The use of and the attitudes toward Slang expressing surprise and disbelief among young Americans

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES -*** - PHẠM HOÀI ANH The Use of and the Attitudes toward Slang Expressing Surprise and Disbelief among Young Americans (Việc Sử dụng Và Quan Điểm Đối Với Tiếng Lóng Biểu Lộ Sự Ngạc Nhiên Và Hồi Nghi Của Giới Trẻ Mỹ) PROGRAM I M.A MINOR THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60.22.15 Hanoi, 2009 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES -*** - PHẠM HOÀI ANH The Use of and the Attitudes toward Slang Expressing Surprise and Disbelief among Young Americans (Việc Sử dụng Và Quan Điểm Đối Với Tiếng Lóng Biểu Lộ Sự Ngạc Nhiên Và Hồi Nghi Của Giới Trẻ Mỹ) PROGRAM I M.A MINOR THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60.22.15 Supervisor: Prof.Dr Hoàng Văn Vân Hanoi, 2009 CONTENTS Page Acknowledgements i Abstract ii Contents iii List of Tables and Charts vi Abbreviations vii PART A - INTRODUCTION Rationale 1.1 Problem statement 1.2 Significance of the study 2 Aims of the study 3 Scope of the study Methodology 4.1 Research questions 4.2 Methods Design of the study PART B - DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: THEOREICAL FRAMEWORK AND LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Slang 1.1.1 What is slang? 1.1.2 What slang is NOT? 1.1.3 Slang as an integral part of youth culture 1.1.4 Slang as a language variety 1.1.4.1 Slang as a register 1.1.4.2 Slang and social aspects of language variation 1.1.5 Social functions of slang 10 1.1.6 Lexicological and semantic classifications of slang 11 1.2 Expressing surprise and disbelief via slang - a speech act 13 1.2.1 Speech act and speech act classification 13 1.2.2 Speech Act Theory 13 1.2.3 ―Expressing surprise and disbelief via slang‖ as a speech act 14 1.3 American slang and its role in today’s American society 15 1.3.1 American slang and its characteristics 15 1.3.2 Importance and prevalence of slang in today‘s American society 15 1.3.3 History of American Youth Slang (AYS) 16 1.4 Summary 18 CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 2.1 Aim of the Empirical Study 19 2.2 Methodology 19 2.3 Data collection methods 19 2.3.1 Questionnaire survey 19 2.3.2 Follow-up interviews 19 2.3.3 Participant observations 21 2.4 Conclusion 21 CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS 3.1 Data presentation 22 3.1.1 Description of the population sample 22 3.1.2 Backgrounds of the respondents 22 3.2 Findings and discussions 23 3.2.1 The use of slang expressing surprise and disbelief 23 3.2.1.1 Frequency of slang use 23 3.2.1.1.1 Age and frequency of use 24 3.2.1.1.2 Gender and frequency of use 25 3.2.1.1.3 Education and frequency of use 25 3.2.1.2 Reasons for using slang 26 3.2.1.3 Contexts for slang use 28 3.2.1.3.1 Non-acceptability contexts 28 3.2.1.3.2 Mid-acceptability contexts 29 3.2.1.3.3 High-acceptability contexts 30 3.2.1.4 Classifying slangisms according to the trend in use 31 3.2.1.4.1 Out-of-date slangisms 31 3.2.1.4.2 Contemporary slangisms 32 3.2.1.5 Pragmatic classification of contemporary slangisms 33 3.2.1.5.1 Based on the social contexts 33 3.2.1.5.2 Based on the degree of emotion 35 3.2.2 Attitudes toward slang use 37 3.2.2.1 Age and attitudes toward slang use 38 3.2.2.2 Gender and attitudes toward slang use 39 3.2.2.3 Education and attitudes toward slang use 39 3.3 Summary 40 PART C –CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Conclusions 41 Recommendations 42 2.1 For ESL teachers 42 2.2 For ESL learners 42 2.3 For ESL translators 43 REFERENCES 44 APPENDICES I Appendix A 20 Slangisms of surprise and disbelief I Appendix B Invitation Letter III Appendix C Questionnaire on American Slang IV Appendix D List of additional slangisms of surprise and disbelief provided by respondents Appendix E Commonly used slangisms of surprise and disbelief in America today IX X LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS TABLES Page Table Backgrounds of Participants 22 Table Age and frequency of using slang 24 Table Gender and frequency of using slang 25 Table Educational background and frequency of using slang 26 Table Classification of slangisms of surprise and disbelief based on the trend in use 31 Table Classification of slang according to context 34 Table Classification of slang according to level of emotion 36 Table Age and attitudes toward slang use 38 Table Gender and attitudes toward slang use 39 Table 10 Educational background and attitudes toward slang use 40 CHARTS Chart 1: Frequency of using slang among American youth 23 Chart 2: Reasons for slang use by American youth 27 Chart 3: Non-acceptability contexts for slang use 28 Chart 4: Mid-acceptability contexts for slang use 29 Chart 5: High-acceptability contexts for slang use 30 Chart 6: Attitudes toward slang use 37 10 ABBREVIATIONS ESL : English as a Second Language AYS : American Youth Slang L1 : First Language (native language) 11 PART A – INTRODUCTION Rationale 1.1 Problem statement David Burke, the author of Biz Talk series – the bestsellers of American business slang and jargon, begins his book by quoting a common complaint by visitors to America, ―What are the natives saying?! This isn‘t the English I learned in school!‖ (1993, p.vii) This can be traced to what he calls ―confusing yet popular ‗inside‘ language used by the inhabitants: slang‖ (1993, p.vii) Slang is a special type of vocabulary, existing in every language and reflecting the country‘s social and cultural aspects Different countries even speaking the same language possess a different slang vocabulary Slang is often an easy, informal way to communicate However, it is often perplexing for international students, because the meanings of slang terms are not necessarily in the dictionary and cannot be taken literally In the United States, the prevalence of slang now is much beyond the expectation of linguists Slang frequently appears in daily conversations, movies, literature, newspapers and magazines Understanding and ability to use slang in communication, hence, is of great necessity for ESL users About the importance of American slang, Parshall (1994, p.23) puts, ―slang supplies more than 10 percent of the words the average American knows‖, of which slang expressions of surprise and disbelief account for quite a large number, as the Americans have a high frequency of showing surprise and disbelief through verbal communication in their daily life Now there is a realization that slang - youth language - may be more important than previously thought This area, therefore, is not quite mistreated as it was However, in Vietnam, where much more attention is habitually paid to Standard English, slang is still ignored by both linguists, ESL teachers and even ESL learners The main reason for the neglect, perhaps, arises from people‘s perception that slang, which is a sublanguage of a subculture, is not widely acceptable Another reason why both ESL teachers and learners take no notice of slang because they not for sure how frequent slang is used and how to employ it properly in daily communication Some writers (Nguyen Van Khang being an influential example) have touched this field, but mostly limited to introducing definitions of slang and contemporary slang terms in dictionaries The problem lies in these dictionaries themselves, wherein the 12 lexicographers usually bring in a slang term along with its meaning and an example of use only This really challenges ESL speakers because they not know in what context and with whom the slang item should be used to avoid failure in communication Also, they not know various nuances denoted in a slangism, especially those expressing emotion and feeling, to use it at best Another question lies in previous studies which point out that slang is youth language, and that it is frequently employed and accepted by the youth But whether there exist dissimilarities in the use of slang and attitudes toward slang among the young people remains unanswered For all the justifications above, the author aspires to conduct the study entitled “Slangisms expressing surprise and disbelief with young Americans: The use and attitudes” It is hoped that the study will be a contribution to the understanding of the nature of slang, American youth‘s use of and attitudes toward slang, as well as providing useful recommendations of how to use this special kind of vocabulary to ESL teachers, students and translators 1.2 Significance of the study Slang is generally labeled as a linguistic taboo that should not be appearing in most formal social occasions However, to my mind, slang is worthy of the attention of researchers in its own right; further, as an exciting and controversial form of language which belongs to young people and to youth culture in colloquial contexts, it is a valuable topic for discussions of sociolinguistic and pragmatic issues Commenting on the approaches toward the study of slang, Nekvapil puts that, ―The lexicographic approach dominates, often complemented by grammatical or word-formation analyses‖ (1987, p.195) While etymological and semantic studies of slang have been recently common, other approaches to research on slang are rarely seen Therefore, this paper, which is a sociolinguistic investigation of American people‘s attitudes toward slang and their use of slang, holds great academic merits Equally important, whereas slang is conventionally classified in the light of lexicology and semantics, this pragmatic classification of slang, therefore, is obviously a milestone Further, by identifying current and common slang terms and how to use them in certain contexts, the studies directly benefit Vietnamese-American cross-cultural communication, 13 Communicative English teaching, and translation Such information can be of particular help to ESL teachers, who are often puzzled about what register of English to stress in instruction The study can also be useful to ESL students, who must understand not only the meaning of a slang term in everyday conversation but also the appropriate social context for using it in order not to offend people Finally, Vietnamese translators can take the most of recommendations from the research when facing with a number of slang expressions in movies, papers, magazines, etc., because the subtleties of using slang in a foreign language are always filled with difficulties Aims of the study The aims of the study are as follows: a To explore the use of slang of surprise and disbelief by American youth, specifically - to find out frequency of use, reasons and contexts for slang use, - to identify current and commonly-used American slangisms of surprise and disbelief; - to classify those slang expressions in the light of pragmatics b To investigate attitudes toward slang use of American young people and the correlation between these attitudes and social aspects such as age, gender, and education Scope of the study First, the study deals with verbal aspects of the communication act of expressing surprise and disbelief through slang The role of non-verbal factors in communication such as paralanguage, proxemics, chronemics and icons is beyond the scope of this study Second, the study especially focuses on American slangisms expressing surprise and disbelief Slang of other variations, such as British slang, Australian slang or slang denoting other themes, then, is mentioned but not elaborated Also, other meanings rather than surprise and disbelief implied in a slang item are not considered in the current study Third, the data obtained is confined to the informants‘ responses to the questionnaire and follow-up interviews which are not spontaneous discourse They are, of course, somewhat different from real-life communication So, the study, rather than reaches fixed conclusions, would give remarks, comments and assumption on the way American young people use slang of surprise and disbelief Fourth, the investigation concentrates on the use of slang by the youth, which is defined as ―young people in general‖ by Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (Quirk, 53 I have one word of caution, however ESL learners have to strike the right balance between slang and more formal, ‗safe‘ language A lot of slang developed on the street, with all of the ‗colour‘ of street So be sure to check whether the expressions you are picking up might cause offence, and why The classification of slangisms in this research can be served as a reference source for ESL users to choose the best slang term to express their feeling at best (see Table 5, and 7, and Appendix E for reference) What‘s more, ESL speakers should be aware of acceptable contexts for slang Here are some examples of ‗safe‘ situations for slang use: While playing sports, while studying with friends, at a bar or informal restaurant, at a party or reunion, while watching a sporting event, with close family members, with friends while shopping, studying or hanging out, at work (depending on jobs), on a date, at the movies, while listening to popular music, on public transportation, when accosted on the street by people you don‘t know, in email, in notes, on the telephone with friends 2.3 For ESL translators Slang now frequently appears in movies, TV, internet, newspaper, and even novels Translation of slang often challenges translators because its meaning cannot be taken literally Slangisms of surprise and disbelief are emotionally expressive They can serve several functions of communication such as complimenting, sympathizing, etc Besides the main feeling of surprise, they also convey other feelings like dismay, distaste, annoyance, scary, excitement, and so on They also denote different degrees of emotion charge Translators, therefore, should pay attention to all of these aspects to produce the most proper equivalents 54 REFERENCES ENGLISH Allee, Ph.D & Gage, J (1978) Webster's Encyclopedia of Dictionaries New York: Ottenheimer Publishers, Inc Alphadictionary.com (2009) Historical Dictionary of American Slang Retrieved January the 10th, 2009 from the world wide web http://www.alphadictionary.com/slang Andersson, L.G & Trudgill, P (1990) Bad Language Oxford: Basil Blackwell Asher, R.E (1994) The Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics Vol Oxford: Pergamon Press Austin, J.L (1962) How to Do Things with Words New York: Oxford University Press Bailey, R.W (1985) South African English Slang: Form, Function and Origins South African Journal of Linguistics 3, 1:42 Burke, D (1993) Biz Talk 1: American Business Slang & Jargon Los Angeles: Optima Books Burns, A (1999) Collaborative Action Research for English Language Teachers Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Cohen, A (1996) Speech Acts In McKay S.L., & Hornberger N.H eds Sociolinguistics and Language Teaching 383:420 Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Cooper, T C (2001) ‗Does it suck?‘ or ‗Is it for the birds?‘: Native Speaker Judgment of Slang Expressions American Speech 76, 62:78 Crystal, D (1995) The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Crystal, D (1997) A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics (4th edition) Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Dalzell, T (1996) Flappers Rappers: American Youth Slang Springfield, MD: Merriam-Webster Inc Dalzell, T (2005) The Power of Slang Do You Speak American? Retrieved July the 2nd from the world wide web http://www.pbs.org/speak/words/sezwho/slang/ De Klerk, V (1990) Slang: A Male Domain? Sex Roles 22, 586:606 55 De Klerk, V (1991) What‘s the Current Slang? English Usage in Southern Africa 22, 68: 82 De Klerk, V (1995) Slang in South African English In R Mesthrie, Language and Social History: Studies in South African Sociolinguistics 265:76 Cape Town: David Philip Publishers Dumas, B K & Lighter, J (1978) Is slang a word for linguists? American Speech 53, 14:16 Ebencamp, B (1998) Lexicon and Concord Brandweek 39, 24 Eble, C (1996) Slang and Sociability: In-group Language Among College Students Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Eckert, P (1989) Jocks and Burnouts: Social Categories and Identity in High School New York: Teacher‘s College Press Eckert, P (2000) Linguistic Variation as Social Practice Oxford: Blackwell Finegan, E (1994) Language: Its Structure and Use Orlando, Fla.: Harcourt Brace Flexner, S B., & Wentworth, H (1975) Dictionary of American Slang New York: Crowell Gilsdorf, J.W (1993) Executive and Managerial Attitudes Toward Business Slang: A Fortune-List Survey The Journal of Business Communication 20, 4, 29:42 Grice, H.P (1975) Logic and Conversation In Cole, P & Morgan, J (eds.) 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Speech Acts Ten Years After 17:27 Milan: Versus Seliger, H.W & E Shohamy (1989) Second Language Research Methods Oxford: Oxford University Press Shirley, J & Fox, K (n.d.) What Slang is Not! Modern America, 1914-present Retrieved March the 2nd, 2009 from the world wide web http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/ work/ allam/1914-/language/slang.htm Slang for ESL Students (n.d) American Slang Retrieved July the 2nd, 2009 from the world wide web http://www.schandlbooks.com/AmericanSlangAbout.html 57 Sociolinguistics (2009) In Encyclopædia Britannica Retrieved July 21, 2009 from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/551876/sociolinguistics Thomas, L., Wareing, S., Singh, I., Peccei, J.S., Thornborrow, J., & Jones, J (2004) Language, Society and Power: An Introduction (2nd edition) London: Routledge Thorne, T (2004) Slang, Style-Shifting and Sociability Multicultural Perspectives on English Language and Literature Retrieved June the 2nd, 2009 from the world wide web http://www.kcl.ac.uk/content/1/c6/03/08/16/Slang,%20Style-shifting %20and%20Sociability.doc Thorne, T (2005) Classifying Campus Slang King‟s English, 5, 1, 2:6 Thorne, T (2009) Slang and the Dictionary King's College London Retrieved July the 2nd from the world wide web http://www.kcl.ac.uk/schools/humanities/depts/elc/ resources/slangresearch.html Tsui, A.B.M (1995) English Conversation Oxford: Oxford University Press Wachal, R.S (2002) Taboo or Not Taboo: That is the Question American Speech 77, 2, 195:206 Wallace, M J (1998) Action Research for Language Teachers Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Wentworth, H & Flexner, S.B (eds.) (1967) Dictionary of American Slang xi–xii New York: T Y Crowell Yule, G (1996) Pragmatics New York: Oxford University Press -VIETNAMESE Nguyễn Văn Khang (2001) Tiếng lóng Việt Nam Nxb Khoa học Xã hội I APPENDICES APPENDIX A 20 Slangisms for "surprise and disbelief" (Source: Online Historical Dictionary of American Slang, 2009) boost ( v ) To make happy, pleasantly surprise He was boosted when he got an A on math 1990s Crazy! ( int ) An interjection of surprise Their relationship crashed when he grew the beard 1960s Eesh! ( int ) An interjection of surprise or shock The world is going to end! Eesh! 1980s Egad! ( int ) Interjection of surprise Egad! I didn't expect a clown at my birthday party! 1670s Gee whiz! ( int ) An interjection of surprise (euphemism for 'Jesus') Gee whiz! I didn't know George was that rich! 1880s Gee! ( int ) An interjection of surprise (euphemism for 'Jesus') Gee! I didn't know George was that rich! 1890s Gosh! ( int ) An exclamation of surprise Gosh, I didn't know that 1750s Hello? ( int ) An interjection of surprise that the speaker is so stupid Who is buried in Grant's tomb? Hello? 1980s Holy mackerel! ( int ) An interjection of surprise Holy mackerel! We won the lottery! 1940s 10 Holy moly! ( int ) An interjection of surprise Holy moly! I just won the jackpot! 1950s II 11 Hot damn! ( int ) An interjection of surprise Hot damn, that car is a doozy 1940s 12 Hot diggity dog! ( int ) An interjection of surprise Hot diggity dog! Bonzo brought home the Marilyn Monroe movie 1940s 13 Hot dog! ( int ) An interjection of surprise Hot dog! I got second base on the baseball team 1940s 14 Put that on! ( vp ) An interjection of surprise Sterling has a new car Put that on! 1990s 15 Says you! ( int ) An interjection of disbelief It's going to rain tomorrow? Says you! 1920s 16 Whoop-de-doo! ( int ) An Interjection of happy surprise Our final has been cancelled? Whoopty-doo! 1920s 17 Whoopie! ( int ) An Interjection of happy surprise Whoopie! Mama hit the jackpot! 1920s 18 Wow! ( int ) An interjection of surprise Wow! You won the lottery? 1940s 19 Yahoo! ( int ) An interjection of happy surprise Yahoo! Mama won the jackpot! 1970s 20 Yikes! ( int ) Interjection of surprise Yikes! That was a close call! 1930s III APPENDIX B: (attached with the questionnaire) INVITATION LETTER Dear American friends, I am currently an MA candidate at the University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam My research for the thesis paper investigates American slang terms that express surprise and disbelief I particularly explores the relationship between slang use and social aspects such as age and gender, the way to use each single slang expression and your habit of using these expressions in general Therefore, I would like to invite you to participate in answering my questionnaire survey attached to this email Any information you provide will be accessed by me only I really appreciate your participation in my research as it will be so much helpful to the success of my MA studies Furthermore, I also hope that the research results will contribute to an improvement in teaching and learning English in Vietnam and to a better understanding of American language and culture If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at this email or the telephone number below Thank you for your consideration to participate in my research! Best wishes, Pham Hoai Anh Faculty of Foreign Languages Hanoi University of Technology 844 - 3.8281.387// - 95.330.4151 IV APPENDIX C QUESTIONNAIRE ON AMERICAN SLANG Age: Gender: (F/ M) Occupation: Educational background: Instruction: Underline/Highlight the corresponding option (a, b, c, or d) or fill in the blank if applicable Questionnaire will take from 10-15 minutes PART A: SLANGISMS OF SURPRISE AND DISBELIEF Boost - Have you heard this word? a Yes b No If no, please move to the next word - Do you use this word? a Yes b No If no, who would? - What is its nuance of meaning? a negative b positive c either d other (if any) - What level of emotion does it denote? a extreme b strong c moderate d other (if any) - Where and with whom should the word be used? a with everyone in every informal situation c with close friends in certain informal situations only b with friends/ peers in informal situations d Other: (if any) Crazy! - Have you heard this word? a Yes b No If no, please move to the next word - Do you use this word? a Yes b No If no, who would? - What is its nuance of meaning? a negative b positive c either d other (if any) - What level of emotion does it denote? a extreme b strong c moderate d other (if any) - Where and with whom should the word be used? a with everyone in every informal situation c with close friends in certain informal situations only b with friends/ peers in informal situations d Other: (if any) Eesh! - Have you heard this word? a Yes b No If no, please move to the next word - Do you use this word? a Yes b No If no, who would? - What is its nuance of meaning? a negative b positive c either d other (if any) - What level of emotion does it denote? a extreme b strong c moderate d other (if any) - Where and with whom should the word be used? a with everyone in every informal situation c with close friends in certain informal situations only b with friends/ peers in informal situations d Other: (if any) Egad! - Have you heard this word? a Yes b No If no, please move to the next word - Do you use this word? a Yes b No If no, who would? - What is its nuance of meaning? a negative b positive c either d other (if any) - What level of emotion does it denote? a extreme b strong c moderate d other (if any) - Where and with whom should the word be used? a with everyone in every informal situation c with close friends in certain informal situations only b with friends/ peers in informal situations d Other: (if any) Gee whiz! - Have you heard this word? a Yes b No If no, please move to the next word - Do you use this word? a Yes b No If no, who would? - What is its nuance of meaning? a negative b positive c either d other (if any) - What level of emotion does it denote? a extreme b strong c moderate d other (if any) V - Where and with whom should the word be used? a with everyone in every informal situation c with close friends in certain informal situations only b with friends/ peers in informal situations d Other: (if any) Gee! - Have you heard this word? a Yes b No If no, please move to the next word - Do you use this word? a Yes b No If no, who would? - What is its nuance of meaning? a negative b positive c either d other (if any) - What level of emotion does it denote? a extreme b strong c moderate d other (if any) - Where and with whom should the word be used? a with everyone in every informal situation c with close friends in certain informal situations only b with friends/ peers in informal situations d Other: (if any) Gosh! - Have you heard this word? a Yes b No If no, please move to the next word - Do you use this word? a Yes b No If no, who would? - What is its nuance of meaning? a negative b positive c either d other (if any) - What level of emotion does it denote? a extreme b strong c moderate d other (if any) - Where and with whom should the word be used? a with everyone in every informal situation c with close friends in certain informal situations only b with friends/ peers in informal situations d Other: (if any) Hello? - Have you heard this word? a Yes b No If no, please move to the next word - Do you use this word? a Yes b No If no, who would? - What is its nuance of meaning? a negative b positive c either d other (if any) - What level of emotion does it denote? a extreme b strong c moderate d other (if any) - Where and with whom should the word be used? a with everyone in every informal situation c with close friends in certain informal situations only b with friends/ peers in informal situations d Other: (if any) Holy mackerel! - Have you heard this word? a Yes b No If no, please move to the next word - Do you use this word? a Yes b No If no, who would? - What is its nuance of meaning? a negative b positive c either d other (if any) - What level of emotion does it denote? a extreme b strong c moderate d other (if any) - Where and with whom should the word be used? a with everyone in every informal situation c with close friends in certain informal situations only b with friends/ peers in informal situations d Other: (if any) 10 Holy moly! - Have you heard this word? a Yes b No If no, please move to the next word - Do you use this word? a Yes b No If no, who would? - What is its nuance of meaning? a negative b positive c either d other (if any) - What level of emotion does it denote? a extreme b strong c moderate d other (if any) - Where and with whom should the word be used? a with everyone in every informal situation c with close friends in certain informal situations only b with friends/ peers in informal situations d Other: (if any) 11 Hot damn! - Have you heard this word? a Yes b No If no, please move to the next word - Do you use this word? a Yes b No If no, who would? - What is its nuance of meaning? a negative b positive c either d other (if any) VI - What level of emotion does it denote? a extreme b strong c moderate d other (if any) - Where and with whom should the word be used? a with everyone in every informal situation c with close friends in certain informal situations only b with friends/ peers in informal situations d Other: (if any) 12 Hot diggity dog!/ - Have you heard this word? a Yes b No If no, please move to the next word - Do you use this word? a Yes b No If no, who would? - What is its nuance of meaning? a negative b positive c either d other (if any) - What level of emotion does it denote? a extreme b strong c moderate d other (if any) - Where and with whom should the word be used? a with everyone in every informal situation c with close friends in certain informal situations only b with friends/ peers in informal situations d Other: (if any) 13 Hot dog! - Have you heard this word? a Yes b No If no, please move to the next word - Do you use this word? a Yes b No If no, who would? - What is its nuance of meaning? a negative b positive c either d other (if any) - What level of emotion does it denote? a extreme b strong c moderate d other (if any) - Where and with whom should the word be used? a with everyone in every informal situation c with close friends in certain informal situations only b with friends/ peers in informal situations d Other: (if any) 14 Put that on! - Have you heard this word? a Yes b No If no, please move to the next word - Do you use this word? a Yes b No If no, who would? - What is its nuance of meaning? a negative b positive c either d other (if any) - What level of emotion does it denote? a extreme b strong c moderate d other (if any) - Where and with whom should the word be used? a with everyone in every informal situation b with friends/ peers in informal situations c with close friends in certain informal situations only d Other: (if any) 15 Says you! - Have you heard this word? a Yes b No If no, please move to the next word - Do you use this word? a Yes b No If no, who would? - What is its nuance of meaning? a negative b positive c either d other (if any) - What level of emotion does it denote? a extreme b strong c moderate d other (if any) - Where and with whom should the word be used? a with everyone in every informal situation c with close friends in certain informal situations only b with friends/ peers in informal situations d Other: (if any) 16 Whoop-de-doo! - Have you heard this word? a Yes b No If no, please move to the next word - Do you use this word? a Yes b No If no, who would? - What is its nuance of meaning? a negative b positive c either d other (if any) - What level of emotion does it denote? a extreme b strong c moderate d other (if any) - Where and with whom should the word be used? a with everyone in every informal situation c with close friends in certain informal situations only b with friends/ peers in informal situations d Other: (if any) 17 Whoopie! VII - Have you heard this word? a Yes b No If no, please move to the next word - Do you use this word? a Yes b No If no, who would? - What is its nuance of meaning? a negative b positive c either d other (if any) - What level of emotion does it denote? a extreme b strong c moderate d other (if any) - Where and with whom should the word be used? a with everyone in every informal situation c with close friends in certain informal situations only b with friends/ peers in informal situations d Other: (if any) 18 Wow! - Have you heard this word? a Yes b No If no, please move to the next word - Do you use this word? a Yes b No If no, who would? - What is its nuance of meaning? a negative b positive c either d other (if any) - What level of emotion does it denote? a extreme b strong c moderate d other (if any) - Where and with whom should the word be used? a with everyone in every informal situation c with close friends in certain informal situations only b with friends/ peers in informal situations d Other: (if any) 19 Yahoo! - Have you heard this word? a Yes b No If no, please move to the next word - Do you use this word? a Yes b No If no, who would? - What is its nuance of meaning? a negative b positive c either d other (if any) - What level of emotion does it denote? a extreme b strong c moderate d other (if any) - Where and with whom should the word be used? a with everyone in every informal situation c with close friends in certain informal situations only b with friends/ peers in informal situations d Other: (if any) 20 Yikes! - Have you heard this word? a Yes b No If no, please move to the next word - Do you use this word? a Yes b No If no, who would? - What is its nuance of meaning? a negative b positive c either d other (if any) - What level of emotion does it denote? a extreme b strong c moderate d other (if any) - Where and with whom should the word be used? a with everyone in every informal situation c with close friends in certain informal situations only b with friends/ peers in informal situations d Other: (if any) 21 Others (if any) Note: Please add any other slang expressions of surprise and disbelief that you use with the similar information about each of them PART B: YOUR HABIT OF USING SLANGISMS OF SURPRISE AND DISBELIEF How often you use the slang terms mentioned above? a Always b Often c Occasionally d Rarely Why you use these slang expressions? e Never Below are some of the various reasons why people generally use slang Please mark your applicable reasons For fun To be humorous To be creative/ innovative To be secretive so that those who don’t know slang not understand me To be hip/ fashionable/ for trendiness Because my friends use slang To substitute a word Because slang is easier to use than Standard English To protest against the use of Standard English/ deviate from Standard English Other reasons: (if any) How often you use these slang terms in each of the following context? Contexts Always Often At home with siblings and friends At home with adults At school or work with friends/ peers At school or work with superiors At social gatherings (parties, movies) With people I not know In formal situations (a job interview, at church) 8.In informal texts for friends (blog, messages, emails) In formal texts at school or work 10 Other situations: (if any) What is your attitude toward users of these slang expressions? a Positive b Negative c Neutral Thanks a bunch for your kind help! Occasionally Rarely Never IX APPENDIX D List of additional slangisms of surprise and disbelief provided by respondents Slangisms added by the respondents (in alphabetical order) Bejesus/ bejeezus Sheesh! Eek! 10 Shintock! Geez!/ Jeez! 11 Scorch it! Golly! 12 The devil/ deuce you say!// Goodness gracious! 13 What the devil/ deuce? GTFO! (Get The Fuck Out) 14 What the hell/ heck? Holy cow! 15 WTF! (What The Fuck) OMG! (Oh My God) 16 Yes b’y! APPENDIX E COMMONLY-USED SLANGISMS OF SURPRISE AND DISBELIEF IN AMERICA TODAY No Slang Nuances of term meaning Context Example of use Bejesus/ bejeezus Positive/negative with friends/ peers in - The bear scared the bejesus extreme feeling informal situations out of me! Crazy! Positive/negative with friends/ peers in - (That’s) Crazy! What a small extreme feeling informal situations world! Negative with everyone in every - Eek! The snake just went extreme feeling informal situation under the deck! Geez!/ Jeez! Positive/negative with everyone in every - Geez, time flies when we’re strong feeling informal situation having fun Gosh! Positive/negative with everyone in every - Gosh! I don’t know why he’d strong feeling informal situation say that Positive/negative with friends/ peers in - OMG! Can you believe he moderate feeling informal situations did that? Positive/negative with friends/ peers in - You had to clean the whole strong feeling informal situations place by yourself? Sheesh! Positive/negative with friends/ peers in extreme feeling informal situations Eek! OMG! Sheesh! What the hell/heck? A: I’m gay B: What the hell?? A : A typhoon is coming up B :What the hell did you say just now? 10 Wow! WTF! Positive/negative with everyone in every - Wow! Did you hear the news? strong feeling informal situation Mr James just got fired Negative with close friends in WTF is wrong with you!?! extreme feeling certain informal WTF! situations only (when you don’t know what’s going on and are mad) 11 Yikes! Negative with friends/ peers in moderate feeling informal situations They have 12 kids? Yikes!