Ways of Rendering Student Slang in Salinger Novel "The Catcher in the Rye"

Résumé du document

Slang, as the most mentioned representative word form of the informal vocabulary, occupies a prominent role in contemporary society. It has become the second language of any democratic country. Everybody uses it even if one pretends that he has never used it. It is a veritable issue and it will appear more actual if we take a look at its depth – at its origin, its roots and see how slang achievedstep by step its actual status.

Now we will go through its history beginning with its origonal usage and will pay attention to the details while talking about slang's appearance in European countries and the USA. The picture that we will get will help us to realize slang's complexity and what is really important – its omnipresence.

The earliest example of the word hitherto ‘discovered' occurs in Toldervy's ‘History of Two Orphans', published in 1756. One of the characters in this story is a man who, “in return for the numerous lies' which he told, was called: the cannon-traveler ; and it is said of him that “he had been upon the town, and knew the slang well.” It is not clear whether “slang” here has its modern sense, or whether it means the ways of fast life in London. A more unequivocal instance, two years later in date, is quoted in J. C. Hotten's Slang Dictionary (1864) from a book entitled Jonathan Wild's ‘Advice to his Successor', apparently one of the many catch penny publications that were called forth by the popularity of Fielding's burlesque romances.

No copy of this book is in the British Museum or the Bodleian Library, and inquiries have failed to discover any trace of its existence; but there is no reason to doubt that Hotten had seen it. The passage, as quoted by him, is as follows: Let proper Nurses be assigned to take care of these Babes of Grace (i.e. young thieves). The Master who teaches them should be a man. Well versed in the Cant Language, commonly called the Slang Patter, in which they should by all means excel.”

Four years later, in 1762, the word is found with a different and now obsolete meaning, in Foote's play ‘The Orators'. A fast young Oxford man, invited to attend a lecture on oratory, is asked, “Have you not seen the bills?” He replies, “What, about the lectures? Aye, but that's all slang, I suppose.” Here the word seems, to be equivalent to “humbug.” In the 1st edition of Hugh Kelly's comedy ‘The School for Wives', there is a passage (omitted in some of the later reprints) in which one of a company of shapers, who pretend to be foreigners and speak broken English, says: There's a language called slang, that we sometimes talk in. . . . It's a little rum tongue, that we understand among von another.

Francis Grose's ‘Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue' (1785) has the entry “Slang, the cant language”; and after this, instances of the word are abundant. In the early part of the 19th century, it appears in literature chiefly as a general term of condemnation, for “low-lived” and undignified modes of expression.

Extraits

[...] So the problem occurred because of the slang's and dialects' appurtenance to the colloquialisms in social prestige that is why we place them (with a certain stretch) on the same level. [(http://users.aber.ac.uk/vi11/standard_and_nonstandard_language.htm)] 2. VULGARISMS are rough coarse words, swear words, oaths. They are always words with a strong emotive colouring and sound insulting to the ear. For example: I'm not damned fool! I couldn't go believing for ever that gang was going to change the world by shooting off their loud traps on soapboxes! [...]

[...] The suffix corresponding to the -hart and -ling of German slang is -mans, as in lightmans, day, darkmans, night, ruff mans, the woods. The word cheat, a thing (whether this is etymologically connected with, the verb to cheat is uncertain.), is used to form a great variety of descriptive compounds, such as grunting cheat, a pig, bleting cheat, a sheep, cackling cheat, a cock or capon, mofling cheat, a napkin, smelling cheat, the nose, pratling ‘cheat, the tongue. There aresome ordinary English words used as descriptive nicknames for,things, as glasyers, eyes, stampes, legs, stampers, shoes, prauncer, a horse, glymmar, fire, lap, buttermilk or whey, high pad, the highway, pek, meat. [...]

[...] (Cool, uptight, do your thing were youth cant of the late 1960s before they became slang.) "Argot" is merely the combined cant and jargon of thieves, criminals, or any other underworld group. (Hit used by armed robbers; scam by corporate confidence men.) Example: Pig Latin 8. TABOO comes from a Tongan word meaning "forbidden"-- certain topics are socially forbidden-- body parts, bodily functions, sexual activity and practices, religious, ideological. A word denoting one of the taboo topics is sometimes called a taboo word. Societies differ in what topics are taboo. Sexual taboos are not the same: ankle, neck. [...]

[...] When somebody spoke he inevitably shows his emotions and using slang it is easier to do. It tends to satisfy a variety of emotional and intellectual needs of people: as an exercise of wit and humour slang is “jesting language” that gives fresh and pungent names to things often mentioned in discourse; it is ironical, often contemptuous and emphasizes the ridiculous aspect of things. Mr. Frank Sechrist in science du that is Science of the Word said: The emotional tension produced by slang is greater that of more customary and conventional language and the mind in time seeks a relief from Then “Slang phrases often possess a greater wealth of association than other because they appeal to recent experience rather than to dim memories.” And keeps close to the objective world of things It is the language of reality as common sense.” Slang will often be clear, even though it must be distasteful; it will be familiar, even though it must be coarse. [...]

[...] Some subsitute words are deliberately intended to be funny and vulgar; thus they are not really euphemisms: such as using the name of some object for breasts, vagina, penis, testicles: metaphorical verbs-- to screw, tinkle GRAFFITI is " . any spontaneous or unauthorized writing or drawing on walls, vehicles, and other public places. It is typically obscene or political in character, but a great deal of humor and wisdom can also be found." (Crystal 181) Examples: Lethargy rulezzzzzzzzzzz Kilroy Woz Here Lisa loves Michael 11. [...]