the use of and the attitudes toward slang expressing surprise and disbelief among young americans = việc sử dụng và quan điểm đối với tiếng lóng biểu lộ sự ngạc nhiên và hoài nghi của giới trẻ mỹ

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the use of and the attitudes toward slang expressing surprise and disbelief among young americans = việc sử dụng và quan điểm đối với tiếng lóng biểu lộ sự ngạc nhiên và hoài nghi của giới trẻ mỹ

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VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES *** PHẠM HOÀI ANH The Use of and the Attitudes toward Slang Expressing Surprise and Disbelief among Young Americans (Việc Sử dụng Và Quan Điểm Đối Với Tiếng Lóng Biểu Lộ Sự Ngạc Nhiên Và Hoài Nghi Của Giới Trẻ Mỹ) PROGRAM I M.A. MINOR THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60.22.15 Hanoi, 2009 2 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES *** PHẠM HOÀI ANH The Use of and the Attitudes toward Slang Expressing Surprise and Disbelief among Young Americans (Việc Sử dụng Và Quan Điểm Đối Với Tiếng Lóng Biểu Lộ Sự Ngạc Nhiên Và Hoài Nghi Của Giới Trẻ Mỹ) PROGRAM I M.A. MINOR THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60.22.15 Supervisor: Prof.Dr. Hoàng Văn Vân Hanoi, 2009 6 CONTENTS Page Acknowledgements Abstract Contents List of Tables and Charts Abbreviations i ii iii vi vii PART A - INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale 1.1. Problem statement 1.2. Significance of the study 2. Aims of the study 3. Scope of the study 4. Methodology 4.1. Research questions 4.2. Methods 5. Design of the study 1 1 2 3 3 4 4 4 4 PART B - DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: THEOREICAL FRAMEWORK AND LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1. Slang 1.1.1. What is slang? 1.1.2. What slang is NOT? 1.1.3. Slang as an integral part of youth culture 1.1.4. Slang as a language variety 1.1.4.1. Slang as a register 1.1.4.2. Slang and social aspects of language variation 1.1.5. Social functions of slang 1.1.6. Lexicological and semantic classifications of slang 6 6 7 8 8 8 9 10 11 7 1.2. Expressing surprise and disbelief via slang - a speech act 1.2.1. Speech act and speech act classification 1.2.2. Speech Act Theory 1.2.3. ―Expressing surprise and disbelief via slang‖ as a speech act 1.3. American slang and its role in today’s American society 1.3.1. American slang and its characteristics 1.3.2. Importance and prevalence of slang in today‘s American society 1.3.3. History of American Youth Slang (AYS) 1.4. Summary 13 13 13 14 15 15 15 16 18 CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 2.1. Aim of the Empirical Study 2.2. Methodology 2.3. Data collection methods 2.3.1. Questionnaire survey 2.3.2. Follow-up interviews 2.3.3. Participant observations 2.4. Conclusion 19 19 19 19 19 21 21 CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS 3.1. Data presentation 3.1.1. Description of the population sample 3.1.2. Backgrounds of the respondents 3.2. Findings and discussions 3.2.1. The use of slang expressing surprise and disbelief 3.2.1.1. Frequency of slang use 3.2.1.1.1. Age and frequency of use 3.2.1.1.2. Gender and frequency of use 3.2.1.1.3. Education and frequency of use 3.2.1.2. Reasons for using slang 3.2.1.3. Contexts for slang use 3.2.1.3.1. Non-acceptability contexts 22 22 22 23 23 23 24 25 25 26 28 28 8 3.2.1.3.2. Mid-acceptability contexts 3.2.1.3.3. High-acceptability contexts 3.2.1.4. Classifying slangisms according to the trend in use 3.2.1.4.1. Out-of-date slangisms 3.2.1.4.2. Contemporary slangisms 3.2.1.5. Pragmatic classification of contemporary slangisms 3.2.1.5.1. Based on the social contexts 3.2.1.5.2. Based on the degree of emotion 3.2.2. Attitudes toward slang use 3.2.2.1. Age and attitudes toward slang use 3.2.2.2. Gender and attitudes toward slang use 3.2.2.3. Education and attitudes toward slang use 3.3. Summary 29 30 31 31 32 33 33 35 37 38 39 39 40 PART C –CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 1. Conclusions 2. Recommendations 2.1. For ESL teachers 2.2. For ESL learners 2.3. For ESL translators 41 42 42 42 43 REFERENCES APPENDICES Appendix A. 20 Slangisms of surprise and disbelief Appendix B. Invitation Letter Appendix C. Questionnaire on American Slang Appendix D. List of additional slangisms of surprise and disbelief provided by respondents Appendix E. Commonly used slangisms of surprise and disbelief in America today 44 I I III IV IX X 9 LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS TABLES Page Table 1. Backgrounds of Participants Table 2. Age and frequency of using slang Table 3. Gender and frequency of using slang Table 4. Educational background and frequency of using slang Table 5. Classification of slangisms of surprise and disbelief based on the trend in use Table 6. Classification of slang according to context Table 7. Classification of slang according to level of emotion Table 8. Age and attitudes toward slang use Table 9. Gender and attitudes toward slang use Table 10. Educational background and attitudes toward slang use 22 24 25 26 31 34 36 38 39 40 CHARTS Chart 1: Frequency of using slang among American youth Chart 2: Reasons for slang use by American youth Chart 3: Non-acceptability contexts for slang use Chart 4: Mid-acceptability contexts for slang use Chart 5: High-acceptability contexts for slang use Chart 6: Attitudes toward slang use 23 27 28 29 30 37 10 ABBREVIATIONS ESL : AYS : L1 : English as a Second Language American Youth Slang First Language (native language) 11 PART A – INTRODUCTION 6. Rationale 1.1. Problem statement David Burke, the author of Biz Talk series – the bestsellers of American business slang and jargon, begins his book by quoting a common complaint by visitors to America, ―What are the natives saying?! This isn‘t the English I learned in school!‖ (1993, p.vii). This can be traced to what he calls ―confusing yet popular ‗inside‘ language used by the inhabitants: slang‖ (1993, p.vii). Slang is a special type of vocabulary, existing in every language and reflecting the country‘s social and cultural aspects. Different countries even speaking the same language possess a different slang vocabulary. Slang is often an easy, informal way to communicate. However, it is often perplexing for international students, because the meanings of slang terms are not necessarily in the dictionary and cannot be taken literally. In the United States, the prevalence of slang now is much beyond the expectation of linguists. Slang frequently appears in daily conversations, movies, literature, newspapers and magazines. Understanding and ability to use slang in communication, hence, is of great necessity for ESL users. About the importance of American slang, Parshall (1994, p.23) puts, ―slang supplies more than 10 percent of the words the average American knows‖, of which slang expressions of surprise and disbelief account for quite a large number, as the Americans have a high frequency of showing surprise and disbelief through verbal communication in their daily life. Now there is a realization that slang - youth language - may be more important than previously thought. This area, therefore, is not quite mistreated as it was. However, in Vietnam, where much more attention is habitually paid to Standard English, slang is still ignored by both linguists, ESL teachers and even ESL learners. The main reason for the neglect, perhaps, arises from people‘s perception that slang, which is a sublanguage of a subculture, is not widely acceptable. Another reason why both ESL teachers and learners take no notice of slang because they do not for sure how frequent slang is used and how to employ it properly in daily communication. Some writers (Nguyen Van Khang being an influential example) have touched this field, but mostly limited to introducing definitions of slang and contemporary slang terms in dictionaries. The problem lies in these dictionaries themselves, wherein the 12 lexicographers usually bring in a slang term along with its meaning and an example of use only. This really challenges ESL speakers because they do not know in what context and with whom the slang item should be used to avoid failure in communication. Also, they do not know various nuances denoted in a slangism, especially those expressing emotion and feeling, to use it at best. Another question lies in previous studies which point out that slang is youth language, and that it is frequently employed and accepted by the youth. But whether there exist dissimilarities in the use of slang and attitudes toward slang among the young people remains unanswered. For all the justifications above, the author aspires to conduct the study entitled “Slangisms expressing surprise and disbelief with young Americans: The use and attitudes”. It is hoped that the study will be a contribution to the understanding of the nature of slang, American youth‘s use of and attitudes toward slang, as well as providing useful recommendations of how to use this special kind of vocabulary to ESL teachers, students and translators. 1.2. Significance of the study Slang is generally labeled as a linguistic taboo that should not be appearing in most formal social occasions. However, to my mind, slang is worthy of the attention of researchers in its own right; further, as an exciting and controversial form of language which belongs to young people and to youth culture in colloquial contexts, it is a valuable topic for discussions of sociolinguistic and pragmatic issues. Commenting on the approaches toward the study of slang, Nekvapil puts that, ―The lexicographic approach dominates, often complemented by grammatical or word-formation analyses‖ (1987, p.195). While etymological and semantic studies of slang have been recently common, other approaches to research on slang are rarely seen. Therefore, this paper, which is a sociolinguistic investigation of American people‘s attitudes toward slang and their use of slang, holds great academic merits. Equally important, whereas slang is conventionally classified in the light of lexicology and semantics, this pragmatic classification of slang, therefore, is obviously a milestone. Further, by identifying current and common slang terms and how to use them in certain contexts, the studies directly benefit Vietnamese-American cross-cultural communication, 13 Communicative English teaching, and translation. Such information can be of particular help to ESL teachers, who are often puzzled about what register of English to stress in instruction. The study can also be useful to ESL students, who must understand not only the meaning of a slang term in everyday conversation but also the appropriate social context for using it in order not to offend people. Finally, Vietnamese translators can take the most of recommendations from the research when facing with a number of slang expressions in movies, papers, magazines, etc., because the subtleties of using slang in a foreign language are always filled with difficulties. 7. Aims of the study The aims of the study are as follows: a. To explore the use of slang of surprise and disbelief by American youth, specifically - to find out frequency of use, reasons and contexts for slang use, - to identify current and commonly-used American slangisms of surprise and disbelief; - to classify those slang expressions in the light of pragmatics. b. To investigate attitudes toward slang use of American young people and the correlation between these attitudes and social aspects such as age, gender, and education. 8. Scope of the study First, the study deals with verbal aspects of the communication act of expressing surprise and disbelief through slang. The role of non-verbal factors in communication such as paralanguage, proxemics, chronemics and icons is beyond the scope of this study. Second, the study especially focuses on American slangisms expressing surprise and disbelief. Slang of other variations, such as British slang, Australian slang or slang denoting other themes, then, is mentioned but not elaborated. Also, other meanings rather than surprise and disbelief implied in a slang item are not considered in the current study. Third, the data obtained is confined to the informants‘ responses to the questionnaire and follow-up interviews which are not spontaneous discourse. They are, of course, somewhat different from real-life communication. So, the study, rather than reaches fixed conclusions, would give remarks, comments and assumption on the way American young people use slang of surprise and disbelief. Fourth, the investigation concentrates on the use of slang by the youth, which is defined as ―young people in general‖ by Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (Quirk, [...]... particular to them and their age, as well as to their culture 35 3.2.1.1.2 Gender and frequency of use Although the majority of the participants are female, the results show that 56% of the males say they often use this group of slangisms opposed to 43% of the females Moreover, 7% of the female respondents state that they rarely use these slang terms, while none of the male ones choose this option (see the. .. use slang often Remarkably, the frequency of slang use decreases when the age increases Looking at the rest two groups, it is found out that the people of 18-24 use slang far less than the younger group but much more than the older one Over one tenth of the oldest respondents (25-30) say they rarely use slangisms of surprise and disbelief, while none of the other two groups do This finding supports the. .. attitudes toward slang use and discovering the rapport between these attitudes and social aspects like age, gender, and academic background among American youth, (2) investigating frequency of use, reasons and contexts for slang use, (3) identifying current and popular slangisms of surprise and disbelief, and (4) categorizing these slang expressions based on the contexts and the level of users‘ emotion... The use of slang expressing surprise and disbelief 3.2.1.1 Frequency of slang use Chart 1: Frequency of using slang among American youth 48% 50% 48% 4% 0% 0% 0% Always Often Occasionally Rarely Never Data from the survey questionnaire (see Appendix C, PART B – Question 1) show that the American young people use these slang expressions at high frequency Expressly, almost half of them often use the slang. .. emotion charge, and social context connoted in each slangism In the last section (PART B), the respondents are requested to indicate their frequency of using this group of slang terms, the reasons why they use them, the contexts wherein they would use them, and their attitudes toward slang use The first version of the questionnaire has been piloted with two American teachers at Hanoi University of Technology,... concepts and misconcepts of slang, then the roles of slang as an indispensable element of youth culture and as a language variety, and finally the social functions of slang or reasons why people use slang Focused analysis is on Expressing surprise and disbelief via slang as a speech act‘, based on speech act classification The last part of the chapter has dealt with matters in American slang and its... adults never do, and vice versa Slang, the most nonlinguistic type of language, is believed to be used by the youth However, among the youngsters, whether there exists any difference in slang use between them is still an open question For instance, is there a difference between the use of slang by high school students (aged 1517) and the use of slang by college students (aged 18-25)? The current research... order to meet the aims of the study, the following research questions are generated:  How frequent, for what reasons and in what contexts is slang employed by American youth?  What are current and common American slangisms of surprise and disbelief?  How are these slangisms categorized in the light of pragmatics?  What are the attitudes of American young people toward slang and what is the relationship... communications To sum up, the popularity and power of American slang have come as no surprise Hence, it is necessary to acknowledge that slang is certainly a reality for members of the American population and there is higher acceptability of slang use in this society today 1.3.3 History of American Youth Slang (AYS) When we think of slang, then, we either think of the slang of the youth For this reason,... presents the detailed procedure of the study: the methodology, population selection, data collection and analysis Chapter III: Data Analysis and Results The part deals with the findings drawn out from the analysis of data The findings and discussion are based on describing the use of slang by American native speakers and their attitudes toward slang Part C: Conclusions and Recommendations Main points and . and Disbelief among Young Americans (Việc Sử dụng Và Quan Điểm Đối Với Tiếng Lóng Biểu Lộ Sự Ngạc Nhiên Và Hoài Nghi Của Giới Trẻ Mỹ) PROGRAM I M.A. MINOR THESIS Field: English. Disbelief among Young Americans (Việc Sử dụng Và Quan Điểm Đối Với Tiếng Lóng Biểu Lộ Sự Ngạc Nhiên Và Hoài Nghi Của Giới Trẻ Mỹ) PROGRAM I M.A. MINOR THESIS Field: English Linguistics. UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES *** PHẠM HOÀI ANH The Use of and the Attitudes toward Slang Expressing Surprise and Disbelief among Young Americans

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Mục lục

  • CONTENTS

  • LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS

  • ABBREVIATIONS

  • PART A – INTRODUCTION

  • 6. Rationale

  • 1.1. Problem statement

  • 1.2. Significance of the study

  • 7. Aims of the study

  • 8. Scope of the study

  • 9. Methodology

  • 4.1. Research questions

  • 4.2. Methods

  • 10. esign of the study

  • PART B - DEVELOPMENT

  • 1.1. Slang

  • 1.1.1. What is slang?

  • 1.1.2. What slang is NOT?

  • 1.1.3. Slang as an integral part of youth culture

  • 1.1.4. Slang as a language variety

  • 1.1.5. Social functions of slang

  • 1.1.6. Lexicological and semantic classifications of slang

  • 1.2. Expressing surprise and disbelief via slang – a speech act

  • 1.2.1. Speech act and speech act classification

  • 1.2.2. Speech Act Theory

  • 1.2.3. “Expressing surprise and disbelief via slang” as a speech act

  • 1.3. American slang and its role in today’s American society

  • 1.3.1. American slang and its characteristics

  • 1.3.2. Importance and prevalence of slang in today’s American society

  • 1.3.3. History of American Youth Slang (AYS)

  • 1.4. Summary

  • CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

  • 2.1. Aim of the Empirical Study

  • 2.2. Methodology

  • 2.3. Data collection methods

  • 2.3.1. Questionnaire survey

  • 2.3.2. Follow-up interviews

  • 2.3.3. Participant observations

  • 2.4. Conclusion

  • CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS

  • 3.1. Data presentation

  • 3.1.1. Description of the population sample

  • 3.1.2. Backgrounds of the respondents

  • 3.2. Findings and discussions

  • 3.2.1. The use of slang expressing surprise and disbelief

  • 3.2.2. Attitudes toward slang use

  • 3.3. Summary

  • PART C –CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

  • 1. Conclusions

  • 2. Recommendations

  • 2.1. For ESL teachers

  • 2.2. For ESL learners

  • 2.3. For ESL translators

  • REFERENCES

  • ENGLISH

  • VIETNAMESE

  • APPENDICES

  • APPENDIX A 20 Slangisms for "surprise and disbelief" (Source: Online Historical Dictionary of American Slang, 2009)

  • APPENDIX B: (attached with the questionnaire)

  • APPENDIX C QUESTIONNAIRE ON AMERICAN SLANG

  • APPENDIX D List of additional slangisms of surprise and disbelief provided by respondents

  • APPENDIX E COMMONLY-USED SLANGISMS OF SURPRISE AND DISBELIEF IN AMERICA TODAY

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