Abstract
Pornind de la o serie de exemple din limba engleză, lucrarea se ocupă de dezvoltarea argoului modern, acest pitoresc „mod de exprimare” utilizat pe scară largă. În general vorbind, argoul poate fi clasificat, în funcţie de domeniul de utilizare, în argou general (cuvinte care nu sunt specifice pentru orice grup social sau profesional) şi argou special (cuvinte specifice pentru anumite grupuri, cum ar fi adolescenţii, studenţii). Există, de asemenea, un fenomen lingvistic foarte interesant, cunoscut sub numele de argou care rimează, deosebit de frecvent în engleza britanică, de fapt, un argou secret, care are originea în lumea interlopă Cockney din secolul al 19-lea. Vorbitorii de limba engleză de pretutindeni par să fi devenit mai liberali, admiţând din ce în ce mai mult argoul în vorbirea lor cotidiană, la radio şi TV, folosind cuvinte care nu cu mult timp în urmă au fost considerate fie vulgare, fie chiar tabu.
Abstract
Starting from a series of examples from the English language, the paper deals with the development of modern slang, this picturesque “way of expression” so widely used in our ever developing fields of activity. Generally speaking, slang can be classified, according to the sphere of usage, in general slang (words that are not specific for any social or professional group) and special slang (words peculiar for some such groups as teenagers, university students). There is also a very interesting linguistic phenomenon known as rhyming slang, particularly common in British English, in fact a secret argot depending on rhyme as a device, which originated in the Cockney underworld of the 19th century. Speakers of English everywhere seem to have become more liberal, admitting more and more slang into their everyday speech, radio and TV programs, words which not long ago were considered either vulgar in the extreme or even taboo terms. Slang terms cannot be distinguished from other words by sound or meaning, all being once cant, jargon, argot or dialect, and changing from period to period as the language develops gradually. Having a primarily spoken usage, which has nevertheless conserved several centuries-old terms, slang is best recorded by employing direct sources. Despite being associated with various subcultures, slang is today socially acceptable, as it adds a new dimension to the language, enhancing the expressiveness of the discourse when appropriately employed.
