SECRET WORDS: AMERICAN SLANGS

Аннотация

В этой статье рассматриваются сленги, которые используются в англоязычных странах. Она начинается с общепринятого и удобного определения и функций сленгов и, в некоторой степени, культурного значения. Это исследование также включает точкизрения вразных странах инекоторыетрудности перевода. Ключевые слова: сленг, американский английский, неформальный язык, исследование, понимание,диалект,грамматика,интернет-сообщество,перевод,социальные группы. Nowadays, it is noticeable that, language is a living, expanding entity and without a doubt, nowhere is this more evident than in the sphere of slang. In the United States slang serves as a vibrant role of cultural shift, technological advancements and social dynamics. American slang offers a window into the nation’s diverse and ever-changing identity. Actually, fascinating world of American slang has its origins, functions, the most popular expressions used in contemporary speech in 2025. Before starting with functions, we have to answer the question of “what is slang?”. “Slang is a type of informal language. It includes words and phrases that people use in everyday conversations, especially among friends or people in the same group. Slang is not usually found in formal writing or in school textbooks”. For example, words like “cool” “lit” “hang out” “no cap” or “LOL” are all slang terms. Slang changes all the time. New words appear quickly, especially among young people, and old slang can disappear fast. This is because slang reflects trends, emotions, and how people feel or think in the moment. “Slang is a self-sufficient, subversive, oppositional subset of the English language. It has given a tongue, by no means inarticulate, to themarginal, thecriminal andthedispossessed forat least halfa millennium”.1 1Green,Jonathon.(2011).“SomeThoughtsonSlang.”AlicanteJournalofEnglishStudies/RevistaAlicantinade EstudiosIngleses,No.24,pp.153–171.https://doi.org/10.14198/raei.2011.24.06 page2374 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ISSN:2692-5206,ImpactFactor:12,23 AmericanAcademicpublishers,volume05,issue05,2025 Journal: https://www.academicpublishers.org/journals/index.php/ijai “Whyslang changes over period oftime?” To clarify this question, we have to refer to historical evolution of American slang would be the best example. In 1920s, the jazz age introduced terms really different from other ones like “bee’s knees” which was something excellent. Besides that “cat’s pajamas”(an outstanding person or thing). In 1960-70s, the counterculture movement popularized expressions with new perspectives. For example,“goovy”was used like“cool” or“farout” meant “amazing”. After many years, approximately in 1980s, it was the time of hip-hop culture and they came to this century with new slangs as the best trend of ever. They were “dope”(excellent) and “phat” (great) and other past words turned into old-fashioned. Many of these words originated from African American Vernacular English and its abbreviation is“AAVE”. At present, namely, after 2000s, we have really amazing inventions. The rise of the internet and social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok or Twitter has accelerated the creation of slang and in contemporary world, we try to use easy and modern expressions in our speech to increase our social status. For instance, when we want to say exciting, we just use “lit”, “ghosting” means “suddenly cutting offcommunication”. Usually, we have a chance to use slangs in everyday communications. Slang is not just for fun —ithas real purposes. Here are someimportant reasons whypeople useslang: Firstly, slang helps people feel like they belong. Teenagers, gamers, musicians, or sports fans might all use different slang. When people use the same slang, it shows they are part of the samegroup or culture. Second one, slang is a good way to express strong feelings. For example, if someone says, “That movie was fire!” they mean it was really great. Saying “I’m dead” after hearing a joke shows that they laughed a lot. These words show more emotion than standard words. Third, slang often uses funny or creative language. “Slang enriches language byadding vividness and expressiveness. It often breaks traditional linguisticrules, giving riseto innovation and creativity in everyday speech”.2 People like to make up new ways to say things. For example, “spill the tea” means to tell gossip, and “ghost someone” means to suddenly stop talking to them. These fun phrases make language interesting. Fourth, slang is often shorter and quicker to say. Instead of saying “That’s suspicious,” people might just say “That’s sus”. This is very common in texting or online chatting. In today’s fast-paced digital world, people want to communicate quickly and easily, especially when texting or chatting online. That’s one of the biggest reasons why slang has become so popular — it makes communication faster and more efficient. Social media platforms like Twitter (X), TikTok, or Snapchat often have character limits