Hi! Professor Panda here again!
Today we are going to continue
our discussion of the art of composition in both English and Japanese; and in
particular, we will continue our discussion on the use of slang as well as talk
about the use of dialects.
First, let us review the use of
slang in compositions. The writer should remember that the making of
appropriate word choices establishes a common ground with their readers.
Unless one is writing for a
specialized audience and truly has good reason to believe that this particular
audience would welcome slang and other forms of informal language or jargon,
the following advice can hem them to achieve good usage:
SLANG IS EFFECTIVE IN ONLY A FEW RHETORICAL
SITUATIONS.
RHETORIC
What does “rhetorical” mean? It
simply means that something is used for, belongs to, or is concerned with the
style or effect of speech or the written word.
To be a little more specific, rhetoric is the art of dialogue, an art that aims
to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade,
or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal
study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in
the Western tradition. Its best-known definition comes from Aristotle, who
considered it a counterpart of both logic and politics, and called it “the
faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion.”
MORE ABOUT
SLANG
Slang is
usually defined as words used primarily by people in a particular age group,
locality, or profession. Slang, in fact, covers a wide range of words that are
considered to be casual, facetious, or even fashionable — any of which can
either appeal to readers or (more often than not) alienate them. For example,
using the word “shrink” for “psychiatrist” may convey disrespect for a field of
medicine. Although such words are often used in private conversation, they are
not appropriate for academic or professional writing.
A clear sense
of your audience is essential if you want to use sang effectively. If a slang
word or expression is new, your audience may not understand what you mean. If
it has been around for a long time, your use of it can make you seem out of
touch with popular culture.
Frequent use of
such words as “whatever,” “awesome,” or “dude,” for example, can make you sound
as if you are still living in the twentieth century. Use of these words can,
and often do, mark the user as being rather stupid.
For a further example
of the effective use of slang, let’s look at two paragraphs from Angel Dust, a contemporary police novel
set in San Francisco in 1972:
Six
hours earlier, Washington, also known as “Mandingo,” had walked out the front
gate of San Quentin Prison in fashionable Marin County, across the Golden Gate
Bridge from San Francisco, after having spent the past three years under
lockdown on a charge of armed robbery. Nevertheless, the State of California
was generous and had granted him parole, just in time for Christmas, and two
hundred dollars to get him going again. He knew that the two hundred wouldn’t
really go very far, but Leroy was determined to make the best of it. First, a
little food, then score a “lid” (ounce) of “pot” (marijuana), and then get
himself a gun. That was a very good start, he decided; there would be time
enough tomorrow to rob some careless tourist downtown and score some more money.
Then he would move right on up.
Four
hours later, he had eaten his fill of fresh fried chicken, mashed potatoes with
gravy, and biscuits with butter; purchased a pint of cheap whiskey and drunk
half of it; bought himself an inexpensive .38 special snub-nose revolver from
one of his con- nections in the “hood” (neighborhood); and best of all, that
“lid” of “pot,” all for himself. “Now,” he asked himself, “what would be good?
Maybe a little porno to top of the evening would be so fine.” Quite satisfied
with his decision, he sauntered east, down Eddy Street, toward the Tenderloin
and the O’Farrell Theater. He was cool and he walked like he was cool, so that
everyone would know he was cool; after all, he had done “hard (prison) time”
and he was going to be even cooler real soon.
Note the use of
the slang words “lid,” “pot,” “hood,” and “hard time.” The author is describing
the thoughts and actions of a man who grew up and was educated in a black
ghetto; therefore, the use of slang, commonplace to the character, is of
benefit in accurately portraying his language and thoughts. However, without an
explanation of the word (in parenthesis), the use of the words would tend to
exclude any reader who is not familiar with those particular slang terms. As it
is, by using the slang terms, and providing a parenthetic definition for them,
the author has brought the reader into that particular world in which the
character lives, making him and “insider,” and his use of the words and their
definitions also serves to educate the reachder. Without the definitions, the reader
is alienated and left out of a nuance of the story.
CONVERSATIONAL OR COLLOQUIAL WORDS ARE
USUALLY TOO INFORMAL FOR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL WRITING.
Words that are
labeled as colloquial in a dictionary
are fine for casual conversation and can be used by writers when composing dialogue
or a personal essay on a light topic. Such words may sometimes be used for
special effect in academic writing, but you should usually replace them with
more appropriate words. For example, conversational terms such as “dumb,”
“belly button,” and “kid” can be replaced by “ignorant,” “navel,” and “tease.”
DIALECT (or “ben”)
Here is an
important rule for writers about using a local ben or dialect, whether in English or Japanese:
DO NOT USE DIALECT EXCEPT TO GIVE THE
FLAVOR OF LOCAL SPEECH. AVOID ILLITERACIES.
Words and
usages that are peculiar or distinct to one section of a country, province, or
city are dialects; for example, in Japan, there is the style of speech, most
often casual speech, unique to Ōsaka, Ōsaka-ben or the Ōsaka dialect. There are
similar ones for Kyōto, Nagoya, Tokyō, and there are overall dialects which
encompass the Kansai region and the Kanto region.
In various
regions, for example, a dragonfly is called a darning needle, a snake feeder, a
snake doctor, and a mosquito hawk. In the same way, the speech and linguistic
patterns of a particular social group, especially an ethnic minority, are often
referred to as a dialect.
There is
absolutely no reason to erase all characteristics of a dialog from written or
spoken language. They are a cultural heritage and a continuing source of
richness, flavor, and variety; but in general communication, it is wise to
avoid expressions which are not widely understood or which reflect ignorance of
standard usage.
For the same
reason, ILLITERACIES, which are found in the language of people who are unable
to read and write, should be avoided in speech and writing unless you are
describing the actual speech pattern of a person or character in a story.
For example: She ain’t ready yet.
Would you care to set awhile?
This is a common speech pattern of the American South; however, one would not
want to write a paper or story using this pattern: one would be marked as
stupid or illiterate, and incapable of quality writing if they did.
Here are two
examples of the use of both slang and dialect from Angel Dust:
That
night, there was no live strip show, according to a sign on the front door.
“Musta given da bitches da Christmas Eve off,” he thought. “No big deal! The
price is cheaper dat way and I can stay all night if I wants.” On days like
Christmas Eve, the theater instead ran non-stop pornographic “flicks” and the
management didn’t really care how long a patron stayed: they had the guy’s
money, “so what the hell.”
“What’s your friend’s name?” asked Kelly, stepping
even closer to the man. Kelly was taller and much more powerfully built than
the subject was, and O’Neil thought that perhaps he was using his height
advantage to intimidate the guy or at least to discourage him from doing
anything stupid.
“Bob, man! Yeah, his name’s Bob.”
“How long have you been waiting for Bob?” asked
Kelly.
“Hey man, I just got here. Whatchu mean hasslin’ me?
This is poolice harassment.”
“You just got here? All those cigarette butts say
otherwise,” growled Kelly, pointing to the ground.
The man looked. “Dey ain’t mine.”
“They aren’t? I just bet you they are yours. You
wanna bet me?”
“Hey, you harassin’ me man! What’s the fuckin’
charge?”
The use of slang here is for
the distinct purpose of demonstrating the manner of speech that a specific
character uses, which is itself characteristic of the neighborhood and period
in which the story is set; thus, adding both color and accuracy to the incident
described.
Well, that’s all for today.
Next time we’ll talk a little bit more about dialect and some other things that
you might want to use or avoid in your writing.
See ya then!
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