In popular culture words are often taken out of context to mean something other than what you will read in a dictionary, commonly referred to as slang. Classic examples of this throughout recent history is the word “bad” meaning good, or “sucks” implying bad, or “blows” also, oddly enough meaning bad. If it is not already evident slang almost never makes any matter of the original meaning of a word. One of the newest editions to the dictionary of slang can be heard walking down the hall of any school, college, or university. You will undoubtedly hear the word faggot within a few minutes of being on campus. Over the many thousand years of the evolution of a spoken word the harmless utterance has now taken on a new meaning and became an extremely negative and hurt-filled word, faggot.
Researching the word faggot first brings forth the Latin word “fasces” (fascibus). Originating during the Roman Empire the fasces was an axe surrounded by a tightly wrapped bundle of sticks and a major symbol of the power and authority an individual possessed. It is said that fasces were carried as symbols of power by Roman lictors in front of certain important people such as kings, consuls, vestal virgins, and proconsuls. The number of fasces-bearing lictors helped symbolize the importance of the officials. During World War II Mussolini used the fasces as a symbol of absolute power in his tyrannical fascist government. Even still today the fasces is a symbol of power; there are fasces on the walls of the US House of Representatives and on the dime.
During the late twelve-hundreds the Old French word “fagot” meaning bundle of sticks such as the one surrounding a fasces came to be. During the seventeen-hundreds the British added a “g” and derived the word “faggot”, also meaning bundle of sticks or wood. During this time a faggot was first used as slang meaning an unqualified soldier that was added to fill ranks in a military regiment. These soldiers were positioned around the perimeter to protect the more qualified soldiers from attack in the same manner the bundle of sticks protected the axe in a fasces. Later during the same century seniors in the British public schools began referring to a junior who does certain duties for a senior as a faggot. It is during this time that the first verb is derived in the form of “fag” (e.
The current decade’s slang is very important to the teen culture. Teens often use slang to speak only to one another and not to adults as said in the following article, “Every generation has its slang — new words that allow kids to communicate without their parents understanding”(53 Slang… 1). Kids will use slang terms to communicate without adults being able to comprehend what exactly kids are saying, it is basically a secret code. Since the 1930’s slang has evolved in countless ways. These words will constantly be changing, even within the same decade as said in this Huffington Post article, “words change all the time and overtime”(“These 12…” 1). Words within the English language can constantly have little tweaks added to them; sometimes this will create an entire new word. Slang terms can change throughout decades and era’s rapidly even though it is within a short time span, and this article supports the fact that words do not need decades to change it can take as little time as a few
Kelly Deschler is a 32-year-old woman who was born on March 4th, 1983. She is inspired by famous poets such as Edgar Allan Poe and Percy Shelley. Though she is not a publically recognised poet, she publishes poems on a website called the “poetry soup”. This website is an environment of encouragement and growth for skilled poets. She has written various genres of poems which are emotional and touching. “I have always been a shy person, so poetry is what really allowed me to express myself and I will hopefully have a book of my own someday,” she said.
Words have meaning. To different people, words mean different things and have different effects. Words can affect our emotions, way of thinking, personality, and our general way of life. words and language are strong tools that we use in our everyday life.The words in our language, written or spoken, mean different things to different people. Not only do they mean things different things to different people, words mean different things coming from different people.For example the word nigger.The word nigger coming from a black person directed at another doesn 't have much of an effect. In fact, it 's a form of greeting or recognition.
Slang is the key reason words take on new meaning. A teenage girl may say a guy is hot! This does not mean he is sweating, it means he is good looking. This is an example of slang. People familiar with slang will understand this meaning, while those unfamiliar will not. As our culture changes so does our slang and words take on new meanings. Let’s take a closer look at the word burn. Some of the definitions may surprise you.
Though same-sex relationships have been a prominent aspect of many cultures almost since the beginning of time, there has historically been a significant taboo surrounding the phenomenon in the Western world. "From the Fourteenth Century on, Western Europe was gripped by a rabid and obsessive negative preoccupation with homosexuality as the most horrible of sins" (Boswell 262). The majority of people did not understand or accept the idea, and consequentially did not have an appropriate way of talking about it. Over the years, as various cultures identified and even implemented practices currently associated with homosexuality, there arose a need for common terminology. Until the eighteenth century, it was referred to through the practices and stereotypes for which its participants were known, and not for the orientation, itself. "Sodomites and Fops" were two common ways of referring to homosexuals, and for the majority of the eighteenth century, homosexuality as we currently know it was undefined.
When it comes to the use of the “N-word”, “nigger”, most of us will readily agree that it is derived from negativity. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of is this word appropriate and should it be a part of our vocabulary today. Many feel like this word is okay to use but there are some that disagree.
Being called a “fag” is not a homophobic term used to highlight only gay men, “fag” is a term used towards both gay and non-gay boys in order to keep them in line. My friend didn’t want to be called a derogatory term such as “fag”, so he chose to hide his personality under the hegemonic version of himself. C. J. Pascoe states, “Fag’ is not necessarily a static identity attached to a particular (homo-sexual) boy. Fag talk and fag imitations serve as a discourse with which boys discipline themselves and each other through joking relationships.” (Pascoe. 330)
“Fuck” is a versatile word and can be used in a variety of situations. It can be used to indicate anger, depression, excitement, shock, and in some cases fear. The Oxford Dictionary defines the f-word as having two meanings. Fir...
The word bitch came from the old English word, “bicce”, meaning female dog. According to The Oxford English dictionary, the definition of bitch, as female dog, was used until 1000 A.D. In 1837, the word bitch became an insult. The derogatory connotation of the word appeared when women were compared to dogs. For example, the word bitch “suggested high sexual desire in a woman, comparable to a dog in heat” or “someone who is belligerent, unreasonable, rudely intrusive or aggressive” ("Bitch(insult)") similar to a dog protecting her young. In 1920, the word began to grow in popularity.
...anguage. They do not keep in mind that neutralizing “queer” will not neutralize the words related to “queer” automatically; in fact, the related words may recreate the original, hateful “queer”. Furthermore, those who think that hate is removable from “queer” are mostly young, and have not faced the real pain inflicted by the word in the past. On the other side of spectrum, some think that the in-group (homosexuals) must create a revolution against the out-group by using the power of hate that “queer” contains in order to force the authoritarian group to stop using “queer” in an abusive way. However, homosexuals may not be successful in changing the faith of others because faith cannot be forcefully determined. In the end, one can definitely say that reclamation of “queer” is of no use because the hate associated with “queer” only dies if the word “queer” dies.
An article by John Boone called “19 Words Your Kids Use and You Don’t Understand, Explained…Finally!” It explains some of the words used by kids today. Age group has a big role playing on what language is used. Boone states that “we don’t know what our kids are saying half the time.” (1) Some of the most common words used by teens today are “Ratchet,” “Shade,” “Basic,” and “Bad.” The first one Boone talks about in his article is “Ratchet,” he claims that “it began as a mispronunciation of the word ‘wretched.’ Either way it is used to describe someone’s looks or behavior that is deemed as less than satisfactory.” (4) The second one, “Shade,” is used when “someone calls another out in public, they are ‘throwing shade.’ When someone is put on blast, they are ‘shaded.’” (5) Another one Boone concurs as a word used by younger people is “Basic,” “Basic is someone who has no personality, the most boring of life’s pH scale.” (5) This word is like the word “original,” meaning a person doesn’t think of anything on their own, they just go with what everyone else is saying and doing. As the article goes on “Bad” is a word that is also talked about by Boone. “Bad” is a word that has a negative connotation because of how it’s always been associated. This particular word is now something that is good. As Boone confirms, it is “A woman or man who doesn’t care what anyone
What does it mean to say the “N-word” both it in its original form, or as the “N-word’, and what is the context for the impact which occurs when it leaves the mouths of blacks and or whites. I begin with a look at ‘Teaching the N-Word” by Emily Bernard, she is a 30 year old African American professor who teaches at University of Vermont which happens to be a predominantly white institution. She works alongside her husband, a white man, who is also a professor of African American History ; her brother writes for The Source and urges her students to think about the ways in which the “N-word” is used in pop culture. The students in Emily Bernard’s honors literature class must question the effect of the n-word on black people and just as importantly
Writing poetry can be a deeply personal (and sometimes painful) process. If talent and luck prevails, the poet will actually produce a something that reflects the inner workings that first motivated their pen to meet paper. Through struggle and sweat a poem is born, and for better or for worse the creator is responsible for the subsequent journey that it will take throughout it’s poetic life. In it’s infancy, it might seem a miracle of creation, but like most parents the writer will work at maturing the verse and rhyme so that it can defend itself when it eventually leaves home. The world that it will one day enter is a cold and critical one, and few will understand the true meaning and depth of the poem’s soul like it’s parent does.
Why poetry matters is an important question to address, mostly because it is not getting asked as often as it should. A person can go their whole life without reading a poem that means something to them, and still seem to have a fairly fulfilling life. So what is the point of poetry? Does it matter? Should it matter for everyone? I don’t think poetry needs to matter to everyone in order to be worth something. Poetry is for the poet and her readers. It is about a love of connections and craft. So it is with this mindset—not of defense, but of immense affection—that we explore what poetry is and what it does.
Starting in the twelfth century in England, the word gay became known. It was formed from a old french word gai, which is believed to be derived from another German word, but because words are complicated,