Youth subcultures are often associated with their own styles of speaking, having their own register that is only associated with such. Their stereotypical identity has been built around their register, yet their register has become part of their own youth internalized identity. It has become instrumental to the spreading of the stereotype of youth subculture. Rather, youth subcultures often take on slang registers but it does not become a part of such. Seen as a form of rebellion to go against the structures of language that is viewed as part of a hierarchal stance. To speak ‘proper’, a sense of formality has been built to be the appropriate form of language to be spoken between those seen as youth and those seen as authority. Going against …show more content…
Often, slang developed in one’s youth register could continue and still be a part of their adulthood communication. That being stated, language has been fundamentally shaped in terms of who is seen in seniority and those below. Categorizing languages and stating that the youth do not know how to properly address one another is a form of a hierarchal push to view people as those above and those below. We have even categorized youth from other age groups, and have adopted registers related to such, “… ‘youth’ are necessarily embedded in more encompassing systems of age categories that are themselves connected in myriad ways to other dimensions of local culture.” (Suslak 203). Interactions with one’s peer appears to be more important today than with one’s parents. Suslak argues that this separation was not created by the youth, but by those who are in authority to youths. Making youths believe that they are beneath others has caused them to create multiple subcultures that they identify themselves in. These groups can be based on celebrities they like, artistic views, political views. Yet within these different subcultures, they all contain their own form of language to communicate with one another that is seen as immature, undereducated, and inappropriate. Forcing them to feel different and misunderstood, which then continues this cycle …show more content…
Being able to have something of their own, such as language, is a part of developing their identity. Communication is vital for them to have with others in their community, whether it be face to face or online through social media. In schools, sports, social lives, youth has and will always use language as a form of identity expression. It is separate from those who view youth as undereducated, immature, and portraying inappropriate behavior. Interaction between youth is treated as play, they see this as something without consequence. By placing youths into a category all on their own, this hierarchal system that they must build themselves up on has given youth subcultures a feeling of inferiority. In doing so, youth often look towards outlets to relieve the standards that are placed upon them. One major factor, as discussed, is language and their use of it to convey thoughts and feelings between one another that may not be understood by others. Of course, this can lead to adults, leadership, seniority figures to believe that this destruction of language is ‘just something kids do’, but in facts it is a way for youth to be able to express themselves without the feeling of inferiority. They are freeing themselves through the use of slang, through their register, to be able to break the molds placed upon them. They know that adults cannot understand what they are saying, using terms such
Language use is an important social activity within these subcultures and can show how resistance is a central theme among the participants. ‘Subcultures emerged in relation to dominant culture, reacting against blocked economic opportunities, lack of social mobility, alienation, adult authority and the banality of suburban life.’ (Haenfler, 2004: 407) Youth subcultures attract a lot of attention from media as the members tend to be highly visible and take part in activities that the categorised ‘ordinary’ people wouldn’t engage with. This subculture is studied to help express and explore the changes within society and changes within the future. In Harvey Sacks reading, (1984), he describes the kind of work that ‘ordinary’ involves: ‘So one part of the job [doing being ordinary] is that you have to know what anybody/everybody is doing: doing ordinarily. Further, you have to have that available to do. There are people who do not have ...
As I sit outside my favorite café, drinking wine as the sun slowly dies off into the twilight of dusk, I hear the most obnoxious noise. It is a few teenagers trying to speak their best English. I watch them for a few minutes, and I am disgusted. If these children represent the future, I weep.
The constant changing of technology and social norms makes difficult for different generations to understand one another and fully relate to each other. Diction and slang change as years pass and what is socially acceptable may have been prohibited in the previous generations.
People have been using mood and personality effecting drugs for centuries, from coffee, to marijuana, to cocaine, including alcohol. We know these things change our brains in some way. Though some intellectuals such as Malcom Gladwell have expressed points of view that, "The modern personality is, in this sense, a synthetic creation,"(252) not many seem particularly alarmed by this idea in the above quote that Malcom Gladwell calls a "disquieting notion,"(252) beyond a few offhand jokes about their reliance. This is especially true with coffee and tea (anything with a reasonable amount of caffeine). However the public perception of other drugs, such as alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine, does vary a bit. It is useful to note that most people
So I decide to look deeper into the language of the subculture. What I found was a language that was so divergent to anything else I have heard before. The language of hip hop was almost backwards from the English language. I found that words were interchangeable with other words, for the soul purpose of making them mean other things. For example the word dope could actually mean something cool or awesome, but in the literal sense the word dope actually refers to drugs (Baldwin, James). When first researching this I wasn’t surprised at all because I too use this form of language amongst my friends. I also found that within hip hop culture, people do have the tendency to use explicit language as well, for instance the use of the “F” word is very common but not with everyone in the subculture. The style of rapping is different with each individual and is looked at as something that identifies you in the
David A. Fein and Milton Millhauser have both written articles pertaining to the topic of slang. Fein and Millhauser provide two different viewpoints, and they employ information and their opinions in different ways. David A. Fein’s article, “Vulgarity by Teaching Slang in the Classroom”, makes a good argument as to why slang should be utilized in teaching, while Milton Millhauser’s article, “The Case Against Slang”, explains that slang is to be avoided in teaching, but fails to provide a good argument for his claim.
One student stated that “as long as I know how to speak slang and proper English, I should be ok” (Godley, p. 708). However, nearly all students felt a need for speaking AE or, at least, avoiding slang in work settings (Godley, p. 708). Students’ arguments in favor is maintaining AE in work situations appeared to be navigated by the belief that AAVE is perceived as negative in mainstream society (Godley, Page 709).
For many, music is a cultural history that brings families together, allowing them to share a common interest. The birth of hip hop ignited a whole new world of music, which lead to vast amount of controversy in the music industry. Hip hop has always been recognized as the platform for the black American culture. Hip hop become a moment that changed the entire music industry, and as the culture progressed it become more mainstream. In today’s music society, it is evident that the white race has become greatly involved with hip hop and the lifestyle that entails this culture. Notorious artists such as the Beastie Boys and Vanilla Ice enabled artists such as Eminem, Miley Cyrus and Iggy Azalea to follow their dreams in the hip hop world. If one acknowledges all the aspect of the hip hop culture such as the type of dance or the graffiti art, does the color of his or her skin really matter? It is clear that these artists have tested this theory, and have results that are shocking. White artists are becoming more accepted and appreciated for their music and are being mentors for the hip hop community. As a result of the outbreak of hip hop out of the Bronx, all races were able to enjoy and love the culture of hip
Everyone is different in their own unique ways. We are characterized by what we wear, what we look like, how we walk, and how we move. We are also characterized by our likes, dislikes, hobbies, and more. In addition to all of this, each one of us is characterized by what culture we are a part of. We represent that culture and its subcultures in unique and interesting ways. Today, I will share with you what subculture I belong to. I belong to a subculture of gaming, and I will talk about how, when, and why I participate in this culture.
Lytle, Ryan. "How Slang Affects Students in the Classroom." US News. U.S.News & World Report, 13 June 2011. Web. 9 Mar. 2014.
...e road when you are a little older you know what words you’re saying and what words mean, you choose how you talk. A lot of people get older and pick up slang and start talking like their friends. So that becomes their choice in they way the speak the language.
Hip hop has not only become one of the most listened musical genres in the past decades, but it has also become the top among young American’s. “Of all the radio musical styles available in the BIGinsight database, Hip-Hoppers skew the youngest. In fact, the second youngest audience, Alternative fans, is almost three years older on average. Almost two thirds of the audience is between the ages of 18-34. Very few are over the age of 65. If this is the youngest format audience, it stands to reason that the members of the audience have made the least progress in pursuit of a career – and that is why it comes in dead last among format groups in terms of annual household income. It skews very high in the number of students, military and unemployed individuals in the audience.”
Language is a part of our everyday lives, and we can describe the meaning of language in many ways. As suggested in Gee and Hayes (2011, p.6 ) people can view language as something in our minds or something existing in our world in the form of speech, audio recordings, and writings or we can view language as a way of communicating with a group of people. Language can be used to express our emotions, make sense of our mental and abstract thoughts and assists us in communicating with others around us. Language is of vital importance for children to enable them to succeed in school and everyday life. Everyone uses both oral and written language. Language developed as a common ability amongst human beings with the change
One key aspect that sets us apart from any other species is our development of language and how we grow and utilize it. Moreover, the theory of Social Constructionism, which is the idea that we all share a subjective meaning in a particular society and continue to develop and give meaning, has had a large role in developing our own discourse, the language used in social context and created due to institutions and social practices (Ainsworth et al. 31). Reflecting on the theory of Social Constructionism and the concept of discourse and its development, our life experiences show how language, unconsciously, relates to our theories and concepts of sociology and human development through the lifespan.
The book An Intorduction of Sociolinguistics is an outstanding introductary book in the field of sociolinguistics. It encompasses a wide range of language issues. In chapter 13, Wardhaugh provides a good insight to the relationship between language and gender. He explains gender differences of language-in-use with concise examples. Wardhaugh riases questions about sexist language and guides readers to look closer at how people use language differently because of their own gender in daily life. According to the Whorfian hypothesis, which indicates that the way people use language reflects their thoughts, different genders adapt different communication strategies.