Word formation in slang; Derivation

What is slang? Slang is the term used to define the set of words/phrases that are considered informal and unconventional in the English language and are more than likely to be used in speech as opposed to writing. Slang is widely used amongst teenagers and certain groups of people. The words can range from being obscene to witty. Slang can be a way for people to connect and become friends or to just express how you feel without the pressure of prescriptive rules in English. People take on the descriptive approach when it comes to how they speak and express themselves. Slang can be created through various linguistic processes like blending, coinages, clipping, acronyms and more importantly, derivation. The morphological word forming process derivation is the process used to create these slang words that we hear in today’s day. Derivation utilizes affixation to create new words. Affixes such as prefixes and suffixes are added to a free morpheme. In slang, many of the words are created through derivation. For example, the slang terms; ghosted, ghosting, adulting, adulted, hipster, flexer, salty, snatched, sucker and bingeable are all words formed through derivation because they all have suffixes added to the end of already existing morphemes that can stand alone, the suffixes however, cannot. The word ghosted is the past tense of ghosting. Both words have the suffixes “ing” and “ed” and are added to the free morpheme “ghost.” Ghosting is a term used to emphasize the disappearance of someone in your life usually by means of their own without a trace, avoiding you, ditching you, withdrawing communication from you. This is derived from the word “ghost” itself because a ghost is not physically present in this world, they disappear whenever. In snatched, the suffix “ed” is added to the word “snatch.” Snatch is when someone abruptly grabs something away from you. The slang word snatched is used to emphasize how great someone looks, whether that be their makeup, hair, or clothes, people will say “wow your makeup looks snatched.” This signifies that said person grabbed someone’s attention away abruptly because of how marvelous they look.  In bingeable, the suffix “able” is added to the word “binge.” Binge is used to portray the act of doing something consecutively, for hours. Bingeable just means something can be done for long. In adulting, the suffix “ing” is added to the word “adult” and adulting is a term used by many today to emphasize that one is being responsible and displaying the characteristics/attributes of an adult to get tasks done. This slang term derives from the free morpheme “adult” which is a grown-up who is supposed to be responsible and disciplined. Adulted is the past tense of adulting. These are examples of how slang terms came to be through derivation, the free morphemes are emphasized and correlate with the outcome of the suffix added. For example, ghosting, adulting, flexer, and snatched all correlate to their stems but the word class is changed. Slang is not considered proper enough to be in the dictionary but some words are and are being updated every day because it can be viewed as like dialect. It is considered another language (though informal) and pertains to certain groups of people in an area.

 

Works cited

“Oxford Languages and Google – English.” Oxford Languages, https://languages.oup.com/google-dictionary-en/.

“Urban Dictionary” Urban Dictionary, https://www.urbandictionary.com/.

“Slang.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/topic/slang.

Enan, Robin, et al. “The Newest Teen Slang Trends of 2021.” FamilyEducation, 23 July 2019, https://www.familyeducation.com/teens/newest-teen-slang-trends-2021.

Booij, G. E. The Grammar of Words: An Introduction to Linguistic Morphology. Oxford University Press, 2012.

 

Word formation is the creation of a new word using pre-existing words or morphemes. As the years go on, more and more new words are created, and most of the time these words are considered “slang”. Slang is words and phrases that are considered very informal and are more common in speech than writing, and are mostly used in a particular context or group of people. Slang words are very commonly used today because they are more casual and spontaneous, and are mostly used when talking to family and friends. Slang used to be known as language for criminals and uneducated people, but as time goes on language evolves, and slang is now trending especially with teenagers. Slang also varies with generations, because slang words from the 80s are very different from today’s slang words. One type of word formation is compounding, which is the process of combining two words, or free morphemes (which can stand alone), to create a new word. According to the article titled, “What Is Compounding in the English Language?”, “Compounds are written sometimes as one word (sunglasses), sometimes as two hyphenated words (life-threatening), and sometimes as two separate words (football stadium). Compounding is the most common type of word-formation in English” (Nordquist, 2). We see examples of compounding in slang words like hangry which is a compound of “hungry” and “angry” and crunk “crazy” and “drunk”. Some more examples are chillaxin “chill” and “relaxing”, gotta “got” and “to” and hafta “have” and “to”. I’mma is slang that combines three words together: “I’m”, “going”, and “to”. Brunch is another example which combines “breakfast” and “lunch” and spork combines “spoon” and “fork”. Lastly gimme combines “give” and “me” and kinda combines “kind” and “of”. Slang is popular now because of the convenience of shortening words and phrases, so compounding is a great way to make these new words.

 

Sources:

Nordquist, R. (2019, July 3). What is the process of compounding in the English language? ThoughtCo. Retrieved December 15, 2021, from https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-compounding-words-1689894 

Amy Morin, L. C. S. W. (2021, October 15). Teen slang words every parent should know. Verywell Family. Retrieved December 15, 2021, from https://www.verywellfamily.com/a-teen-slang-dictionary-2610994 

Over many decades, many slang words have been created and used all over the world. The use of slang usually is formed by abbreviating and/or removing one or more letters in a word, or even a change in sound and its meaning. A role in this involves word formation. Word formation is a process of how new words are formed and how they become a part of a language. It is also new words that are made on the basis of other words and morphemes. Compounding and derivation are word formation processes that build new lexemes. The difference between the two is that compounding puts together two lexemes whereas, derivation adds an affix to a lexeme. When an individual applies language in a new way to express hostility, ridicule, or contempt, often with sharp wit, he may be creating slang, but the new expression will perish unless it is picked up by others (Maurer, D. W.,2021). Slang words are created by the influences of popular music and the internet(social media). Popular music, especially rap and hip hop, has led to many slang words. Some examples of slang words are dope, goat (greatest of all time), gucci (good), lit (amazing), salty (bitter, mad), snatched(looking good), fire(on point, trendy), tea(gossip), cap (lying, fake), flex (to show off), and sus (suspicious, shady) (Morin,2021). Compounding can also be used in slang. How two morphemes create a compound word, the same thing can be done with slang words as well. This is done by mixing up two or more words, which then creates a slang word. Some examples of compound slang words are tope(tight and dope), requstion( request and question), and hangry (hungry and angry.) These compounding words listed are free morphemes, meaning they can stand alone. For hangry for example, is the 2 morphemes “hungry” and “angry.” I really thought this was an interesting topic to discuss because slang has always been around and is changing all the time. New slang words are being created and old ones still very much exist, depending on the generation. There are slang words from the 90’s that today’s generation doesn’t use and doesn’t know about and vise versa! Also that derivation and compounding play a role in slang as well!

 

Citations:

Maurer, D. W. (n.d.). Slang. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved December 15, 2021, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/slang

 

Morin, A. (2021, October 15). Teen slang words every parent should know. Verywell Family. Retrieved December 15, 2021, from https://www.verywellfamily.com/a-teen-slang-dictionary-2610994

New York City is known to have the most legendary rappers. Nicki Minaj, whose real name is Onika Tanya Maraj, was born in Trinidad and raised in Queens. Nicki Minaj, the queen of rap, is one of the most popular Hip-hop artists of all time. I strongly believe her title is well deserved because she earned it. Some people may dispute this simply because they do not want to be labeled as a Barb. Unlike other rappers, not only does she write her own rhymes, but she is also a singer and songwriter. That is, in my opinion, the way it should be, although many artists nowadays use a ghostwriter. Therefore, Nicki Minaj is frequently recognized for paving the way for newer artists. As a result, I have been inspired to analyze some of her songs and figure out the reason behind what makes her so influential. Why is her pen game so immaculate? What is it about her style that makes other female rappers want to copy? Despite the fact that I am presenting this strong argument, my paper is meant to be linguistically informative. Although slang is a common theme utilized, she also incorporates a variety of literary elements into her raps. Looking at her lyrics, I will be finding examples of blending, word coining, derivation, compounding, clipping, and more. She does word play in this way, which may seem confusing or nonsensical to others. Therefore, my intention is to help clueless individuals understand her logic because she is a lyrical genius. While my goal is to inform others about what she is saying, the main purpose is to define each one of those properties and provide examples. 

 

Islami, Khoirunisak Nur, and Viqi Ardaniah. Phonological and Morphological Processes of African American Vernacular English in the Nicki Minaj’s Lyrics . Feb. 2017, http://journal.unair.ac.id/download-fullpapers-anglicist430d7baf00full.pdf.

Tyas, Kadek Indah Wulanningtyas. “The Study of Slang by Nicki Minaj in Pink Friday Album.” Journal of Humanities, Social Science, Public Administration and Management (HUSOCPUMENT), July 2021, https://www.publication.idsolutions.co.id/journals/index.php/husocpument/article/view/21.

 

WORD FORMATION IN SLANG (DERIVATION).

            Word formation is the ways in which new words are created, invented or formed based on other words or morphemes. Such words become part of language especially because it is mostly used and identified by many. As years pass by, we form more new words. Also, because of new structures and changes, a language needs to borrow, acquire, or combine new words. An article by Nordquist on the “Types of word formation in English” discuses that, word formation can denote either a state or a process, and it can be viewed either diachronically (through different periods in history) or synchronically (at one particular period in time). Most English vocabulary arises by making new lexemes out of old ones, either by adding an affix to previously existing forms, altering their word class, or combining them to produce compounds (Nordquist, 2020). According to Wikipedia (2021), slang words are words or phrases which are usually common in spoken conversation and informal writings but avoided in formal writings. It sometimes refers to the language generally exclusive to particular groups of people.  Slang words are formed by abbreviating or removing one or more letters in a word and they can also be formed to make new words. Examples of some slang words are FYI, OMG, See ya, Are you kidding me, I feel you, Chill, Lowkey, Shook, Extra, Lit, Mood and Tea (Lăpușneanu, 2021). Tea for instance is usually used when someone is gossiping for example “What happened at the party, spill the tea”, When someone is shook it means they are shocked or incredibly surprised for example “OMG I’m shook! I need to watch the movie ASAP” and when someone is extra, it means they are unnecessarily dramatic, excessive, over the top or a drama queen for example, “She invited the entire school to her birthday, She’s so extra!” (Lăpușneanu, 2021).

The textbook by Booij (2005), describes derivation to be the creation of words by modification of a root without the addition of other roots. Often the effect is a change in part of speech. The basic function of derivational processes is to enable the language user to make new lexemes. Lexemes belong to lexical categories such as N (nouns), V (verbs) and A(adjectives) and derived lexemes may belong to a different category other than their bases (Booij, 2005). Suffixes in general is a letter or groups of letters that are placed at the end of a word and add meanings to them (Fry, 2006). A derivational suffix is a morphological derivation that consists of adding a suffix to a root word. Some derivational suffixes which are mostly used include “ion”, “ly”, “able”, “ish”, “less”, “ship”, “ness”, “ment”, “ful” and many others. For example, the noun “vacation” is derived from the verb vacate by the addition of-ion. Also, adding “er” to the word “teach” creates a new word which is “teacher”. Other examples of these suffixes in words are lovable, waitress, careless, development, friendship, happiness, smartest, painter, childish, scholarly, actor, fearful, gullible and sharpen (Fry, 2006).

REFERENCES

Booij, G. E. (2005). The Grammar of Words: An Introduction to Linguistic Morphology, 2^nd Edition. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.

Fry, E.B., Ph.D. & Kress, J.E., Ed.D. (2006). The Reading Teacher’s Book of Lists 5th Edition. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.

Lăpușneanu Diana, (2021) 45 Popular Slang Words from Around the World and Their Meanings. Retrieved from https://www.mondly.com/blog/author/dianalapusneanu/

Nordquist, Richard. (2020, August 27). Types of Word Formation in English. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/word-formation-1692501

Wikipedia contributors. (2021, December 7). Slang. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 00:48, December 14, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Slang&oldid=1059100888

Slang words originate from subcultures in society, and are used for social purposes, it can be used to indicate groups of people, a funny/friendly way to be social with one another, and are used by poets, artists, musicians, and even protesters. Although, slang words are mostly used in speech rather than using it in literacy and writing. Slang language From the early beginning,  like around the 16th and 17th century English slang has started from criminals from England, and has developed these slang words in gang houses. Some examples of slang words are “cap” meaning a lie, “no cap” indicating that something is not a lie, “dope” can refer to a drug used like marijuana, and “sick” can mean something is cool, or sweet. Compounding is the process of adding two words that are free morphemes and can stand alone, creating an overall new word. For example, the words “sun” and “flower” create the new word “sunflower”. With compounding can also come a form of slang usage. Just like the process of how we form two free morphemes to create a compound word, we can do the same thing with slang words. By mixing up two or more words to create a slang word. Some examples are, “crashy” which is a mix of the two words, “crazy and trashy” and can be towards someone who is a train wreck, and can also be indicated as an adjective towards being “delicate” and “trashy”. Another example would be the slang “hangry” which is a mixture of the two words “hungry” and “angry,” and indicates someone who is frustrated from being hungry. We have the slang word “requestion” which means to request and a question, or to question again. And lastly we have another slang word, “tope,” which refers to something being tight and dope. These slang examples that I have given, are compared to compounding, because of the usage of using two words. These words are also free morphemes and can stand alone. The slang words that I have mentioned also remind me of blended words, which is interesting. 

 

citations:

1. Amy Morin, L. C. S. W. (2021, October 15). Teen slang words every parent should know. Verywell Family. Retrieved December 13, 2021, from https://www.verywellfamily.com/a-teen-slang-dictionary-2610994.

2.Real definitions for real slang words. The Online Slang Dictionary | Real definitions. Real slang. (n.d.). Retrieved December 13, 2021, from http://onlineslangdictionary.com/.

 

 

Word formation is a means of deriving linguistic units in order to create a new one-word name having a semantic and formal connection with the original unit. It is an important means of supplementing vocabulary and forming specialized terms. According to Nordquist (2020) word formation refers to the ways in which new words are formed on the basis of other words or morphemes. This is also known as derivational morphology. Word formation can denote either a state or a process, and it can be viewed either diachronically (through different periods in history) or synchronically (at one particular period in time). Word formation comes in various forms, e.g., derivation and combination and in this blog, I am going to throw more light on compounding.

Compounding is the process of word formation that creates compound lexemes. Compounding occurs when two or more words or signs are joined to make a longer word or sign. Many compounds are nouns, but they may also be other parts of speech. Hyphens are often used when writing compounds formed from three or more separate words, such as merry-go-round. There are two types of compounds, namely, exocentric, and endocentric compounds. Compounds with a head are called endocentric compounds. The term ‘endocentric’ means that the category of the whole construction is identical to that of one of its constituents. There are also exocentric compounds for which this is not the case. (Booij, 2005). Wikipedia (2021) defines slang as a vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in spoken conversation but avoided in formal writing. Slangs are formed by either combining or shortening words to create new and catchy words which have interesting pronunciations and meanings and so in this case with compounding, two words joined together will now form one main slang. Some examples are: air head, pissed off, eye-popping, couch potato, deep-pockets, fender-bender, idiot box, all- nighter, big guns, kick-back.

 

Booij, G. E. (2005). The grammar of words: an introduction to linguistic morphology (2^nd Ed.) Oxford University Press. ISBN: 0199691835, 9780199691838

Nordquist, Richard. (2020, August 27). Types of Word Formation in English. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/word-formation-1692501

Wikipedia contributors. (2021, December 7). Slang. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 17:59, December 13, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Slang&oldid=1059100888

Word formation is a term linguists use to describe how new lexemes, or words, are formed. A popular form of word formation is coinage. Coinage refers to the process in which a new words are created willingly or accidentally using other word formation processes. Some of those processes include derivation, compounding and conversion. They all serve as approaches towards creating new lexemes. With coinage though, they typically arise due to acronyms, conversion, compounding, clipping, borrowing, blending, and reduplication. Because of mass media, coinage is widely spread and  in a quick manner. We normally see coined words everywhere around us such as in the arts and entertainment, technology, politics, food, and advertising. Coined words may even be slang terms, which we see people use in several day to day instances. But even besides that, coined words are used just as occasionally as normal everyday words are. Anyone can coin a word. But, if speakers who make coined words are influential, these words become part of the vocabulary of the community around them. In my research, I will be exploring different instances of coinage where celebrities have been of a big influence. Many famous music personnel have created coined words, phrases, or utterances in which people in everyday society have grown to use over the years.