SLANG BAN

Abstract: Everyone should be allowed to express themselves the way they see fit, slang or otherwise. This essay analyzes the language attitude of prescriptivists, people who think there should only be one standard of English. By taking a look at an example of a high school in London that banned the use of slang and a meme of an old man complaining about slang, we can examine the underlying prescriptivist attitude and how that negatively affects those who don’t conform to the standard notions of the English language.

There are about 6,500 languages spoken all around the world. English is considered one of the top 3 languages most commonly spoken in the world. That means that there are millions of people that speak English, all with their own accents, dialects, and other variations of English. Slang, often shortened versions of words and sometimes new words, is one type of variation of English. Many people who are prescriptivist and believe in only one variation of English, often referred to as Standard English, disdain the use of slang. Language attitudes such as those of prescriptivists, are attitudes that ultimately lead to a negative mindset towards people that do not necessarily speak “proper” English, or a different version of the English language. Everyone should be allowed to express themselves the way they see fit, slang or otherwise. 

Slang is one of the most common ways people speak, especially the youth, and an article posted by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) news, reveals a prescriptivist attitude toward the use of slang. The post shows a school in Upper Norwood, London, called Harris Academy, with a poster containing all the slang words that are banned for students. All of the slang words that were banned include words such as cuz, like, bare, extra, ain’t, innit, you woz and we woz, starting sentences with “basically,” and ending sentences with “yeah.” The post generated many comments from students to adults. Based on the comments on the post, there are a lot of mixed feelings on banning the use of slang. Some people were all for banning slang words since it teaches the youth “improper” English, which some claim can decrease the chances of getting a job or hired, while others opposed the ban stating that you shouldn’t tell people how to speak and that slang is something many people in the “real world” use as well. As you can see, there are many different opinions on whether or not schools should ban students from using slang. Many of the negative perspective of using slang stems from the notion that it is improper and a disadvantage when used in a professional environments such as the workplace. Using slang is often associated with being uneducated and even “stupid.” Even though many linguists have stated that there is no link between intelligence and the way someone speaks, most of the population still carries the notion that there is. 

The reason why slang even exists in the first place can be found in the book titled “Language Myths.” The book, put together by Peter Trudgill and Laurie Bauer, is an anthology series written by several authors and linguists, which depicts the different types of myths and stereotypes that are embedded in language. The first article, “The Meanings of Words Should Not be Allowed to Vary or Change” by Peter Trudgill, discusses a language myth in which many believe changes in the meanings of words become confusing and dangerous, and therefore should not be allowed to change. However as Peter explicitly states, “all languages change all the time. It is not very well understood why this is the case, but it is a universal characteristic of human languages.”(Trudgill, 1). Slang is evidence and a modern representation of that change. The banned word “coz” is a shortened version of the word “because.” Even though they are two different words, they both express the same thing. Trudgill also describes in his writing, “awful, which originally meant ‘inspiring awe’ now means ‘very bad’ or, in expressions such as awfully good…”(2). What most prescriptivists, and others who believe that there should only be one standard of English, fail to realize is that the way we speak have been changing for as long as we have been speaking. Regardless of whether or not someone accepts these changes, new words and the usage of those words will inevitably continue to change. 

Another example is the picture above of a meme of an old man with the caption that says, “back in my day slang didn’t change on a weekly basis.” The example captures an accurate representation of a prescriptivist attitude since a prescriptivist is not fond of the notion that there should be more than one way to speak or use language, which this image is representing. This example also relates to the myth by Trudgill since the old man has a very angry and scornful look on his face, showing his disdain for how rapidly language is changing. If you read between the lines you’ll find that the meme states “back in my day,” which is a clue that language has always been changing, it’s still changing, but now it’s changing faster than ever hence “on a weekly basis.” Banning the use of slang words is actually depriving students the freedom to express themselves in their own pattern and language variation. Language is constantly changing so instead of trying to change or go against the inevitable, language variations and the diverse ways people speak and use language should be embraced rather than stigmatized. 

In conclusion, the prescriptivist attitude that there should be only one variation or standard of English that is deemed acceptable, is an attitude that should be met with contempt since these type of mindsets ultimately lead to discrimination and prejudice in language. The manner in which someone speaks has very little to do with how intelligent they really are. These types of language attitudes serve no purpose besides disunity. Slang has a right to exist as much as the notion of “standard English.” Language has continued to change and will continue to change. The emergence of new words, meanings and their usages will continue to evolve as society evolves.