社会语言学视角下的美国俚语功能研究_英语论文

On the Functions of American Slang from the Perspective of Sociolinguistics

摘要

美式俚语不仅是一种语言工具，而且是一种社会语言载体。美式俚语语言特点丰富，比如幽默、善变、简明、新奇等。本文着重探讨美式俚语的社会语言学功能，旨在帮助人们更好地理解美式俚语。本研究表明：从社会语言学角度来看，美式俚语的功能主要包括自我认同、情感传递及礼貌行为。一些群体使用美式俚语是为了寻求归属感。美式俚语尽管有着如此重要的功能，却仍被视为一种粗俗的表达。社会大众对美式俚语持有偏见，认为它起源于通俗语，在正式场合使用显得过于随意。本文认为：鉴于美式俚语与社会环境密切相关且具备重要的功能, 人们应摒弃对美式俚语的偏见，正确诠释美式俚语的重要意义。

关键词：美国俚语；功能；社会语言学；偏见

Abstract

American slang functions not only as a linguistic instrument but also as a sociolinguistic medium. American slang has various characteristics, such as humor, instability, conciseness as well as originality. The focus of this paper is to develop its sociolinguistic functions so as to help people better understand this language form. It is found that the sociolinguistic functions of American slang include the display of self-identity, the conveyance of emotions as well as the display of politeness. The use of certain slang can be seen as a gesture to show a sense of belonging for a certain group. Despite its important sociolinguistic functions, American slang is still viewed as vulgar expressions to be used. Moreover, the general public has the stereotype that American slang is derived from colloquial language, and that it is too casual to be used on formal and important occasions. This paper has argued that due to the fact that American slang has been closely related to social environment and has carried important sociolinguistic functions, it is important for people to remove the pre-conception and prejudice against American slang and better interpret the significance of American slang.

Key words: American slang; functions; sociolinguistics; prejudice

Contents

1 Introduction 1

2 An Overview of American Slang 2

2.1 Definition of Slang 2

2.2 Characteristics of American Slang 4

2.2.1 The Sense of Humor 4

2.2.2 The Feature of Conciseness 5

2.2.3 The Feature of Originality 5

2.2.4 The Feature of Instability 6

3 The Sociolinguistic Functions of American Slang 6

3.1 The Display of Self-identity 6

3.2 The Conveyance of Emotions 7

3.3 Expression of Politeness 8

4 The Prejudice towards and Significance of American Slang 9

5 Cautions in Using Slang 11

6 Conclusion 12

References 13

Acknowledgements 14