- Create a conversation in groups of two using slangs for next class check it here
- Read this piece of an article and be prepared for a discussion next class
Without Slang and Idioms, Students are in the Dark!
by David Burke
"After writing a successful series of books on French and Spanish slang and
idioms (the Street French and Street Spanish series), it never dawned on me to
write a series of books focusing on Americanisms. After all, we don't use that much
slang...or do we?
When I was working out at the gym with a French friend of mine, Pascale, a
friend of his came up and enthusiastically inquired, "What's up?" Pascale paused a
moment, took a step backward and looked up, checking out the ceiling.
Realizing he didn't get it, I quickly piped up and explained, "Oh, that's slang for
'How are you?'" He looked confused, obviously not understanding how "What's
up?" could possibly have anything to do with "How are you?" But his friend didn't
stop there.
"So, Pascale, did you hear how the Italian soccer team licked the French
team?" As Pascale's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open, an expression I
hadn't seen since the days of "Our Gang" comedy, I suddenly realized where he
had gone with that one and could only imagine what image his mind was conjuring
up.
It was at that moment that I realized for the first time that there was absolutely
no way a nonnative speaker of English could fully understand an American movie,
TV show, news broadcast, or even a typical conversation without help because our
language is loaded with nonstandard English, i.e., slang and idioms.
Defining Terms
Since we use both terms, slang and idioms, we ought to define them. I asked a
group of ESL teachers, "What is the difference between slang and idioms?"
Everyone had their own answer. After consulting several dictionaries, all having
slightly different takes on the definitions, I would like to propose these definitions:
SLANG: Nonstandard vocabulary of a given culture or subculture. In other
words, slang is typically a nonstandard word, not a phrase as is an idiom.
Slang would include words like pooped, to down a drink, the grind, boob-tube,
threads, bonkers, basket case, etc. Slang words may or may not have alternative
literal meanings. They may be "made up" words.
IDIOM: A phrase that is commonly understood in a given culture or subculture
to have a meaning different from its literal meaning. A good example of this is "to
bend over backwards." This phrase is commonly understood in our culture to mean
"to exert an enormous effort in order to accomplish something." The literal
meaning, however, is the physical act it describes, of which few may actually be
capable of doing!
