://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/articles/cockney-rhyming-slang.html>
27
3.3.1 A small Cockney dictionary of the parts of the body
Standard English
Cockney rhyming slang
Ear/ears
Glass of beer/King Lear/Lords and Peers
Eyes
Mince pies/Pudding and pies
Nose
Hairy toes/Mary Rose/I suppose
Mouth
East and south/North and south/Sunny south
Teeth
Hampstead Heath/Roast beef
Chin
Errol Flynn/Thick and thin
Head
Cherry red/Loaf of bread
Face
Kipper and plaice/Deuce and ace
Cheek
Hide and seek
Brain
Down the drain/Watch and chain
Neck
Bushel and peck
Arm
Burglar alarm/False alarm/Lucky charm
Hand/hands
Brass band/Ramsgate Sands
Leg/legs
Mystic Meg/Scotch eggs
Feet
Plates of meet
Knee/knees
Biscuits and cheese/Chips and peas
Fingers
Bell-ringers
Fingernail
Slug and snail
28
Toe
Stop and go
Belly
Auntie Ellie
Bones
Stick and stones
Shoulders
Rocks and boulders
B. Kirkpatrick (2001), R. Puxley (1998)
3.3.2 A small Cockney dictionary of the most frequently used expressions
Adam and Eve
Believe
Alan Wickers
Knickers
Apples and pears
Stairs
Barney (Barney Rubble)
Trouble, now also means an argument
Bobble Barf/Bath
Laugh
Bowler Hat
Cat
Bread (Bread and honey)
Money
Butchers (Butchers hook)
Look
Britney Spears
Beers
Canoes
Shoes
Cheby toffee
Coffee
China (China plate)
Mate
Cloud seven
Heaven
29
Causy Roots
Boots
Dickie Bird
Word
Dickie Dirt
Shirt
Dog and bone
Phone
Dunlop Tyre
Liar
Elephants (elephants trunk) Drunk
Frog and Toad
Road
Half inch
Pinch (steal)
Holy host
Toast
Jam jar
Car
Mother´s ruin
Gin
Moby Dick
Sick
Mutton (Mutt and Jeff)
Deaf
Oily rag
Fag (cigarette)
On the floor
Poor
Oxo (Oxo cube)
Tube (the London Underground train system)
Pipe your Eye
Cry
Poppy (Poppy red)
Bread
Porky (Pork pie)
Lie
Rabbit (Rabbit and pork)
Talk
30
Rubber/Rubber dub
Pub (or club)
Skin and blister
Sister
Sky rocket
Pocket
Syrup (Syrup of fig)
Wig
Tea leaf/also Corned beef
Thief
Trouble and strife/ also
Wife
Old fork and knife
Weasel (Weasel and stoat)
Coat
B. Kirkpatrick (2001), R. Puxley (1998)
31
4
Analysis of the understanding Cockney rhyming slang
4.1 Research
As discussed before, it is almost impossible to understand Cockney rhyming slang, if
you are not a Londoner or someone who is very interested in it. It is very hard to catch
the phrases (however you know some of them) in the real conversation. This is due to
the real Cockney pronunciation. Therefore we decided to carry out a research to figure
out how many people know about the Cockney rhyming slang and how many of them
can even translate and recognize some of their basic phrases.
Our research was done mainly in the University of Žilina. There were asked 20 students
whose study combination is either Ethics and English language and literature, or Civics
and English language and literature. In addition, we disposed to compare the knowledge
of Slovak students with the people whose native language is not Slovak We asked five
students from University in Sarajevo, whose major is English language and literature
and five native speakers from London to fill in the questionnaire. We were interested in
whether people use slang words in general, why they use them, if they noticed the term
Cockney rhyming slang and also they ability to complete some exercises about this
slang. This questionnaire consisted of seven questions connected with the slang words.
Our respondents were asked to circle the answer according to their opinions. The three
of them was more personal questions and the last four were knowledge based tasks. In
some questions there was a possibility to express their personal attitude or experience in
the column “Other”. Our questionnaire is attached in the Appendix 2, the correct
answers of the knowledge based task are attached in the Appendix 3.
32
4.2 The evaluation of the questionnaire
1. How often do you use slang words?
Of the twenty schoolmates, thirteen use the slang words rarely; it makes 65%. We must
confess, that we predicted around this percentage, students will use slang words every
day. Only 35% of them use them in everyday communication. The fact that one student
(5% of the respondents) circled the option “never”, was surprising. On the other hand
80% of the natives or foreigners use slang words every day and 20% use them rarely.
Question 1. How often do you use slang words?
80%
80%
70%
65%
60%
50%
40%
schoolmates
35%
natives/foreigners
30%
20%
20%
10%
5%
0%
0%
Every day
Rarely
Never
33
2.
Why do you use slang words?
The 56% of my schoolmates and 60% of the native speakers of foreigners use the slang
words because everyone uses them. Also there were 3 students (16%) who use slang
words to be different and funny. There were respondents who used the option “Other”
and wrote there their own reason, the 30% of natives or foreigners wrote that they use
them because they are used to it. The similar answer was in this column of my
schoolmates, where 30% of them use slang words because it is usual or they just like
them.
Question 2. Why do you use slang words?
to be different 0%
and funny
15%
60%
55%
everyone
uses them
schoolmates
40%
other reasons
0%
natives/foreigners
30%
20%
40%
34
60%
3. Have you ever heard about Cockney rhyming slang? If yes, from which source?
This question had two possibilities. The respondents either have not ever heard about
Cockney rhyming slang, or they have heard about it. In the case of positive answer there
was a place to write from which source they have heard about this slang. We were quite
shocked that 30% of my schoolmates have not ever heard about it, because we predicted
that almost everyone noticed this slang from the Lexicology lessons, especially from the
lectures. This answer chose 70% of the students. It was not surprising that 90% of the
natives/foreigners have heard about Cockney slang, usually from living in the United
Kingdom. There were only 10% of them who have not heard about it.
Question 3. Have you ever heard about Cockney rhyming slang?
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
40%
20%
30%
10%
0%
No.
schoolmates
0%
Yes, from the
lectures.
35
0%
Yes, from
living in UK.
natives/foreigners
4. Can you decide for which purpose was this slang created?
This was the knowledge based question with three possibilities. Only one of them
(option C “People created it to be able to pass secret information to each other without
problems“) was correct, which circled 50% of my schoolmates and 70% of the natives
or foreigners. The incorrect possibilities chose the second half of my schoolmates (50%)
and 30% of the native speakers or foreigners. The most respondents whose answers
were wrong, chose the option B (“People created this slang just to sound funny and
differently“).
Question 4. For which purpose was this slang created?
The comparison of amounts of correct/incorrect answers
30%
incorrect answers
50%
natives/foreigners
70%
correct answer
0%
schoolmates
50%
20%
40%
60%
36
80%
5. There are some Cockney expressions that are most frequently used. Can you
write the meaning of these cockney rhyming slang phrases? Remember, the word
should rhyme.
There were six expressions in the Cockney rhyming slang and the respondents´ task was
to write their meaning in the Standard English. There was also a little help, the
expressions were put in the sentences, so they have a chance of guessing the meaning
from the context. As we can see on the graphs, my schoolmates had bigger problems
with this question than the native speakers or foreigners. There were five of them who
had everything correct (it makes 25%), two students had either five or four answer
correct (10% altogether). Other five students (25%) had the half of the answers correct,
15% of them had two answers correct, 5% only one correct answer and finally, four
schoolmates had all answers incorrect, which make 20%.
The comparison of amounts of correct answers of my
schoolmates in the 5th question.
0 correct answers
25%
1 correct answer
5%
5%
2 correct answers
3 correct answers
4 correct answers
5 correct answers
6 correct answers
15%
25%
5%
20%
On the second graph we can see that more than a half of natives or foreigners (six of
them – 60%) had everything correct. Other four had either five or four correct answers
which were still the excellent results.
The comparison of amounts of correct answers of
the natives/foreigners in the 5th question.
20%
4 correct answers
5 correct answers
6 correct answers
60%
20%
37
6. Write the correct equivalent in the Standard English without the help of the
context.
In this task respondents should write the correct equivalents of the six expressions in the
Cockney rhyming slang without the help of the context, it means that expressions were
not put in the sentences. The result was quite predictable. The 65% of my schoolmates´
answers were incorrect. The five students had half of the answers correct and two of
them had only one correct answer. Usually they wrote correct equivalents of “jam jar”,
“loaf of bread” or “frog and toad”.
The comparison of the amounts of correct
answers of my schoolmates in the 6th question.
10%
25%
0 correct answers
1 correct answer
3 correct answers
65%
The native speakers or foreigners had better results than students, three of them had all
answers correct, it makes 30%. Four of them altogether, had correct either five (2
people – 20%) or four answers (2 people – 20%). One of them (10%) had the half of
answers correct and the worst result was two correct answers, which wrote two natives
or foreigners (20%). It was not the bad result in general, because it was still the one
third of the answers written correctly.
The comparison of amounts of correct answers of
the natives/foreigners in the 6th question.
20%
30%
2 correct answers
3 correct answers
4 correct answers
10%
5 correct answers
6 correct answers
20%
20%
38
7. Try to translate this sentence into the Standard English.
The last task was the most difficult one because respondents should translate the
sentence written in the Cockney rhyming slang into the Standard English. The sentence
was very hard to understand because there were five Cockney expressions that were not
indicated. As we predicted, of course there were more respondents who did not have
anything correct. It was 75% of my schoolmates and also 60% of natives or foreigners.
We appreciated, that 25% of the students and 40% of the foreigners had translate
something correctly. In most cases they translated correctly the expressions of: “corned
beef”, “in soap and bubble” and “fork and knife”.
The comparison of the answers on the 7th question .
80%
70%
75%
60%
60%
50%
40%
40%
25%
30%
20%
10%
0%
nothing correct
correct either thief,
trouble or wife
39
schoolmates
natives/foreigners
Conclusion
This work focused mainly on one subcategory of the informal style, called slang words.
Our intention was to give a theoretical background which concerned the definitions,
development, the use of slang words and their forms. The slang words are not a
characteristic feature of the low classes. They encompass almost every generation of the
human speech, from Cockney rhyming slang to various colloquialisms and
euphemisms. They developed from the old slang expressions in the poems to the
modern Internet slang. We can say that slang words and their new coinages are created
every day and we can found them in every language. It is a phenomenon that is close to
almost everybody.
For the proper analysis we chose the type of the slang, called a Cockney rhyming slang.
We elaborated the Cockney rhyming slang through its origins, use in the culture and
small dictionaries of its expressions.
It is obvious from our results of the research that Cockney slang is not very common to
the Slovak students. Although they know the basic concept of this slang, they do not
have any further pieces of information and knowledge about it. Despite the fact that
most of our students have noticed it only from our lectures, we have to appreciate their
effort and creativity they put in their answers in the questionnaire. However most of
them were not correct, it was visible that after they completed the answers, they were
very interested in the correct equivalents of Cockney expressions. They were surprised,
shocked, moreover they enjoyed this kind of slang and wanted to find out more about it.
Therefore, we think that this slang should not be taught only marginally. It means it is
not enough to give students a definition of it and some examples. There should be paid
more attention to this slang and students should be provide with its origins, history and
some of the basic Cockney phrases in order to be more connected with it.
To summarise it, we studied the slang words as the subcategory of the informal style
with the emphasis on the Cockney rhyming slang. Our suggestions are to be more open
to the slang and not take it as the taboo words. The slang words definitely deserve our
importance and attention.
40
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44
Appendix 1
Cartoon jokes
45
Appendix 2
Questionnaire
Dear respondents,
my name is Eva Hatiarová and I am a student of the Faculty of Science at the University
of Žilina. I would like to ask you if you would complete this questionnaire, which is the
part of my bachelor paper.
The questions that you will have to answer are related to the slang words and especially
to the Cockney rhyming slang which is the form of the slang used mainly in London. It
is based on replacing words that you want to say with the ones that rhyme with them.
For example: Instead of saying: “My legs hurt so much” you use: “My bacon and eggs
hurt so much.” As you can see, these rhymes are often very witty and for people who do
not use this slang, completely incomprehensible.
I would like to find out, if you have ever heard about Cockney rhyming slang and if you
are able to understand and translate some of its most used items. I assure you that this
questionnaire is anonymous and received information will be used only for scientific
purposes of my bachelor paper. Thank you very much.
Class/City:
1. How often do you use slang words?
a) Every day.
b) Rarely.
c) Never.
2. Why do you use slang words?
a) I want to be different and funny.
b) I don’t know, maybe because everyone uses them.
c) Other reason:____________________________.
3. Have you ever heard about Cockney rhyming slang? If yes, from which
source?
a) No, I have heard about it for the first time from your questionnaire.
b) Yes, I have heard about it from ____________________________.
46
4. Can you decide for which purpose was this slang created?
a) People created it to expand their ability to write songs and poems.
b) People created this slang just to sound funny and differently.
c) People created it to be able to pass secret information to each other without
problems.
5. There are some Cockney expressions that are most frequently used. Can
you write the meaning of these cockney rhyming slang phrases? Remember,
the word should rhyme.
Adam and Eve “I don’t Adam and Eve it!”
_____________
Dog and bone “He called me on the dog and bone last night”
_____________
Butcher’s hook “Let’s have a butchers at that article.”
_____________
Pork Pies “I’m sure he’s telling me pork pies – I don’t believe him”
_____________
China plate “How’re you doing my old china plate? “
_____________
Britney Spears “Let’s go for a few Britneys.”
_____________
6. Write the correct equivalent in the Standard English without the help of the
context.
Frog and Toad
____________
Loaf of Bread
____________
Stop and go
____________
Hide and Seek
____________
Jam jar
____________
Syrup of fig
____________
7.
Try to translate this sentence into the Standard English
Some corned beef half-inched all my Easter bunny, so I’m in soap and bubble with the
old fork and knife.
Your translation: ________________________________________________________
47
Appendix 3
The key to the knowledge based task in the questionnaire.
4. C
5.
Adam and Eve “I don’t Adam and Eve it!”
___believe_____
Dog and bone “He called me on the dog and bone last night”
___phone______
Butcher’s hook “Let’s have a butchers at that article.”
___look_______
Pork Pies “I’m sure he’s telling me pork pies – I don’t believe him”
____lies______
China plate “How’re you doing my old china plate? “
____mate_____
Britney Spears “Let’s go for a few Britneys.”
____beers____
6.
Frog and Toad
_____road____
Loaf of Bread
_____head____
Stop and go
_____toe_____
Hide and Seek
____cheek____
Jam jar
_____car_____
Syrup of fig
____wig_____
7.
Some corned beef half-inched all my Easter bunny, so I’m in soap and bubble with the
old fork and knife.
Translation:
Some thief pinched all my money, so I’m in trouble with the old wife.
48