Slang
The People's Poetry
Published on 11. June 2009
Book
Hardback
256 pages
978-0-19-531463-2 (ISBN)
Description
Slang, writes Michael Adams, is poetry on the down low, and sometimes lowdown poetry on the down low, but rarely, if ever, merely lowdown. It is the poetry of everyday speech, the people's poetry, and it deserves attention as language playing on the cusp of art.
In Slang: The People's Poetry, Adams covers this perennially interesting subject in a serious but highly engaging way, illuminating the fundamental question "What is Slang" and defending slang--and all forms of nonstandard English--as integral parts of the American language. Why is an expression like "bed head" lost in a lexical limbo, found neither in slang nor standard dictionaries? Why are snow-boarding terms such as "fakie," "goofy foot," "ollie" and "nollie" not considered slang? As he addresses these and other lexical curiosities, Adams reveals that slang is used in part to define groups, distinguishing those who are "down with it" from those who are "out of it." Slang is also a rebellion against the mainstream. It often irritates those who color within the lines--indeed, slang is meant to irritate, sometimes even to shock. But slang is also inventive language, both fun to make and fun to use. Rather than complain about slang as "bad" language, Adams urges us to celebrate slang's playful resistance to the commonplace and to see it as the expression of an innate human capacity, not only for language, but for poetry.
A passionate defense of slang, jargon, argot and other forms of nonstandard English, this marvelous volume is full of amusing and even astonishing examples of all sorts of slang. It will be a must for students of language and a joy for word lovers everywhere.
In Slang: The People's Poetry, Adams covers this perennially interesting subject in a serious but highly engaging way, illuminating the fundamental question "What is Slang" and defending slang--and all forms of nonstandard English--as integral parts of the American language. Why is an expression like "bed head" lost in a lexical limbo, found neither in slang nor standard dictionaries? Why are snow-boarding terms such as "fakie," "goofy foot," "ollie" and "nollie" not considered slang? As he addresses these and other lexical curiosities, Adams reveals that slang is used in part to define groups, distinguishing those who are "down with it" from those who are "out of it." Slang is also a rebellion against the mainstream. It often irritates those who color within the lines--indeed, slang is meant to irritate, sometimes even to shock. But slang is also inventive language, both fun to make and fun to use. Rather than complain about slang as "bad" language, Adams urges us to celebrate slang's playful resistance to the commonplace and to see it as the expression of an innate human capacity, not only for language, but for poetry.
A passionate defense of slang, jargon, argot and other forms of nonstandard English, this marvelous volume is full of amusing and even astonishing examples of all sorts of slang. It will be a must for students of language and a joy for word lovers everywhere.
Reviews / Votes
"Adams' theories are brilliant, and he draws on a startlingly diverse universe to illustrate his points, leaping without apparent effort from Chaucer to stamp collectors; from snowboarders to UPS drivers; from T.S. Eliot to Charles Dickens; from Buffy the Vampire Slayer to The Simpsons. With a love of the subject matter and a glorious grasp of the language, he carries you effortlessly from one big idea to another. What a book!"--Tom Dalzell, editor of The Routledge Dictionary of Modern American Slang and Unconventional English
"A lively and engaging look at English slang and its multitudinous forms."
--Ben Zimmer, The Visual Thesaurus
"The depth of the argumentation and the richness of the writing and the archive make Slang a text that is at once highly readable and theoretically productive."
--Phillip M. Carter, Language in Society
"Michael Adams's Slang is not a collection of words but an examination of the scope and function of slang in our language and our lives. It's scholarly yet highly readable--just as you would expect from the author of Slayer Slang."
--Jan Freeman, Boston Globe
"Brilliant.... Adams' theory of slang as a poetic device is truly insightful."--Semiotica
"This is an intelligent book, executed with passion. Slang offers important comment and documentation on an aspect of our culture that is very often overlooked."--January Magazine
"Book length studies (as opposed to dictionaries) of slang are few and far between, so with this volume Adams has done scholars, students, and aficionados of slang a great service. Adams has a knack for illuminating both linguistic ephemera and its underlying principles. Speaking to the general reader, the author uses linguistic jargon sparingly, puts scholarly observations in everyday terms, and illustrates key ideas with in-depth examples rather than drive-by
word citations. This book is a must for libraries and lovers of language. Essential." --CHOICE
"[A] lively and informative book."--Library Journal
"Slang is the wink-wink, nudge-nudge of language. It gives the illusion (and creates the impression) that it is all, like, edgy and cazh, but Michael Adams shows it is much more than just flash and trash. This book puts slang near the center of human language, and our journey to it is, as Jo said in Little Women (1868) 'fun, and no grubbage.'"--Richard W. Bailey, Professor of English Language and Literature, University of Michigan
"Slang: The People's Poetry takes the study of slang well beyond words and phrases and into the discursive functions as well as the cognitive underpinnings of slang. Adams' knowledge of high culture and low culture as well as his careful observation of contemporary language use make his analysis of slang fresh and appealing to twenty-first century readers."--Connie Eble, Professor of English, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
College/higher education
students of language and a joy for word lovers everywhere
Dimensions
Height: 222 mm
Width: 145 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
499 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-531463-2 (9780195314632)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
09/2012
1st Edition
Oxford University Press Inc
€26.80
Shipment within 15-20 days
E-Book
09/2012
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€10.99
Available for download
Person
Michael Adams teaches English language and literature at Indiana University. He is the author of Slayer Slang: A Buffy the Vampire Slayer Lexicon and, with Anne Curzan, How English Works: A Linguistic Introduction. For several years, he was editor of Dictionaries: Journal of the Dictionary Society of North America. He is currently editor of the journal American Speech.
Content
Preface
1. "What it is?"
2. Fitting In
3. Standing Out
4. It's All in Your Head
Index
1. "What it is?"
2. Fitting In
3. Standing Out
4. It's All in Your Head
Index