Khóa luận A study on rhyming slang in English and its equivalents in Vietnamese - Nguyễn Thùy Dương

Nội dung text: Khóa luận A study on rhyming slang in English and its equivalents in Vietnamese - Nguyễn Thùy Dương

1. THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HAI PHONG PRIVATE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES GRADUATION PAPER oOo . A STUDY ON : RHYMING SLANG IN ENGLISH AND ITS EQUIVALENTS IN VIETNAMESE By: Nguyễn Thùy Dương Class: NA 903 Supervisor: MS Nguyễn Thúy Thu Haiphong,May,2009 CỘNG HOÀ XÃ HỘI CHỦ NGHĨA VIỆT NAM 1
2. Độc lập _tự do _hạnh phúc o O o . BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC DÂN LẬP HẢI PHÒNG NHIỆM VỤ ĐỀ TÀI TỐT NGHIỆP Sinh viên :Nguyễn Thuỳ Dương Mã số: Lớp : NA903 Ngành: Ngoại ngữ Tên đề tài :A study on rhyming slang in English and its equivalents in Vietnamese NHẬN XÉT ĐÁNH GIÁ CỦA CÁN BỘ CHẤM PHẢN BIỆN ĐỀ TÀI TỐT NGHIỆP 1Đánh giá chất lượng đề tài tốt nghiệp về các mặt thu nhập ,phân tích số liệu ban 2
3. đầu, cơ sở lý luận chọn phương án tối ưu,cách tính toán chất lượng thuyết minh và bản vẽ, giá trị lý luận và thực tiễn của đề tài . 2Cho điểm của cán bộ phản biện (điểm ghi bằng chữ và số) Hải Phòng ,ngày tháng năm 2009 Người chấm phản biện CÁN BỘ HƯỚNG DẪN ĐỀ TÀI TỐT NGHIỆP Người hướng dẫn chính: Họ và tên: Nguyễn Thuý Thu Học hàm,học vị :Thạc sĩ Cơ quan công tác: Trường Đại học dân lập Hải Phòng 3
4. Nội dung hướng dẫn: A study on rhyming slang in English and its equivalents in Vietnamese Đề tài tốt nghiệp được giao ngày tháng năm 2009 Yêu cầu hoàn thành trước ngày .tháng .năm 2009 Đã nhận nhiệm vụ Đ.T.T.N Đã giao nhiệm vụ Đ.T.T.N Sinh viên Cán bộ hướng dẫn Hải Phòng, ngày .tháng .năm 2009 Hiệu trưởng PHẦN NHẬN XÉT TÓM TẮT CỦA CÁN BỘ HƯỚNG DẪN 1 Tinh thần thái độ của sinh viên trong quá trình làm đề tài tốt nghiệp 4
5. 2 Đánh giá chất lượng của Đ. T.T.N( So với nội dung yêu cầu đã đề ra trong nhiệm vụ Đ.T.T.N trên các mặt lý luận, thực tiễn , ) 3 Cho điềm của cán bộ hướng dẫn(Điểm ghi bằng số và chữ) Hải Phòng ngày tháng năm 2009 Cán bộ hướng dẫn chính 5
6. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT PART I: INTRODUCTION 1 I. Rationale 1 II. Aims of the study 1 III. Scope of the study 1 IV. Methodology 2 V. Comments on the survey questionnaire .2 VI. Design of the study 5 PART II: DEVELOPMENT 6 Chapter I: Theoretical background 6 I. Definitions 6 I.1. Definitions of slang 6 I.2. Definition of jargon 7 I.3. Definitions of rhyming slang .9 II. The origins 11 II.1. The origins of slang 11 II.2. The origins of rhyming slang 12 III. Classifications 14 III.1. Classifications of slang 14 III.2. Classification of rhyming slang 18 III.2.1. Cockney Rhyming slang 18 III.2.2. Internet rhyming slang .20 Chapter II: English and Vietnamese rhyming slang in survey 22 I. English rhyming slang 22 I.1. Definition 22 6
7. I.2. The findings 22 I.2.1. The use of rhyming slang at school 22 I.2.2. The use of rhyming slang at home 25 I.2.3. The use of rhyming slang at the party 25 I.2.4 Summaries 27 II. Vietnamese rhyming slang 28 II.1. Definition 28 II.2.The findings 29 II.2.1. The use of rhyming slang at school 29 II.2.2. The use of rhyming slang at home 30 II.2.3. The use of rhyming slang at the party 31 II.2.4. Summaries 31 Chapter III: English and Vietnamese rhyming slang in comparison 33 I. Similarities 33 II. Differences 35 PART III: CONCLUSION 40 REFERENCES In English 1. Ayto, John. 2002. The Oxford Dictionary of Rhyming Slang. Oxford University Press. 2. B. Winona (2007) , The history of slang 7
8. 3. B. Antonio. 1998. "Origin of Cockney Slang Dicky Dirt". In Comments on Etymology 27 (8): pp. 16-20. 4. B. Antonio. 2001. "The Rhyming Slang of the Junkie". In English Today 17 (2): pp. 39-45. 5. B.Antonio. 2001. "From Alsatian Dog to Wooden Shoe: Linguistic Xenophobia in Rhyming Slang". In English Studies 82 (4): pp. 336-348. 6. C. Roberts, Heavy Words Lightly Thrown: The Reason Behind Rhyme, Thorndike Press,2006 (ISBN 0-7862-8517-6) 7. G. Jonathon. 2000. Cassell's Rhyming Slang. Cassell. 8. Franklyn, Julian. 1960. A Dictionary of Rhyming Slang. Routledge. 9. P.Eric (1894-1979, Slang: Today and Yesterday, 1933, Ch. 2 Website 1. 2. .com 3. www.urbandictionary.com 4. www.wikipedia.org In Vietnamese 1. Báo hoa học trò, tiếng lóng phổ biến trong giới sinh viên , học sinh 2. express.net, tiếng lóng giúp 8x thể hiện cá tính 3. www.tudientienglong.vn ACKNOWLEDGEMENT During the process of doing this graduation paper, my debts to my teachers, my friends, and my family are many and various. First of all, I would like to express my deep gratitude to my supervisor Mrs. Nguyễn Thuý Thu, M.A who has helped me much in providing materials and giving suggestions as well as guidance so that I can fulfill this graduation paper. My special thanks to go to Mrs. Trần Thị Ngọc Liên, The Dean of Foreign Language 8
9. Department of Haiphong Private University. In addition, I also send my gratefulness to all the teachers in Foreign Language Department of Haiphong Private University for their lectures in which the knowledge has helped me accomplish this graduation paper. Last but not least, I am really indebted to my family who constantly support me very much QUESIONAIRE Situation 1: At school 1. How often do you use rhyming slang? 2. How often do your old teachers use rhyming slang? 3. How often do your young teachers use rhyming slang? 4. Give me some examples that you and your teachers use rhyming slang? Situation 2: At home 1. How often do you use rhyming slang? 9
10. 2. How often do your grand-parents use rhyming slang? . 3. How often do your parents use rhyming slang? . 4. Give me some examples that you use rhyming slang? . Situation 3: At the party? 1. How often do your acquaintants use rhyming slang? 2. How often do your strangers use rhyming slang? . 3. Give me some examples? 10
11. PART I INTRODUCTION I.Rationale Nowadays, there are many people all over the world studying English because English is used as the official language in 44 countries as well as the language of business, commerce, politics, science, etc.However, like many other languages, when using English in communication, especially when we speak to native people, we often heard some strange words that we can never heard and we can’t look up their meaning in ordinary dictionaries. They are slang words that make almost people studying English feel difficult to understand in conversations. Hence,to help English leaners understand what the native people say more clearly, I choose the research on slang with the subjiect about rhyming slang, which is the most widely used in slang system. II. Aims of the study Together with the development of the society, English language is also constantly growing, developing and changing. English rhyming slang isn’t outside of this process.From the language of the street, nowadays rhyming slang has became the second English language breaking out all over the world .It is used widely in life, communication , film,fiction, etc.Hence, this study aims at: - Giving the denifition of rhyming slang - Outlining the different kinds of rhyming slang - Surveying about the use of rhyming slang in three situations: at home, at school and at the party. - Comparing the similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese rhyming slang. III. Scope of the study Due to the limitation of the time, resource and my own knowledge, this study only focus on: giving the understanding of English rhyming slang , their constrast in English and Vietnamese to find out the similarities and the differences in 11
12. three situations: -At school -At home -At the party. IV. Method of the study To distingguish similarities and differences in using rhyming slang between two languages, comparision is the most effective method. The result of comparision helps to make the English spoken in communication easier.For that reason, I choose the contrastive analysis method in my study. Besides, this study is carried out by gathering, analyzing the reference materials and investigating some people using rhyming slang at school, at home and at the party. V. Comments on the survey questionnaires V.1. On the informants The survey is conducted with fifty American and fiftyVietnamese people.There is two groups of informants. The first group who administered the questionnaire in Vietnamese consists of the Vietnamese all living in Northern Vietnam. The second group who administered the questionnaire in English includes English native speakers. The information about informants is quite nescessary for data analysis, so the informants were requested to provide the following parameters: - Age - The social relationship Below is the table which show the number of informants with their status parameters Informants Status parameters Vietnamese American young 35 30 Persons old 15 20 Table 1: Distribution of informants with their status parameters 12
13. V.2. On the survey questionnaire The survey questionnaire is designed to investigate the use of rhyming slang in communication of Vietnamese and American. The concentrates on the three sistuations and utterances of rhyming slang .The survey quesionnaire has two parts: - Part 1 is designed for general information about the informants - Part 2 is designed for American and Vietnamese people to find out how they use rhyming slang in the following situations: + Situation 1: At school: How often do you use rhyimng slang at school? + Situation 2: At home: How often do you use rhyming slang at home? + Situation 3: At the party: How often do you use rhyming slang at the party? One hundred completed questionnaires (50 in Vitenamese and in English) were selected. As stated above the aims of the study is to investigate three specific sistuations, at school, at home and at the party, of the using rhyming slang in daily speech activities.The communicating partners are: - The informants’ teacher - The informants’ student - The informants’ grand-parents - The informants’ parents - The informants’ children - The informants’ acquaintants (older and younger) - The informants’ strangers (older and younger) The two groups of informants were requested to write exactly how often they use rhyming slang to communicate in each of situations 13
14. The level of using rhyming slang of Communicating Situations American partners often sometimes rarely never old teacher x Situation 1 young teacher x student x grand-parents x Situation 2 parents x children x Acquaintants(old) x Strangers(old) x Situation 3 Acquaintants(young) x Strangers(young) x Table 2: The frequency of using rhyming slang of American The level of using rhyming slang of Communicating Situations Vietnamese partner often sometimes rarely never Situation1 old teacher x young teacher x student x Situation 2 Grand-parents x parents x children x Situation 3 Acquaintants(old) x Acquaintants(old) x Strangers(young) x Strangers(young) x Table 3: The frequency of rhyming slang of Vietnamese 14
15. VI. Design of the study This study consists of three parts: Part I is the “Introduction” which introduce Rationale, Aim,Scope, Method and the Design of the study . Part II is the “Development” which is divided into three main chapters Chapter I is the “Theoretical background” providing the definitions, origin, classifications. Chapter II is the “English and Vietnames rhyming slang” surveying the use of English and Vietnamese rhyming slang between the older and the younger persons Chapter III is the “English rhyming slang in comparision with Vietnamese rhyming slang” comparing the similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese rhyming slang. Part III is the “Conclusion” which summazies the main points of the study. 15
16. PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I THEORETICAL BACKGROUND I. Definition I.1. Definition of slang There are many definitions of slang.According to The Oxford English Dictionary (2000:840) slang is very informal language. Slang is sometimes describled as “the language of sub-cultures” or ‘the language of the street’’. It tends to be vivid and colourful and holds a delicate position between the colloquial and the vulgar. Examples: MONEY dough, lolly, spondulicks FOOD grub, nosh, scoff DRINK sloshed, smashed, plastered SEX nookey, the other, crumpet ( Besides, .com also refers to slang as: the language at its most informal, using expressions that many would consider to be grammatically imperfect draw and keep the group together. It changes very quickly in English. Example: English often says “use your loaf of bread” meaning: “use your head” In addtion, Bethany.K.Dumas and Jonathan Lighter (1978:95) define, “slang is a set of highly informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's dialect or language. Slang is often highly regional, specific to a particular territory or subculture. Slang words and expressions can spread outside their original arena, and some may even lose their slang status and become accepted as a standard language. Often, the widespread adoption of a slang term by mainstream culture will cause the subculture it originated in to 16
17. create a new, less recognized term”. The origins of slang are usually found in the desire of those members of a paticular group ,or sub culture, to communicate freely and intelligibly with each other from their common based of shared experience, interest, attitudes and identity .This is, however, coupled with the desire to differentiate themselves either from another group, or from the larger society as a whole.Thus, slang involves the unconventional, even the taboo, (to differentiate the speaker from the norms of society) and often hostility and vulgar epithets for authorities or rivals (to differentiate from the "others" who are not members of the same group). Slang, therefore, has both positive and negative aspects. When it facilitates easier and familiar communication among those with a common base it functions to improve harmonious communication; when it draws distinctions, particularly hostile ones, building barriers between groups of people, it enhances the problems in human relationships that have been experienced throughout history. Example: Apples = apples and pears = stairs Barnet = Barnet Fair = hair Brass = Brass Flute = Prostitute Dog = dog and bone = telephone Jam = Jam jar = Car China = China plate = mate Frog = frog and toad = road Rosie = Rosie Lee = tea I.2. Definition of jargon The English Oxford Dictionary (2000:489) defines,” Jargon is specialized technical language of a particular subject”. For example: Agenda: The list of items to be discussed during a meeting, negotiation, or mediation. 17
18. Active Listening: An elicitive listening process whereby one communicator seeks to empathetically understand, and confirm understanding, of the other. ADR: The term Alternative Dispute Resolution (an alternative to litigation) or Appropriate Dispute Resolution, ADR refers to an ever-expanding range of innovative dispute resolution techniques for better managing and resolving disputes outside the traditional and adversarial court process. The more common options for creative collaboration include, dispute prevention, negotiated rulemaking, negotiation, facilitation, mediation, conciliation, mediation-arbitration, arbitration, case management, early neutral evaluation, neutral expert fact-finding, corporate mini-trial. It must also be noted that new strategies and forms are continually being developed in a variety of forums and continue to be implemented in a variety of ways. Arbitration: A process by which disputing parties refer their dispute to a mutually acceptable authority to decide what should happen. Traditionally, the parties are bound by the Arbitrator's decision. Under the Commercial Arbitration Act, such decisions can not be appealed except on an issue of 'law". Analysis: The process by which parties to a negotiation or a third party intervener critically analyze, evaluate, identify and/or hunch historical dynamics, environment, paradigms, and underlying interests and issues which gave rise to the dispute and possible areas of resolution. Assertion: assertiveness The process by which one makes direct 'I' statements about one's own feelings, thoughts and wishes while respecting the feelings and rights of the other party to the communication. 18
19. BATNA WATNA: BATNA is often utilized as a tool to enable each party to determine whether a negotiated agreement is in that party's best interest. The BATNA also gives the party negotiating power as it provides a fallback alternative. In effect, the BATNA is the best result the party can hope to achieve if a settlement can not be negotiated. For example, when negotiating a pay raise, having another job offer with a different employer at a higher rate of pay may be a powerful BATNA. It is important to make a distinction between slang and jargon. Jargon is the technical vocabulary of a particular profession.Similarly to slang, those outside of professional persons may not understand the terms or meaning of jargon. Unlike slang, however, jargon is not intended to exclude non-members of the group, and is concerned mainly with the technical peculiarities and specifics of a given field. Additionally, jargon does not fit the definition of slang, as it meets only a single criterion: it develops as a kind of short-hand, to quickly express ideas that are frequently discussed between members of a group. For instand, jargon related to the computer. RAM, Hard Disk Drive, CPU, Graphics Card and etc I.3. Definition of rhyming slang Rhyming slang in the Collins English Dictionary (2000: 84) is defined as, “slang in which a word is replaced by another word or phrase that rhymes with it.”; for example, apples and pears: stairs. Then, Chris Roberts,(2006) refers to rhyming slang as is a form of slang in which a word is replaced by a rhyming word, typically the second word of a two-word phrase (so stairs becomes "apples and pears"). The second word is then often dropped entirely ("I'm going up the apples"), meaning that the association of the original word to the rhyming phrase is not obvious to the 19
20. uninitiated. For example: "Sherman" for an American (Sherman tank = Yank). Besides, Daniel Fergus (2001) also confirms that, Rhyming Slang phrases are derived from taking an expression which rhymes with a word and then using that expression instead of the word. For example the word "look" rhymes with "butcher's hook". In many cases the rhyming word is omitted - so you won't find too many Londoners having a "butcher's hook" at this site, but you might find a few having a "butcher's". Example: Adam and Eve :Believe Apples and pears :Stairs Barclays Bank : Wank (to masturbate) Barnet Fair :Hair Billy lids: Kids Boat race: Face Boracic lint : Skint Bowler hat :Chat Brass cart Tart (prostitute) Bristol City or pluralised, bristols :Titty (breasts) Bubble bath :Laugh Butcher's hook :Look Duke of York : Fork Dutch (for Duchess of Fife): Wife Eartha Kitt :Shit Farmer Giles :Piles (hemorrhoids) Frog and toad :Road God forbid(s) : Kid(s) Jam jar: Car Pig's ear: Beer Plates of meat :Feet 20
21. Pony and trap :Crap (both to defecate and of poor quality) Pork pies or porkies : Lies Raspberry tart :Fart Saucepan lid: Kid Skin and blister: Sister Tom Tit :shit (both to defecate and of poor quality) Tomfoolery :Jewellery Trouble and strife: Wife Water bottle :Throttle Whistle and flute :Suit R.Chris (2006) II.The origins II.1.The origin of English slang B. Winona (2007) in “The history of slang” refers, During the Middle Age, there were very little standardized language. Different dialects and pronunciations often represented one of the first concepts of "slang," although dialects are specifically not slang. During the sixteenth century, English Criminal Cant evolved. A specific set of language that was created for use by criminals and cheats, English Criminal Cant was not originally considered slang (since it was a specifically developed "language"), but by the eighteenth century it had evolved into slang. Round the mid-1600s, slang began to appear in popular plays, like that of Richard Brome and also in poems and songs in the eighteenth century, English slang was influenced by the cultural differences in America and slang usage began to expand. Slang was often associated with either criminals or foreigners during this time and often dealt with human anatomy or taboo topics like sexuality. It was not until the 1920s that society began to adopt a more liberal attitude towards slang. Slang became popular with fiction writers and society at large. The development of English slang was assisted by a number of events, 21
22. such as the American Civil war and the ablitionist movement. II.2 The origin of rhyming slang The exact origin of rhyming slang appears to be unclear, partly because it exists to some extent in many languages.In English, rhyming slang is strongly associated with Cockney speech from the East End of London.Hence, it may be true to talk that many rhyming slang words or phrases have origin from Cockney,London. These words and phrases develop quickly, step by step become popular in Britain. After that, they have been exported from London to all over the word. Rhyming slang is a form of slang in which a word is replaced by a rhyming word, typically the second word of a two-word phrase (so stairs becomes "apples and pears"). The second word is then often dropped entirely ("I'm going up the apples"), meaning that the association of the original word to the rhyming phrase is not obvious to the uninitiated. For example: "Sherman" for an American (Sherman tank = Yank).[1] The exact origin of rhyming slang is unclear, partly because it exists to some extent in many languages. In English, rhyming slang is strongly associated with Cockney speech from the East End of London. John Camden Hotten in his 1859 Dictionary of Modern Slang, Cant and Vulgar Words states that (English) rhyming slang originated in the 1840s with costermongers.[2] It remains a matter of speculation as to whether rhyming slang was a linguistic accident, a game, or a cryptolect developed intentionally to confuse non-locals. If deliberate, it may have been used to maintain a sense of community. It is possible that it was used in the marketplace to allow vendors to talk amongst themselves in order to facilitate collusion, without customers knowing what they 22
23. were saying. Another suggestion is that it may have been used by criminals (see thieves' cant) to confuse the police. The proliferation of rhyming slang allowed many of its traditional expressions to pass into common usage. Some substitutions have become relatively widespread in Britain, for example "to have a butcher's", which means to have a look, from "butcher's hook". Examples of this kind are often now used without awareness of their origins. Many English speakers are oblivious of the fact that the term "use your loaf" is derived from "loaf of bread", meaning head. This also holds for varieties of rhyming slang in other parts of the world: in the United States a common slang expression, "brass tacks", may be a rhyme for "the facts" and to blow a raspberry may come from "raspberry tart" to rhyme with fart; the most common Australian slang term for an English person is "pommy", which is believed to have originated as rhyming slang for immigrant.[3] Some words are much less taboo than their etymology would suggest. Some popular terms have their origins in obscenity, like "berk" (often used to mean "foolish person") and "cobblers" (often used to mean "what you just said is rubbish"), are actually from Berkeley Hunt, meaning "cunt," and "cobbler's awls", meaning "balls", respectively. The non-native speaker needs to be cautious in using rhyming slang to "fit in". The extent of the use of the slang is often exaggerated. In addition, since the original purpose was to encode or disguise speech from the comprehension of bystanders, terms that become too 'well-known' still have a tendency to lose actual currency fairly quickly, putting whatever usage the slang enjoys into a constant flux. This style of rhyming has spread through many English-speaking countries, where the original phrases are supplemented by rhymes created to fit local needs. Creation of rhyming slang has become a word game for people of many 23
24. classes and regions. The term 'Cockney' rhyming slang is generally applied to these expansions to indicate the rhyming style; though arguably the term only applies to phrases used in the East End of London. Similar formations do exist in other parts of the United Kingdom; for example, in the East Midlands, the local accent has formed "Derby Road", which rhymes with "cold": a conjunction that would not be possible in any other dialect of the UK. III. Classifications III.1 Classification of English slang There are many ways to classify English slang. In term of the meaning of words, slang can be divided into many kinds: violence, crime, drugs, medical, sport, youth etc For example: www.urbandictionary.com refers, some slang words which the modern teenagers often use called slang youth are: Peeps, dawgs, homies : friends Sup, whats goin down: parents Kicks: shoes Hella : really In term of development history of slang, The Oxford Dictionary of Moder Slang indentifies three types of slang: The first,'slang' was applied, in the mid-eighteenth century, was 'the special vocabulary used by any set of persons of a low and disreputable character', the thieves' cant or patter of earlier centuries. This vein of slang thrives today in the vocabulary of the underworld, street gangs, and drug- trafficking. But soon after the mid-eighteenth century, the meaning of 'slang' broadened to include 'the special vocabulary or phraseology of a particular calling or profession': printers' slang, costermongers' slang, even the slang vocabulary of doctors and lawyers. 24
25. Both of these types of slang served many purposes, but the predominant one was as a private vocabulary binding together members of a subculture or social group, conferring upon them individuality distinct from the rest of the community. Finally, in the early years of the nineteenth century, the term 'slang' came to be applied much more generally to any 'language of a highly colloquial type, considered as below the level of standard educated speech, and consisting either of new words or of current words employed in some new special sense'. Today slang covers all three of these areas: not all colloquial or informal vocabulary is slang, but all slang is colloquial or informal. However, in this reseach paper, I will classify English slang in term of the word- form with four types: rhyming, backwards, nadsat and polari slang III.1.1. Rhyming slang: According to www.urbandictionary.com, rhyming slang is a remarkable, virtually unique example of a highly developed set of codes used by a particular speech community, the Cockneys, devised on the basis of disguise mechanisms. It uses witty and ingenious coded formulas to refer to objects of affection and hostility as well as taboo topics. Familiar examples are trouble and strife for “wife,” pork pie for “lie,” and cobbler’s awls for “balls.” The basic principle, as the reader can perceive, is that the last word or syllable of the formula supplies the rhyme for the coded word. There is often no logical connection between the formula and the coded term, although irony is often apparent. Examples: Billy lid. : Kid. Dog’s eye. : Meat pie. Oxford scholar. : Dollar. Bat and ball. Stall (your car). 25
26. Billy lid. Kid. Burke and Wills. Dills. Don't be a Burke. Butchers. Crook or look. From butcher’s hook. Charlie. Woman. From Charlie Wheeler. Wheeler (pronounced wheelah) rhymes with sheila. Dog’s eye. Meat pie. Ducks and drakes. The shakes. Farmer Giles. Piles (haemorrhoids). Frog and toad. Road. Gay and hearty. Party. Probably not very common nowadays because of the changed III.1.2.Backwards slang (Back slang): Asker, UK answer (2006) definites, backwards slang is a form of slang where words are reversed. English backwards slang tends to reverse words letter by letter. Examples: L-RIG = Girl YENOM = Money TAF SAY = Fat ! NAMOW = Woman ESCOP = Police Y-BAB = Baby ( 26
27. III.1.3. Nadsat P.Ninja (2002) states, Nasad is a set of slang terms invented by Anthony Burgessin his 1962 novel A Clockwork Orange .The "slang of the future" used in the book has a variety of sources, most of the words being derived from Russian (many from bad transliterations of Russian as well). Other words have notably Germanic and Romance sources, some are abbreviations of English words, and some are forms of school-boy slang (or "potty talk") or Cockney Rhyming slang. The name Nadsat itself is a Russian suffix for numbers 11-19 Example: . Banda :gang . Carman :pocket . Chai :tea . Glazz :eye . Gloopy :Stupid . Gazetta :Newspaper . Goober :Lip . Grazhny :Dirty . Gulliver :Head ( III.1.4. Polari: According to BBC (2009),polari is a British gay slang that has its roots in the eighteenth century in underworld but it reached high day in 1950s and 1960s.It is an electic mixture of the slangs, dialect and common in London at the time, containing aspects of Cockney rhyming slang, Romany,Back slang,Italian,theatre language ,criminal language .etc. But today, it seems to be died out. Example: o Bona =good o Omi =man o Polone =woman 27
28. o Trade =sex o Bungary =pub o Chicken =young boy III.2. Classification of Rhyming slang According to hhtp://simple.wikipedial.org, almost English Rhyming slang has origin from Cockney rhyming slang. In other word, Cockney is the most popular type of rhyming slang. Besides, nowadays, together with devepment of Internet, many new slang expressions have appeared such as: LOL - Laughing out loud ROTFL/ROFL - Rolling on the floor laughing LMAO - Laughing my ass off OMG - Oh My God WTF - What The Fuck BRB - be right back G2G - Got to go Internet mainly uses acronyms to make the new slang expessions.However, it also use the rhymes. Therefore, now, Rhyming slang is classified two types: Cockney rhyming slang and Internet rhyming slang III.2.1. Cockney rhyming slang Cockney rhyming slang is a form of English slang which originated in the East End of London, and has been popularized by film, music, and literature. Anthony Burgess used rhyming slang as a part of the fictitious "Nadsat" dialect in his classic book A Clockwork Orange .Traditional Cockney rhyming slang works by taking two words that are related through a short phrase and using the first word to stand for a word that rhymes with the second. For instance, "boat" means "face" as "boat race" rhymes with face. Similarly, "plates" means "feet" ("plates of meat"), and bread means "money" (bread and honey). Cockney rhyming slang is not a language but a collection of phrases used by Cockneys and other Londoners. 28
29. The term Cockney often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those living in the East End. A "true" Cockney is someone who is born within earshot of the Bow Bells, the bells of St Mary le Bow church in Cheapside in London City. How does it work? It works by choosing a two or three word phrase that rhymes with a word you want to hide, and then just substitute the word to be hidden with the first word in the phrase. An early example is the phrase "apples and pears" which is used for stairs, so instead of saying, "I'm walking up the stairs", you'd say, I'm walking up the apples". Got it? Example: Some Cockney Rhyming slang for part of body English Rhymes with Cockney Feet Plates of meat Plates Teeth Hampstead Heath Hampsteads Legs Scotch eggs Scotches Eyes Mince pies Minces Arms Chalk Farms Chalk Farms Hair Barnet Fair Barnet Head Loaf of bread Loaf Face Boat race Boat race Mouth North and south North and south The origins of rhyming slang: This often bewildering form of slang, although now actually heard throughout the English speaking world, originally developed in an area of inner London now known as the East End. This area, Cockney London, was once defined as being that which was within the sound of Bow bells, the church bells belonging to the Church of St Mary Le Bow, in Cheapside. The word Cockney itself, from an earlier spelling cokeney, literally means cock's egg, a small malformed egg that is occasionally laid by young hens. During the 29
30. 1700's the term, used by country folk, was applied to town's folk who were considered ignorant of the established customs and country ways. This term in due course became synonymous with working class Londoners themselves and has now lost its once denigrating qualities. Despite the current definition of a Cockney, to most outsiders a Cockney is anyone from London itself. Rhyming slang, just part of the Cockney vernacular, is believed to have come to prominence in the early to mid 1800's. It is frequently suggested that it began its life as the tongue of the London street trader, the costermongers, perhaps in an attempt to conceal their often illicit practices from the public or more importantly any illegal activities from the recently established police force, the Peelers. It may well have begun its evolution many years before then. Another area of speculation is how from being such a localised dialect it gained so much prominance; the suggestion here is that Cockney rhyming slang was adopted by the underworld. It was the necessity of the police to learn this criminal language and by its subsequent publication in law enforcement manuals rhyming slang became widely known. III.2.2.Internet Rhyming slang The Internet has created an entire subculture of users, who have developed an extensive library of slang. Many internet slang terms originated with the purpose of saving keystrokes, and often appear in lower case. For example, "you" become "u" and "are" becomes "r." Web forums are often credited with helping popularize and spread forms of internet slang. Online gaming is often responsible for the development and popularization of internet slang. Within the Internet community, there are numerous subcultures with their own specific set of slang. Leet speak originated with hackers, and later became popular with the online gaming community. Leet (sometimes written as 1337 or 30
31. l33t) uses various combinations of alphanumerics to replace letters of words. "E" is commonly replaced by “3” and “S” by “5”. Leet commonly has its own sets of colloquialisms and jokes, and exists in a number of languages in addition to English, such as Greek, Russian, and Chinese. Excessive use of leet is often used to ridicule or satirize new members of an internet community, who are often referred to as n00bs (newbies or newcomers). Examples: o B4: before o CU: see you o IC: I see: o 2U2: to you soon o 4U: for you 31
32. CHAPTER II: ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE RHYMING SLANG IN SURVEY I. English rhyming slang I.1. Definition Rhyming slang is one of the most popular types of slang. It is a word replaced by another word or phrase that rhymes with it. For example, Bottle and stopper :copper (police officer) Eg: Look out, here come the bottles! Britney Spears: ears; beers; tears Eg: Tuck your hair behind your Britneys Nowadays, rhyming slang is used widely in the society; especially in daily communication at school, at home, in the office, in the park, in the cinema, in the party .etc. However, because of the limitation of time, in this study, I just focus on three situations: at school, at home, at the party to see how often rhyming slang is used among people who are different at age and in the social- relationship I.2. The findings I.2.1. The use of English rhyming slang at school School is one of the enviroments which rhyming slang is existing and developing very quickly.Almost rhyming slang language at school is used by the young people including students, young teachers.However, in the different places and in the different groups, the use of rhyming slang is really different .In the class, rhyming slang is rarely used by teachers especcially the old ones, but there are many of the students still often use it to talk with their friends and teachers. Here is an example it’s a conversation in the class: The scene is Mr Mann's classroom. Pete and Sarah have stayed behind to 32
33. tell him why they did not hand in their homework. Mr Mann: So Pete, this is most unlike you. Where's your homework? Pete: (mumbling) Sorry Peter Pan, I was round at me bookend's last night, and forget to take my dirty looks. Mr Mann: I beg your pardon? Sarah: Yeah, I couldn't do mine either. I was with ham an' cheese, at her rat an' mouse. I used her motorised scooter but her Olympic sprinter wasn't working. Glossary Peter Pan - Mr Mann Bookends - Friends Dirty looks - books Ham an' cheese - Louise Rat an' mouse - house Motorised scooter - computer Olympic sprinter – printer As can be seen in this conversation, the teacher never uses rhyming slang to talk with his students, but two students: Peter and Sarah use many rhyming slang expressions to explain the reason why they didn’t hand in their homework. Besides, everyday in the class, we often heard the conversations among students in which rhyming slang expressions are used very much to prevent the teacher from understanding what they say. For examples about some rhyming slang expressions are often used at school Orwight? : All right Numpty : a stupid person Adam and Eve : Believe - Would you Adam and Eve it? Alligator : Later - See you alligator. Weasel and Stoat : Coat - Where's my weasel? Loaf of Bread : Head -Think about it; use your loaf. 33
34. Mince Pies : Eyes - What beautiful minces. Oxford Scholar : Dollar - Could you lend me an Oxford? Pen and Ink : Stink - Pooh! It pens a bit in here. Rabbit and Pork : Talk - I don't know what she's rabbiting about. Butcher's hook : look - Let's have a butchers at that magazine Dickie bird : word - I haven't heard a dicky bird about it As can be seen from the table ,at school, we can see 70% of students using rhyming slang while only 30% of the young teachers and 15% of the old teachers using it in daily communication. The numbers of people using rhyming slang at People school (%) Young teacher 30 Old teacher 15 student 70 Most of the rhyming slang expressions used at school are colouful and vivid.But, there are still some differences in the expression between students and teachers.Almost teachers like to use the popular rhyming slang with poetic nature while students prefer to use the rhyming slang with vugal nature.They often create the new rhyming slang which is distinct from the general adult words. Rhyming slang is often Rhyming slang is often English used by teachers used by students Face Boat race Chevy Chase Hair Barnet fair Tony Bair Beer Amber feerd Briney Spears Website Wind and kite Kryptonite Cunt Berkshire cunt James Blunt 34
35. I.2.2. The use of English rhyming slang at home Rhyming slang is very popular in daily communication.Hence ,it isn’t too much surprise for us to heard the members of the family use rhyming slang language when they talk with the others; For example , mutt'n'jeff :deaf (You will have to speak up, he's a bit mutton ), porkies : pork pies = lies (Are you telling porkies?), Berkshire hunt :cunt ( You're a berk ). However, the frequency of the using rhyming slang at home among the members is quite different.According to the survey of the data is collected in the table below : The numbers of people using rhyming slang at People home (%) Children 65 Parents 38 Grand-parents 18 It is very clear that the older people grow, the less they use rhyming slang. Rhyming slang especcially the modern rhyming slang such as Briney Speak : beer, kungfu fighter : lighter, pictures of the queen : paper money, notes are used widely by children while their parents and grand-parents often use only the popular and the old rhyming slang with the lower frequency; For example, butcher's hook = look; china plate = mate; loaf of bread = head.So ,children often use the popular rhyming slang to communicate to their parents and grand- parents, but when talking with their brothers or their sisters, they prefer to use the modern rhyming in order to avoid their parents to be able to understand their conversations . I.2.3. The use of English rhyming slang at the party Nowadays, rhyming slang is in popular use throughout the English speaking population with numerous new examples popping up in everyday speech. However, rhyming slang is almost used by the members of the paticular group or the sub-culture to communicate freely and intelligibly with each other from their common base of shared experience, interests, attitude, and identity. 35
36. So it is very difficult for us to understand what the members of the other group say. This also explains for the reason why people often use rhyming slang to talk with familiar people or acquaintants but not strangers in everyday informal conversations especcially at the party. By asking people whether they used rhyming slang to talk with acquaintants and strangers at the party or not, I have received the answers as the following: The numbers of people using rhyming slang at People the party (%) Acquaintants(old) 22 Acquaintants(young) 70 Strangers(old) 5 Strangers(young) 30 We can see the average of numbers of the olders using rhyming slang in two cases is 15%, the young is 45% at the party. Besides, there are many issues people often use rhyming slang to express at the party such as: love, friendship, clothes, food and drink In spite of talking about the same subject, the rhyming slang expressions they use are different.The olders often use the old or the popular rhyming slang while the young prefer to use the modern rhyming slang. Here’s example about rhyming slang, related greeting, is often used at the party: The rhyming slang used by The rhyming slang used by English the olders the youngers Huh-low Hello Heyyo Yo What‘s up? Wassup Sup yes yeah yup 36
37. I.2.4. Summary Why does American choose to use slang when they can use other words? First of all, we have to admit from the survey that American all from the young to the old use slang beside all those appropriate words, although the number of the young use rhyming slang are bigger than the old. For example, they rather say “bad egg”, instead of “bad person”, or they say “cool” which is absolutely the best example? Reason for this because slang is a modern language, very changeable, which is, in the most cases, made and used by the young generations. In the past years, every generation had its own slang. That was their language, their own mark. People use it in order not to be different from their society. That characteristic, being a part of the environment, is in human nature and we are afraid it is quite hard to resist it. Slang easily becomes a part of American life and they just become people who cannot even remember when the changing of vocabulary started. But, years will pass and they will bring a new language shape. Maybe some day “cool” will be completely expelled from modern language, or it will be replaced with some new popular word with two “o”s. It is very difficult to know. Young people like to use slangs because they wanted to be accepted for their school mates and acquaintants.,etc. It's a way of identification with the social group which they belong to. Besides, they also use slangs to show their characterictics. Old people use slangs as a habit in using language that may exist when they are young ,passing the time it has reduced the frequency of use or even they often use some slangs because they are affected by their youngers, often listen the youngers using these slangs in everyday communications. 37
38. The number of the persons using Situations People rhyming slang (%) Young teacher 15 At school Old teacher 30 Student 70 Grand-parent 18 At home Parent 38 Children 65 Old acquainter 22 At the Old stranger 5 party Young acquainter 70 Young stranger 30 II. Vietnamese rhyming slang II.1. Definition According to Vietnamese rhyming slang is a means of informal social communication. It has the origin from local dialect, affected by the foreign languages and formed by using the change and the same of the sound, such as: nhỏ như con thỏ (small) , độc như con tuần lộc(cruel) Vietnamese rhyming slang has 4 types: -Using words or phrase containing the sound as the same as word that we want to say; for example, a kay: cay (get out of temper), cá kiếm: kiếm (take advantage), ca ma run: run (be afraid) -Using words or phrase with the change of the sound as baby talk; for example, xiền: tiền (money), tình iu: tình yêu (love) -Using the same of the sound as the number: 2: Hi: chào, 3: ba, 8: tám -Making new words or phrase containing the same of sounds to emphasize; for example, ghét như con bọ chét (hate), ngất ngây con gà tây (happy) Nowadays, Vietnamese rhyming slang is constantly growing, developing and changing. It is used widely in social communication especcially among the 38
39. the young.However,due to the limitation of the time and resource, in this paper I only survey the use of Vietnamese rhyming slang in three situations: at school ,at home ,at the party. II.2. Vietnamese findings II.2.1. The use of Vietnamese rhyming slang at school: School is one of the most popular environments which rhyming slang is used .Rhyming slang helps the young express their strong personality. It also helps them feel comfortable in communication to friends.However, it seems to be shock for the old when they hear the youngers use slang to talk to each others .So ,It isn’t too surprise for us to know that students aren’t allowed to use slang to talk with their teachers , especcially the old teachers in Vietnam especially at school.However to some the young teachers,they still let students use some popular slang in informal communication.As the result of the survey at HongBang high school, the table below show the percentage of using rhyming slang. People The numbers of persons using rhyming slang (%) old teacher 0 young teacher 10 student 36 There are many rhyming slang words being popular in Vietnamese students including both the colloquial or the vulgar words such as : hi-fi : giữa đàn ông và đàn bà(gay) , xiền - tiền (money ), chập cheng: dở hơi (half mad), and the vivid or the lively words such as : ngất trên cành quất ( surprise) , Lên nóc tủ ăn hoa quả -chết(die), Here are some examples about rhyming slang words often used at school: Leng keng :nghĩa là dở hơi ,thần kinh ( half mad) Chuẩn không cần chỉnh :tương tự như chính xác (right ) Ặc: âm thanh giống như mình bị bóp cổ ko nói được.(sock) Bótay.com 39
40. Dở hơi tập bơi( say stupid things) Pờ rồ (professional) Xì tin (style) Cá chép : chép(write but not understand) II.2.2. The use of Vietnamese rhyming slang at home Due to the effection of the traditional culture, children aren’t allowed to use rhyming slang when talking with their parents and grand- parents in Vietnamese family.It is considered the unrespect to the old if we use slang to communicate to them. Hence, it isn’t too surpised when we know that Vietnamese children only use rhyming slang when talking with their siblings in the family. In addtionnal to that, we can also see the grand-parents and parents never use rhyming slang to talk their children or even talking with others in the family. They think if they use slang to speak at home, their children will learn and be badly affected .Looking at the table below to see more detail the percentages of using rhyming slang at home: The number of persons using People rhyming slang at home (%) Grand-parent 0 parent 0 children 28 There are many rhyming slang expressions used by children at home .Most of them are colouful and vivid.For example: Chán như con gián: chán (bored) Chuối cả nải: stupid Khoai: khó (difficult) Ky bo: keo kiệt (stingy) Lăn tăn: worried 40
41. II.2.3. The use of Vietnamese rhyming slang at the party Vietnamese rhyming slang is more and more developed. It is used widely in daily communication especially at the young’s party.This is the result of the survey The numbers of persons using rhyming slang (%) Person Stranger Acquainter The old 0 0 The young 6 50 So, the average of numbers of people using rhyming slang at the party in two cases is: the old: 0%; the young: 28% with many rhyming slang expressions including both vulgar and vivid words.For example: Tám : nhiều chuyện Buôn dưa lê : buôn chuyện Biết chết liền Tinh tướng Tinh vi II.2.4. Summary In Vietnam, slang in common, rhyming slang in particular is used more and more widely. It is the language to help the young show personal characterictics.It makes the daily speech become vivid, natural and colouful. So it isn’t surprise when we see from the survey that the young people such as: students, the young teachers and children really like to use rhyming slang in communication. However, Vietnamese modern society is still affected deeply by the traditional culture, many people especcially the old think that the use of slang will break the clariry of Vietnamese due to they never use slang in communication and they also don’t like the young use it. So, Vietnamese rhyming slang developes less than English. 41
42. The number of persons using Vietnamese Situations People rhyming slang (%) old teacher 0 At school young teacher 10 student 36 grand-parent 0 At home parent 0 children 28 old acquainter 0 At the old stranger 0 party young acquainter 50 young stranger 6 42
43. CHAPTER III ENGLISH RHYMING SLANG IN COMPARISION WITH VIETNAMESE RHYMING SLANG I. Similarities Through the two parts of English and Vietnamese rhyming slang mentioned above , the similarities of them can partially be seen and this part they will be focused in more detail. Besides, the similarities are induced from the definitions, characteristics of both English and Vietnamese rhyming slang, the use of them also has many similarities. I.1. Definitions and characteristics Both English and Vietnamese rhyming slang are the most popular slangs of two languages.In common, English and Vietnamese rhyming slang are words replaced by another words or pharses that rhymes with them. They are the informal language of the society, sometimes are considered as the language of street or the language of sub- culture. They tend to become vivid, colouful or vulgar. For example: Vietnamese rhyming English English rhyming slang slang Hi, hello Yo 2 Tell lies Porkies pies nói dóc Stupid Numty fish chuối cả nải Besides, English rhyming slang as well as Vietnamese rhyming slang is constantly growing, changing and developing with the huge number of examples poping in life, such as in Vietnamese about persons who die, there are many rhyming slang: tạch, oạch, ngồi trên góc tủ ăn đu đủ, ngỏm, ngỏm củ tỏi, đi đời nhà ma, ; in English about drink: Fisherman's daughter: Water, Pig's ear: 43
44. Beer, Rise and shine: Wine Some slang words and expressions can spread outside their original arena, and some may even lose their slang status and become accepted as a standard language; for example, in English : Adam and Eve :Believe, Alligator :Later ,Andy Cain :Rain ,Apple pie: Sky, Auntie Nellie :Belly, in Vietnamese : xù : don't pay after eating something or have debt , xạo : tell lies. I.2. The use Both English and Vietnamese rhyming slang are used widely by the young persons. With its communicative function, rhyming slang makes daily speech become vivid, lively, and natural and colouful. It also brings people in one group closer. So, the role of rhyming slang in life more and more increases. The appearance of it in conversations is much more than before. In common, rhyming slang expressions are used popularly in communication in two languages: English and Vietnamese are very different. However, the reasons that people use rhyming slang are the same. According to the British lexicographer, Eric Partridge (1894-1979), people use slang for any of at least 15 reasons: 1. In sheer high spirits, by the young in heart as well as by the young in years; 'just for the fun of the thing'; in playfulness or waggishness. 2. As an exercise either in wit and ingenuity or in humour. (The motive behind this is usually self-display or snobbishness, emulation or responsiveness, delight in virtuosity). 3. To be 'different', to be novel. 4. To be picturesque (either positively or - as in the wish to avoid insipidity - negatively). 5. To be unmistakeably arresting, even startling. 6. To escape from clichés, or to be brief and concise. (Actuated by impatience with existing terms.) 7. To enrich the language. (This deliberateness is rare save among the well-educated, Cockneys forming the most notable exception; it is literary rather than spontaneous.) 44
45. 8. To lend an air of solidity, concreteness, to the abstract; of earthiness to the idealistic; of immediacy and appositeness to the remote. (In the cultured the effort is usually premeditated, while in the uncultured it is almost always unconscious when it is not rather subconscious.) 9a. To lesson the sting of, or on the other hand to give additional point to, a refusal, a rejection, a recantation; 9b. To reduce, perhaps also to disperse, the solemnity, the pomposity, the excessive seriousness of a conversation (or of a piece of writing); 9c. To soften the tragedy, to lighten or to 'prettify' the inevitability of death or madness, or to mask the ugliness or the pity of profound turpitude (e.g. treachery, ingratitude); and/or thus to enable the speaker or his auditor or both to endure, to 'carry on'. 10. To speak or write down to an inferior, or to amuse a superior public; or merely to be on a colloquial level with either one's audience or one's subject matter. 11. For ease of social intercourse. (Not to be confused or merged with the preceding.) 12. To induce either friendliness or intimacy of a deep or a durable kind. (Same remark.) 13. To show that one belongs to a certain school, trade, or profession, artistic or intellectual set, or social class; in brief, to be 'in the swim' or to establish contact. 14. Hence, to show or prove that someone is not 'in the swim'. 15. To be secret - not understood by those around one. (Children, students, lovers, members of political secret societies, and criminals in or out of prison, innocent persons in prison, are the chief exponents.) (From Slang: Today and Yesterday, 1933, Ch. 2.)" II. Differences The survey result has revealed that the Americans prefer to use rhyming slang in communication to the Vietnamese. We can see the percentages 45
46. of using rhyming slang of the Americans are higher than them of the Vietnamese informants (see the charts in the next pages) .All Americans from the old to the young use rhyming slang in communication but the Vietnamese old never use it, the Vietnamese young also use less than the American young by the effections of the traditional culture and the social conceptions. The number of persons using rhyming Sistuations people slang (%) English Vietnamese At school old teacher 15 0 young teacher 30 10 student 70 36 At home grand-parents 18 0 parents 38 0 children 65 28 At the party Acquaintants(old) 22 0 Strangers(old) 5 0 Acquaintants(young) 70 50 Strangers(young) 30 6 Table 4: Comparision the number of the people using English rhyming with Vietnamese 46
47. Situation 1: At the school: How often do you use rhyming slang at school? The use of rhyming slang in comparision between Vietnamese and American 70% 70% 60% 50% 40% 36% 30% 30% Vietnamese American 20% 15% 10% 10% 0% 0% old young student teacher teacher 47
48. Situation 2: At home: How do you use rhyming slang at home? The use of rhyming slang in comparision between Vietnamese and American 70% 65% 60% 50% 40% 38% 30% 28% Vietnamese American 20% 18% 10% 0% 0% 0% grand- parent children parent 48
49. Situation 3: At the party: How do you use rhyming slang at the party? The use of rhyming slang in comparision between Vietnamese and American 70% 70% 60% 50% 50% 40% 30% 30% Vietnamese 22% American 20% 10% 5% 6% 0% 0% 0% old young old young stranger stranger acquainter acquainter 49
50. PART III: CONCLUSION Traditionally, in teaching and leaning languages, grammaratical structures were of primary concern. Today, comunication and communicative competence are the frist priority.To communicate well to the native people, it is necessary to understand about slang especcially rhyming slang.Thanks to this study, I have a chance to learn and understand more about rhyming slang by giving the definitions, the origin, classifications, examples and the use of them in three situations: at school, at home and at the party as well as my personal remarks on them. This reseach is an attempt to draw attention to some major American – Vietnamese cross-culture similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese rhyming slang. As we see, rhyming slang in both two languages shares quite a lot of similarites in the definition, characteristics and the use. However, there are differences between rhyming slang in two languages In spite of trying my best, due to the limited time and knowledge, mistakes are unavoidable in this study. Therefore, I hope that there will be other chances for me to come back this title to study and make it more deeply and interesting to the readers.I also expect to receive the help, contribution and sympathy of all readers to make this study more perfect. 50