African American Slang Essay - 3503 Words

African American Slang African American Slang has had many other names: Ebonics, Jive, Black English, and more. The Oxford English Dictionary defines slang (in reference to language) in three different ways: 1) the special vocabulary used by any set of persons of a low or disreputable character; language of a low and vulgar type 2) the special vocabulary or phraseology of a particular calling or profession; the cant or jargon of a certain class or period 3) language of a highly colloquial type, considered as below the level of standard educated speech, and consisting either of new words or of current words employed in some special sense. Whatever one’s perspective on slang, it is a natural and inevitable part of language. In this†¦show more content†¦The most common argument against it is that slang is a result of an inability to communicate effectively in the standard of a language, but in some instances slang words are created in order to fill a linguistic need that the standard does not fulfill. The use of the word floss is a good example of this, in short floss refers to personal possessions that display one’s wealth, as a native speaker of English, I am unable to think of a Standard American English word that could replace that usage of floss. So in this case, the word floss as it is used in Ebonics plays fills a linguistic need. Slang also can act as a means of self-defense against the mainstream or outside groups. Slang is created out the will to survive on the terms of the group. Those who create, cultivate, and use slang have a desire, and sometimes a need, for secrecy or privacy from the mainstream. It also creates and reinforces group identity. Many scholars have discussed these uses of slang, but none quite as explicitly and eloquently as Clarence Major in this following passage: â€Å"This so-called private vocabulary of black people serves the users as a powerful medium of self-defense against a world demanding participatio n while at the same time laying a boobytrap-network of rejection and exploitation. Afro-American slang is created out of the will to survive on black terms. Black slang stems more precisely from a somewhat disseminated rejection of the life-styles,Show MoreRelatedAfrican American Stereotypes. Paper1208 Words   |  5 PagesAfrican American Stereotypes Ivory Marvin A stereotype is a popular belief about specific types of individuals. Stereotypes are standardized and simplified conceptions of groups based on some prior assumptions. African Americans have been perceived to be someone they are not in the media, history, and in everyday life. Although some stereotypes are true, many are harmful and inaccurate. 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