A structuralist-functionalist account of border slang

• Autores: Thomas S. Donahue
• Localización: International journal of the sociology of language, ISSN 0165-2516, Nº. 114, 1995, págs. 107-118
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • This article argues for a structural-functional analysis of modern slang.

    V sing data from three groups (rural Spanish-speakers, urban blacks, and middle-class Anglos) the discussion asserts that slang used among all social classes of young people in modern America shows age-graded themes. For youngsters between the age ofeight and early adolescence, the major theme establishes in-group and out-group membership. From middle adolescence through the College years, the central theme censures badpersonal judgment.

    Between a persons middle and late twenties, the major theme reinforces responsible performance in one's career or on the Job. Thus in different age-graded phases, slang usage reinforces patterns for social closure in the majority society.