Podcast on Slang: Evolution, Society, and Education

Kapitoly

Introduction

A New Dialect

The 'Appropriacy' Problem

Can You Even Ban Words?

The Real Reason for Slang

Education over Banning

The Martial Arts of Language

Summary and Takeaway

Přepis

Dan: Have you ever sent a text to your parents and then had to immediately send another one explaining what half the words meant?

Lily: All the time! Or you use a word that's huge on TikTok, and they look at you like you've just started speaking another language.

Dan: Exactly! That gap, that secret code, is what we're talking about today. It feels like just fun, but the slang you use is part of a huge, fascinating story about language, identity, and even your future career.

Lily: You're listening to Studyfi Podcast, where we break down the topics you need to know.

Dan: So, Lily, slang isn't new. Think about old movies with Cockney rhyming slang. But something different is happening now, right?

Lily: That's a great point. It's not just a few quirky words anymore. Some linguists, like Professor Paul Kerswill from Lancaster University, say we're seeing a whole new dialect emerge, especially in big cities like London.

Dan: A new dialect? What does that even mean?

Lily: He calls it "multicultural English." It's a mix. A bit of Cockney, a bit of West Indian, some West African, Bangladeshi... it's a composite language that's becoming the normal way of speaking for many young people.

Dan: So it's not just something people use to sound cool with their friends?

Lily: Not anymore. That's the big shift. It's moving from being a social choice to just... how people talk. To everyone. And that's where the debate really heats up.

Dan: The debate being... when you show up for a job interview and say, 'Wagwan, fam?'

Lily: Precisely! The concern is about something experts call "appropriacy." It's basically the skill of knowing what kind of language to use in different situations.

Dan: Right. You wouldn't talk to your boss the same way you talk to your best friend.

Lily: Exactly. Tony Thorne, a slang expert, says it's about using the right tool for the job. Business jargon in a meeting, formal English in an exam, and slang in the schoolyard.

Dan: But the worry is that if slang becomes the *only* tool you have, you're at a disadvantage.

Lily: It's a real concern for schools. The Manchester Academy, for example, actually banned slang. The principal, Maria Nightingale, said students couldn't get through a sentence without saying 'innit' or 'you know what I mean.'

Dan: Wow, an outright ban? Did it work?

Lily: She claims their exam results soared as a consequence. They felt it was crucial for preparing students for the business world so they wouldn't be held back by their language.

Dan: Okay, but a total ban on slang sounds... impossible. How would you even enforce that? Do you have, like, the slang police?

Lily: 'Excuse me, sir, your license and registration for that use of 'GOAT'!' No, you're right. The poet Benjamin Zephaniah says a ban is impossible to achieve. There's no official language police.

Dan: And language changes anyway, right? Words that were once slang are now totally normal.

Lily: Absolutely! He points out that he hears politicians 'bigging up' charities. 'Big up' comes straight from Jamaican slang. He even heard a politician say 'let me fix up' while getting a microphone ready, which is also Jamaican.

Dan: So where's the line between a 'bad' slang word and a 'good' normal word?

Lily: It's constantly moving. Think about it. 'Zoo' came from French, 'pyjamas' from India, 'shampoo' is from Urdu. Even the word 'television' is half Latin and half Greek. English has always been a language that borrows, or as some might say, steals!

Dan: So the very nature of English is its flexibility. Trying to freeze it in place would be like trying to stop the tide.

Lily: Exactly. It doesn't just belong to the English anymore; it's a multicultural language spoken all over the world.

Dan: So if it's not just about communication, why does every group create its own slang? Gamers, skaters, different music scenes... they all have their own language.

Lily: That's the other key function of slang. Tony Thorne points out that it's about identity. It's a way to include people in your group... and to exclude people who aren't.

Dan: It's like a secret handshake, but with words. If you know, you know.

Lily: You got it. It builds a sense of community. And it's not that slang is more common now, it's just more *public*. In the 70s and 80s, newspapers wouldn't print these words. Now, with social media, TV, and music, it's everywhere. It's much more in your face.

Dan: So it feels like there's more of it, but really it's just that we can all see it now.

Lily: That's the idea. The language has always been there, but now it's been liberated from private conversations.

Dan: So if we can't ban it, and it serves an important social purpose, what's the solution for students who need to learn formal English for exams and jobs?

Lily: The key seems to be education, not elimination. One college in South London, St Francis Xavier, actually put slang on the syllabus.

Dan: Wait, you can study slang for your A-levels? That's amazing!

Lily: Yep! They learn where slang comes from, they analyze it, and they think about the function it serves and its link to identity.

Dan: That's brilliant. It takes away the fear and makes it something you can understand and control.

Lily: Professor Kerswill agrees. He says education is essential to stop people from falling into the trap of thinking there's 'good language' and 'bad language.'

Dan: ...which leads to thinking there are 'good people' and 'bad people.'

Lily: Exactly. It's a dangerous and false link. By studying it, you learn that it's just a different way of speaking, tied to ethnicity or social class, not a sign of being a bad person.

Dan: I like that. It's not about destroying a part of your identity, it's about adding a new skill.

Lily: Benjamin Zephaniah has a fantastic analogy for this. He says, "I see slang like martial arts. So long as you have strong foundations, you are free to improvise."

Dan: Oh, I love that! The foundation is your formal, standard English. Once you have that locked down, you can be creative and use slang effectively.

Lily: It’s all about reinforcing that sense of 'appropriacy' we talked about earlier. Knowing your audience. A freelance interpreter, Rosemary Hill, mentioned that one of the biggest problems for new trainees isn't their foreign language skills...

Dan: What is it, then?

Lily: It's the quality of their English! They struggle to switch out of their street slang into the formal language required for a diplomatic conference. Their foundation is shaky.

Dan: That's a perfect real-world example. It's not that their slang is 'bad', it's just the wrong tool for that specific, high-stakes job.

Lily: It can have very serious consequences. As one commenter put it, you can't just ban slang, but if a student hands in work written entirely in slang, they'd fail. That's a simple reality.

Dan: So, to recap... slang is a natural, evolving part of language, and it's becoming a kind of multicultural dialect for many.

Lily: Right. It's also a powerful tool for building identity and community. Banning it is basically impossible and misses the point.

Dan: The real challenge isn't slang itself, but learning the skill of 'appropriacy' — or appropriateness, as some debaters online would fiercely correct!

Lily: A very important distinction for some! The key takeaway is that you need to be bilingual in your own language. You need to be able to switch between formal English for exams and professional settings, and the slang you use with your friends.

Dan: It's not about getting rid of slang; it's about building that strong foundation of formal English so you can choose the right style for any situation.

Lily: Mastering that switch is the real skill. It gives you more power and more options in how you communicate. Wicked, innit?

Dan: It is. Thanks for breaking that down, Lily.

Lily: Any time, Dan.