Global English Slang Methodologies and Perspectives

Global English Slang brings together nineteen key international experts and provides a timely and essential overview of English slang around the world today.

The book illustrates the application of a range of different methodologies to the study of slang and demonstrates the interconnection between the different sub-fields of linguistics.

A key argument throughout is that slang is a function played by specific words or phrases rather than a characteristic inherent in the words themselves- what is slang in one context is not slang in another. The volume also challenges received wisdom on the nature of slang: that it is short-lived and that slang is restricted to verbal language.

With an introduction by editor Julie Coleman, the topics covered range from Inner City New York slang and Hip Hop Slang to UK student slang and slang in Scotland. Authors also explore slang in Jamaica, Australia, New Zealand, India and Hong Kong and the influence of English slang on Norwegian, Italian and Japanese. A final section looks at slang and new media including online slang usage, and the possibilities offered by the internet to document verbal and gestural slang.

Global English Slang is an essential reference for advanced undergraduates, postgraduates and researchers working in the areas of lexicology, slang and World Englishes.

Introduction: Understanding Slang in a Global Context, Julie Coleman Part I: Contemporary Slang in the United States and England 1.Hip Hop Slang, Tom Dalzell 2. Inner-City Slang of New York, Madeline Kripke 3. American College Student Slang: University of North Carolina (2005-2012), Connie Eble 4. Slang Used by Students at the University of Leicester (2004-2011), Julie Coleman 5. Multi-Cultural London English: The New ‘Youthspeak’, Jonathon Green 6. The New Canting Crew, Tony Thorne Part II: Slang in Other English-speaking Countries 7. Australian Slang, Bruce Moore 8. Slang in Godzone (Aotearoa-New Zealand), Dianne Bardsley 9. Scottish Slang, Maggie Scott 10. Jamaican Slang, Joseph T. Farquharson and Byron Jones 11. Indian English Slang, James Lambert Part III: English Influence on tche Slang of Other Languages 12.English Influence on Norwegian Teenage Slang, Ingrid Kristine Hasund and Eli-Marie Drange 13. The Influence of English Slang on Italian, Elisa Mattiello 14. Some Trends in Japanese Slang, James Stanlaw Part IV: Slang and the Internet 15.Slang in New Media: A Case Study, Michael Adams 16. Urban Dictionary and the Documentation of Contemporary Slang, Aaron Peckham and Julie Coleman 17. Gestural Slang, Terry Victor 18. Global English Slang in the Era of Big Data, Julie Coleman

Julie Coleman is Head of the School of English at the University of Leicester, UK and Chair of the International Society for Historical Lexicography and Lexicology. She has published four volumes on the history of cant and slang dictionaries in addition to The Life of Slang (2012).