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Slanging Match

By: Mick Burrows
Submitted: 2007-01-17 16:42:59
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Slang frequently involves the creation of new linguistic modes, or the creative adaptation of old ones. It can even involve the creation of a secret language understood only by those within a particular group and it can be used and fashioned purely for humorous or expressive effect. Slang terms are often particular to a certain subculture and members of a minority, who, in using their own distinct brand of speech, can feel diverse and separate from the norm. It especially is popular amongst adolescents. However, these slang expressions can spread outside their original arena and become commonly understood; recent examples include ‘cool‘ and ‘wicked‘; once this occurs the originators tend to disregard them and invent something else. Probably the most famous of all slang is that of the cockney rhyming slang used in Londoners, particularly in the East End of the City. The origins of cockney rhyming slang are uncertain.

It's not really a language since the words spoken are clearly English; conversely, it's not a dialect either, since the speakers of this slang are also perfectly capable of not using it! Some stories go that cockney rhyming slang originated in the market place so that the vendor's could communicate without the customers knowing what was being said. Other stories suggest that it originated in the prisons so that inmates could talk without the guards listening in. There is a theory that cockney rhyming slang came about shortly after Sir Robert Peel introduced and implemented his idea for a Police force.

The criminal fraternity had never been faced with such a concerted effort to thwart them, so they developed cockney rhyming slang, to counter the threat to their plans. Basically, with cockney rhyming slang, you take a pair of associated words, where the second word rhymes with the word you intend to say, then use the first word of the associated pair to indicate the word you originally intended to say. Some cockney rhyming slang words have more than one meaning, so context is vital. For a visitor to the capital, it can almost seem that they are in another country listening to total nonsense, but many of the words are actually very cleverly thought out. It is possible to think of a rhyming slang word for almost everything, but over use does tend to be a little tedious, so it’s probably best received if used sparingly.

Mick Burrows writes for www.understand-slang.info

www.understand-slang.info take a 'butchers' at this site for more facts on slang!

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