Final Project: Linguistics

Here is my final project for my Intro to Linguistics course. Enjoy.
The Slang Around Me
Slang is commonly found among the younger people in a culture. Maybe a word is created to describe some new phenomenon, such as the word blog, or though one means or another alters or adds to the meaning of an existing word, such as "tight", which apart from meaning "taut"; "not loose" can now mean that something is "cool", "special" or "excellent". Jargon is used to describe the specialized vocabulary used by members of a group to describe the important parts of that field in a succinct and understandable manner. So Doctors, fishermen and video game enthusiasts all would have their own jargon unique to their fields. This project will outline some of the slang and jargon that can be found among late teens and young adults, living in the United States of America. Focusing on one word in this group, this paper will seek to describe its various linguistic properties.
There are many words that stand out when looking at the vocabulary of the speakers, but for the sake of discussion eight have been selected. The words will be given, their definitions and whether or not a word falls into the category of slang or jargon.
ºSweet– A slang adjective used to say that something is "Cool" or "Wonderful". In a sentence it would look like, "Have you seen my new bike? It's sweet". Not a specialized term it falls into the realm of slang.
ºLegit– An adjective derived from legitimate, legit, is used to say that something or someone was praiseworthy or honorable, as well as to indicate authenticity. So one could say, "Man, that guy's song-writing is so legit." This word is also slang.
ºLOL– Representing the phrase "Laugh out loud" it is used to indicate the state of the speaker (or typist, depending on the circumstance) and is used as an interjection often in response to something that was found to be funny. "That video is HILARIOUS!!! LOL!!!!" is a frequently found example of LOL in action. LOL can be used as either an initialism or an acronym (pronounced [lʊl]) and is an example of jargon. Its use is limited to people who are in need of the shortened characteristics of this phrase, such as people typing and needing a short phrase that can convey emotion.
ºDiss– Diss a synonym of insult. It falls into multiple lexical categories, as a verb one can "get dissed", or as a noun one can "feel the pain of a biting diss". It is a slang term.
ºApp– An abbreviation for the word "Application" it is a noun meaning "a computer program" and is a jargon word. Primarily it is used by people involved in software but it is also gaining in common usage as more devices make claims about having many apps available download.
ºWired– Used to describe somebody who is either a) Technologically connected as in "My son spends so much time on the computer. He is wired." or b) experiencing a jittery or hyperactive state, most frequently applied in connection with caffeine "I let my friend have a triple shot espresso and now she is wired!". Both are slang terms.
ºBTW– Another abbreviation used by those heavily engaging in electronic communication, it is jargon for "By the way" and is used along with the introduction of a new or unrelated thought as in "No response yet from the league, BTW." Like LOL, BTW when used in speech can either be an initialism or an acronym and when used as an acronym takes two forms. Either [bi ti dʌbʊlju] or [bi ti dʌb] are acceptable ways to pronounce this phrase.
The final word for analysis is the word "own". This word in its root form is a synonym with "to defeat". So a speaker could say "I am going to own you at Settlers of Catan this Friday!" This word is the most linguistically complex of this sample and is worth a more detailed analysis to see it in its various linguistic properties.
Phonetically speaking, own, is fairly simple. Produced as [own] its nature lends itself well to its use in two ways. Firstly it is short and so can be used quickly in order to continue to whoever is going to experience the "own"ing but it is also sonorant in nature which can let it be carried out should it ever be used in a situation such as mockery or if it needs to be amplified for point of emphasis. Compare the ease with which own can be either extended or amplified in comparison to "defeat" in the sentence "I am going to own you!".
In terms of morphology, own, has a broad mix of options in terms of affixation. As a verb it can be used with both -ing and -ed endings as well as being able to be used to refer to someone in the third person as in "Peter owns Paul at fishing". It can take the derivational suffixes -age ([ownɪʤ͡]) or -ing turning it into a noun. "Did you see that total ownage?" which would be equivalent to saying "Did you see that resounding defeat?" is a grammatical use of this word. The nonstandard suffix -erific ([ownɪɻɪfɪk]) allows own to be used as an adjective. Most likely this is the result of a blend with the word terrific. So in theory the phrase "That was ownerific ownage that he dealt out." could be produced, though it would be unlikely. The prefixes un- and re- are both grammatical uses as well. Somebody who has been defeated again has been "reowned" and if victory was either revoked or snatched away at the last moment somebody could be "unowned".
As a word own carries with it a certain connotation. If I were to say that "I owned" something, it would mean at a surface level that I was successful in a struggle, be it against man or term paper, but it would not mean a simple victory but more of a total conquest, in other words I was not just successful, I was very successful. Own as verb always carries the need for a theme to a sentence. It is not enough to say "*Henry V owned." it must be said what Henry V owned. A grammatical use would be "Henry V owned the French at the Battle of Agincourt".
How did it develop? It is possible it was taken from the idea that victory results in possession (I won + I possess it = I own it, perhaps?). However it came about though, it is now part of the lexicon of its speakers. Who uses this term though? This word is common among a fairly small subset of U.S. English speakers. The primary users appear to be males between the ages of 14 and 24 who are or were active video gamers. Own is used almost exclusively in an informal context and in gaming it is commonly used to describe the demise of an onscreen character. Although it has seeped out of the context of video games, this word has not gained broad representation among different sexes or age groups therefore as a word it hovers between jargon and slang. The popularity of own within its field could be attributed to its brief and descriptive nature, discussed above. In a culture where economy of words is valued this word provides a quick and versatile lexical item to this subgroup.
Slang and jargon pass in and out of language quickly. Few of the terms coined last more than a few years and those that do might lose some aspects of their original nature in their preserved state. These terms are the same, it may be that app falls out of favor and instead only its long form, application, remains. They are also frequently looked down upon by those who seek to uphold a standard in a language and resist change. However new words are always added to a language, slang and jargon included. And however much their transient nature, slang and jargon, are valuable in the ways that they allow the speaker a way to express him- or herself and engage in communication.