I have never really used "slash" in these different ways that Anne Curzan describes in her blog, but I have heard many of my friends and family use it these ways plenty of times in the past. A few days ago, one of my friends told me, "I was very busy. I was cleaning my room slash playing video games all day." When people use slash, they usually use it as a replacement for the words and/or. For example, "A student will not be allowed to take a make-up exam if he/she is absent on the exam date."
As shown in Curzan's blog, language can definitely change the way that people think. Words and punctuation marks are like balls of clay; we can constantly change their shape and form. As their form changes, so do the ideas and meanings that we connect them to. Take the word "swag" for example. If you look up the actual definition of this word, you will find that it means "money or goods taken by a thief or a burglar". Most of us would have never guessed the true meaning of the word judging by the way people, especially rappers, use it nowadays to describe a person's fashion sense, style, or the way a person carries themselves. Now let's talk about the pound sign (#), which is more commonly known as the "hashtag". Before the world was introduced to social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr, the pound sign was simply used before presenting a number or a set of numbers, like "question #2" for instance. Now people use pound signs accompanied with words to help convey the theme or topic of a message. "OMG! My roommate won't stop stealing my clothes! #dormlife" This proves that over time, our flexible use of language can change what some words, punctuation marks, or signs really mean inside of our heads.
Even saying words in a different tone of voice can change the way we perceive them. Something as simple as a compliment can become an insult just by switching tones. Imagine if someone was giving you a compliment on your shoes. "Hey, those are really nice shoes", the person says. Now imagine if that person said the same thing, but in a sarcastic tone of voice. In your mind, you would almost immediately think that the person really hated your shoes.
I agree with your statement, "...punctuation marks are like balls of clay...", due to the fact that language is always changing and is becoming more influenced by new technological advancements. The more casual way that conversation is being held is through social media. Which I believe takes a toll on the everyday use of simple words. Instead we insert slang words, like you mention, “Swag and hashtag,” into our vocabulary. I also agree with how many people would not expect the true definitions of the slang words used. The way people would react to these slang words would more than likely be in a negative manner. The way people present themselves is through language and the use of different and new slang words can leave a negative presentation of that person. Also, you mentioned the use of tone which is often used to fill language with emotion. The good thing about adding emotion to language is it can help with understanding what is being said. The use of “slash” in modern day language is an unusual way, in my opinion, of saying the word, “and”. The punctuation mark of slash was used for poetry and helped emphasize the end of a line or statement. The way it is used today is as a listing method . I believe many people do not really understand the historical use of the word, slash, and it could cause some confusion. Overall, your blog summarizes the key points of the common uses of slang and the negative effects.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with your statement the meaning of punctuation marks change every day. Like you stated "swag and hashtag" have changed completely from what they used to be in the past. Even though I haven't heard the use of "slash" used in a slang manner I believe that it is probably being used and will soon be used just as much as hashtag and other slang words. I also agree with your comment on tone and how it can change the overall effect on how your words are perceived. Most people these days probably don't think about how not just their words but the tone of their voice can effect others.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with your statement "words and punctuation marks are like balls of clay...", because I think that once a word has one, original meaning then it doesn't change after that. That word is going to mean the same thing for as long as the word exists. However, different generations and society will change the way they use the word. To me, this just makes that person or generation uneducated and ignorant about what they are saying because in all honesty they don't really know what they are talking about. Just like when someone says "that girl is ghetto", but really ghetto is not a way to describe someone, it is an “area of city inhabited by minority” expressed by Bing. When people say things like this, it makes them sound stupid, to put it bluntly. I also think that it’s unintelligent to actually say the word "slash". If you're going to say slash you might as well say comma, period, hyphen, and space every time you use one of those punctuation marks. I think using this poor grammar is our generation finding a new way to be lazy. If only this generation would learn how to speak and write properly, like the generations passed, then people would have more job opportunities, or a chance for promotion because they actually understand how to use words and punctuation properly.
ReplyDeleteI also disagree with your statement "words and punctuation marks are like balls of clay..." I disagree because words will always mean the same thing as they orignially were at first but people can use them in different ways. You also said that "we can shape their shape and form", which we can't. Words will always mean what they originally came about meaning. For example, "this show is so retarded", retarded is not a way to describe how a tv show is. Retarded means "people who are slow or limited in mental development" These days people use words in ways that actually don't even make sense. We all know what they mean when they say it just because we are use to it but it does not mean that the meaning of the word has changed. Words will always mean their original meaning but there also will always be people that try to change it up.
ReplyDeleteI partially disagree with you're statement "words and punctuation are like balls of clay;..." as well because once we give a word its meaning or "shape" it stays as that meaning. For example if you were to mold a ball of clay into a shape then it would soon harden until you couldn't change its form anymore. So really when you change a words meaning you're actually just creating a whole new word or starting over with a whole new ball of clay. Agreeing to what Madison Maurer stated in her comment how different generations will change how they will use a word. Like African Americans from the 1960s would see the word "ni**a" an insult that viewed them as lesser people as opposed to our current generation where everyone is saying "ni**a" left and right to their friends. Even African Americans are using the term that once was used to insult them to now show a greater sense of value to others. So the word was initially created to disrespect or insult a single group of people, but now the current generation has created a new meaning to the word to describe everyone they know. Big differences like this have changed through time, but the original meaning didn't go away, we just make a new meaning to overshadow the old one that still and always will exist. Also, i think the whole slang concept is all just trends because they come and go and we just forget out them over time. For example, whippersnapper is slang you'd mostly hear from an elderly person but not from anyone in this current generation. So all these changes were making to words and punctuation won't last forever, unlike the original meanings that were used to define what all the words and punctuation actually mean.
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