The main features of English slang

The first characteristic of slang is humor. For example, a novice is called a "rookie"; Truancy means "truancy"; Black sheep are "troublemakers"; "Flattery" is called flattering; "Sleepy person" is short for sleepy head and so on. For another example, use Braindrain to represent "brain drain"; Knockout stands for "outstanding person or thing"; This kind of slang is novel, vivid, interesting, humorous and refreshing, so it will be talked about and widely used by many people immediately. The second feature of slang is its fast updating speed. This is because most slang words pursue novelty, so they must be constantly renovated to keep novelty. For example, when you are walking in the street of London, if you see a sign prohibiting tipping by flies, don't mistake it for "Don't tip", which will make a joke. It's slang in English, which means "Don't litter casually". Tipping is an old English saying of "taking out garbage", which is used around 1838. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, tipping means "emptying the garbage in the truck". Later, it generally refers to all garbage disposal. In the sentence "no fly tip", we all know that the original intention of fly is related to flying. Since19th century, it has gradually extended to the meaning of "smart" in slang, but recently its meaning has changed, indicating "dishonesty" or "furtiveness". Therefore, flying tips becomes "secretly taking out the garbage". This is the origin of fly-free tipping. Slang is called a "real living language" because it is updated very quickly. With the emergence of new things and new ideas, new slang words are constantly emerging. Once old slang loses its freshness and becomes dull, it will be abandoned or replaced by new slang. Of course, there are also words in slang that have evolved into standard words, proverbs or idioms. For example: babysitters, elegant people, trying, old-fashioned, etc. Every slang has its own history and popular reasons. Times have changed, or its meaning has changed, or it has become a standard language, or it has disappeared, or it continues to be used in some places. The third feature of slang is colloquialism. Many slang words are regarded as "rude words" and even ugly "taboos". For example: give me some skin (shake hands), beat hay (sleep), he's pretty bad (that man is really bad), he has s fag (smoke a cigarette), look at that chick (look at that girl) and so on. This slang is vulgar or impolite. Therefore, we should learn to recognize this slang in the process of using it, and we must not use it indiscriminately.