Gratitude Post - April 7, 2023

I'm grateful for slang!

Slang is, for all intents and purposes, a degradation of the spoken/written language that is being used.  Whether the slang comes from the initial speed which which a statement was made, or because the individual who coined the phrase was too lazy to use the correct terminology, or if it came about simply because of a locations dialect, which might stem from commonly accepted nicknames or because of the regularity with which another language is heard/spoken.  Regardless of the reason, ultimately slang is, more often than not, the use of a modified word or sound to convey meaning.

Personally, I love the very idea of slang since it displays the evolution of language in a specific area.  I'm intrigued by the why behind slang, and am really interested to understand the reason words like "ain't" were first used.  Especially for slang like "ain't" that is now accepted as word that can now be found in the dictionary.

But regardless of whether you love or hate slang, it's really a marvel that we're able to understand each other when slang comes into play.  For language to have any meaning or purpose, it needs to be accepted by the broader group.  The use of slang, however, flies in the face of that common acceptance and understanding as it asserts the intended meaning of the one, or at most the few.  It really is a beautiful reversed expectation that slang is understandable to most people!