Slangs are not a new cultural idea. They have been around for many years now. The only difference is that they have been changing, or as Michael Reid Roberts states in his article, they have been changing meaning. Slangs like bae, tweak, shade, and so many others; are so distorted from their original meaning that they lose significance. Since the beginning of the slang history, they have been used to bring a community together. The speaker of the slang is considered cool and is included. However is has been shown that slangs come from a "low culture" community. What does this mean? I
t means that communities who find themselves less privileged, feel the need to exert their voice in the world. They want t express their thoughts and opinions as one. However, Roberts uses a statement that says that those slangs have become "a primary eroticized constituent of [the powerful`s] fantasy life. In other words, the more privileged community has started to adapt to those slangs. One example would be Miley Cyrus' 'tweaking", which was not originated by her, but became world known because of her. Roberts asks himself the question of what is happening when the educated society regresses in adoption this language? The answer given is that slang "has come to represent more cultural phenomena and attitudes than it was originally supposed to.
By the title of his article, Michael Reid Roberts already shows how he strongly disapproves the utility of slang language. Roberts first persuades his reader of how slang has become such a world phenomena and why is worries him. He states that he is a part of this, according to him, privileged society. Thus, education should be a big part of it. A regression is being made on the more educated people because of the language being adopted by both the new and old generations. Roberts also gives the history and definition of the words "tweak" and "shade". By doing this, he is proving his point of how those words have lost significance and value over time. Both were originated by minority communities whom where trying to take a stand on their beliefs. However the meaning today are not the original ones. Second most, those worlds are known throughout the world not because of those ideas imposed by the minorities, but because the "most powerful" and influential have taken claim of them. So by the end of the article a the slangs today are a insult to both sides of the story.
http://www.salon.com/2014/08/10/miley_cyrus_murdered_twerk_when_does_slang_finally_die_partner/
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