English Slang: a word-formation perspective

Abstract

This paper examines the word-formation processes which are used in English slang. It does so by presenting the word-formation analysis of a sample of words selected from the online Urban Dictionary (UD). The words under investigation come from three semantic groups from the UD, specifically COLLEGE, DRUGS and FOOD. The focus is also on the comparison of the use of word-formation processes in this sample of slang words and in Standard English. The results propose an overview of the individual word-formation processes occurring in the sample. They also suggest that, to some extent, in this sample, slang uses word-formation processes in the same way as Standard English, however, in certain cases it diverges from the language’s traditional use.