Influences of Language on Society Research Paper

Influences of Language on Society - Research Paper Example However, for a term to qualify as slang for a particular group of people it has to be accepted by everyone. The people for whom it is meant for must feel comfortable enough using it as part of who they are. This is because slang is usually an embodiment of a people’s attitudes, practices, and beliefs. It should make people feel close to each other because of what they have in common. Slang can grow big and even spread to other subcultures and clans based on how popular it has become in the region of its use. It has no limits whatsoever. The requirement for one slang term to survive is that it must be adopted and taken in by as many people as possible. When slang becomes extensive, it is even adopted into society as part of the formal and standard language. Now, slang is so much a distinguishing factor of many groups of people that the effect it has in today’s society is immense and impossible to ignore. Sadly enough, the impact is greatly marked by class separation amon g people who use different types of slang according to their clans of origin. History of slang Slang was invented to reduce the fast-changing rate of both written and spoken language altogether. In the Middle Ages several writers came up with varied pronunciations and dialects which were branded the name ‘slang’. ... After all, criminals need to speak in their own coded language which no one, but themselves can understand. However, when its usage began to spread the society as a whole became alarmed. As more and more people adopted the English Criminal Cant, the intellectuals became concerned for the education of their children. Teachers advised their pupils not to indulge in the English Criminal Cant (then, already slang), claiming that it was misuse of English Slang started to be used in well-known plays by scriptwriters. Due to British colonialists many people knew most slang words all over America and Britain. Events such as the civil war enhanced the spread of slang as well, Scholars were embracing the new language with a positive attitude. â€Å"Slang as a wholesomeof common humanity to escape the form of bald literalism and express it illimitably (Thorne, 26). Slang was developing a new status during that time. People no longer associated it as a language of criminals and foreigners. Afte r the World War 1, society craved entertainment and what better what to entertain that to use slang. Now slang has been diversified in America to suit the needs of different cultures. One of the most common types of slang is the African-American slang. The root of all forms of slang is embedded in other languages. Slang shamelessly borrows words from other languages and twists, others would say corrupts, those into words much simpler, perhaps shorter, and much more easily understood. In short, slang borrows other languages’ words and changes them into something more comfortable for a set group of people. Majority users of slang in society today Slang is highly widespread in the society today. As mentioned earlier,