Effect Of Slang On English Language

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SLANG 3 The Effect of slang on the English language The records show slang was first used around the 16th Century, but this is not certain, as it more of a spoken language and so it could have been much earlier. At this time people created new words as the English vocabulary was a lot smaller than it is today and so people felt the need to invent new words to express themselves. Nowadays slang is used much more frequently, with the influence of technology having a great effect on the use of slang. Some people think it has a positive effect on the English language, while others think it is having a negative effect. In this paper the author will look at the history of slang, how the use of slang has changed through time and look at the effect it has had on the English language. The Origins of Slang The first recordings of the use of slang were by some of the famous playwrights, including William Shakespeare, Thomas Middleton and Thomas Dekker, around the 16th Century. The English language had around 50-6000 words, compared to nowadays where there are around 1,000,000 words, so writers didn’t have as much vocabulary to use as they do today. These writers wanted to express themselves more and so during this time a number of new words were created and added to the English language. Shakespeare created around 1700 words in his works. An example of a slang word he created is “Fustilarian”, which was an insult meaning a “smelly old woman”. Another example of

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