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An Introduction to English Slang
A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology
Polimetrica
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Elisa Mattiello
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2008 Polimetrica ® S.a.s. Corso Milano, 26 20052 Monza – Milano – Italy Phone ++39.039.2301829 Web site: www.polimetrica.com ISSN 1974-0603 ISSN 1974-0670 ISBN 978-88-7699-113-4 ISBN 978-88-7699-114-1
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Table of Contents
To Luca
Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
1. Ethics and Human Rights in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 Mario Santillo
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia ............ 27 Fabio Baggio
2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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9
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Acknowledgements Table of Contents
Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11
I would like to address special thanks to Prof. Lavinia Merlini Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini Barbaresi for her patient guidance and endless discussions on the topic of this study. Her intellectual and moral support has been 1. Ethics and Human Rights fundamental in the course of my work. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 I would also like to thank Prof. Marcella Bertuccelli Papi whose Mario Santillo ideas have left unmistakable marks in this study and whose 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 precious comments gave me encouragement and advice. I would like to express my gratitude to my department 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 colleagues Dr. Gloria Cappelli, Dr. Daniele Franceschi and Dr. 1.3 Some Silvia Masi,Final whoReflections................................................................... gave me useful suggestions and feedback, and 23 to theBibliography many anonymous native speakers who provided me with ......................................................................................... 25 genuine material to work on: I thank all of them for their generous giftMigration of time. Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 2. Thanks are also due to Dr. Ronald A. Packham for his careful Fabio Baggio reading of the whole manuscript and for his insightful and 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 constructive suggestions. 2.2 Policies 34 A Migration very special noteinofESEA............................................................ gratitude goes to the series editor, Prof. Giovanni Iamartino, for offering me the opportunity to write this 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 monograph. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
3. Immigration in the 21st Century. The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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9
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Abbreviations Table of Contents
Opening and Executive Summary .............................. 11 abbrev. Considerations abbreviation
Zanfriniadjectival adjFabio Baggio, Laura adjective, adv adverb(ial) Amer. 1. Ethics and HumanAmerican Rights (English) arch. archaicMigration Processes .................................... 15 in the South American attrib. attributive(ly) Mario Santillo Austral. Australian BNC British National Corpus 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 Brit. British (English) Canad. Canadian for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 1.2 International Instrument cent. century 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 chap. chapter colloq. colloquial Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 COLT Bergen Corpus of London Teenage Language deprec. depreciatory 2. Migration Policiesderogatory and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 derog. dial.Fabio Baggio dialect E. English 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and SouthOperations East Asia.............. 27 EMOs Extra-grammatical Morphological esp. especially 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 euphem. euphemistic F. 2.3 Ethics and Migration French Management................................................. 43 fig. figuratively Fig.Bibliography ......................................................................................... Figure 47 freq. frequently G. German 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. gen. generally Gr.The Need for an Ethical Greek Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Richard Vanderberg int Christine Baghdady, interjection Ir. Irish Increase ............................................................. 51 It. 3.1 World Population Italian L. 3.2 Urbanization, International Latin Migration and Governance ................. 53 lit. literally
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
Abbreviations9
10
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ME Middle English Table of Contents MRs Morphological Rules n noun, nominal N. Amer. North American (from U.S. and Canada) NM Natural Morphology N.Z. New Zealand obs. obsolete occas. occasionally ODMS Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang OE Old English OED Oxford English Dictionary offens. offensive orig. origin(ally) Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 perh. perhaps phrFabio Baggio, Laura phrase Zanfrini pl. plural Portug. 1. Ethics and HumanPortuguese Rights ppl participle, participial in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 pred predicative Mario Santillo prep preposition prob. probably 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 pron pronoun R.A.F. Royal Air Force 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 RHR Righthand Head Rule 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 rhym. rhyming S. Afr. South African 25 Sc.Bibliography ......................................................................................... Scottish, Scots Sp. Spanish spec. 2. Migration Policiesspecifically and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 St. Fabio E. standard English Baggio U.K. United Kingdom U.S. United States 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 usu. usually v 2.2 Migration Policies verb in ESEA............................................................ 34 vbl verbal 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 WFRs Word-formation Rules
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
9
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Table ofofContents Table Contents
Opening and Executive Summary .............................. 15 11 ForewordConsiderations ................................................................................................. Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
1. Introduction ........................................................................................ 19 1. Ethics and Human Rights 1.1.inBasic assumptions and aims ................................................................. the South American Migration Processes .................................... 19 15 1.2.Mario The theoretical Santillo framework ................................................................... 22 1.2.1. Generative morphology ............................................................ 23 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 1.2.2. Natural morphology.................................................................. 23 1.2 International Instrumentmarginal for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 1.2.3. Extra-grammatical, and expressive morphology ....... 24 1.2.4. Lexical ................................................................... 25 1.3 Some Final complexity Reflections................................................................... 23 1.3. Provisional observations ..................................................................... 26 ......................................................................................... 27 25 1.4.Bibliography The data .............................................................................................. 1.5. The organization of the study ............................................................... 29 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 Fabio Baggio 2. Previous Studies on Slang .................................................................. 31 2.1.2.1 The definition slang ......................................................................... InternationalofMigration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 31 27 2.1.1. The sociological approach ........................................................ 32 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 2.1.2. The stylistic approach ............................................................... 33 2.1.3. Theand linguistic approach............................................................. 2.3 Ethics Migration Management................................................. 33 43 2.1.4. The lexicographic definition..................................................... 34 Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 2.2. The classification of slang.................................................................... 35 Slang vs. jargon 36 3. 2.2.1. Immigration in the 21st........................................................................ Century. 2.2.2. Slang vs. cant............................................................................ The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 36 51 2.2.3. Slang vs. dialect........................................................................ 37 Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg 2.2.4. Slang vs. vernacular.................................................................. 38 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 2.2.5. Slang vs. accent ........................................................................ 38 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 38 53 2.2.6. Slang vs. colloquial language ................................................... 2.2.7. Specific vs. general slang ......................................................... 39 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
12
Table of Contents 9
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2.3. The description of slang ....................................................................... 40 Table of Contents 2.3.1. The linguistic properties of slang.............................................. 41
2.3.2. The sociological properties of slang ......................................... 46 3. Grammatical and Extra-grammatical Morphology ........................ 61 3.1. Slang formations ................................................................................. 61 3.1.1. Grammatical formations ........................................................... 63 3.1.2. Extra-grammatical formations .................................................. 65 3.1.3. Borderline cases........................................................................ 70 3.2. Slang word-formation .......................................................................... 72 3.2.1. Considerations Compounding ........................................................................... 72 Opening and Executive Summary .............................. 11 3.2.2. Prefixation ................................................................................ 91 Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini 3.2.3. Suffixation ................................................................................ 93 FinalHuman combining forms............................................................ 120 1. 3.2.4. Ethics and Rights 3.2.5. Infixation ................................................................................ in the South American Migration Processes ....................................123 15 Mario Santillo 3.2.6. Conversion.............................................................................. 124 3.2.7. Back-formation ....................................................................... 128 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 3.2.8. Reduplicatives ........................................................................ 131 1.2 International for Migrants’ Defence .............................135 21 3.2.9. AcronymsInstrument and initialisms ....................................................... 3.2.10. Blending ................................................................................. 138 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 3.2.11. Clipping .................................................................................. 141 Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 3.2.12. Elliptic rhyming slang............................................................. 148 3.2.13. Reversed forms ....................................................................... 149 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 3.2.14. Variation ................................................................................. 150 Fabio Baggio 3.2.15. Word manufacture and fanciful formations ............................ 154 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia..............155 27 3.3.2.1 Conclusion ........................................................................................ 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 4. Lexical Organization and Disorganization..................................... 157 Ethics Migration Management................................................. 43 4.1.2.3 The slangand lexicon: hypotheses and aims ............................................. 157 4.2.Bibliography Lexical organization .......................................................................... 158 ......................................................................................... 47 4.2.1. Organization via meaning relations ........................................ 159 Organization viastregular patterns............................................ 169 3. 4.2.2. Immigration in the 21 Century. Needdisorganization for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience .....193 51 4.3.The Lexical ...................................................................... Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg 4.3.1. Partial disorganization ............................................................ 194 4.3.2. Total disorganization .............................................................. 3.1 World Population Increase .............................................................202 51 4.4. Conclusion ........................................................................................ 207 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
Table of Contents
139
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5. Sociological Properties ..................................................................... 211 Table of Contents 5.1. Slang sociology ................................................................................. 211 5.2. Speaker-oriented properties ............................................................... 214
5.2.1. 5.2.2. 5.2.3. 5.2.4. 5.2.5.
Group- and subject-restriction ................................................ 214 Secrecy and privacy................................................................ 216 Informality and debasement.................................................... 217 Vulgarity and obscenity.......................................................... 218 Time-restriction, ephemerality and localism .......................... 220 5.3. Hearer-oriented properties ................................................................ 222 5.3.1. Playfulness and humour.......................................................... 222 5.3.2. Considerations Freshness and novelty............................................................. Opening and Executive Summary ..............................224 11 5.3.3. Desire to impress and faddishness .......................................... 225 Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini 5.3.4. Colour and musicality............................................................. 227 Impertinence, offensiveness and aggressiveness .................... 229 1. 5.3.5. Ethics and Human Rights theopinion South American Migration Processes ....................................231 15 5.4.inThe of native speakers ........................................................... 5.5.Mario Conclusion ........................................................................................ 234 Santillo
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 Final Remarks....................................................................................... 237 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 References ............................................................................................. 243 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 Author Index......................................................................................... Bibliography .........................................................................................253 25 Subject IndexPolicies ........................................................................................ 2. Migration and Ethics in East and South East Asia............257 27 Fabio Baggio Glossary................................................................................................. 261 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27
2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
The electronic edition of this book is not sold and is made available in free access. Every contribution is published according to the terms of “Polimetrica License B”. “Polimetrica License B” gives anyone the possibility to distribute the contents of the work, provided that the authors of the work and the publisher are always recognised and mentioned. It does not allow use of the contents of the work for commercial purposes or for profit. Polimetrica Publisher has the exclusive right to publish and sell the contents of the work in paper and electronic format and by any other means of publication. Additional rights on the contents of the work are the author’s property.
9
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Foreword Table of Contents
Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11
Despite the amount of work that has been carried out to collect Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini English slang data, there has been, to date, no general introductory work that has attempted to synthesize the main points of predictable 1. Ethics and Human Rights relevance of slang as a linguistic phenomenon. This book aims to in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 fillMario the gap. Santillo The reasons for this constant omission are mainly to be sought in Migrants’ attitude Rights ............................................................................. 17 the1.1traditional of linguists and morphologists towards any linguistic fact that is dubious in terms of grammar and its 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 recognized rules. Slang, a linguistic modality confined to spoken 1.3 Somehas Finalalways Reflections................................................................... language, been difficult to locate, to explain and 23 to grasp as a unitary phenomenon. This has discouraged overall Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 formal accounts. Or, at most, its relevance has been explored in sociology, it and has Ethics been described asSouth a manifestation of low2. Migrationwhere Policies in East and East Asia............ 27 class membership, or as the secret language of restricted groups, Fabio Baggio unwilling to communicate with outsiders, or, more generically, it 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 has been conflated with homiletic or other colloquial varieties. 2.2 Migration in ESEA............................................................ 34 Slang has beenPolicies preferentially described in relation to the social effects that it produces rather than as a phenomenon in itself. The 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 linguistic comments have been mainly impressionistic and hardly Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 descriptive or explanatory of the phenomenon. The present work comes as the result of a dissatisfaction with 3. Immigration in as thean 21st Century. such studies and attempt – a successful one – to fill the void The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 of a rigorous linguistic investigation. Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg The book is a careful, theory-grounded description of slang and of its3.1 relevance in key areas such as morphology, semantics and socioWorld Population Increase ............................................................. 51 pragmatics. It offers a new understanding of slang formation 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 mechanisms, of its elusive, unstable meanings and meaning relations 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
16
Lavinia Merlini Barbaresi 9
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and, lastly, it systematically reconsiders its socio-pragmatic impact Table of Contents and relevance. The main challenge for the author was to overcome widespread prejudice whereby slang is allegedly only a marginal area of the lexicon, a useless redundancy in semantics, an ‘oddity’ in wordformation and an isolated phenomenon, lacking isomorphism with syntactic relationships. The key hypothesis of the project, by contrast, is that slang has a locus both in the lexicon and among word-formation mechanisms and that its input/output ‘rules’ are to be found within the borders of the phenomenon itself, not Summary in contrast with canonical Opening Considerations andand Executive .............................. 11 grammatical rules. A comparison with grammatical morphology Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini only provides a basis for formulating evaluation criteria, but is not theEthics mainand target of the work. Slang is a widespread phenomenon 1. Human Rights deserving a space of itsMigration own in Processes linguistic.................................... inquiry, precisely on in the South American 15 account of its frequent independence of behaviour and extraMario Santillo grammatical quality. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 The author’s appropriate model of explanation within the relevant disciplines and the for wealth of data systematically analysed 1.2 International Instrument Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 in the book lead to reliable viewpoints on the issue and to an 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 interesting wide-ranging description of the phenomenon. Bibliography 25 A thorough......................................................................................... description of slang must take into account and accommodate its frequently discrepant behaviour in terms of 2. Migrationmechanisms. Policies and Ethics in East and South Eastbasic Asia............ formation It often deviates from rules 27 of Fabio Baggio grammar, but it may also represent a violation of the morphological more general principle of ingrammatical Even when 2.1 International Migration East Asia and competence. South East Asia.............. 27 slang words relate to morphological structures governed by 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 morphological competence, they may be discrepant because they are2.3coined conscientiously rather than spontaneously. This is the Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 case with many sophisticated coinages, like rhyming reduplicatives Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 or blends, or also analogical formations, like workaholic or Irangate. Such forms are normally excluded by morphologists, 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. owing to their non-predictability. The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Slang may also deviate from any criterion of predictability and Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg transparency at the level of semantics. Meaning is often a 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 conscientious attribution, rather than the output of compositional elements. This is the case, for example, with Cockney rhyming 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 slang, many compounds, but also with a large number of single 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
Foreword
179
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words, whose meaning is totally at variance with the meaning the Table of Contents same words have in the standard language. The study of slang also opens up many sociological and sociolinguistic prospects, amply investigated in the literature. Slang separates society into groups along various dimensions, and this fact is certainly of great relevance in sociology and partly explains specific linguistic features of slang, such as its search for originality and secrecy. Of special interest, though, is the area of emotions and attitudes, in which the speaker’s choices of slangy formations and their pragmatic effects on the addressee are carefully regulated. This book approaches the from a wide-ranging perspective Opening Considerations andmatter Executive Summary .............................. 11 andFabio provides a clear account of the various motivations which lie at Baggio, Laura Zanfrini the basis of slang use. 1. Ethics and Human Rights in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 Mario Santillo
Lavinia Merlini Barbaresi
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17
1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 Fabio Baggio
2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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9
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1. Introduction Table of Contents
Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11
1.1. Basic assumptions and aims Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
Slang is a controversial topic nowadays, and the debate on its
1. Ethics and Human Rights definition, classification and linguistic relevance is still heated. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15
The concept Mario Santilloof slang has been inaccurately defined by many lexicographers who tend to restrict it to colloquial or bad language, 1.1the Migrants’ Rights 17 and term has been............................................................................. imprecisely used by many sociolinguists who conflate it with such language varietiesDefence as cant, jargon, dialect, 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ ............................. 21 vernacular or accent. Besides, many formations of slang have long 1.3 Some Final by Reflections................................................................... 23 been neglected morphologists dealing with the English system (Aronoff 1976, Mayerthaler 1981, Bauer 1983, Scalise 1984, Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 Dressler et al. 1987 inter alia) since they find no room within the regular word-formation patterns of the language; other 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East andstandard South East Asia............ 27 Fabio Baggio slang formations have been briefly dealt with since “they result from the same ordinary word-building processes that give rise to 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 the general vocabulary” (Eble 1996: 9). 2.2 Migration in ESEA............................................................ 34 The presentPolicies study is an attempt to explore English slang and reconsider it from both linguistic and sociological perspectives. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 The approach adopted here is synchronic, as it aims to illustrate ......................................................................................... 47 theBibliography formations and the neo-semanticisms which characterize present-day English slang. As a more specific – and ambitious – 3. Immigration the 21sttoCentury. aim, this studyinintends make a contribution to the international The Need for an Ethicalthat Approach. The Canadian Experience .....the 51 debate on the position slang formations occupy within Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg relevant morphological theories, principally, generative morphology (Aronoff 1976, ScaliseIncrease 1984),............................................................. natural morphology (Dressler et al. 3.1 World Population 51 1987, Kilani-Schoch 1988, Tonelli & Dressler eds 1993, Wurzel 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 1994, Dressler 1999, 2005), and extra-grammatical morphology 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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(Dressler & Merlini Barbaresi 1994, Doleschal & Thornton eds Table of Contents 2000) or expressive morphology (Zwicky & Pullum 1987). I am indeed persuaded that the spontaneous, lively, and creative processes of a language may cast some light on the possible development of its grammar. And I am also persuaded that a qualitative approach to slang could help to explain the semantic issues of the phenomenon, its sociological impact, and the reasons why it is used or objected to within society. Consider, for instance, the slang term foxy. From the morphological point of view, it is a denominal adjective produced by a rule-governed mechanism of word-formation, i.e. Summary fox fox-y. Grammarians Opening Considerations and Executive .............................. 11 classify this term among the most productive canonical derivatives of Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini English, together with such standard adjectives as juicy, sexy, shiny, etc.Ethics (Marchand 1969: 352). From the semantic point of view, it 1. and Human Rights instead a novelMigration sense which departs from the standard in the acquires South American Processes .................................... 15 English Mario meaning. Santillo It is frequently used among young men, who apply it to ‘attractive, desirable, pretty, sexy’ women. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 Consider now the slang adjective shagadelic, which has a similar meaning toInstrument foxy, butfor anMigrants’ uncertainDefence origin ............................. connected with the 1.2 International 21 coarse slang verb shag (‘copulate’). This adjective does not obey 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 any of the standard mechanisms of formation and would therefore be Bibliographyby ......................................................................................... 25 marginalized grammarians to what is called extra-grammatical (or expressive) morphology. Yet it has been genuinely coined by young 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 men and applied to ‘sexy, beautiful’ women (Mattiello 2005). Fabio Our Baggio question now is: why use the semantically indeterminate adjective foxy or the extra-grammatical formation shagadelic rather 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 than clearer canonical forms such as sexy or beautiful? This question Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 has2.2both linguistic (semantic and grammatical) and sociological (speaker-oriented and hearer-oriented) explanations: 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 From the semantic point of view, slangy foxy is more loaded Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
than neutral sexy in terms of information provided. That is, for st Century. young people foxy means having the quality of: (1) attracting 3. Immigration in the 21 interest, attention, desire, (3) excellent The Need for an Ethical affection, Approach.(2) Thecausing Canadian Experience ..... 51 or admirable in appearance, and (4) sexually provocative, Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg exciting, etc., whereas sexy only refers to the quality indicated 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 in point (4); 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
1. Introduction
219
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grammatical point of view, the slangy formation TableFrom of the Contents shagadelic is less transparent than the standard derivatives beautiful ( beauty) or sexy ( sex), and its formation is difficult to assign to recognized morphological rules. This word, popularized by the film Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997), has recently been included in Dalzell & Victor (eds) (2007a) as a blend of shag and psychedelic (cf. “partial blends” in Thornton 1993: 145148), and in the OED as a combination of shag and -adelic (a combining form originating from psychedelic). But whereas psychedelic is obtained from an established base Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 (psyche), a well-known formative (δηλουν ‘make manifest, Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini reveal’ δηλος ‘manifest, visible’, as in delomorphic), and a common English 1. Ethics and Human Rights suffix (-ic), shagadelic exhibits a base which is Migration not attested in other derivatives, and 15 its in the(shag) South American Processes .................................... Marioformation Santillo must necessarily rely, both morphologically and semantically, on the word psychedelic; 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17
The speaker-oriented explanation concerns the speaker’s
1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence 21 social identity: foxy and shagadelic index............................. male adolescents,
whoFinal use them for multifarious reasons connected with their 1.3 Some Reflections................................................................... 23
identity – e.g., to show their belonging to a band, to stress their virility or their age, to reinforce connection with their peer group and to exclude outsiders, to show off, etc. – while 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 neither sexy nor beautiful say much about the speaker; Fabio Baggio Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
The hearer-oriented explanation concerns rather the effects the speaker wishes to produce upon the hearer: in-group foxy 2.2 Migration Policies ESEA............................................................ 34 is certainly morein efficient and fresher than sexy, and vulgar shagadelic is undoubtedly playful, faddish, colourful and 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 musical, and therefore achieves effects which could not be Bibliography obtained......................................................................................... using a comparable standard English form, such 47 as beautiful. 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27
3. Immigration in the 21st Century. The adjectives and shagadelic but two of the wide range of The Need for foxy an Ethical Approach.are The Canadian Experience ..... 51
slang words. In this Richard study IVanderberg intend, first, to offer a survey of the Christine Baghdady, grammatical and extra-grammatical formations of English slang in 3.1 World Population Increaseand, ............................................................. 51 terms of their morphology, second, to go deeper into their semantics and social meaning. Migration Each of these aspects will................. be touched 3.2 Urbanization, International and Governance 53 upon and expanded from chapters three to five. The theoretical 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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framework, some provisional observations, the data, and the entire Table of Contents organization of the study are clarified below.
1.2. The theoretical framework In the relevant theories, many slang formations are marginalized or even ignored on account of: (a) oddity and opacity (Aronoff 1976), (b) minor importance within word-formation (Scalise 1984), (c) lack of naturalness (Dressler 1999), and (d) extra-grammatical nature (Dressler & Merlini Barbaresi 1994, 1997, Doleschal & Opening Summary .............................. 11 ThorntonConsiderations eds 2000). Onand theExecutive other hand, these types of expressions Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini are marked and therefore complex (Merlini Barbaresi 1988, ed. 2003), and may create extreme complexity in terms of lexical 1. Ethics and Human Rights organization (Bertuccelli Papi & Lenci 2007). In other a-theoretical in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 (purely descriptive) studies, the mechanisms of slang are attributed Mario Santillo the same regularity as ordinary (morphological and semantic) processes, and Rights it is claimed that “there is no evidence that slang 17 is 1.1 Migrants’ ............................................................................. created in special or unfamiliar ways” (Eble 1996: 17; cf. Munro International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 ed.1.2 1997). Since slang and meanings may represent issues for23a 1.3 Some Finalformations Reflections................................................................... theoretical debate, I will provisionally claim that ‘there is evidence Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 that slang is created in special or unfamiliar ways’. Hence, an overview ofPolicies the pertinent andEast lexical semantic 2. Migration and Ethicsmorphological in East and South Asia............ 27 theories would seem to be in order here. Particularly, this overview Fabio Baggio focuses attention on the mechanisms of formation that violate the 2.1 International East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 basic properties ofMigration Englishinmorphological grammar, although they have entered the standard language. It is thus meant to illustrate 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 what morphologists analysing the English system have considered Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 as 2.3 irregular (not rule-governed), or have viewed as marked and dispreferred, often confined to extra-grammatical morphology. Bibliographyand ......................................................................................... 47 The last subsection devoted to lexical semantics aims to illustrate what has recently considered complex within the English 3. Immigration in thebeen 21st Century. The Need for an Ethical 51 lexis, and hence createsApproach. difficultyThe in Canadian cognitive Experience processing.....and Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg interpretation. 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
1. Introduction
239
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1.2.1. Generative morphology Table of Contents
Within generative grammar, many phenomena are not assigned the status of word-formation rules (WFRs), i.e. rules which specify sets of words on which they can operate. For instance, such phenomena as blends (e.g. chunnel channel + tunnel), acronyms (e.g. NATO), clippings (e.g. fan fanatic), word manufacture (e.g. Kodak), backformation (e.g. v peddle peddler), and mixed formation (e.g. scramjet supersonic combustion ramjet) are classified among the “oddities” of a language, i.e. very unusual and escaping wordformation processes (Aronoff 1976: 20). They are indeed viewed as Opening Considerations ExecutiveofSummary .............................. 11 opaque and uncommon and mechanisms word-formation which have Baggio, Laura Zanfrini no Fabio recognizable internal structure or constituents. In Bauer (1983: 232), these mechanisms are grouped under the 1. Ethics and Human formations”: Rights label “unpredictable it is said, at least, that they cannot in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 be predicted by the word-formation rules of generative grammar. Mario Santillo Nonetheless, it is also said that since they are so common in English, it is misleading to consider them unusual. In spite of this, 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 in such studies as Scalise (1984), they are relegated to a footnote, 1.2 International Instrumenttofor ............................. because they are marginal theMigrants’ theory ofDefence generative morphology.21 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23
1.2.2. Natural morphology
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
In morphology, naturalness/markedness claims are based on many criteria whichPolicies are relevant also to formations. Within the theory 2. Migration and Ethics inslang East and South East Asia............ 27 of Fabio naturalness/markedness, many formations are less natural/more Baggio marked along the semiotically-derived parameters of iconicity, 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 indexicality, (morphosemantic and morphotactic) transparency and 2.2 Migration Policies et in al. ESEA............................................................ 34 biuniqueness (Dressler 1987, Dressler 1999, 2005). As regards the parameter of iconicity (resemblance between 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 signans and signatum), conversion (e.g. n cut v cut) appears to 47 beBibliography non-iconic ......................................................................................... because addition of meaning is not paralleled by change in form. Indeed, it is less iconic than canonical derivation 3. Immigration in the 21stor Century. (e.g. cut-t-er v cut) compounding (e.g. cutthroat cut + The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 throat). Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg As regards the parameter of indexicality (direct reference of signans to signatum), the morphological phenomenon of infixation 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 (e.g. in-bloody-credible) – infrequent in English and rare in the 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 Indo-European languages (Bauer 1983: 18) – is more marked than 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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prefixation (e.g. in-credible) or suffixation (e.g. credibil-ity) because Table of Contents it adds something in-between an affix and its base. In connection with the same parameter, exocentric compounds, in which the head has to be inferred, as in pick-pocket (‘a person who picks pockets’), are more marked than endocentric compounds, which have their head within the compound (e.g. hip-pocket is ‘a type of pocket’). As regards the parameter of morphosemantic transparency, the least natural compounds are those which exhibit opacity of both members (e.g. birdbrain ‘a stupid person’). On the other hand, early bird (‘one who rises early’), bird cherry (‘a wild cherry’) and birdcageConsiderations (‘a cage for and birds’) illustrate progressive degrees 11 of Opening Executive Summary .............................. naturalness, because they respectively display transparency of Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini modifier, head, or both constituents. As regards the related 1. Ethics and Human Rightsparameter of morphotactic transparency, blends contaminations) and other abbreviatory operations (i.e. in the(or South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 clippings, acronyms, etc.) are marked and marginal, because they are Mario Santillo mere semantic alternatives of existing words, although they are 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 recurrent in English as a result of a conscious action of economizing. Lastly, as regards the parameter ofDefence biuniqueness (one-to-one 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ ............................. 21 relations), marked (unique) formations are those in which one and the 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 same signans/form corresponds to two or more signata/functions: Bibliography e.g., the suffix......................................................................................... -th forming both ordinal numbers (as in four 25 fourth) and nouns from adjectives (as in long leng-th). The most 2. Migration andambiguous Ethics in East and SouthinEast Asia............ 27 marked are, Policies however, formations, which one form Fabio Baggio corresponds to many functions and vice versa: e.g., the suffix -er forming agent, instrument localAsia nouns, in competition with agent 2.1 International Migrationand in East and South East Asia.............. 27 nouns obtained by adding the suffixes -ist and -ator. 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34
1.2.3. Extra-grammatical, marginal and expressive morphology 43 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. Within the theory of morphopragmatics (Dressler & Merlini Barbaresi Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 1994, 1997), many phenomena are excluded from morphological grammar: (a) in sophisticated coinages like shm-reduplication (e.g. 3. Immigration the 21st Century. variables shmariables), (b)Approach. blends (e.g. smog), (c) hypocoristics (e.g. The Need for an Ethical The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Liz,Christine Bet Baghdady, Elisabeth;Richard cf. grammatical Vanderberg Lizz-ie, Bett-y, in which the hypocoristic suffix -y is grammatical but the bases are not), (d) 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 acronyms (e.g. GOP Grand Old Party), (e) clippings (e.g. mike 3.2 Urbanization, International (e.g. Migration and Governance .................(or 53 microphone), (f) echo-words zigzag), (g) back-derivation back-formation, e.g. v edit editor), and (h) expletive infixations 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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(e.g. abso-blooming-lutely). These phenomena are said to violate Table of Contents various universal principles of English grammar: for instance, ablaut reduplicatives – i.e. echo-words of the type tick-tock – may be formed either from a left-hand or a right-hand base or have no existing base at all (as in tip-top). Hence, their marginalization to extra-grammatical morphology (see Merlini Barbaresi forthcoming) and irrelevance for morphopragmatic investigation. In Zwicky & Pullum (1987), most such formations are similarly classified among the innovative extra-grammatical patterns of English, as part of what they call “expressive morphology”, so as to distinguish them from theand ordinary formations of “plain morphology”. Opening Considerations Executive Summary .............................. 11 In Fabio their Baggio, opinion, “Expressive morphology is associated with an Laura Zanfrini expressive, playful, poetic, or simply ostentatious effect of some kind” (Zwicky Pullum 1987: 335). 1. Ethics & and Human Rights Doleschal & Thornton (eds) Processes (2000), the central role of extrainInthe South American Migration .................................... 15 grammatical (or non-prototypical) phenomena in word-formation is Mario Santillo likewise stressed. In particular, what is stressed is the worldwide 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 frequency of blending, acronyms and combining forms (Bat-El, Fradin), trade names (Ronneberger-Sibold, Thornton), and toponyms 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 (Nübling). Here a distinction is also made by Dressler between 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 extra-grammatical and marginal morphology: the former “lies Bibliography ......................................................................................... outside morphological grammar”, whereas the latter “lies at 25 its boundaries”, that is between morphology and other levels (e.g. 2. Migration Policiesetc.), and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 syntax, phonology, or within morphology (inflection, derivation Baggio andFabio compounding) (Dressler 2000: 1). Therefore, extra-grammatical morphology includes such morphological echo-words, 2.1 International Migration in East Asia andoperations South East as Asia.............. 27 blends, hypocoristics, abbreviations, and back-formation, which 2.2 Migration Policiesby in regular ESEA............................................................ 34 cannot be described morphological rules. By contrast, marginal includes clitics, lying between 2.3 Ethicsmorphology and Migration rather Management................................................. 43 morphology and syntax, and semi-suffixes (or combining forms), Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 lying between derivation and compounding. 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. 1.2.4. Lexical complexity The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51
The theoryBaghdady, of complexity recently entered the framework of Christine Richard has Vanderberg lexical semantics (Bertuccelli Papi & Lenci 2007) via an extension 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 from textual complexity (Merlini Barbaresi 2003). This theory paves Urbanization, International Migrationofand ................. the3.2way for a concrete interpretation theGovernance lexicon, viewed as53a complex self-organized dynamical macro-system whose behaviour is 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
Elisa Mattiello – An Introduction to English Slang 9
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determined by a high number of interrelating factors and dimensions. Table of Contents Within this theory, a word such as texture provides an instance of complexity in English because: (a) its description makes use of multiple dimensions, and (b) it covers a multifaceted, fuzzy and loosely organized semantic space spreading over multiple domains, and, specifically, it is polysemous and therefore difficult to assign to a single semantic frame in the sense of Barsalou (1992).1 This brief overview gives rise to a debate on whether slang formations have to be marginalized, as they actually have been so far, or rather appreciated forExecutive the opportunity they offer to develop Opening Considerations and Summary .............................. 11 theFabio branch of morphology and its parameters of analysis. It also Baggio, Laura Zanfrini offers the starting-point for a discussion of slang lexical semantics, which hasand received treatment that may be called systematic, or 1. Ethics Humanlittle Rights in in any helpful, e.g. for interpreters or translators. theway South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 Mario Santillo
1.3. observations 1.1Provisional Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21
The guiding hypotheses of this study, based on a preliminary 1.3 Some Final investigation of Reflections................................................................... partial data, concern both the morphotactics 23 of slang formations and their semantic extensions (neo-semanticisms). Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 With reference to the morphology of slang: 2. Migration and Ethicsare in East and South East Asia............ 27 SomePolicies slang formations regularly produced by recognized Fabioword-formation Baggio rules (as established in generative grammar),
and hence provide of grammatical morphology (e.g. 2.1 International Migrationinstances in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 fox
fox-y);
2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34
Others are not rule-governed, but attested in ordinary English
2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 as instances of extra-grammatical or expressive morphology
(e.g. shagadelic); Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 Still other formations are typical of English slang – the most
st Century. 3. Immigration in the 21 representative phenomenon being Cockney rhyming slang, The Need for an Ethical Approach. Canadian Experience ..... 51 esp. in its elliptic form – but The inexistent in standard English. Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
1 See 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 Bertuccelli Papi (2003), Franceschi (2007), Lorenzetti (2007) and Masi
(forthcoming) for an application of the Lexical Complexity Theory to English 3.2ofUrbanization, International Migration and Governance verbs vision. See Bertuccelli Papi & Cappelli (2007) and Cappelli................. (2007) for 53 an application of the theory to verbs of cognitive attitude. 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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they appear to exhibit regularity and set the pattern for the TableYet of Contents creation of analogous forms. As for slang semantics: Slang items are far from being merely synonymous or connoted variants of standard English equivalent forms (cf. Dumas & Lighter 1978), because they are loaded with aspects of meaning which are normally absent in standard correspondents (cf. foxy and sexy); They are rather complex words because: (a) their semantic description requires numerous dimensions (e.g. foxy Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 entails visual perception and cognition, and Fabiosimultaneously Baggio, Laura Zanfrini also points to the dimension of affect); (b) they cover vague and disorganized semantic spaces, namely: 1. Ethics and Human Rights in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15
•
In terms of semiotic principles, they may display low transparency due to morphosemantic or morphotactic opacity 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 (e.g. in shagadelic meaning is non-compositional, headedness is hardly assignable, and the internal structure or constituents 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 are difficult to identify), or they may lack biuniqueness due 1.3 Some Finalambiguity Reflections................................................................... 23 to their with common English forms (cf. slang foxy ‘attractive, desirable, pretty, sexy’ and St. E. ‘crafty, Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 cunning’), or to polysemy (i.e. more than one slang meaning/ function); 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 Mario Santillo
Fabio • InBaggio cognitive terms, it is very difficult to assign them to a
single frame, since in theEast same may to more 2.1 International Migration Asiaelement and South Eastbelong Asia.............. 27 than one, and these in turn may differ from the frame assigned to the same word in the standard language.
2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34
2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 Bibliography 1.4. The data......................................................................................... 47 st Century. 3. Immigration in thein21 The main difficulty collecting slang data is discriminating between TheisNeed anwhat Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 what slangfor and is not.
Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg A clear-cut discrimination would have not been possible without a
2 Corpora, film script excerpts preliminary selection in dictionaries. 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51
3.2 Urbanization, Governance 53 2 Many dictionaries ofInternational English slangMigration have beenand compiled so far ................. (e.g. Partridge 1984, ed. 1998,Migration Munro ed.in1989, 1993,An 1997, 2001, Dalzell & ........... Victor eds 3.3 Ayto International Canada: Ethical Assessment 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
Elisa Mattiello – An Introduction to English Slang 9
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and questionnaires by native informants have however supported Table of Contents lexicographic descriptions and corroborated genuine usage of the selected expressions. To sum up, my collection of slang data is drawn from two main sources: For the descriptive part, slang data has been cross-checked in The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) and The Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang (ODMS), and reported together with alternative spellings (if any), etymological information, usage notes, definitions, and possible cross-references to Opening Considerations Executive Summary .............................. 11 pertinent entries. and Contextualized examples have mostly been Fabiotaken Baggio, Laura from theZanfrini British National Corpus (BNC), which helped me with the semantic descriptions of the words, providing 1. Ethics and Humanabout Rights information token frequency and preferential con- and in theco-texts South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 (word sketches). Mario Santillo
For the empirical part, tests on slang have been carried out by
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 submitting to informants excerpts from English films in which
some slangInstrument expressions used, Defence as well ............................. as conversations 21 in 1.2 International for are Migrants’ teenage slang recorded in COLT. The corpus-based slang data
1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 is not necessarily recorded in the OED or in any specialized
dictionary of slang (e.g. ODMS). Native speakers have Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
confirmed its authenticity, current use or disuse, and its slang nature,Policies and and haveEthics givenin their personal opinion about 27 its 2. Migration East and South East Asia............ derogatory flavour, vulgarity, obscenity, privacy Fabioinformality, Baggio or regionalism. 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27
The slang lexicon explored in this study is neither group-specific 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 (cf. Munro ed. 1997, 2001) nor subject-specific (cf. Dalzell & 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 Victor eds 2007b, c), since the slang of one particular group (e.g. college slang) ......................................................................................... or belonging to a precise area, such as ‘vice’ or ‘sex’, Bibliography 47 would exclude a large part of general slang items, or of the slang spoken by other groups drug addicts, military men, rappers, 3. Immigration in the 21st (e.g. Century. etc.), and would therefore make of slang formations The Need for an Ethical Approach.my Thesurvey Canadian Experience ..... 51 Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 2007a, b, c; see also bilingual dictionaries such as Monti ed. 2003, Cagliero 51 & Spallino eds 2007), but no specific corpora of slang are at the moment available 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance 53 except for the Bergen Corpus of London Teenage Language (COLT), ................. which however provides only an incomplete restricted illustration the phenomenon. 3.3 International Migration in Canada: AnofEthical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
1. Introduction
299
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incomplete. A distinction between general and specific slang is Table of Contents however drawn in the second chapter, and the areas preferentially covered by slang use are carefully analysed in the pertinent chapter (chap. 4). As a final point, the slang mentioned here is only partially in current use: given the ephemeral nature of slang and its complex dynamics, today some slang items may be considered old-fashioned or obsolete. However, whenever slang is referred to as obsolete in the OED or ODMS I will indicate it. Opening 1.5. TheConsiderations organizationand of Executive the studySummary .............................. 11 Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
This study is divided into five chapters. Chapter two introduces the
1. Ethics HumanaRights topic andand provides brief state of the art. It is meant to identify in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 certain descriptive criteria which may help us recognize slang and
Mario Santillo distinguish it from other non-standard language varieties. Chapters three and four focus on the linguistic properties 17 of 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. slang. Specifically, chapter three is centred on slang morphology. It 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 classifies the word-formation processes of slang, discriminating between theFinal types that conform to grammatical morphology and 1.3 Some Reflections................................................................... 23 those that depart from it and rather belong to extra-grammatical (or Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 expressive) morphology. Some subsections are devoted to the distribution slang and affixes, to in their base properties 2. Migrationof Policies Ethics East andcategories, South Easthead Asia............ 27 andFabio grammatical classes. Others are devoted to slang compounds, Baggio especially to the syntactic categories of their constituents and to their 2.1 Internationaltransparency Migration in East Asia and(cf. South East Asia.............. 27 morphosemantic vs. opacity Dressler 1999). Minor phenomena formation, including reduplication, acronyms, 2.2 MigrationofPolicies in ESEA............................................................ 34 initialisms, blends, clippings, elliptic rhyming slang, back-formation, 2.3 Ethics and Migration 43 reversed forms, variation, Management................................................. word manufacture and fanciful formations, areBibliography also dealt with, as they are frequently involved in slang formations. ......................................................................................... 47 Chapter four deals with the phenomenon of slang from a lexical st Century. semantic perspective. first explores whether the slang lexical 3. Immigration in the 21It The Need for an Ethical Theone Canadian ..... 51 system is comparable withApproach. the standard in termsExperience of organization Christine Richard Vanderberg into fields Baghdady, and internal meaning relations. It then explores some representative semantic areas............................................................. of slang – viz., drug addiction, 3.1 World Population Increase 51 homosexuality, alcoholism, foreigners, attractive women, body 3.2 Urbanization, andregular Governance 53 parts – with the International purpose of Migration identifying and................. predictable
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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behavioural patterns, e.g. in terms of Table of Contents inferential mechanisms applicable to
meaning association and meaning disambiguation. Lastly, it examines the complexity and disorganization of some slang items due to the enormous array of information they require in semantic description and to the manifold cognitive processes they activate as contrasted with standard comparable forms (cf. Bertuccelli Papi & Lenci 2007). Finally, chapter five focuses on the sociological properties of slang, classified as speaker-oriented and hearer-oriented. In my classification, the speaker-oriented properties qualify the speaker as belongingConsiderations to some distinct group within society, whereas the Opening and Executive Summary .............................. 11 hearer-oriented properties produce some particular effect upon the Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini hearer. This chapter is entirely based on conversations – either spontaneous, as in COLT 1. Ethics and Human Rights dialogues, or planned, as in film script transcripts – since it is only in realProcesses or realistic contexts that we can in the South American Migration .................................... 15 perceive the functions/effects of slang. Mario Santillo 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 Fabio Baggio
2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
9
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2. Previous Studies on Slang Table of Contents
Opening and Executive .............................. One ofConsiderations the clichés of the subject is thatSummary anyone can recognize slang, 11 Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini but no one can define it. The reverse may be closer to the truth. (Dumas & Lighter 1978: 10) 1. Ethics and Human Rights in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15
2.1. TheSantillo definition of slang Mario
............................................................................. 17 In 1.1 theMigrants’ pertinentRights literature, most definitions of slang show a tendency towards a sociological view of the phenomenon. This view 21 is 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. accepted, among others, by Eble (1996) and Munro (ed.) (1997), 1.3 basically Some Finalregard Reflections................................................................... 23 who slang as a social means of identification and cohesiveness a group (cf. Allen 1998). A second fundamental Bibliographywithin ......................................................................................... 25 approach is stylistic. In line with this, slang has to be arranged among theMigration “varietiesPolicies according attitude” (Quirk et al. East 1985: 25-27) as27 it 2. and to Ethics in East and South Asia............ Fabio Baggio “includes words that are below the level of stylistically neutral language” (Stenström et al. 2002: 67). A third relevant approach 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 emphasizes the aspects of novelty and freshness of slang, and 2.2 Migrationit Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 characterizes as a language variety that exhibits a leaning towards lexical innovation (Dundes & Schonhorn 1963, Mencken 1967, 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 Olesen & Whittaker 1968, Dumas & Lighter 1978, Sornig 1981). Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 In lexicography, most dictionaries agree that the word ‘slang’ may be defined with at st least two senses. First, slang is the restricted 3. Immigration in the Century. speech of marginal or21 distinct subgroups in society and, second, it is a The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 quite temporary, unconventional vocabulary characterized primarily Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg by connotations of informality and novelty. In the OED, for instance, slang is described both as “the special vocabulary 51 or 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. phraseology of a particular calling or profession” and as a “language 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 of a highly colloquial type, considered as below the level of standard 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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educated speech, and consisting either of new words or of current Table of Contents words employed in some special sense”. What follows is an overview of the definitions of slang from various perspectives, including the sociological, stylistic and linguistic approaches, as well as its lexicographic description.1 2.1.1. The sociological approach Within the sociological approach, slang is ascribed the two opposite purposes of keeping insiders together and outsiders out. On the one hand, Eble (1996: 11) stresses the social and interpersonal aspects of slang and its functionand “toExecutive establish Summary or reinforce social identity 11 or Opening Considerations .............................. cohesiveness within a group or with a trend or fashion in society at Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini 2 large”. Accordingly, sharing the same slang vocabulary aids both to Ethics gain acceptance in a group and to preserve group solidarity 1. and Human Rights (Munro 1997). Speaking in more general .................................... terms, slang is a socioin the ed. South American Migration Processes 15 cultural Mario practice Santillo that speakers privilege for such social purposes as being on the same speech-level with one’s audience, facilitating 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 social intercourse, and inducing friendliness or intimacy. 1.2 Instrument Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 OnInternational the other hand, slang for is said to serve antisocial purposes such as 1.3 marking social differences (Allen 1998), opposing people 23 in Some Final Reflections................................................................... authority (Eble 1996), and hiding secret information or improper Bibliography 25 behaviour from......................................................................................... them (Franklyn 1961, Andersson & Trudgill 1990, Stenström et al. 2002). In particular, slang is viewed as an in-group 2. Migrationthat Policies andsubclasses Ethics in East and South Asia............ 27 vocabulary certain in society (e.g.East criminals or drug Fabio Baggio addicts) cultivate to keep the content of their conversations private, or 2.1 which such specific subgroups as adolescents or college students International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 adopt to keep the older generation at a distance. 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 The two conflicting – social and antisocial – tendencies of slang Ethics and Migration 43 are2.3evident in the effectsManagement................................................. it may produce: if sometimes it appears playful and amusing, it may, some other times, signal the speaker’s Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 1
Part of this chapter is a revision of Mattiello (2005 online). 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. 2 Actually, Eble (1996: 116) highlights three general functions of slang: “(1) Slang The Need for of andiscourse Ethical in Approach. The ..... 51 changes the level the direction of Canadian informality.Experience (2) Slang identifies
Christine Richard Vanderberg members of aBaghdady, group. (3) Slang opposes established authority”. However, she gives greatest prominence to the group-identifying function because her study focuses on World Population Increase the3.1 slang used by college students. She............................................................. indeed comments that slang mainly serves51 to demarcate smaller groups or subcultures within the college student community, and Migration Governance ................. 53 that3.2 it Urbanization, helps subgroupsInternational like technicians or studentand journalists to enhance solidarity and3.3 work together. Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 International
Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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intention to startle his audience or even to be aggressive (Andersson Table of Contents & Trudgill 1990). 2.1.2. The stylistic approach Within the stylistic approach, slang is neutrally and rather vaguely defined as a level of usage. In early studies (Partridge 1947: 287), it is claimed that slang is “the quintessence of colloquial speech”, or, as in Flexner (1960: vi), that it is “not accepted as good, formal usage by the majority”.3 In this view, slang is juxtaposed to formal language: particularly, Opening Considerations and Executive .............................. 11 it is below standard discourse and theSummary neutral stylistic level (Allen Fabio Baggio, Laura 1998, Stenström et al.Zanfrini 2002), and typical of informal, relaxed speech (Quirk et al. 1985). On the other hand, slang is also juxtaposed to 1. Ethics and Human Rights it is neither dialect nor register, nor can other non-standard varieties: in the South American Migration Processes .................................... it be restricted to the concepts of cant, argot, or jargon (Andersson 15 & Mario Santillo Trudgill 1990, Eble 1996). Slang can be rather viewed as a shortlived ephemeral vocabulary that is expecting either to pass into 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 disuse or to have a more standard status (as gay).4 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21
2.1.3. The linguistic approach 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 From the linguistic point of view, slang is regarded as the use 25 of Bibliography ......................................................................................... ordinary words in extraordinary senses or of extraordinary words in ordinary senses (Yustand ed.Ethics 1950).inJespersen (1922:East 298)Asia............ pioneers this 2. Migration Policies East and South 27 position, stating that slang “finds amusement in the creation and Fabio Baggio propagation of new words and in attaching new meanings to old 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 words”.5 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43
3 As Dumas & Lighter (1978: 7) provocatively comment, “everything is slang by this
definition except formal usage and words and expressions of limited currency”. 47 Bibliography .........................................................................................
4 Many studies stress the short-lived nature of slang. For instance, Andersson &
Trudgill (1990: 70) point outstthat, as slang is subject to change over time and from 3. Immigration in the 21 Century. place to place, “What is slang for one person, generation or situation may not be The for an Approach. Thelikewise Canadian Experience 51 slang forNeed another”, andEthical Munro (ed.) (1997: 27) notices that “Slang..... words
Christine Vanderberg come and go.Baghdady, Some slangRichard expressions are no longer recognized by speakers just a few years later, other slang words come to be accepted as standard language, while World Population 51 still3.1 others persist as slangIncrease for many............................................................. years”. More in Dumas & Lighter (1978), Maurer & High (1980) and Eble (1996). 3.2Dundes Urbanization, International Migration andand Governance ................. 53 5 See & Schonhorn (1963), Mencken (1967) Olesen & Whittaker (1968) for3.3 related positions. Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 International
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Within the linguistic approach, slang is distinguished from the Table of Contents standard language in both its morphology and its semantics. In morphology, it is characterized by clear insubordination as regards the standard word-formation rules, and in semantics, it not only renames everyday objects, but also enriches, qualifies and complexifies them. Hence, Sornig’s (1981: 20) definition of slang: Slang is, as it were, a language in statu nascendi, a language (or at least a lexicon) in the making. Slang is essentially an experimental language.
Opening Considerations Executive Summary .............................. 11 2.1.4. The lexicographicand definition Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
In dictionaries, there is no unique clear-cut definition of slang because this concept has acquired different senses in different periods 1. Ethics6and Human Rights of intime. Originally, the term was used to refer to the language of the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 criminals, thieves and vagabonds. The OED, for instance, states that Mario Santillo 1.1 Migrants’ ............................................................................. 17 6 Opinions divergeRights not only with regard to the definition of the concept of slang
but also as regards the etymology of the word ‘slang’, which is presently unknown 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 or dubious for most lexicographers. Overall, two distinct positions have developed which attribute dissimilar origins to slang. One relates slang to the Scandinavian 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 world. In Skeat (ed.) (1910) the origin of the word ‘slang’ (‘low, vulgar language’) is traced back to the Norwegian verb slengja kjeften (lit. ‘sling the jaw’, ‘use abusive Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 language, slang’) and to the Icelandic words slyngr or slunginn (‘versed in a thing, cunning’). In addition, the lexicographer behind this dictionary also reminds us of the 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East South East 27 Swedish word slanger (‘gossip’), remarking thatand all these terms areAsia............ probably derived Fabio from the Baggio second grade of the verb sling (‘throw, cast’). The supposition of a Scandinavian origin is also contemplated by Weekly (1921, in Mencken 1967: 703, Migration in East and South Asia.............. 27 see2.1 alsoInternational Partridge 1970), who reports two Asia Norwegian dialectEast words – the neologism slengjeord (lit. ‘a slang-word’) the nickname slengjenamn (lit. ‘a slang-name’)34– 2.2 Migration Policies in and ESEA............................................................ as its brothers. By contrast, the OED states that the date and early associations of this word it improbable that there is any connection with certain Norwegian forms 2.3make Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 based upon the cognate verb slenge or slengje. TheBibliography alternative position – suggested in the OED – attributes a cant origin to slang. ......................................................................................... 47 The word ‘slang’ may be either an argotic distortion of the French word langue or a blending with the English word language as its second member: e.g., sling language 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. (Webster & McKechnie eds 1963). Cf. beggars’ language, rogues’ language, thieves’ The Need for an Ethical Approach. Thepostulation Canadian Experience .....fact 51 language (Mencken 1967, Eble 1996). The latter is motivated by the Baghdady, Richard that,Christine when the word ‘slang’ first Vanderberg appeared in English, about the middle of the eighteenth century, it was employed as a synonym of ‘cant’, and, less than fifty years 3.1asWorld Population Increase ............................................................. 51 later, a synonym of ‘argot’. As observed by Skeat (ed.) (1910: 568), the word ‘slang’ once denoted ‘a narrow piece of land’, so that currently, in the language of 3.2 Urbanization, and“travel Governance ................. thieves and gipsies, toInternational be out on theMigration slang means about the country as53a hawker, encamping byMigration night on theinroadside slangs”. 3.3 International Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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in the mid-eighteenth century, it labelled “the special vocabulary Table of Contents used by any set of persons of a low or disreputable character”, and Webster & McKechnie (eds) (1963) specify that in the beginning it referred to “the specialized vocabulary and idioms of criminals, tramps, etc. the purpose of which was to disguise from outsiders the meaning of what was said”. Accordingly, there seems to be an overlap between the original sense of slang and the current concept of cant (cf. F. argot). But soon after the mid-eighteenth century, the term ‘slang’ gradually broadened to include the language of other subgroups, not necessarily of low culture, rather connected by their profession, Opening Considerations andbut Executive Summary .............................. 11 likeFabio lawyers, scientists, historians, essayists and poets (OED), or by Baggio, Laura Zanfrini a common way of life (Webster & McKechnie eds 1963). In this sense, theand term became more specialized and nearly synonymous 1. Ethics Human Rights with jargon. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 Lastly, in the early years of the nineteenth century, slang acquired Mario Santillo the more general sense of colloquial or informal vocabulary which is 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 outside of conventional or standard usage, and which belongs rather to 1.2 familiar conversation to written language (Webster 21 & International Instrumentthan for Migrants’ Defence ............................. McKechnie eds 1963, Longman Dictionary 1984, OED).7 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 Today slang covers both the specific and the general sense. It Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 typically consists of new words and novel or extended meanings, and develops from the attempt to find fresh, vigorous, colourful, 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 pungent or humorous expressions. Fabio Baggio
2.1The International Migration East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 2.2. classification ofinslang 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34
As an exploration of the literature shows, the classification of slang Ethics and Migration 43 is 2.3 a challenging task. OnManagement................................................. the one hand, there is a conceptual and terminological overlap which makes slang hard to distinguish from Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 other similar language varieties (e.g. cant, jargon, dialect). On the st Century. other hand, theinnature slang is so vast and all-encompassing that 3. Immigration the 21of The Need for an between Ethical Approach. The general Canadian Experience ..... 51 a sub-distinction specific and slang is definitely Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg required. 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 7 The Longman Dictionary (1984) mentions ‘dialect’ as a synonym of slang.
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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Among the numerous non-standard language varieties of English, Table of Contents slang finds its place both as a diastratic variety and as a diatopic variety. Nonetheless, as a diastratic variety, it diverges from both jargon and cant, whereas, as a diatopic variety, it departs from dialect as well as from vernacular and accent. Lastly, slang may also be viewed as a diaphasic variety, although it differs from colloquial language. 2.2.1. Slang vs. jargon Slang is not jargon, a widely used term referring to the specialized vocabulary and phraseology of a set Summary of people.............................. sharing a trade 11 or Opening Considerations and Executive Fabio Baggio, Laura profession (OED; cf. Zanfrini Nash 1993, Burke 1995), although slang may be a choice within jargon. For example, musicians employ specific 1. Ethics and to Human slang terms refer Rights to different music styles (e.g. funk, grunge, in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 handbag, hardcore, house, jazz, jungle, ragga, techno, etc.), doctors Mario Santillo use medicine slang terms to describe the diseases or physical conditions of their patients (e.g. O sign orig. and chiefly U.S. ‘the 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 open mouth of a patient who is in a coma, dying, or dead’), soldiers International for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 use1.2such services’Instrument slang words as acker (‘a piastre’) and skunk (‘an unidentified surface craft’) in their military life, and seamen use 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 such nautical slang expressions as Harry Flakers (‘exhausted’), Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 Harry Flatters (‘(of the sea) calm’) and Harry Frees (‘free’) – jocularly from flaked, flat and free – with their ship-mates. 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 Slang differs from jargon in its lack of prestige8 and Fabio Baggio pretentiousness. In fact, slang terminology is much more familiar and 2.1 International in East Asia and South Asia.............. 27 spontaneous thanMigration the technical jargon of East science, medicine, academics, law,Policies bureaucracy, business, etc. Slang may be used 2.2 Migration in ESEA............................................................ 34 within a particular group like musicians, doctors, soldiers or 2.3 Ethics Migration Management................................................. 43 seamen, butand it does not exactly deal with status or reputation.
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
2.2.2. Slang vs. cant
3. Immigration in thethe 21stspecialized Century. and usually secret language of Slang is not cant, The Need for an Ethical Approach. Canadian Experience ..... 51 thieves, professional beggars, and otherThe groups operating on the fringes Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg of Christine society (OED, see also Barisone 1989, Beier 1995, Gotti 1999). Yet many slang words arise from the language of the underworld and are 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 8 Cf. “covert prestige” in Andersson & Trudgill (1990) and Allen (1998).
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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used for the purposes of secrecy and conspiracy. For instance, drug Table of Contents dealers use such specific slang names as Charley/-ie, rock, skag, skunk and speed for drugs in their traffics, and criminals use a number of different in-group slang words to refer to the police (e.g. bill, filth, fuzz, heat, pigs) in their illicit trades. Despite its sometimes cryptic character, slang cannot be reduced to the private language of the criminal world. It may be used by those people in society who have reason to hide from actual authority (like drug addicts and criminals), but it may also suit certain subgroups who want to keep the content of their conversations secret from adult people (like teenagers and college students), either.............................. to gain acceptance Opening Considerations and Executive Summary 11 in aFabio group or to preserve their group solidarity (Eble 1996, Munro ed. Baggio, Laura Zanfrini 1997, Stenström 2000). 1. Ethics and Human Rights 2.2.3. Slang vs.American dialect Migration Processes .................................... 15 in the South Mario Slang is Santillo not geographically restricted, like dialect (cf. Chambers & Trudgill 1980, Rights Romaine 1994, 2000, Trudgill 1999), even if it 17 is 1.1 Migrants’ ............................................................................. often regional and “may vary from place to place, dialect to dialect” 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. (Andersson & Trudgill 1990: 70). Therefore, what is slang 21 in British English be standard in American English, or may have23a 1.3 Some Finalmay Reflections................................................................... different meaning within the two regional varieties. For example, the Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 slang word bomb is used in British English to refer to ‘a success (esp. in entertainment)’ (e.g. like a bomb ‘with considerable effectiveness 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 or success’), but in American English, some of which is gaining Fabio Baggio currency in Britain, it is used in the exactly opposite sense of ‘a 2.1 International in East andfanny Southrefers East Asia.............. 27 failure’. Similarly,Migration the vulgar slangAsia word to ‘the female genitals’ in British English, but it means ‘the posterior or rump’ 34 in 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ American English. 2.3 Ethics its andlocal Migration Management................................................. 43 Despite peculiarities, slang is not necessarily associated with one region or social class. Some slang words are of more Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 general use or they happen to be understood by practically anyone within the language 3. Immigration in the community: 21st Century.for example, this is the case with words like for nerd insignificant or socially person’) or The Need an (‘an Ethical Approach. The Canadianinept Experience ..... 51 crackers (‘crazy, mad’), though they may not be accepted as proper Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg British or American English words.
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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2.2.4. Slang vs. vernacular Table of Contents
Slang is not vernacular, the native speech of a particular country or district (OED), but it frequently includes variation of sounds or mispronunciation of words which are typical of a limited area. The expressions bejesus, bollox and eejit are Anglo-Irish alterations of by Jesus, bollocks (‘a stupid, contemptible man or boy’) and idiot, while bovver (‘trouble or fighting’) and garn are Cockney pronunciations of bother and go on. Slang is a wider concept than vernacular (cf. Walker 1984), as it is not strictly indigenous local speech. It is instead a hybrid language Opening andforeign Executive Summary .............................. and oftenConsiderations permeated with lexical material, as in the case 11 of Fabio(‘heroin’), Baggio, Laura Zanfrini smack which comes from Yiddish schmeck, and ackers (‘money, cash’), which in turn is an adaptation of Arabian fakka 1. Ethicschange, and Human Rights (‘small coins’) via Egyptian akka. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15
Mario Santillo 2.2.5. Slang vs. accent
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 Since slang is pertinent to word form and meaning, it is not accent, which simply refers to word pronunciation (tone quality, pitch, 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 stress, etc.) (see Simpson 1994). In actual fact, some slang words Some Final 23 are1.3created by Reflections................................................................... changing some sounds of standard items: e.g., Gawblimy! and......................................................................................... Gor blimey! are corruptions of the imprecation God Bibliography 25 blind me!, heck is a slang euphemistic alteration of hell, lickle (‘small’) is aPolicies childlike corruption of little, thang the Southern 2. Migration and Ethics in East and and South EastisAsia............ 27 U.S. slang pronunciation of thing (originating from Black E., see Fabio Baggio Munro ed. 1989: 8). 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 As we will see, however, slang involves not only altered words Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 in 2.2 terms of misspelling or mispronunciation, but also new forms and novel senses (more in § 2.3.1 below). 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 Bibliography 47 2.2.6. Slang vs.......................................................................................... colloquial language
Slang does not correspond to colloquial language, although, like
3. Immigration in the 21st Century. familiar speech, departs from neutral and formal styles.....(see The Need for an itEthical Approach. The Canadian Experience 51
Partridge Andersson & Trudgill 1990). Slang is informally Christine1947, Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg used among people who belong to the same social group, or, more 3.1 Worldamong Population Increase ............................................................. generally, friends, intimates or family members, but 51 its purposes differ from mere familiarity. Consider, for instance, the 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 expressions belly and beer belly: the former is a colloquial term 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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referring to one’s ‘stomach’, while the latter is a slang expression Table of Contents which refers to ‘a protruding stomach caused by drinking large quantities of beer’, and may also be used as a derogatory definition for people having such a stomach, as in They described Pa as a beer-belly and said Ma was unfriendly. Similarly, nana is an abbreviation of banana in colloquial English, but, in English slang, it rather refers to ‘a foolish or silly person’, as in A frank admission that he had made a nana of himself. Slang displays features such as secrecy, privacy or vulgarity which are not applicable to colloquial language, and it produces various effects (e.g. humour, impertinence, etc.), Opening Considerations and Executive Summaryoffensiveness, .............................. 11 which are not obtained by comparable familiar expressions. Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini 2.2.7. Specific vs. general 1. Ethics and Human Rightsslang thewe South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 Soinfar, have established that slang may be classified as a social
Mario characterizing Santillo variety a group (e.g. music slang, military slang, navy slang, drug slang, thieves’ slang, teenage slang, college slang, 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 etc.), as a regional variety distinguishing an area (e.g. British slang, 1.2 International Instrument forslang) Migrants’ 21 American slang, Anglo-Irish or aDefence district............................. (Cockney slang), and an Final informal style of the language. It must be further 1.3as Some Reflections................................................................... 23 subdivided into either specific or general slang.9 Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 Basically, specific slang is language that speakers use to show their belonging to a group and establish solidarity or intimacy with 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 the other group members. It is often used by speakers to create their Fabio Baggio own identity, including such aspects as social status and geographical 2.1 International in East Asia and Southlifestyle East Asia.............. 27 belonging, or evenMigration age, education, occupation, and special 10 interests. It is Policies largely in used by people of similar age and experience 2.2 Migration ESEA............................................................ 34 (like teenagers or college students) to strengthen the bonds within 2.3 own Ethicspeer and group, Migration Management................................................. 43 their keeping outsiders out (Eble 1996, Munro ed. 1997, Stenström et al. 2002). It is also used by people sharing the Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
3. Immigration in the 21st Century. 9 In sociolinguistics some scholars requiring a systematic classification make a The Need for an Ethical The Canadian Experience .....64), 51 distinction between specific andApproach. general slang words. Stenström et al. (2002:
Baghdady, between Richard those Vanderberg for Christine example, distinguish words that are associated with a particular group or trend (e.g. joint, speed, spliff) and those that are not (e.g. booze, fag, 3.1 World Population Increase spooky) (see also Allen 1998: 878). ............................................................. 51 10 Flexner (1960: xii-xiii): “Slang can be one of the most revealing things about a 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration andcontains Governance person, because our own personal slang vocabulary many ................. words used 53 by choice, words which we use to create our own image”. 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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same occupation (like military men and computer users) to increase Table of Contents efficiency in communication; or by those sharing the same living conditions (like prisoners and criminals) to hide secret information from people in authority. Lastly, it is used by people sharing an attitude or a lifestyle (like drug addicts and homosexuals) to reinforce their group cohesiveness (cf. Andersson & Trudgill 1990: 158). Items like chick (‘a girl; a young woman’), cool (‘all right, ‘OK’’) and dude (‘a fellow or ‘chap’’) can be considered specific slang words, as they are related to the young and hardly understood by adults, and rock (‘a crystallized form of cocaine’), smack (‘a drug, spec. heroin’) andand smoke (‘opium’, ‘marijuana’) are likewise Opening Considerations Executive Summary .............................. 11 specific, as they belong to the vocabulary of drug addicts and drug Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini dealers, but they have a different meaning in the standard language. General the other hand, is language that speakers 1. Ethics andslang, Humanon Rights deliberately use to breakMigration with the standard and to change in the South American Processeslanguage .................................... 15 theMario levelSantillo of discourse in the direction of informality. It signals the speakers’ intention to refuse conventions (cf. Flexner 1960, Dumas Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 & 1.1 Lighter 1978) and their need to be fresh and startling in their expression, to ease social for exchanges induce friendliness, 21 to 1.2 International Instrument Migrants’and Defence ............................. reduce excessive seriousness and avoid clichés, in brief, to enrich 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 the language (cf. Partridge 1947: 288). General slang words have a Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 wider circulation as they are neither group- nor subject-restricted: for example, items like bevvy (‘a drink, esp. beer’), caff (‘a café’) 2. Migration Policies and in more East and South Asia............ 27 and footy (‘football’) areEthics much likely to East get established as Fabio Baggio informal or colloquial English. YetInternational some slang words are bothAsia specific and East general, according 2.1 Migration in East and South Asia.............. 27 to their pragmatic meaning and context of occurrence: e.g., the 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 word grass in slang takes on both the specific sense of ‘marijuana, used a drug’ (drug slang), or of ‘a police informer’ (criminals’ 2.3 as Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 slang), and the more general sense of ‘green vegetables’. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
3. Immigration in the 21st 2.3. The description ofCentury. slang The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg The descriptive properties which can be ascribed to slang are heterogeneous, and vary depending on the perspective (sociological, 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 stylistic or linguistic) from which it is investigated, or on the sense 3.2 Urbanization, International and Governance ................. 53 (either specific or general) thatMigration is taken into account. After a careful
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examination of the relevant studies on slang, a primary distinction Table of Contents can be drawn between its linguistic and sociological properties. 2.3.1. The linguistic properties of slang In the literature, most linguists dismiss the question of the slang locus in language by assigning it to the lexicon. Jespersen (1922: 299), for instance, argues that “slang is more productive in the lexical than in the grammatical portion of language”. Andersson & Trudgill (1990) likewise stress that slang affects above all vocabulary, and Sornig (1981: 22) lays emphasis on its “tendency towards the creation of a lexicon of and its own”. I have to personally contrast this Opening Considerations Executive Summary .............................. 11 Fabio Baggio, Laura that Zanfrini opinion in the sense I would rather assign slang’s relevance to each level of the language. 1. Ethics and Human Rights 2.3.1.1. in the Phonology South American Migration Processes .................................... 15
AtMario the phonological level, slang plays with sounds and manipulates Santillo word pronunciations (Flexner 1960, Sornig 1981, Eble 1996, Allen 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 1998). The most common way of enlivening slang terms is 1.2 International Instrumentwhich for Migrants’ Defence ............................. onomatopoeia or echoism, accounts for many slang terms, 21 as in 1.3 theSome set ofFinal synonyms for the verb ‘vomit’ (i.e. barf, bolk, chunder, Reflections................................................................... 23 puke, ralph, spew, throw (up), etc.). Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 Another way is jocular mispronunciation of words: for instance, the slang affectionate forms of address hinnie/-y, luvvie/-y and 2. Migration Policies and mock Ethics pronunciations in East and South Asia............ 27 marra are respectively ofEast honey, lovey and Fabio Baggio marrow, while the pronouns summat ( somewhat) and nuffink sound like and are used inin the of South standard 2.1 International Migration East place Asia and East something Asia..............and 27 nothing (cf. analogical formations in COLT: e.g. anyfink 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 anything, everyfink everything). Assimilation is likewise recurrent in slang, especially 43 in 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. combination with consonant gemination. Examples proliferate in Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 teenagers’ conversations: the interjections innit? ( isn’t it?) and wunnit? ( wasn’t it?), and such contractions as dunno ( I do 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. not/don’t know), give (itThe to) Canadian me; cf. lemme let..... me), The Need for angimme Ethical( Approach. Experience 51 gonna ( going to), gotta ( (have) got to/a) and wanna ( want Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg to/a) are attested in COLT (cf. doncher don’t you). 3.1 World Population 51 Furthermore, some Increase sounds ............................................................. seem to be more distinctive of slang than others (cf. Wescott 1977, 1978, in Eble 1996: 40). For instance, 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 the vowel /u/ is in slang variations, such as bazoom /bzum/ ( 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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bosom /bz ‘a woman’s Table of m/) Contents
breast’, booty /but/ (Å bottom /btm/, via botty /bt/) ‘the buttocks’, choom /tum/ (Å chum /tm/) ‘an English soldier’, and shoot /ut/ (Å shit /t/) ‘a coarse exclamation of annoyance or disgust’, and in copy reduplicatives, such as boo-boo /bubu/ ‘a foolish mistake or blunder’, doo-doo /dudu/ and pooh pooh/poo poo /pupu/ ‘faeces, excrement’. It may also act as a suffix, as in smackeroo /smækru/ (U.S.) (Å smacker) ‘a coin or note of money’ (more under the suffix -eroo, § 3.2.3.8). The voiced consonant /z/ is likewise frequent in slang (as in Opening Considerations Executive Summary .............................. 11 pizzazz /pzæz/ ‘vitalityand or liveliness’), especially from voiceless /s/ Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini after back-clipping, as in spaz /spæz/ (Å spastic /spæstk/), and combined suffixation, 1. Ethics andwith Human Rights as in Aussie /zi/ (Å Australian in the South American Migration .................................... 15 /strelin/), mossie/mozzie /mz/Processes (Å mosquito /mskit/) and Mario Santillo prossie/-y /prz/ (Å prostitute /prsttjut/). 1.1 Migrants’ Rights Nevertheless, the ............................................................................. most lively phenomenon in the creation 17 of slang terms is Cockney rhyming slang, based on rhyme. Rhyming 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 slang is the process whereby an item is replaced by one or more 1.3 Some Reflections................................................................... words that Final rhyme with it (e.g. trouble and strife for ‘wife’). 23 It originated in the London tradition of Cockneys, but then extended Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 to other areas and speakers, even if it remains a private language. Rhyming Policies slang isand extremely in theEast coining of nouns, 2. Migration Ethics inproductive East and South Asia............ 27 which are normally in the form of two semantically and Fabio Baggio syntactically-related words (e.g. dog and bone for ‘telephone’, five2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 to-two for ‘Jew’, God forbid for ‘kid’, pig’s ear for ‘beer’, rock of 2.2 for Migration Policies 34 ages ‘wages’, etc.),inorESEA............................................................ of a single word, either a simple one (e.g. joanna for ‘piano’) or a complex one (e.g. boat-race for ‘face’). 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 Rhyming slang nouns may also be obtained from fictitious proper Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 names (e.g. Rosy Lee for ‘tea’), or from the names of famous characters of sport, music, television, cinema, etc. (e.g. Mutt and 3. Immigration in thethe 21stcharacters Century. of a popular comic strip). Lastly, Jeff for ‘deaf’, from The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience 51 they may be obtained from the names of familiar places ..... (e.g. Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg Hampstead Heath for ‘teeth’, from a district in north London). Some such nouns rhyme with slang rather than standard words: e.g., 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 fiddley-did (Austral.) rhymes with quid (‘one pound’), ginger-beer 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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with queer (‘a homosexual’), John Hop with cop (‘a policeman’), Table of Contents macaroni (chiefly Austral.) with baloney (‘nonsense, rubbish’), etc. The same forms are found – though relatively less often – in rhyming slang adjectives (e.g. elephant’s trunk for ‘drunk’, Mozart and Liszt rhymes with pissed ‘drunk, intoxicated’), verbs (e.g. Adam-and-Eve for ‘believe’, cocoa for ‘say so’, rabbit-and-pork for ‘talk’, also n), and clauses (e.g. Hot beef for ‘Stop, thief!’). 2.3.1.2. Morphology At the morphological level, it is claimed that “the same ordinary word-building processes that give rise to the general vocabulary also Opening Considerations Executive Summary .............................. 11 shape slang expressions”and (Eble 1996: 39). However, Eble (1996: 26Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini 38) only mentions word-formation processes which are attested in both slang and standard English, namely compounding, affixation, 1. Ethics and Human Rights conversion, shortening and blending, and completely disregards the in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 processes which are distinctive of slang. As far as I know, the Mario Santillo suffixes -o (e.g. doggo dog, ‘quiet’; kiddo kid, ‘a child’), -s 1.1nuts Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 (e.g. nut, ‘mad’; bananas banana, ‘crazy’), and -ers (e.g. champers champagne, preggers pregnant) do not give rise to 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 any standard English term, nor do the infixes -bloody- (e.g. abso1.3 Some Final 23 bloody-lutely) andReflections................................................................... -fucking- (e.g. unfuckingtouchable).11 Besides, formations obtained by back-slang (e.g. yob boy, 25 ‘a Bibliography ......................................................................................... lout, hooligan’) and rhyming slang (e.g. dog’s meat ‘feet’) are not considered WFRs they typically 2. Migrationestablished Policies and Ethicsby in morphologists, East and South since East Asia............ 27 obtain English slang words rather than standard ones. In fact, slang Fabio Baggio morphology exhibits many formation patterns which still have to be 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 explored, and which will be in chapter 3 of this work. 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34
2.3.1.3. Grammar 2.3much Ethicsattention and Migration Management................................................. 43 Not has been devoted so far to the grammar of slang. Munro (ed.) (1997: 19) argues that “the grammar of U.C.L.A. slang Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 is almost identical to the grammar of standard English”, at least in its inflectional morphology Sornig 1981, Eble 1996). Indeed, as in 3. Immigration in the 21st(cf. Century. The Need for aninflection, Ethical Approach. The Canadian .....the 51 standard English slang plural nouns areExperience obtained by Christine Richard addition of Baghdady, the -s suffix (e.g.Vanderberg bird ‘a girl, woman’ birds), or of its 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51
11 Munro (ed.) (1997: 8) remarks that one frequent infix that has entered the slang
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration andfrom Governance ................. 53 vocabulary of Californian students is -iz-, as in dizope dope ‘trendy’, and dizark in the from darkMigration in the park.in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 3.3pizark International
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allomorphic variants (e.g. fairy ‘a male homosexual’ fairies, Table of Contents yobbo yobbo(e)s), and uncountable nouns do not have any plural form (e.g. stuff ‘narcotics’). Similarly, most slang verbs act regularly, with the -ed suffix in the past tense form (e.g. nick ‘steal’ nick-ed), -s in the third person singular form (e.g. nick-s), and the -ing form (e.g. nick-ing). Lastly, slang adjectives have ordinary comparative and superlative forms (e.g. daisy U.S. ‘first-rate, charming’, daisi-er, daisi-est). As far as syntax is concerned, three main features have been regarded as typical of slang: first, an unusual affective use of the definite article the as in and I have the mega headache to mean ‘I have11a Opening Considerations Executive Summary .............................. mega headache’, second, the omission of copular be in presentFabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini tense sentences such as You crazy instead of You are crazy, and third, theand special use Rights of the adjectival word total with the adverbial 1. Ethics Human function of ‘completely’ as in I’mProcesses total hungry (from Munro ed. in the South American Migration .................................... 15 1989: 13-14). Mario SantilloActually, slang does not depart from the standard language for these syntactic aspects. Firstly, the article the is part of 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 slang idiomatic expressions (e.g. to give a person the hump ‘annoy, depress, a person’, to kick the bucket ‘die’, etc.), but similar fixed 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 forms belong to standard English (e.g. to kick/strike the beam ‘be 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 greatly outweighed’, to hold the stage ‘command the attention of a Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 theatre audience’, etc.). Secondly, the frequent omission of the copula in slang present-tense predicative sentences is comparable to the 2. Migration and Ethics East Asia............ 27 omission of Policies be in Black usage,in12East andand hasSouth entered American slang Baggio viaFabio the increased popularity of rap music. Thirdly, the construction with adjectiveMigration total in adverbial position is recurrent in slang, 27 as 2.1the International in East Asia and South East Asia.............. other adjectives are in informal language and dialects (e.g. real). 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34
2.3.1.4. Semantics 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 The semantics of slang has attracted the attention of almost all Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 pertinent studies. In particular, Eble (1996: 61-73) and Munro (ed.) (1997: 11-12) underline the tendency of slang to name things 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. indirectly or figuratively, especially through metaphor (e.g. bird ‘an The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian 51 aeroplane’, double O U.S. ‘an intense look’), Experience metonymy ..... (e.g. Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg tinnie/-y Austral. ‘a can of beer’), synecdoche (e.g. wheels ‘a car’), 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51
12 Dalphinis (1998: 77) asserts that many grammatical features of Black English
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration andtheGovernance ................. (mainly derived from Creole languages) survive in U.K. For instance, John 53 go to market is said instead of John goes to the market, and it red instead of it is red. 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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euphemism (e.g. family jewels ‘the male genitalia’), and irony (e.g. Table of Contents a (little) bit of all right ‘something or somebody regarded as highly satisfactory; esp. applied to a pretty woman’) (see also Gumperz 1972). Eble (1996: 54-60) also argues that slang items often diverge from standard usage in predictable ways, especially by such opposite semantic processes as “generalization” and “specialization”, or “amelioration” and “pejoration”.13 For instance, the term eppie/-y ( epileptic fit) is used in slang with the more general sense of ‘a fit of temper’, whereas grass, which in standard English refers to ‘herbage Considerations in general’, inand slang rather assumes specialized sense Opening Executive Summarythe .............................. 11 of Fabio ‘marijuana, used as a drug’. Similarly, the adjective wicked, Baggio, Laura Zanfrini having bad connotations in standard English (i.e. ‘bad in moral character, disposition, or conduct’), in slang is used with positive 1. Ethics and Human Rights connotations mean ‘excellent, (orig. U.S.), in the SouthtoAmerican Migrationsplendid; Processesremarkable’ .................................... 15 whereas the neutral adverb inside (St. E. ‘on the inner side’), in Mario Santillo slang acquires the negative sense of ‘in prison’. Actually, similar 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 processes of pragmatic adjustment are found in standard English as well. (2003: 273-277), instance, identifies the process 21 of 1.2 Wilson International Instrument for for Migrants’ Defence ............................. “narrowing” (e.g. drink used to mean ‘alcoholic drink’), and that of 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 “broadening”, which is further subdivided into “approximation” Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 (e.g. square used to mean ‘squarish’) and “metaphorical extension” (e.g. rose or diamond applied to a person). 2. Migration Ethics in Easttoand SouthaEast Asia............ 27 However,Policies it is notand always possible identify logical connection Fabio Baggio between a word’s standard meaning and those added by slang. Indeed, what seems to beinparticularly from my lexical 2.1 International Migration East Asia andrelevant South East Asia.............. 27 semantic approach is the organization (if any) of the slang lexical 2.2 Migration in ESEA............................................................ 34 system. That is,Policies I hypothesize that the associative processes which help identify the meaning of slang words are different from 2.3 us Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 standard ones, and sometimes they are concealed, so as to make Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 words inaccessible to outsiders. I will particularly concentrate on this aspect of slang semantics st in chapter 4. 3. Immigration in the 21 Century. The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51
13 Eble (1996: 58) uses the term “pejoration” for the process opposed to amelioration.
Urbanization, Migration and Governance ................. 53 She3.2 further explains thatInternational pejoration is the process whereby the connotation associated with item becomes less favourable than the normally denotes. 3.3a slang International Migration in Canada: Anmeaning EthicalitAssessment ........... 54
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Elisa Mattiello – An Introduction to English Slang 9
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2.3.1.5. Pragmatics Table of Contents The pragmatics of slang
is marginally hinted at in relevant literature, or is treated indirectly through the various functions that are attributed to the phenomenon, or the effects it produces upon the hearer. These aspects, however, interface with slang sociological properties (see the section which follows and chap. 5). 2.3.2. The sociological properties of slang
Again in the literature, slang is associated with many sociological properties, which derive from both its varied nature and its multifunctionality. The and properties reported here below and Opening Considerations Executiveare Summary .............................. 11 Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini arranged in descending order of frequency: that is, the first property (group-restriction) is the most frequent among slang definitions, 1. Ethics the andthirty-first Human Rights whereas (spontaneity) is reported only in one study of 14 in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 all those that I have explored. Mario Santillo Given the miscellaneous nature of such properties, and their often contradictory (cf. debasement and prestige), slang 17 is 1.1 Migrants’ Rightsnature ............................................................................. not claimed to exhibit all of them simultaneously. However, it 1.2 International Instrument Migrants’ Defence 15 ............................. 21 should exhibit at least some for of the following: 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 Group-restriction: in its specific sense, slang is frequently
described as an in-group vocabulary that identifies people 25 of Bibliography .........................................................................................
a common age and experience, and facilitates their group solidarity. London teenagers, example, mayAsia............ be identified 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in Eastfor and South East 27 their use of such slang words as man, mate and wicked Fabioby Baggio (COLT), while drug addicts use such words as coke, joint, 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 and smack to create cohesiveness within their group. 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34
Informality: slang (esp. general slang) is commonly viewed as
2.3 Ethics and Migration a colloquial level ofManagement................................................. speech that signals the speaker’s desire 43 to
soften the seriousness or formality of the dominant tone, and Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
to assume instead a more familiar or conversational tone.
3. Immigration in the 21st Century. 14 The an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 MostNeed of thefor properties are mentioned by linguists and lexicographers as exactly
Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg reported in this section. However, as terminology varies throughout the literature, synonymous properties are included under the same label. For instance, such 3.1 World Population 51 properties as vitality, vigour,Increase vivacity,............................................................. liveliness and exuberance fall under the label ‘freshness’, whereas ‘informality’ summarizes the slang qualities of being (highly) 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration Governance 53 colloquial, conversational, familiar, popular, or notand accepted as formal................. usage. 15 See Table 2 for a detailed report in the literature. 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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of slang informality are the noun bread (orig. U.S.), TableInstances of Contents used in familiar contexts to mean ‘money’, and the verb phrases go big (orig. U.S.) and go it, which are the informal counterparts of ‘be a big success, have a large sale’ and ‘go along at great speed’. Time-restriction: slang is temporary since it changes over time. It is typical of some generation but falls into disuse very quickly, with the taking over of the next generation and the change of trends and tastes. Thus, some slang words may have a very similar meaning, but a different temporal Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 collocation, as shown by the near-synonymic exclamations Fabiofor Baggio, Laura Zanfrini ‘excellent’: wizard (1920s), groovy (1930s-40s), magic (1950s), fab ( fabulous, 1960s), brill ( brilliant, 1980s), 1. Ethics and(2000s). Human Rights sick in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15
slang is an ephemeral, short-lived, everMarioEphemerality: Santillo changing vocabulary. Novel words and special meanings
1.1 Migrants’ ............................................................................. crop upRights at very brief intervals, but generally remain 17 in
current useInstrument for a shortfor time, and then pass ............................. away as quickly 21 as 1.2 International Migrants’ Defence
they have been created. Thus, while some words, such as
1.3 Some Reflections................................................................... 23 chap,Final chum and grub “have been slang for a long time”
(Andersson & Trudgill 1990: 78), other words (called “vogue Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
words” in the literature), such as massive, paranoid and reckon, “haveand become a short of time” 2. Migration Policies Ethicsfashionable in East andfor South Eastperiod Asia............ 27 et al. 2002: 65). And still other words, such as bus, Fabio(Stenström Baggio phone and pub are no longer felt as slang, but rather as 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 colloquial language (see § 2.2.6). 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34
Debasement: like many other non-standard varieties, slang is
2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 considered debased, subordinate speech, characteristically
dominated by reversed prestige, lack of dignity and anti-social Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
features. At least, slang is viewed so by the conformists, who condemninmany slang words (e.g. bloke, dude, guv) st Century. 3. Immigration the 21common because they lower the level discourse to degraded The Need for an Ethical Approach. The of Canadian Experience ..... 51 language. Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
Freshness: slangIncrease is often............................................................. described as a fresh vital vocabulary 3.1 World Population 51 that keeps language alive and growing. The vigour and
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration Governance .................for 53 liveliness that lie behind slangand make it a language 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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people, and for those who Tablefashionable of Contents monotony of ordinary language. Thus,
want to avoid the fashionable young people use such slang adverbs as for yonks (‘a long time’), in a mo ( in a moment) and indeedee ( indeed) (COLT) to be fresh and to escape the dullness of neutral style.
Playfulness: slang is usually playful, since it manipulates words and their meanings. The jocular use of slang is illustrated, for example, by the catch-word Abyssinia, which plays on the pronunciation of the parting salutation I’ll be seeing you!, by the term Eyetalian, which distorts standard Opening Considerations andEyetie), Executive Summary .............................. 11 Italian (cf. offens. and by nana ( banana) and Fabiocake, Baggio, Laura Zanfrinifor ‘a foolish or silly person’. used jocularly Obscenity: slang synonyms flourish in the taboo subjects of
1. Ethics and Human Rights culture. For instance, slang vocabulary is rich in dirty in thea South American Migration Processes .................................... 15
Mariowords Santilloand obscenities which are related to sex, especially
male and female genitalia (e.g. cock, dick, prick, cunt, fanny,
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 pussy), sexual intercourse (e.g. fuck, screw, shag), oral sex
(e.g. suck) or sexual stimulation (e.g. wank). Other obscenities 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21
are related to either excretion (e.g. cack, crap, shit), or
1.3 Some Final e.g., Reflections................................................................... 23 religion: blasphemous expressions, such as for fuck’s
sake, goddamn, etc. (cf. Munro ed. 1997, Stenström et al. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 2002).
2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South Asia............ 27 Subject-restriction: sometimes slang is East described as the Fabio Baggio
special, even specialized, vocabulary of some profession,
occupationMigration or activity in society. makes slang peculiar 2.1 International in East Asia andThis South East Asia.............. 27 to a set of people who are identified by their specific terminology or by the specialized terms they use with in2.3 Ethics MigrationIn Management................................................. groupand members. particular, specific slang words such 43 as crack (‘a potent, crystalline form of cocaine’), junkie (‘a Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 drug addict’) and joint (‘a marijuana cigarette’) are related to the topicinof and creep (‘a stealthy robber’), dog (‘an 3. Immigration thedrugs, 21st Century. informer; a traitor’), and the Family (‘the thieving fraternity’) The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 are connected with the crime topic. Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34
Novelty: slangIncrease is generally modern and up-to-date. The 3.1 World Population ............................................................. 51 linguistic exuberance and the rapid change of the slang
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration Governance ................. 53 lexicon represent a large part of and slang’s originality, as they 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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people’s speech more creative and new. Eble (1996: Tablerender of Contents 42), for instance, notices how North Carolina students enjoy creating such novel words as emboosticated (‘embarrassed’), matriculate (‘start a trip’), or motorvate (‘move around socializing in a group, leave’). An original expression that has gained the approval of many young people is Black slang phat, esp. applied to ‘sexy, attractive’ women, or to ‘excellent, admirable; fashionable’ music.16 Orality: slang is predominantly associated with spoken language, where it generally starts its way towards recognition Opening Considerations Executive Summary .............................. 11 and acceptance. and This is amply demonstrated by what FabioStenström Baggio, Laura Zanfrini et al. (2002: 65) call “vague words” (e.g. doodad, doofer, thingamajig, thingy) and “smallwords” (e.g. innit, 1. Ethics and Human Rights which are typical fillers of everyday yeah, you know), in theconversation South American Migration and never usedProcesses in formal.................................... written language. 15 Mario Santillo
Unconventionality: Dumas & Lighter (1978: 13) argue that,
1.1 Migrants’ Rights 17 in general, the............................................................................. slang lexicon is characterized by the intention
of the speaker/writer break Defence with established linguistic 1.2 International Instrument for“to Migrants’ ............................. 21 convention”. Unconventionality is evident, for example, in
1.3 Some Reflections................................................................... 23 someFinal unusual slang expressions meaning ‘crazy, mad’, such
as bananas, bonkers, crackers or nuts (Mattiello 2005). 25 Bibliography ......................................................................................... Faddishness: slang consists of an eccentric, strange vocabulary,
2. Migration and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 mainlyPolicies characterized by “bizarre metaphors” (Allen 1998: 878) Fabio Baggio
and other “extravagant, forced, or facetious figures of speech”
(McHenry Migration ed. 1993: in 871). instance, bird and chick are odd 2.1 International EastFor Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 metaphors for ‘a girl; a young woman’, while fairy and pansy bizarrely allude to ‘a male homosexual’. Figurative 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. interpretation likewise characterizes metonymy (e.g. brain 43 ‘a clever person’), irony (e.g. bitching, killer having the positive Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 senses of ‘excellent’ and ‘a formidable person or thing’), euphemism (e.g. baccy, wacky tobaccy, wacky weed 3. Immigration in the 21stwacky Century. U.S. ‘marijuana’), and similes (e.g. to smoke like a chimney The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34
Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51
16 The OED considers phat a respelling of fat, but also provides some quotations
3.2explanations Urbanization, International Migration Governance ................. 53 with of the term as an acronym (and pussy hips ass and tits or pretty hot3.3 andInternational tempting; cf. pretty hips and thighs, Eble 175). Migration in Canada: An1996: Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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a lot’, to work like a dog ‘work very hard’) (Mattiello Table‘smoke of Contents 2005). Humour: slang is usually hilarious and as Yust (ed.) (1950: 766) states, “an element of humour is almost always present in slang, usually as humorous exaggeration”. Sometimes the humour of slang is evident (as in antiphrases that are generally accompanied by an ironic intonation), but more frequently it is implied (as in punning or intrinsic ambiguity). The humour of slang is clearly illustrated by the expressions to dance one’s ass/tits off, to work one’s brains off/out and to work one’s guts Opening Considerations Executive Summary .............................. 11 out, which are and exaggerations of the effects produced by Fabioexcessive Baggio, Laura Zanfrini dancing, studying or working.
Vulgarity: slang has often been associated with bad language
1. Ethics and Human Rights e.g., Andersson & Trudgill 1990:.................................... 69). Slang vocabulary in the(see, South American Migration Processes 15
effect abounds in vulgarisms, which are now used as MarioinSantillo naturally as decent language by most people.17 Examples of
1.1 Migrants’ Rightsare ............................................................................. 17 vulgar slang expressions connected with the word fuck
(e.g. fucked-off), esp. for when used asDefence an intensifier (e.g. fucking 1.2 International Instrument Migrants’ ............................. 21 bollocks, fucking crap, fucking hell, etc.) (cf. obscenity above).
1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23
Desire to impress: slang is deliberately used by speakers to
Bibliography 25 impress......................................................................................... or shock others. Partridge (1947: 288) supports this
opinion by stating that one reason for using slang is “to be
2. Migration Policies and Ethics in Eaststartling”, and South and East Asia............ arresting, striking, or even Andersson 27 & Fabio Baggio
Trudgill (1990: 78) likewise state that “the point of slang
words is often to bein startling, amusing or shocking”. 2.1 International Migration East Asia and South East Asia..............The 27 striking or shocking effects of slang are obviously related to the extravagance and taboo nature of some of its 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 expressions, such as fart (‘a breaking wind’, ‘a contemptible person’)......................................................................................... and cunt (‘the external female genital organs’, 47 ‘a Bibliography term of vulgar abuse for a woman’).18 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34
3. Immigration in the 21st Century. The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
17 Apte (1998: 989): “Individuals who use taboo words excessively in their speech
3.1become World insensitive PopulationtoIncrease 51 may both the............................................................. socially determined taboo nature of these words and the fact that such words are offensive to listeners”. International and ................. 18 3.2 ApteUrbanization, (1998: 988): “Speakers who Migration are aware of theGovernance potential of taboo words53 to arouse strong reactions may deliberately use them to shock their listeners”. 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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slang is sometimes viewed as a hybrid language TableHybridism: of Contents variety because some foreign words may occur in its vocabulary. Foreign lexical material can be borrowed either as direct loans, as in ciao (‘hello; good-bye’) from Italian, and loco (orig. U.S. ‘mad, insane’) from Spanish, or as loan adaptations, as in capeesh (chiefly U.S. ‘do you understand?’), which is adapted from Italian capisce (cf. Polari in Iamartino 2002, Pinnavaia 2003a, b). In any case, the effect of borrowing is always that of a mixture of languages and cultures (see also Andersson & Trudgill 1990: 83-84, Munro ed. 1997: 13). Opening Considerations Summary .............................. 11 Localism: there and are Executive many regional differences in slang. FabioBritish, Baggio,American Laura Zanfrini and Australian slang, although they share a
common language (English), are viewed as different varieties
1. Ethics Human ofand it (cf. Brit. Rights slang bloke ‘man, fellow’ and U.S. slang guy), in theand South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 within each variety, other sub-varieties can be identified. MarioFor Santillo instance, American slang is often differentiated between
SouthernRights and Northern, and within British slang, Cockney 17 is 1.1 Migrants’ .............................................................................
used in the London area. So, while some slang items can be
1.2 International Instrument Defence ............................. 21 found in all regions for of Migrants’ Britain (e.g. knackered ‘exhausted,
wornFinal out’), others, such as whistle ( rhym. slang whistle 1.3 Some Reflections................................................................... 23 and flute for ‘suit’), are restricted to Cockney.
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
Colour: slang has a tendency to be colourful, or, as Andersson & Trudgill 16) suggest, “to South make East yourAsia............ speech vivid, 2. Migration Policies(1990: and Ethics in East and 27 Fabiocolourful Baggio and interesting”. Yust (ed.) (1950: 766) made reference to the “onomatopoeic colour” of some slang words 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 of the period: e.g., biff (‘a blow, whack’), flabbergast 2.2 Migration Policies ESEA............................................................ 34 (‘bombast’) andinflummox (‘a failure’). Other instances of the onomatopoeic colour of slang are verbs for ‘engage in sex’ 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 (e.g. boff, bonk, pork, etc.) (see Eble 1996). Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
Impertinence: slang may be defined as audacious, and be accused inofthedisrespect and impertinence.19 For instance, it 3. Immigration 21st Century. disregards other people with its numerous impolite The Need for anrespect Ethicalfor Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 appellations. Many derogatory terms are coined or used in Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg slang to name outsiders: e.g., the term dago (a corruption of 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 Sp. Diego ‘James’) is used by American people for Spaniards, 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 19 An additional sense of ‘slang’ in the OED is “abuse, impertinence”.
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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Italians TablePortuguese, of Contents Paki are used by
or any foreigner, Chinkie/-ey/-y and British people to indicate Chinese, Pakistani or South Asian people (see COLT), whereas Pommie/-y ( pomegranate) is used in Australia and New Zealand for immigrants from Britain, esp. from England.
Offensiveness: as a consequence of the previous property, slang may be offensive. Many slang derogatory words characterizing certain groups of people on the basis of negative stereotypes are inherently offensive. For example, many sexist slang words refer to male or female homosexuality (fag, Opening Considerations and female Executive Summary(slag, .............................. faggot, lesbo, lezzy), promiscuity slut, tart),20 11 or Fabioeven Baggio, Laura Zanfrini to women as animals (bitch, cat, cow, dog). These are normally perceived as abusive words by the hearer or 21 Rights 1. Ethics and Human addressee. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15
MarioSecrecy: Santillo slang may also be cryptic and exclusive when it is
used by certain subgroups to hide their conversations from
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 people in authority. Criminals, for example, use the slang
verbs nickInstrument and pinch mean ‘steal (a............................. thing)’, and they 1.2 International forto Migrants’ Defence 21 employ the polysemous noun stuff (‘narcotics’, ‘money,
1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... cash’, ‘stolen goods’, ‘forbidden goods smuggled into 23a
gaol’) to speak secretly about clandestine drug traffic and Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 other forms of illegal behaviour.22
2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 Fabio Baggio
in East Asia Southand East Asia.............. 20 2.1 Cf. International the/his tart (‘aMigration wife or girl-friend’) in and Australia New Zealand, or 27 in Scouse, the Liverpool dialect.
Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 21 2.2 Chapman (1986: xxxiii, in Munro ed. 1989: 12), marks two levels of offensiveness: on the one hand, the “strongest impact” rating which indicates43a 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. taboo expression, and, on the other hand, the “lesser impact” rating which signals a vulgar expression.......................................................................................... Munro (ed.) (1997: 17) finds this reasoning quite arbitrary, and Bibliography 47 opts for only one level of offensiveness: “Only the category of derogatory words is perceived as potentially offensive by today’s U.C.L.A. students” (cf. Apte 1998). 3. in the 21st Century. 22 Immigration The cryptic character of slang is reminiscent of French verlan, which is a nonThe Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 standard language formed by syllabic inversion, hence the name verlan (from F. Christine Richard l’envers). AsBaghdady, Méla (1991) states,Vanderberg verlan is predominantly spoken by college students, and relates to specific semantic areas, such as drugs (e.g. cigarette 3.1 World Population Increase 51 [artsi] ‘cigarette’), sex (e.g. cul ............................................................. [yk] ‘bum’), intercultural relations (e.g. portugais [typr] ‘Portuguese’), scuffle (e.g. partouze [tuzpar] ‘bunch’), International Migration and(‘underground’) Governance ................. 53 but3.2 alsoUrbanization, to ordinary terms, such as métro tromé and poubelle bellepou (‘dustbin’). Méla (1991), who An suggests theAssessment main patterns for the 3.3 International Migration in Canada: Ethical ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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another typical tendency of slang speech is to TableMusicality: of Contents play with sounds. In particular, rhyme is the favourite sound effect of slang (see Eble 1996: 39-43), as amply illustrated by the phenomenon best known as Cockney rhyming slang (e.g. pork-pie ‘a lie’). Yet reduplicatives (e.g. hotsy-totsy ‘comfortable, satisfactory’) and alliteration (e.g. dinky-die Austral. and N.Z. ‘honest, genuine’, kidvid U.S. ‘a video made for children’) also play a role in slang musicality. Privacy: slang is occasionally private, obscure or nearly incomprehensible to outsiders. It generally creates a sense of Opening Considerations Executive Summary intimacy among and in-group members, but .............................. at the same time11 it Fabiomay Baggio, Laura create a Zanfrini sense of exclusion or even rejection among those people who are not part of the group. College students, 1. Ethics Human show Rightstheir closeness when they talk about the forand instance, in theother Southsex: American Migration .................................... e.g., young men Processes use fox and knockout to refer 15 to Mario‘attractive Santillo girls’, and young women use babe and magnet for ‘attractive boys’. But most of these college slang words 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 would be impenetrable to outsiders, esp. parents, teachers 1.2 International and adults Instrument in general.for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... Aggressiveness: slang is aggressive and forceful, and 23 at
times malicious or even cruel. Sornig (1981: 69) cites the Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
aggressive and parodistic undertone of slang, and Allen (1998:Policies 879) its verbal In 2. Migration and“vicious Ethics inand Easthostile and South Eastaggression”. Asia............ 27 slang is often used by speakers as a means of Fabiofact, Baggio provocation or otherwise to express hostility and dislike. 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 Verbal aggression is illustrated, for example, by the 2.2 Migration Policies ESEA............................................................ numerous slanginterms referring to ‘an idiot, fool, crazy, 34 or stupid person’ (airhead, bone-head, cluck, drongo, dumb2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 dumb, flat-head, goof, knuckle-head, muggins, ning-nong, Bibliography ......................................................................................... slob, turkey, etc.) (cf. Andersson & Trudgill 1990: 88-89). 47 Culture-restriction: slang is a marker of cultural differences. 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. It is viewed as an anti-language that servesExperience an anti-society The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian ..... 51
(likeBaghdady, beggars and gamblers), and generally associated with the Christine Richard Vanderberg levels of society that are culturally sub-standard. The raga
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance 53 formation of verlan, stresses its use both in clandestine activities, as................. a secret code, and3.3 in peer groups likeMigration students, as marker ofAn belonging alliance. ........... 54 International inaCanada: Ethical and Assessment Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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for instance, is associated with reggae music, Tableyouth of culture, Contents drugs, Jamaican or African accent and speech style, and with such expressions as ya man and mash up (Stenström et al. 2002: 75-76). Efficiency: slang is efficient in the sense that slang words may be much more direct than their standard corresponding descriptions. Among the numerous reasons for using slang that Partridge (1947: 288) identifies is “to be brief, concise”. In fact, slang terms are not always concise, but they are generally immediate and unequivocal for those who share Opening and Executivesince Summary 11 theConsiderations same slang vocabulary, they .............................. help efficiency. As Fabioevidence, Baggio, Laura Zanfrini compare the slang compound outside job and its standard English equivalent explanation: ‘a crime committed 1. Ethics Humannot Rights byand a person connected or associated with the building, in theorganization, South American .................................... 15 etc.,Migration in which itProcesses took place’. Mario Santillo
Individuality: slang is viewed by some scholars as a marker of
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. an individual’s identity. For example, it may be perceived as17a
distinguishing mark,forrevealing information about 1.2 International Instrument Migrants’ private Defence ............................. 21 someone’s age, gender, attitude, condition, education, special
1.3 Some Final etc. Reflections................................................................... 23 interests, By the way, Stenström et al. (2002: 73-76) show
the relationship between slang and gender (see also Olivares Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
1998, Stenström 1999), and between slang and age. As for gender, they and remark that maleand speakers use Asia............ proper slang 2. Migration Policies Ethics in East South East 27 Fabiowords Baggio(e.g. bimbo, freak, yobbo) and dirty slang words (e.g. bastard, crap, suck) relatively more often than female 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 speakers (cf. Allen 1998, Taylor 1998), whereas for age, 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 COLT 17-19 year-olds are reported to use more slang than the other age groups. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 Prestige: slang may be used to convey a sense of prestige. 47 In Bibliography .........................................................................................
particular, sociolinguists (e.g. Andersson & Trudgill 1990, Allen 1998) a kind of positive value in slang use, 3. Immigration in theidentify 21st Century. which they call “covert prestige”. Covert Experience prestige is ..... often The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian 51 associated with toughness and strength, or with other Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg positive qualities such as independence and naturalness. 3.1 World Population ............................................................. 51 Young men, forIncrease instance, are strongly tempted to use slang swearwordsInternational (e.g. bitch, Migration bollocks, and fuckGovernance off, hell) because they 3.2 Urbanization, ................. 53 serve to create their own status or reputation, and to 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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group affinity. Actually, Sornig (1981: 63) claims Tablestrengthen of Contents that “transgression of valid norms provides prestige”.
Technicality: slang can sometimes be viewed as a ‘technolect’, as it behaves as terminology in terms of restricted use. For example, the verbs bull (‘polish (equipment, etc.) in order to meet excessive standards of neatness’) and slot (‘kill or injure (a person) by shooting’) belong to the slang of the army, while bloke (‘the ship’s commander’), oggin (‘the sea’) and to clap a guy on (‘put a stop to’) to nautical slang.
Spontaneity: slang is a free natural speech, associated with cities and modern society. Allen (1998: 881) remarks that Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini new experiences in the industrial city were recorded by the slang of the 1950s (e.g. bus, el, skyscraper, taxi, etc.). 1. Ethics and Human Rights Furthermore, many slang Processes terms are popular locutions in the South American Migration .................................... 15 aroused in spontaneous conversation or prompted by the Mario Santillo mass media. Instances of spontaneous coins are the blends 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 fantabulous (Å fantastic and fabulous) ‘of almost incredible excellence’,Instrument and ginormous (ÅDefence gigantic and enormous) 1.2 International for Migrants’ ............................. 21 ‘very large, simply enormous’, which reflect the influence of 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 spoken language on vocabulary innovation.
Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11
Bibliography 25 Tables 1 and 2......................................................................................... below summarize the properties of slang illustrated above. Table 1 shows the language levels which in the relevant 2. Migration Policiesasand Ethics by in East and South East Asia............ 27 studies are viewed affected slang, whereas Table 2 shows the Fabio Baggio sociological aspects which have been associated with slang up to now. 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 The language levels and sociological aspects are disposed on the 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 vertical axis of the two respective tables, while the studies 2.3 Ethics are and placed Migration considered on Management................................................. the horizontal axis. In Table 1 the mark 43 9 indicates that the language level under examination is claimed to 47 be Bibliography ......................................................................................... affected by slang innovation in the corresponding study on the horizontal axis; in 21 Table 2, it indicates that slang meets the st Century. 3. Immigration in the sociological property taken into account, again in the opinion of The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience .....the 51 respective scholar(s). Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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Table of Contents
Yust (ed.) (1950)
Webster & McKechnie (eds) (1963) Trudgill (1999) Stenström et al. (2002) Stenström (2000) Stein (ed.) (1966) Sornig (1981) Quirk et al. (1985) Pearsall (ed.) (1998)
Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
Partridge (1947)
Olesen & Whittaker (1968)
1. Ethics and Human Rights in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 OED
Table 1. The linguistic properties of slang in the relevant studies.
Mario Santillo
Munro (ed.) (1997)
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 Mencken (1967)
1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 McHenry (ed.) (1993)
1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 Matthews (ed.) (1997)
Longman Dictionary (1984)
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 Jespersen (1922)
2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 Franklyn (1961)
Fabio Baggio
Flexner (1960)
2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 Eble (1996)
2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 Dundes & Schonhorn (1963)
2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 Dumas & Lighter (1978)
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 Andersson & Trudgill (1990) Allen (1998)
pragmatics
lexis/ semantics
grammar
Levels
Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
morphology
phonology
Language
Studies
3. Immigration in the 21st Century. The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Relevant
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Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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Table of Contents Yust (ed.) (1950)
Webster & McKechnie (eds) (1963) Trudgill (1999) Stenström et al. (2002) Stenström (2000) Stein (ed.) (1966) Sornig (1981) Quirk et al. (1985) Pearsall (ed.) (1998)
Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini Partridge (1947)
Olesen & Whittaker (1968)
1. Ethics and Human Rights in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 Mario Santillo
Munro (ed.) (1997)
Table 2. The sociological properties of slang in the relevant studies.
OED
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 Mencken (1967)
1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 McHenry (ed.) (1993)
1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 Matthews (ed.) (1997)
Longman Dictionary (1984)
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 Jespersen (1922)
2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 Franklyn (1961)
Fabio Baggio
Flexner (1960)
2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 Eble (1996)
2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 Dundes & Schonhorn (1963)
2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 Dumas & Lighter (1978)
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 Andersson & Trudgill (1990) Allen (1998)
orality
novelty
subject-restr.
obscenity
freshness
playfulness
debasement
time-restr.
Social
Aspects
Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
ephemerality
informality
group-restr.
Studies
3. Immigration in the 21st Century. The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Relevant
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Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
1. Ethics and Human Rights in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 Mario Santillo
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 Fabio Baggio
2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 Table 2 (Cont’d).
spontaneity
technicality
prestige
efficiency
individuality
aggressiv.
culture-restr.
privacy
secrecy
colour
localism
humour
vulgarity
Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
musicality
offensiveness
impertinence
hybridism
desire to impr.
faddishness
3. Immigration in the 21st Century. The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 unconvention.
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Table of Contents
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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Table 1 shows that the level of lexis/semantics is influenced by Table of Contents slang much more than the other language levels. Pragmatics is also significant in slang, seeing that its context of use and interlocutors play a central part in its interpretation. The remaining levels – i.e. morphology, phonology and grammar – are taken into account in this descending order of importance, but they are normally underestimated or marginalized. I rather believe that the levels of morphology, especially word-formation, and lexical semantics, constitute the core features of slang, since they exhibit qualities which allow us to discriminate slang from the standard language. Specifically, I believe and thatExecutive slang extra-grammaticality allows 11a Opening Considerations Summary .............................. distinction from the canonical rules of English grammar, and that Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini some of its word-formation mechanisms are so peculiar that they can help us determine theRights slang status of words. In addition, I believe that 1. Ethics and Human thein obscure between Processes some lexemes and their slang the Southrelationship American Migration .................................... 15 meaning(s) allows a distinction from the standard English lexicon, Mario Santillo since it is indicative of slang lexical disorganization, and of the 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 complicated cognitive processes that slang activates. Table 2 showsInstrument that slangfor is Migrants’ considered both in its specific sense 1.2 International Defence ............................. 21 (as an in-group language variety) and in its general sense (as a 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 short-lived informal vocabulary which is below the level of stylistic Bibliography ......................................................................................... neutral language). It also shows that the sociological properties 25 of slang may be classified in relation to either the speaker or the 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 hearer. Fabio Baggio The speaker-oriented properties of slang characterize the speaker: 2.1 International Migration Asia andgroup South East Asia.............. 27 As member of ain East particular (group-restriction,
individuality), an exclusive one (secrecy, privacy, 2.2 Migration Policies often in ESEA............................................................ 34 culture-restriction, prestige);
2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43
As someone with a precise occupation/activity (subject-
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 restriction, technicality);
As someone having a low cultural status (informality, st Century. 3. Immigration in the 21 debasement), or using low/bad language (vulgarity, obscenity); The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Christine RichardofVanderberg As Baghdady, an individual a certain age or generation (time-
restriction, ephemerality), or coming from a specific regional 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 area (localism).
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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The hearer-oriented properties are rather Table of Contents effect upon the hearer, viz.:
meant to produce some
To amuse the hearer or to make him laugh (playfulness, humour); To release him from the monotony of neutral style (freshness, novelty, unconventionality); To impress the hearer (desire to impress), esp. with bizarre expressions (faddishness), or to attract his attention with colourful words (colour) and their sounds (musicality); Opening andorExecutive Summary .............................. 11 ToConsiderations mock, offend challenge the hearer (impertinence, Fabiooffensiveness, Baggio, Laura Zanfrini aggressiveness).
The linguistic and sociological properties of slang may therefore be 1. Ethics and Human Rights summarized rearranged as in the schedule below, which in the Southand American Migration Processes .................................... 15 provides an outline of chapters 3-5 of this study on slang. Mario Santillo
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 1.2 International Instrument forSLANG Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 SOCIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES 1.3 LINGUISTIC Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 PROPERTIES
Speaker-oriented Hearer-oriented Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
grammatical and group-restriction playfulness extra-grammatical subject-restriction humour 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 morphology secrecy freshness Fabio Baggio privacy novelty 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South EasttoAsia.............. 27 informality desire impress debasement faddishness 2.2 Migration lexical organizationPolicies in ESEA............................................................ 34 vulgarity colour and disorganization 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 obscenity musicality time-restriction impertinence Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 ephemerality offensiveness localism aggressiveness st
3. Immigration in the 21 Century. The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Table 3. A review of the linguistic and sociological properties of slang. Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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3. Grammatical and Extra-grammatical Table of Contents Morphology
Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini Though slang usage is characterized by rule-breaking and insubordination as regards the rules of Standard usage, this 1. Ethics and Human Rights insubordination follows rules of its own, it is a partly in the South American Migration Processes(Sornig .................................... 15 conventionalized disregard for conventions. 1981: 76) Mario Santillo TheMigrants’ speaker always the capacity to make up new words, which he 17 1.1 Rightshas ............................................................................. can then add to his repertoire. It thus remains the task of a morphology to tell us what sortInstrument of new words speaker can form. (Aronoff 1976: 19) 21 1.2 International for aMigrants’ Defence .............................
1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23
3.1. Slang formations
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
Slang formations follow different word-formation patterns. Many of them are obtained via extra-grammatical morphological operations Fabio Baggio (EMOs), i.e. word-formation mechanisms which violate various 2.1 International Migration in East Asiamorphology and South East(see Asia.............. universal properties of grammatical Dressler 27 & Merlini Barbaresi 1994, Doleschal & Thornton eds 2000; cf. Zwicky 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 & Pullum’s 1987 “expressive” vs. “plain” morphology). Yet some 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 slang formations can be assigned to recognized grammatical morphological rules (MRs), i.e. rules which are productive in the Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 grammatical morphology of standard English (see Bauer 2001). A third type of slang appears to lie in-between, since it 3. Immigration in the formation 21st Century. exhibits some regularity (e.g. in The the Canadian process Experience of morphotactic The Need for an Ethical Approach. ..... 51 concatenation), but extra-grammaticality Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg in the base forms, or vice versa, i.e. it shows the regularity of the base, but extra-grammaticality 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 in the mechanism of formation. For example, consider the following 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration Governance representative sample of contemporary useand (taken from the................. ODMS):53 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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1. I was bombed out (‘under the influence of drink or drugs’) Table of Contents – didn’t know what I was doing. 2. The women thought him an eligible bachelor, if a bit of a chaser (‘an amorous pursuer of women’). 3. ‘Mm, is that him?’ said the girl, all velvet. ‘He’s dishy (‘very attractive’)’. 4. They even had a couple of black-clad bagladies (‘homeless women’) sitting silently on straight chairs by the door. 5. Tom needed money for drugs… pot, acid, speed, ups
Opening(‘amphetamines’), Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 downs (‘tranquillizing drugs’). Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
6. Young men exchange their uniforms for ‘civvies’ (‘civilian 1. Ethicsclothes’). and Human Rights in7.theHer South American Processes .................................... 15 husband gotMigration antsy (‘agitated’) and asked me to have MarioTom Santillo Lewis see her in consultation.
1.1 Rights ............................................................................. 17 8. Migrants’ The local Teddies and yobbos ( back-slang yob + -o,
‘louts’) swing their dubious weight behind............................. the strike. 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence 21 9. Some A shambles as big as the Labour gabfest (‘a gathering for 1.3 Final Reflections................................................................... 23 talk’).
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
10. ‘Gee,’ said Wing Commander Dewar, ‘this thing’ll drive me nuts (‘crazy’)’. 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 FabioBy Baggio 11. half-past three he’ll be raving bonkers (‘mad’).
2.1 International Migration in Eastabso-bloomin’-lutely Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 12. Oh so loverly sittin’ (emphatic, ‘absolutely’) still! I would never budge ’til Spring crept over 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 me windersill. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43
13. If you look like a grot ( grotty, ‘unpleasant person’), Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 you’ll never get a flat. ‘People inwill to anything now,’ muses Mal. ‘I blame 3. 14. Immigration the dance 21st Century. the E (‘ecstasy’) meself!’. The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Christine Baghdady, Richard 15. Have a butcher’s (Vanderberg rhym. slang butcher’s hook ‘look’) at the News of theIncrease World. ............................................................. 51 3.1 World Population
16. The Bill continues to go from strength to strength because 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 all the bobbies are completely O.T.T. (‘outrageous’). 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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17. She avoids ever producing her ambi-sextrous (‘bisexual’) Table of Contents young publisher. 18. The days of the ‘des res’ (‘desirable residence’) that clearly isn’t are set to end for estate agents. 19. ’Aving a proper argy-bargy (‘contentious argument’) in ’ere, aren’t you? Losing your tempers too. 20. ‘Better have some chuddy (‘chewing gum’),’ said Tom. I can anticipate that types (1) to (5) are rule-governed, i.e. their word-formation processes toSummary the canonical derivation and Opening Considerations andconform Executive .............................. 11 Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini of standard English. Hence, they compounding mechanisms demonstrate that slang formations may conform to grammatical 1. Ethics and Human Rights MRs. Types (6) to (8) are partially regular formations, in the sense in the South American Migrationfor Processes 15 that they exhibit regularity some .................................... aspects, but extraMario Santillo grammaticality for others (i.e. unrecognizable bases or irregular order of morphological processes). Type (9) (-fest) represents17a 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. transitional phenomenon between derivation and compounding 1.2 International Defence ............................. 21 (combining forms)Instrument and mayfor beMigrants’ viewed as a case of what Dressler (2000: 6-7)Final considers “marginal morphology”. Lastly, types (10) 23 to 1.3 Some Reflections................................................................... (20) are clearly outside grammar, since the processes of their Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 formation violate too many of the basic properties of morphological grammar to be considered rule-governed.
2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 Fabio Baggio 3.1.1. Grammatical formations
2.1 International in East Asia andgrammar South East 27 Slang formations Migration conforming to regular areAsia.............. unexpectedly numerous. In both derivation and composition, they adopt regular 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 morphological mechanisms to obtain predictable new words, as in 2.3 Ethics andand Migration Management................................................. 43 dish dish-y bag + lady baglady. Within derivation, suffixation may allow a better illustration 47 of Bibliography ......................................................................................... regular morphological patterns, since the number of suffixes largely 3. Immigration 21st Century. outweighs that inofthe prefixes in English slang. The most productive The Need for an forming Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 suffixes regularly slang nouns are: Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
-er, attached to nominal bases (life
lifer, weekend
3.1 World Population ............................................................. weekender), or Increase to verbal bases (chop chopper, drop 51
dropper), like St. E. hatMigration hatter,and bake baker;................. 53 3.2 Urbanization, International Governance 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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attached to verbs, as in flame flam-ing, ram-raid Table-ing, of Contents ram-raiding, in line with the standard -ing pattern. Less productive but still regular suffixes are: -ation/-ion (as in connection v connect), -ery (as in noshery nosh), -ette obtaining female nouns from male ones (as in hackette hack), -ful obtaining nouns from nominal bases (as in earful ear), -ish attaching to various bases (as in peckish v peck and all-overish all-over), privative -less (as in legless ‘drunk’, though with added figurative meaning), -ness (as in chestiness chesty), and -ster (as in dopester dope, after drugster drug). Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 Regular suffixes deriving adjectives are frequent as well, as the Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini following samples show: -ed deriving participial adjectives from verbs, as in crack
1. Ethics and Human Rights and bomb bombed, by .................................... analogy with standard in thecracked South American Migration Processes 15 Marioforms; Santillo
-ed deriving denominal adjectives, as in pot potted and parasynthetic moon-eye moon-eyed, which follow the 1.2 International Instrument Migrants’ Defence standard patterns of for culture cultured............................. and dark-eye 21 dark-eyed; 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17
-ing forming participial adjectives, as in zonk zonking, by Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 analogy with St. E. will
willing;
2. Migration Policies Ethics East and South East Asia............ 27 -y attached toand nouns, as in cheese cheesy, analogous to St. FabioE.Baggio ice icy.
2.1 International Migration in East Asia and Asia.............. 27 Some such adjective-forming suffixes areSouth less East recurrent in slang than standardPolicies language, as -able (e.g. ropeable v rope). 2.2in Migration in ESEA............................................................ 34 Some adverbs are likewise formed regularly by attaching the 2.3 Ethics Migration 43 suffix -ly to and adjectives, asManagement................................................. in stinkingly ( stinking), formed like St. E. Bibliography strikingly ( striking). ......................................................................................... 47 There are also some prefixes used in slang, which act regularly, butImmigration their productivity 3. in the 21inst forming Century. new words is low. Examples are de-The (asNeed in de-bag bags,Approach. ‘remove the trousers’), (as in re-up for an Ethical The CanadianreExperience ..... 51 converted up), superandVanderberg un- (as in super-cool and uncool Christine vBaghdady, Richard cool), and under- (as in underfug fug). 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 Within composition, regularity is in terms of both morphotactics 3.2morphosemantics. Urbanization, International Migration and Governance 53 and From the morphotactic point of................. view, some 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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slang compounds conform to the regular pattern forming nouns, Table of Contents adjectives and verbs, by combining two bases, namely a modifier (non-head) and a head. The compound noun baglady, for example, is similar to St. E. bag-fox. But also the compound adjective piefaced and the verb talk turkey are comparable to St. E. formations (e.g. dog-faced, talk sailor). From the morphosemantic point of view, the above slang compounds have their head within the compound (lady, face(d), talk), hence, they conform to the prototypical pattern of endocentric compounds, denoting ‘a type of lady’, ‘a kind of face’ or ‘a way of talking’. Considerations However, not all ofExecutive them seem to obey .............................. Frege’s principle 11 of Opening and Summary compositionality, according to which the global meaning of the Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini compound can be deduced from the meaning of its constituent parts (cf.Ethics full and transparency in Dressler 2005). Indeed, while baglady – 1. Human Rights denoting ‘a woman whoMigration carries her possessions in bags’ – is fully in the South American Processes .................................... 15 compositional, Mario Santillo pie-faced applied to someone ‘having a round, flat face’ and talk turkey meaning ‘speak frankly and without reserve’ Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 are1.1not, though in pie-faced the semantic motivation by its first member (non-head) is still evident. 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 As regards conversion, i.e. the transfer of a lexical item to a 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 different syntactic category with no overt marker, slang formations 25 areBibliography assignable ......................................................................................... to widely recognized patterns (as in Marchand 1969): e.g., the transfer from a noun to a verb (n souvenir v souvenir 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and(vSouth East Asia............ ‘take as a ‘souvenir’; steal’) or vice versa pop ‘inject a drug’ 27n popFabio ‘anBaggio injection of a drug’), from an adjective to a verb (adj special v special ‘work in as East a special correspondent’), and from27a 2.1 International Migration Asia and South East Asia.............. particle to a verb (prep off v off ‘kill’). They also exhibit less 2.2 Migration Policies ESEA............................................................ 34 frequent patterns (e.g. infrom a particle to a noun, as in up, down, etc.), but still attested in standard English (cf. ups and downs 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 ‘vicissitudes, variations’). Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 Let us now turn to what is outside of standard English. 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. 3.1.2. Extra-grammatical formations The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51
Extra-grammatical are frequent slang formations. They Christine Baghdady,phenomena Richard Vanderberg mainly consist of: 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51
a) Anomalous derivations (i.e. expletive infixation and backformation or back-derivation, see Marchand 1969);
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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b) Abbreviatory morphological operations: i.e. clippings, Table of Contents acronyms, initialisms, blends (in the wider sense of Thornton 1993; cf. Dressler 2000: 5), and abbreviated rhyming formations; c) Reduplicating mechanisms: the various patterns of echowords or reduplicatives (see Merlini Barbaresi forthcoming); d) Irregular and unpredictable reversed forms and variations of the base, including analogical formations, malapropisms, metathesis, letter pronunciation, extensions and a range of alterations;
Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11
e) The combination of (b), (c) or (d) with affixes which carry no Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
semantic but merely pragmatic meaning: e.g., the colloquial
schm-/shm-, 1. Ethicsprefix and Human Rightsthe hypocoristic or familiar suffix -ie/-y, allomorphic variants -ey/-ee, the (chiefly Australian slang) in theits South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 Mariofamiliarizer Santillo -o, jocular -er and -s, and the composite suffixes
-ers, -eroo, -sie/-sy/-so (cf. Dressler & Merlini Barbaresi 1994, Merlini Barbaresi 2001);
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17
1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21
f) Entirely unmotivated terms derived by word manufacture
1.3 Some Reflections................................................................... 23 (seeFinal Bauer 1983) and fanciful formations of unknown
origin. ......................................................................................... 25 Bibliography The major grammatical MRs that appear to be violated in the afore-
2. Migrationslang Policies and Ethicscompared in East and South East Asia............ 27 mentioned formations, with canonical formations, Fabio Baggio include:
2.1 International Migration in East Asiaderivation and South East Whereas rules of canonical are Asia.............. predictable 27 in
form change, affixes being added to continuous bases (un-34 + 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ touch, absolute + -ly), the morphotactics of slang derivatives
2.3 Ethics and irregular, Migration Management................................................. 43 is often as in back-derived grot ( grotty), or the
base may be discontinuous, that is, interrupted by an infix, 47 as Bibliography ......................................................................................... in abso-blooming-lutely.
3. Immigration the 21st Century. Whereasinsubtractive MRs exhibit a tendency to delete a The Need an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 smallfor (usually final) part of the base (evacuate evacu-ee),
Christine and,Baghdady, with twoRichard bases,Vanderberg of the first base (Austrian-Hungarian
slang subtractive operations may 3.1 WorldAustr-o-Hungarian), Population Increase ............................................................. 51
delete larger and not necessarily final (non-salient) parts: i.e., the coda (E ecstasy, feeb feeble-minded), two
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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res desirable residence), the beginning (gator Tablecodas of (des Contents alligator, bin loony bin), both the coda and the beginning (tec detective), or the middle part, as in B-girl ( bar-girl), ginormous ( gigantic + enormous), ambisextrous ( ambidextrous + sex) (see § 3.2.10.2). Whereas conventional word-formation rules rely on existing stem or word bases, slang reduplicative formations often show no meaningful bases, hardly recognizable as preexistent meaningful morphemes (hanky-panky, hotsy-totsy, zig-zag). In the onomatopoeic type (bling-bling), no Opening Considerations andbases Executive .............................. 11 independent word are Summary identifiable, since the two Fabioconstituents Baggio, Lauraform Zanfrini a phonetic unit. In the rhyming and ablaut types, headedness is difficult to assign, since both 1. Ethics and Humandirections Rights are possible (cf. easy-peasy and chitsyntagmatic in thechat). South The American .................................... 15 sameMigration happens Processes with slang fanciful formations Mario(lallapaloosa), Santillo whose bases are not independent words, or with those forms of unknown etymology obtained by word 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 manufacture (scag). 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21
Whereas standard MRs mostly comply with Aronoff’s
1.3 Some FinalUnitary Reflections................................................................... 23 (1976) Base Hypothesis, slang extra-grammatical
formations exhibit various base categories for the same suffix, Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
thus exhibiting what Zwicky & Pullum (1987: 336) call 1 This “promiscuity withEthics regardintoEast input category”. is the case 2. Migration Policies and and South East Asia............ 27 Fabiowith Baggio the -ie/-y suffix, applied primarily to nouns (druggie/-y), but also to adjectives (biggie/-y), verbs (clippie/-y ‘a bus2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 conductress’), adverbs (downie ‘a depressant or tranquillizing 2.2 Migration Policies ESEA............................................................ 34 drug’), etc. (seein also Merlini Barbaresi 2001). The same promiscuity is found in the output (cf. Scalise’s 1988 Unitary 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 Output Hypothesis), as shown by the alternative classes of the Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 above outputs. WhereasinMRs form new words, slang formations often obtain st Century. 3. Immigration the 21 connoted variants. This is the case (1) some reduplicative The Need for an Ethical Approach. The with: Canadian Experience ..... 51 Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
1 The hypothesis that input syntactic category information is not crucial to word-
3.1 World Increase 51 formation rulesPopulation has been put forward............................................................. by many linguists (e.g., by Plank 1981, Plag 1999, Ryder 1999, Montermini 2001), and has been systematically investigated by 3.2(2004), Urbanization, Migration and Governance 53 Plag who showsInternational that the Unitary Base Hypothesis is untenable................. in derivational morphology, and ratherMigration proposes ain semantic, approach. ........... 54 3.3 International Canada:output-oriented An Ethical Assessment
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such as O.K. Tableformations, of Contents prefix schm-/shm- (e.g.
okey-dokey, sometimes with the moon-schmoon); (2) some slang suffixes (e.g. -eroo as in flop flopperoo, -o as in yob yobbo), esp. when combined with shortened bases (e.g. -er/-ers in bedder bedroom, preggers pregnant, -ie/-y in footie/-y football, -o in muso musician, etc.); (3) most variations, as champagne shampoo (humorously chosen for its assonance), B.B.C. Beeb; (4) various abbreviatory operations, such as initialisms (sex appeal S.A.), blending (tabloid show tab show), and clipping (hashish hash, potato tato), which do not generally exhibit any semantic Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 between input and output. Fabiodifference Baggio, Laura Zanfrini As the descriptive and theoretical literature on morphology shows
1. Ethics and Human (esp. Marchand 1969,Rights Aronoff 1976, Bauer 1983), some of the above in the South American Migration Processesare .................................... 15 extra-grammatical morphological operations not peculiar to slang.
Santillothe phenomena included in (a), (c), (f) (back- and ForMario instance, reduplicative and word manufacture), and subtraction 1.1 Migrants’formations Rights ............................................................................. 17 (as in b), are attested in other non-standard varieties and in informal 1.2 International Instrumentexcluded for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 speech, but are generally from morphological grammar due theirFinal oddity and disregard of generative WFRs. On the other 1.3toSome Reflections................................................................... 23 hand, other extra-grammatical morphological operations are Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 restricted to slang use, viz.:
Infixation, in and which the inbases rather than 2. Migration Policies Ethics East are and discontinuous South East Asia............ 27 morphs, as in fantastic Fabiocontinuous Baggio
fan-bloody-tastic (cf. the preference for morphotactic transparency in Natural 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 Morphology (NM), Dressler 2005). 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34
Abbreviated (elliptic) rhyming formations, which, like other
2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 subtractive devices, exhibit no meaning change between
input and output, and also tend to lose the phonological Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
iconicity relating onset and outset, as in butcher’s ( butcher’s the element hook rhyming with the 3. Immigration in hook), the 21stlosing Century. referent ‘look’ (cf. preference for iconicity NM). The Need for an Ethical Approach. The CanadianinExperience ..... 51 Christine Baghdady, Vanderberg Reversed andRichard altered forms, as in back-slang neves for
seven,Population chuddy for chewing gum and flick for film, in which 3.1 World Increase ............................................................. 51
the bases are unrecognizable as pre-existent meaningful
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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and the resulting Tablemorphemes, of Contents morphotactically opaque.
699
formations are therefore
Familiarizing suffixes (“familiarity markers” in Quirk et al. 1985: 1584), which do not derive new words, but rather pet forms or colloquial variants of standard English words. Examples would be: •
The English pet suffix -ie/-y (or -ey/-ee), with a basic hypocoristic meaning, used in slang to convey the pragmatic feature [non-serious], as in denominal shoppie/-y (‘a shop assistant’) and deadjectival hottie/-y (‘a sexually attractive Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 person’) (see Dressler & Merlini Barbaresi 1994); Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
•
The British suffix -er (and -ers, from a cumulation with -s),
1. Ethicsintroduced and Human Rights into Oxford University slang from sport, esp. in therugby, South American Processes .................................... 15 and used Migration to make jocular formations on nouns, by Marioclipping Santillo or curtailing them and adding -er(s) to the remaining
part, which is ............................................................................. sometimes itself distorted, as in leccer/lecker/ 1.1 Migrants’ Rights 17
lekker ( lecture), rugger ( rugby), spaggers/spadgers (
1.2 International for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 spaghetti), Instrument etc.;
1.3 Reflections................................................................... 23 • Some The Final American slang suffix -eroo (as in pipperoo pip),
and its ......................................................................................... variants -aroo, -roo, -oo, conveying playfulness and Bibliography 25
jocularity to terms used in certain circles (e.g. radio, sports, advertising); 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 Fabio Baggio
•
The Australian slang familiarizer -o, used to obtain informal
equivalentsMigration of nounsinand as inEast kiddo ( kid) and 2.1 International Eastadjectives, Asia and South Asia.............. 27 cheapo ( cheap) (cf. the derivative function in milko ‘a milkman’).
2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34
2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43
The suffix -s which, unlike the homophone and homograph
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 inflectional suffix of standard English, derives adjectives
from nominal bases, as in nuts and bananas ‘mad, crazy’, or
st Century. 3. Immigration in the 21 may combine with other suffixes (e.g. -y, -er, -o) to obtain The Need for an (nutsy, Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... fat 51 adjectives bonkers ‘crazy’) or nouns (fatso ‘a Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg person’).
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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3.1.3. Borderline cases Table of Contents
In-between grammatical and extra-grammatical morphological operations, there are some partially regular slang formations, which conform to the regular patterns of word-formation, but may exhibit some violations of universal properties of English grammar. We distinguish three main tendencies: g) Formations which conform to the regular patterns of morphotactic concatenation, but display extra-grammaticality in the base form (cf. Bauer 1988b);
h) Formations withand regular bases, but an.............................. irregular order 11 of Opening Considerations Executive Summary processes (esp. derivation after inflection); Fabiomorphological Baggio, Laura Zanfrini i)
Formations which belong to marginal morphology because
1. Ethicsthe and Human Rights processes involving them straddle the borderline between, in thesay, Southderivation American Migration Processes .................................... 15 and compounding, or morphology and Mario Santillo
phonology.
1.1 Migrants’ 17 Type (g) is theRights most............................................................................. common in slang formations. Consider, for
instance, the derivatives obtained via suffixation of the slang bases 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 yob, derived by back-slang (i.e. inverting the letters of boy), and 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 yuppie, an acronym from young urban professional: Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
From yob, slang obtains the adjectives yobby and yobbish, the adverb yobbishly, and the abstract nouns yobbery and 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 yobbishness; Fabio Baggio From yuppie, it obtains the noun yuppi(e)ness, the adjective yuppyish, and, after the verb yuppify, the deverbal adjective 2.2 Migration ESEA............................................................ 34 yuppifiedPolicies and thein noun yuppification. 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27
2.3 Ethics and one Migration 43 While, on the hand,Management................................................. these derivatives conform to the regular order of morphological concatenation (i.e. n yob adj yob-b-ish 47 Bibliography ......................................................................................... n yobbish-ness; n yuppie v yupp-ify adj yuppif-i-ed / n yuppif-ication), on theinother they show a basic extra-grammatical st Century. 3. Immigration the 21hand, nature due to the origin of the bases (see 3.1.2). Experience ..... 51 The Need for an Ethical Approach. The §Canadian Type (h) is basically exemplified by inflected bases deriving Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg new words. Indeed, one of the most common generalizations which 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 morphologists make when distinguishing inflection from derivation is 3.2 thatUrbanization, derivationalInternational suffixes tend to occurand closer to the ................. root or stem Migration Governance 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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than inflectional suffixes, as in (v) arrive Table of Contents arrive-al-s.
719
(n) arrive-al
(pl.)
Compare, now, the inflected slang nouns civvies (shortened from civilian clothes) and yobbos (from a familiarizing suffixation of backslang yob) with the slang adjectives antsy and ballsy, respectively from the inflected (plural) bases ant-s (also in antsy-pantsy) and ball-s. Whereas civvies and yobbos exhibit a regular inflectional morphology, though attached to extra-grammatical bases (type g), antsy and ballsy exhibit a regular derivative morphology, but attached to inflected bases (n ant pl. ant-s adj ants-y; n ball pl. ball-s adj balls-y), which makes the formatives morphotactically and morphosemantically Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 opaque Dressler 2005). A similar example is provided by the Fabio (cf. Baggio, Laura Zanfrini adjective dicey, in which the base of the derivative is inflected – the plural of die and hence irregular. 1. Ethics and–Human Rights words are also universally less preferred than autonomous inInflected the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 words compound members. Hence, the slang nominal compound MarioasSantillo balls-up, with a pluralised first base, is less preferred than St. E. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 ballpark, with autonomous words in their uninflected form as bases 2 (cf.1.2 Dressler 2005).Instrument International for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 Type (i) is illustrated by some slang final combining forms (e.g. 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 -fest as in gabfest and -burger as in psychoburger), which are Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 transitional phenomena between derivation and compounding, and therefore belong to what Dressler (2000) considers “marginal” in 2. Migration Policies andfinal Ethics in East andforms South East Asia............ 27 morphology. Indeed, combining (or semi-suffixes) Fabio Baggio display the same productivity and morphosemantic regularity as derivational suffixes (see Mattiello butEast often acquire 27 an 2.1 International Migration in East Asia2007b), and South Asia.............. independent status (e.g. fest G. Fest and burger as a shortening Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ of 2.2 hamburger; cf. § 3.2.4.2), which makes them comparable 34 to compound 2.3 Ethicsmembers. and Migration Management................................................. 43 This latter type is additionally illustrated by some slang Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 phenomena which are marginal in the sense that they lie in-between 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. 2 An Theexplanation Need for an Approach.inconsistency The Canadian 51 forEthical the morphological of aExperience derivational ..... suffix
Christine Vanderberg preceding an Baghdady, inflectional Richard one is found in the lexicalization process: in American slang, the noun balls acquires the singular sense of ‘courage, determination’, so it is 3.1 World Population Increase 51 treated as a simple base rather than as ............................................................. a complex one in the adjective derivation. The case of antsy is similar: the origin of this adjective is from the American English 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. idiomatic phrase to have ants in one’s pants (‘fidget constantly, esp. because 53 of extreme agitation’), hence the lexicalized noun ants to which the -y suffix is added. 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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morphology and, e.g., phonology, such as letter pronunciation, Table of Contents reproducing the pronunciation of the initial letters of a word (e.g. gee guy), or as an alteration, reproducing a colloquial, dialect, regional or standard word pronunciation (e.g. Cockney loverly /lvl/ lovely /lvl/).
3.2. Slang word-formation As seen so far, the word-formation mechanisms of slang include regular phenomena, such as compounding, affixation – mostly in the Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 form of suffixation, but also of prefixation – and conversion, as well Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini as extra-grammatical ones, exemplified and discussed in section 3.1.2. Weand will now examine 1. Ethics Human Rights each phenomenon in more detail, and describe the grammatical classes ofProcesses slang formations, in addition 15 to in the South American Migration .................................... their base categories and head properties. As regards slang classes, I Mario Santillo can anticipate that most slang compounds and derivatives are nouns, 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 followed by adjectives and verbs. Interjections, adverbs and particles represent relatively minor groups withinDefence the slang lexicon, though 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ ............................. 21 they are attested among its formations, e.g. the exact reduplicative 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 hubba-hubba is an interjection, the -o derivative doggo is an adverb, ......................................................................................... 25 etc.Bibliography Idiomatic phrases and longer expressions will not be part of this investigation with the exception of some slang idioms (e.g. dog’s 2. Migrationwhich Policies in East from and South Asia............ 27 breakfast), willand be Ethics distinguished properEast slang compounds. Fabio Baggiois the first topic of my investigation. Compounding 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27
3.2.1. Compounding
2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34
Compounding is a common morphological mechanism which 2.3 Ethics Migration Management................................................. obtains newand words consisting of “two elements, the first of which43 is either a root, a word or a phrase, the second of which is either a root Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 or a word” (Plag 2003: 135). In English and similar languages, the modifier generally the head, as established by Williams’ 3. Immigration in theprecedes 21st Century. 3 In slang, both head and non(1981) Righthand Head Rule (RHR).The The Need for an Ethical Approach. Canadian Experience ..... 51 Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
3 Williams’ (1981: 248) Righthand Head Rule states: “In morphology, we define
World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 the3.1 head of a morphologically complex word to be the righthand member of that word”. By the way, Dressler (2005: 275-276) claims that “an explanation for the 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 right-hand head preference may lie in the psycholinguistic recency effect which makes the end of a word more in salient”. In An semiotic terms, the compound 3.3 International Migration Canada: Ethical Assessment ...........head 54
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head positions may be occupied by a variety of classes, the most Table of Contents unusual being particles (i.e. prepositions, numerals and pronouns), as in four-eyes, I AM, Section Eight, she-male, undercover, all forming compound nouns. On the other hand, the regular pattern of right-headed endocentric compounds, which have the head within the compound and, specifically, to the right, is found in doss-house ‘a lodging house’, hot chair ‘the electric chair’, and outside man denoting ‘a person involved in robbery’, which have respectively a noun, adjective and adverb as non-head. These combinations are called “attributive” or “appositional” (e.g. by Marchand 1969: 41, 61) because they are and typically characterized by a determinantOpening Considerations Executive Summary .............................. 11 determinatum relation. Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini Before moving on to a classification of slang compounds, an orthographic clarification may be in order here. It is well known that 1. Ethics and Human Rights compounds in English areMigration spelt variously as one word (blackbird), 15 as in the South American Processes .................................... hyphenated words (black-face), or as two independent words (black Mario Santillo eye) (see Jespersen 1942: 136, Lieber 1992: 84). This distinction, 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 however, is not always as clear-cut as that: some compounds are, indeed, written in Instrument different ways, as blackboard black board, and 1.2 International for Migrants’ Defenceor ............................. 21 black-ball or blackball, all perfectly acceptable in standard English. 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 Slang compounds make no exception, as the three spellings of red Bibliography 25 neck, redneck ......................................................................................... or red-neck seem to confirm. Sometimes, however, spelling may affect the reading of the compound: for instance, the 2. Migration compound Policies andbad-mouth Ethics in East Asia............ 27 hyphenated mayand be South both aEast noun and a verb. Baggio ButFabio when the compound is written as two separate words (as bad mouth) it has to beMigration read as ainnoun, whileand when it is spelt as one word 2.1 International East Asia South East Asia.............. 27 (as badmouth) it denotes a verb. 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34
3.2.1.1. Compound nounsManagement................................................. 43 2.3 Ethics and Migration Nouns constitute the most extensive syntactic class of slang BibliographyThe ......................................................................................... compounds. base categories of such compounds are, 47 as anticipated, various, though the most common are, as in standard 3. Immigration in the(house-man), 21st Century. or a head-noun and an adjectiveEnglish, two nouns The Need(main for an man). Ethical Less Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... by 51 modifier common bases are provided Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg grammatical rather than lexical words, as in I AM or she-male, with 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 represents the figure, while the non-head is the ground. However, saliency does not seem apply to Romance languages (see Scalise 1992). 3.3toInternational Migration in Canada: An 1988, Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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a pronominal first member. What follows is an attempt to identify Table of Contents the possible combinations among base categories. 3.2.1.1.1. Noun-noun compounds are richly illustrated in slang. Within this pattern, the most frequent subgroup is represented by metonymic compounds (see § 3.2.1.4.1), in which the syntactic head is a part of the semantic head. In particular, the syntactic head is a body part, which stands for the whole person. Metonymic compounds with head as the second member mainly denote ‘a stupid or despicable person’. This sense is in airhead, bonehead, bubblehead, knucklehead, meat-head, mush-head, mutton-head, Opening and Executive Summary .............................. 11 shithead, Considerations and, with a deverbal first member, propellerhead. They are Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini all analysable as ‘a person having a head as indicated by the first member’. 1. Ethics and Human Rights Such compounds have to be distinguished from compounds in in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 which head means ‘drug addict’. This latter type, indeed, does not Mario Santillo have a metonymic nature, as the first member rather specifies the 1.1ofMigrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 sort substance (drug or other) the person is addicted to: e.g., acid head (orig. U.S.) ‘an LSD addict’, crackhead (orig. U.S.) ‘one who 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 is addicted to crack cocaine’, hophead (U.S.) ‘an opium-smoker’, 1.3 Some(chiefly Final Reflections................................................................... piss-head Brit. and N.Z.) ‘a drunkard’, pothead ‘one who23 is addicted to marijuana’ (more in § 4.2.1.3). Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 Other metonymic compounds having mouth as the second member denote ‘a person who in talks inand the South way denoted by the first 2. Migration Policies and Ethics East East Asia............ 27 member’ (e.g. flannel-mouth U.S. ‘an empty talker’, motormouth Fabio Baggio orig. U.S. ‘a person who talks fast and incessantly’). Similar “pars2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 pro-toto compounds” (Warren 1978: 27) are beer belly ‘one who has 2.2 Migration Policies caused in ESEA............................................................ 34 a protruding stomach by drinking large quantities of beer’, cloth ears ‘a person with a poor sense of hearing’, guzzle-guts ‘a 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 glutton’, jack-leg (U.S.) ‘an incompetent or unskilled person’, vulgar Bibliography 47 jive-ass (U.S.) ......................................................................................... ‘a person who loves fun or excitement’, lard-ass (orig. N. Amer.) ‘a fat person’, mossback ‘a slow, rustic, or old-fashioned 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. person’, and sparrow-brain ‘a person with a tiny brain’. The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Another group of endocentric nominal compounds characterized Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg by man as the second member belongs to the attributive (appositional) type: hit-man hired murderer’, lurkman (Austral.) 3.1 World Population Increase‘a............................................................. 51 ( lurk ‘a scheme, plan of action’) ‘a person who lives by sharp 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 practice’, matman (orig. U.S.) ( mat ‘floor-covering used in 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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wrestling’) ‘a wrestler’, monkey-man (U.S.) ‘a weak or gullible Table of Contents man’, muscle man ‘a man with highly developed muscles’, needle man (U.S.) ‘a drug addict who takes drugs by injection’, rodman ( rod ‘a gun’) ‘a gunman’, skyman (Journalistic) ‘a paratrooper’. The element man is pronounced [mn] in slang when the word denotes a member of a specific group, as in house-man (U.S.) ‘a burglar’, passman ‘a male prisoner who is allowed to leave his cell as a special privilege’, and streetman (U.S.) ‘a petty criminal who works on the street’. Within the attributive type, the following compounds have a human being as the second baglady (orig. U.S.) ‘a homeless Opening Considerations andelement: Executive Summary .............................. 11 woman, often elderly, who carries her possessions in shopping bags’, Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini glamour boy ‘a member of the R.A.F.’, homeboy (orig. U.S.) ‘a member of one’s peer group or gang’, Jew boy (offens.) ‘a Jewish 1. Ethics and Human Rights in theloony-doctor South American Processes .................................... male’, ‘a Migration psychiatrist’, pavement princess (U.S.) 15 ‘a Mario Santillo prostitute who seeks business on the streets’ (cf. Amer. sidewalk), pen-mate (Austral. and N.Z.) ‘each of two or more shearers who 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 shear sheep from the same pen’, piss artist (chiefly Brit.) ‘a 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. drunkard’, pox-doctor ( pox ‘syphilis’) ‘a doctor specializing 21 in the1.3treatment of venereal disease’, sky pilot ‘a priest or clergyman, Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 esp. a military or naval chaplain’, suicide blonde (jocular) ‘a Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 woman with hair dyed blonde (esp. rather amateurishly)’, witchdoctor (Military) ‘a psychiatrist’. Some such compounds, however, 2. Policies and (e.g. Ethicspavement in East and South East 27 areMigration non-compositional princess, skyAsia............ pilot), since Fabio Baggio they do not denote a member of the class expressed by the second member, but they Migration have rather to beAsia readand metaphorically. 2.1 International in East South East Asia.............. 27 The class of endocentric compounds with a non-human head 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 includes blood wagon ‘an ambulance’, doss-house ( doss ‘a bed’) Ethics andlodging-house’, Migration Management................................................. ‘a 2.3 common hit list ‘a list of persons to 43 be assassinated’, hit squad (orig. U.S.) ‘a group of esp. politicallyBibliography ......................................................................................... 47 motivated assassins or kidnappers’, hock-shop ‘a pawnshop’, lughole ‘the ear-hole’, (orig. and chiefly U.S.) ‘an 3. Immigration in the 21stmeat-wagon Century. ambulance’, monkey meat (U.S., Army) ‘tinned meat’, monkey The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience .....suit 51 (orig. U.S.) ‘a formal, decorative, or showy uniform’, needle beer Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg (U.S.) ‘near-beer mixed with ethyl alcohol’, nut-house ‘a home or 3.1 World Increase ............................................................. 51 hospital for Population people with mental illnesses’, penguin suit ‘a man’s formal evening wear’, roadwork (Criminals’) ‘the work of 53 an 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. itinerant thief’, sack time (orig. U.S., Forces’) ‘time spent in bed’, 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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sin city (often jocular) ‘a city of licentiousness and vice’. The head Table of Contents is unusually the left-hand member in murder one (U.S.) ‘a firstdegree murder’. The class of opaque exocentric compounds referring to human beings includes dream-boat (orig. U.S.) ‘an exceptionally attractive or pleasing person’, face-ache ‘a mournful-looking person’, fruitcake (orig. U.S.) ‘a crazy or eccentric person’, gasbag ( gas ‘empty or boastful talk’) ‘an empty talker’, glamour puss ‘a glamorous person’, grease-ball (U.S.) ‘a derogatory term for a foreigner’, grease monkey ‘a mechanic’, gum-shoe ‘a detective’, head case (orig. Brit.) and ‘a person characterized as mentally ill 11 or Opening Considerations Executive Summary .............................. unstable’, jail-bait (orig. U.S.) ‘a girl who is under the legal age of Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini consent’, jelly bean ‘a pimp’, jelly-dog ‘a harrier’, jelly roll ‘a lover’, bunny Rights ‘a derogatory term used to designate Blacks, 1. Ethicsjungle and Human Australian Aborigines, king-fish (U.S.).................................... ‘a leader, chief, boss’, in the South Americanetc.’, Migration Processes 15 lounge Mariolizard Santillo(orig. U.S.) ‘a man who spends his time idling in fashionable society’, mouthpiece (chiefly Criminals’) ‘a lawyer’, 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 nutcase ‘a crazy, mad, or eccentric person’, peanut ‘a small, unintelligent, or unimportant chop (U.S., derog.) 21 ‘a 1.2 International Instrument forperson’, Migrants’pork Defence ............................. black person who is subservient to whites’, post office ‘a person 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 who receives information and either transmits it or holds it for Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 collection’, ring-worm (U.S.) ‘someone who regularly attends boxing-matches’, salt horse (Nautical) ‘a naval officer with general 2. Migration Policies(chiefly and Ethics in East and South aEast Asia............ 27 duties’, screwball U.S.) ‘an eccentric; madman’, snowFabio Baggio bird (U.S.) ( snow ‘cocaine’) ‘one who sniffs cocaine’, stink-pot ‘a 2.1 term of abuse for a person’. International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 The following exocentric compounds refer to inanimate objects, 2.2 Migration Policies ESEA............................................................ 34 things, places, and eveninabstract aspects: cakehole ‘a person’s mouth’, cheesecake (orig. U.S.) Management................................................. ‘female sexual attractiveness’, eyewash 2.3 Ethics and Migration 43 (Military) ‘unnecessary routine tasks or ceremonial’, glass-house ‘a Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 military prison or guard-room’, gobstick ( gob ‘the mouth’) ‘a clarinet’, God-box ‘a church or other place of worship’, goggle-box ‘a 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. television set’, goof ball/pill ‘(a tablet of) any of various drugs’, gumThe Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 bucket (Naval) ‘a smoker’s pipe’, gum-game (U.S.) ‘a trick or dodge’, Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg hash-joint (chiefly U.S.) ‘a cheap eating-house’, hop toy ‘a container 3.1for World Population Increase used smoking opium’, horse............................................................. opera (orig. U.S.) ‘a Western film 51 or television series’, jaw-bone (N. Amer.) ‘credit’, joy-house ‘a brothel’, 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 joy/jungle juice (U.S.) ‘alcoholic drink’, knuckle sandwich ‘a punch in 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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the mouth’, lead balloon ‘a failure’, liquorice-stick (Jazz) ‘a clarinet’, Table of Contents loony bin ( loony ‘a lunatic’) ‘a mental hospital’, marble orchard/town (N. Amer.) ‘a cemetery’, meat-hook ‘an arm or hand’, meat-house ( obs. meat ‘a prostitute’) ‘a brothel’, meat-market ‘a meeting-place popular among prostitutes or people in search of casual sexual partners’, mitt camp (U.S.) ( mitt ‘a hand’) ‘a palmist’s or fortune-teller’s booth, tent, etc.’, monkey parade (dated) ‘an evening promenade of young people’, mousetrap ‘inferior or unpalatable cheese’, neck-oil ‘an alcoholic drink, esp. beer’, nose candy (N. Amer.) ‘a drug that is inhaled through the nose; spec. cocaine’,Considerations notch house ( coarse notch ‘the female genitals’) 11 ‘a Opening and Executive Summary .............................. brothel’, oil can (Military) ‘a German trench mortar shell of the Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini First World War’, parlour-house (U.S.) ‘an expensive type of brothel’, pie-card (U.S., dated) ‘a meal ticket’, pigboat (N. Amer., 1. Ethics and Human Rights Navy) submarine’, pigeon-drop (orig. .................................... U.S., Criminals’) 15 ‘a in the ‘a South American Migration Processes confidence trick’, pineapple ‘a bomb’, pine drape (U.S.) ‘a coffin’, Mario Santillo prat leather (U.S., Criminals’) ( prat ‘a hip-pocket’) ‘a wallet or 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 purse kept in the hip pocket’, puppy-hole (Eton College) ( puppy ‘pupil’) ‘a pupil-room’, ratforhouse (Austral. and N.Z.) ‘a mental 1.2 International Instrument Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 hospital’, slaughter-house ‘a shop where goods are bought from 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 small makers at very low prices’, whore-shop ‘a brothel’, wish book ......................................................................................... 25 (N.Bibliography Amer.) ‘a mail-order catalogue’. This latter type with a plural second member is found in family 2. Migration and South Eastfeathers Asia............ 27 jewels (orig.Policies U.S.) and ‘theEthics malein East genitals’, horse (U.S.) Fabio Baggio ‘nonsense, rubbish, balderdash’, office hours (U.S., Military) ‘a disciplinary session’, roadinapples (U.S.) ‘horse 2.1 International Migration East Asia and South Eastdroppings’, Asia..............and 27 snake eyes (U.S.) ‘tapioca’. 2.2 Migration Policies ESEA............................................................ 34 This type may alsoinbe used attributively, as in rat-bag (orig. Austral. andand N.Z.) ‘a stupid or eccentric person’ (also ‘stupid’) and 2.3 Ethics Migration Management................................................. 43 screwball (chiefly U.S.) ‘an eccentric; a madman’ (also ‘eccentric, Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 mad’). Some of the above opaque compounds have a figurative origin, 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. and therefore meaning can be retrieved through metaphorical The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 reading (cakehole ‘the mouth’), euphemism (joy-house ‘a brothel’, Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg marble town ‘a cemetery’, pine drape ‘a coffin’), synecdoche (prat 3.1 World ............................................................. 51 leather ‘a Population wallet’), Increase etc. The compound peg-house, originally endocentric and used to mean ‘a public house, a tavern’, is now used 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 figuratively for ‘a brothel or meeting place for male homosexuals’. 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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3.2.1.1.2. Adjective-noun compounds represent another widespread Table of Contents pattern in slang. Many metonymic compounds fall into this group. Examples are pointy-head (orig. U.S., derog.) ‘a stupid person’, shrewd-head (Austral. and N.Z.) ‘a cunning person’, sore-head (chiefly N. Amer.) ‘a discontented, dissatisfied person’, squarehead ‘an honest person’; big mouth (orig. and chiefly U.S.) ‘a very talkative or boastful person’, fat-mouth (U.S.) ‘one who talks extravagantly’, smart mouth (U.S.) ‘one who is good at repartee’; red-neck (U.S.) ‘a reactionary’, roughneck (orig. U.S.) ‘a person of rough habits or quarrelsome disposition’; roundeye ‘a European’ (cf. slant-eye orig. U.S. and ‘a slant-eyed esp. an Asian’); lameOpening Considerations Executive person, Summary .............................. 11 brain ( lame ‘naïve, socially inept’) ‘a dull-witted or stupid Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini person’; paleface (orig. N. Amer., Black E., chiefly derog.) ‘a white person’; pinkHuman toe (U.S., 1. Ethics and RightsBlack E.) ‘a white woman, or a lightskinned black American woman’; red legs (U.S., Military) ‘an artilleryman’; in the South Migration Processes .................................... 15 yellow (orig. U.S.) ( colloq. yellow ‘cowardly’) ‘a coward’. Mariobelly Santillo In greenback the second element refers to the back of an animal 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 (i.e. ‘a frog’, see § 3.2.1.4), whereas in bad-mouth, glad eye and glad hand the body part respectively a type of ‘talk’, 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ refers Defenceto............................. 21 ‘look’, and ‘handshake’. 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 A small subgroup of metonymic compounds denotes the person Bibliography through his/her......................................................................................... clothing: e.g., droopy drawers ‘an untidy, sloppy, 25 or depressing woman’, fancy pants ‘a dandy; a snob’, old boot ‘a 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 woman; a wife’, red-cap (Brit., Military) ‘a military policeman’, Fabio (Military) Baggio red-hat ‘a staff officer’, slyboots (mainly jocular) ‘a sly, cunning, or craftyMigration person’. in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 2.1 International People are also denoted through non-transparent exocentric 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 compounds whose second member is difficult to assign to the semantic head: mainManagement................................................. squeeze (N. Amer.) ‘an important person; 2.3 Ethics and e.g., Migration 43 a sweetheart’, oddball (orig. U.S.) ‘an eccentric or odd person’, old Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 bean/fruit ‘a familiar form of address’, old ship ‘a jocular address to a sailor’, old sweat ‘an experienced soldier or military pilot’, pink 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. button (Stock Market) ‘a jobber’s clerk’, Roman Candle ‘a Roman The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Catholic’, second banana (orig. U.S., Theatre) ‘a supporting Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg comedian’ (cf. top banana ‘the leading comic in a burlesque 3.1 World Population ............................................................. 51 entertainment’), smallIncrease potatoes (orig. U.S.) ‘a person or thing considered unimportant or worthless’, sweetie-pie (orig. U.S.) ‘a 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 lovable person; also as a term of endearment’. 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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The following are non-transparent exocentric compounds with a Table of Contents non-human semantic head: cold turkey (orig. N. Amer.) ‘a method of treating drug addicts by sudden and complete withdrawal of the drug’, dead soldier (U.S.) ‘an empty bottle’, good oil (Austral.) ‘reliable information’, greasy spoon (orig. U.S.) ‘a cheap and inferior eating-house’, greenhouse (Aeronautics) ‘the glass cockpit covering over observation and similar planes’, happy dust ‘cocaine’, hard cheese (Brit.) ‘bad luck’, hard tail (U.S.) ‘a mule’, heavy sugar (U.S.) ‘big money’, hot rod (orig. U.S.) ‘a motor vehicle specially modified to give high power and speed’, hot-shot (U.S.) ‘injection of a drug is of higher potency than the addict Opening Considerations andthat Executive Summary .............................. 11 is Fabio accustomed to’, idiot box ‘a television set’, idiot stick (U.S.) ‘a Baggio, Laura Zanfrini shovel’, inside job ‘a crime committed in a house, etc., by a resident or Ethics servant the building’, 1. andinHuman Rights inside stand ‘the placing of a gang member incognito as oneMigration of the staff of a place to be robbed’, Irish in the South American Processes .................................... 15 confetti Mario ‘stones Santillo used as weapons’, lazy dog (U.S., Military) ‘a type of fragmentation bomb’, left field ‘a position away from the centre Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 of 1.1 activity’, lunatic soup (Austral. and N.Z.) ‘alcoholic drink’, merry hell ‘a disturbance; severe pain’, physical torture (humorous) 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 ‘physical training’, private business (Eton College) ‘extra tuition’, 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 red ink (chiefly U.S.) ‘cheap red wine’, Redland ‘the Soviet Union’, ......................................................................................... redBibliography lead (Naval) ‘tomato ketchup; tinned tomatoes’, short time 25 ‘a brief sojourn in a hotel for sexual purposes’, Spanish tummy ‘a 2. Migration Policies East and South Asia............ 27 stomach upset of a and typeEthics freq.inexperienced by East visitors to Spain’, Fabiodog Baggio tinned (Austral.) ‘canned meat’. Endocentric farAsia lessand frequent. Examples include 2.1 Internationalcompounds Migration inare East South East Asia.............. 27 animate and inanimate terms. Compounds denoting animate beings Migration Policies ESEA............................................................ 34 are2.2main guy (U.S.) ‘ainman of authority or importance’, main man (U.S.) ‘a favourite male Management................................................. friend’, old lady (U.S., chiefly Prison) 43 ‘a 2.3 Ethics and Migration passive partner in a homosexual relationship’ (cf. colloq. ‘a Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 person’s mother; a man’s wife’), pretty-boy ‘an effeminate man, a male homosexual’, wise guy (orig. U.S.) ‘a know-all’. Compounds 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. denoting inanimate things are hot chair, liquid lunch (often jocular) The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 ‘a Christine midday meal at which drink rather than food is consumed’, mad Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg money ‘money for use in an emergency’, wooden cross (Military) ‘a 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 wooden cross on a serviceman’s grave’. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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3.2.1.1.3. The type verb + noun generally refers to a person (agent) Table of Contents performing the action denoted by the verb, as in jitterbug (orig. U.S.) denoting ‘a bug ‘a person obsessed by an idea’ who jitters ‘acts in a nervous way’’ and plug-ugly (orig. and chiefly U.S.) ‘an ugly ‘ugly person’ who plugs ‘strikes’’. Within this pattern, the noun may represent an object (patient), as in sawbones ‘surgeon’ and slaphead (orig. and chiefly Brit., humorous or deprec.) ‘a bald or shaven head’. 3.2.1.1.4. The type adverb + noun is found in the endocentric compound outside man (U.S.) ‘a person involved in robbery’, and Opening Considerations and Executive Summaryoutside .............................. 11 in the exocentric, but metaphoric, compound job ‘a crime Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini committed by a person not connected with the building in which it took place’ (see efficiency in § 2.3.2). 1. Ethics and Human Rights in the South Migration Processes .................................... 15 3.2.1.1.5. The American first member is a numeral in four-eyes ‘a person who
Mario Santillo habitually wears spectacles’ and nineteenth hole (humorous, orig. U.S.) ‘the bar a golf clubhouse, as reached at the end of17a 1.1 Migrants’ room Rightsin ............................................................................. standard round of eighteen holes’. It is a preposition in undercover International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 ‘an1.2 undercover agent’.
1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23
3.2.1.1.6. There are other possible base combinations, which Bibliography ......................................................................................... however represent marginal cases. For instance, compounds with25a nominal/verbal base followed by a verb (look-see ‘a survey; a tour 2. Policies andadverb Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 of Migration inspection’), by an (speak-easy ‘an illicit liquor shop’, Fabio Baggio star-back ‘an expensive, reserved seat at a circus’), by a preposition (beer-off ‘an off-licence’, or -party’, 2.1 International Migration inbeer-up East Asia‘a anddrinking-bout South East Asia.............. 27 booze-up ‘a drinking-bout’, going-over ‘a beating; a thrashing’, leg2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 over ‘sexual intercourse’), or by a numeral (as in Military slang 2.3 Ethics and An Migration Management................................................. 43 Section Eight). adjective followed by an adverb is found in lowdown ‘the fundamental facts on (about) a person, situation, etc.’. 47 Bibliography ......................................................................................... Some rare cases of composition have a grammatical word (gen. a Immigration pronoun) as intheir first base (e.g. her indoors ‘one’s wife or st Century. 3. the 21 girlfriend’, I AM ‘a self-important person’, she-male ‘a passive The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 male homosexual or transvestite’), or they may combine a word Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg with an interjection, as in shoo-fly (U.S.) ‘a policeman, usu. in plain 3.1 World Increase 51 clothes’ andPopulation Hooray Henry ‘a............................................................. type of loud, rich, rather ineffectual young society man’, which has Migration a proper name as its second member.53 3.2 Urbanization, International and Governance ................. 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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3.2.1.2. Compound adjectives Table of Contents Adjectives are quite frequent
among slang compounds. Most of them are deverbal – that is, they are obtained via participial adjectives (God-damn-ed, mind-blow-ing) or phrasal verbs (bombed out) – or denominal, as in mob-hand-ed, mutton-head-ed, mooney(e)-ed, etc. In my description, however, the type moon-eyed will be dealt with under suffixation (§ 3.2.3.5), since *eyed does not exist as an autonomous word. On the other hand, the types bombed out and mind-blowing belong here, because the elements bombed and blowing are freestanding participial adjectives and may thereforeConsiderations act as independent, thoughSummary complex, constituents (see Opening and Executive .............................. 11 4 Crocco Galèas 2003). Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini 3.2.1.2.1. The most common type of slang compound adjectives is
1. Ethics and Human Rights the pattern obtained from phrasal verbs. The first base therefore in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15
occurs in its inflected form (as a past participle) and the second one Mario Santillo is a preposition. The preposition is out in bombed out ‘drunk; under Migrants’of Rights ............................................................................. 17 the1.1influence drugs’, gross-out ‘shocking, disgusting’, skinned out1.2‘having no money left, broke’, strung out (orig. and chiefly International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 U.S.) ‘addicted to drugs’. 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 The preposition up is extensively used, as in hopped-up (U.S.) ‘under the influence of a narcotic drug’, hung up ‘confused’, lit up Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 ( v light up) ‘drunk or under the influence of a drug’, pissed up (chiefly Brit.) ‘drunk, up East (Austral.) ‘dressed 2. Migration Policies andintoxicated’, Ethics in Eastpooned and South Asia............ 27 up,Fabio esp. Baggio showily or flashily’, sexed-up ‘sexually aroused’, washed up (orig. and chiefly U.S.) ‘defeated, exhausted’. It is also present 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 in stove-up (N. Amer.) ‘run-down, exhausted’, irregularly obtained 2.2 the Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 from verb stave (‘break up (a cask) into staves’), and in geed-up ‘drugged’, which has a nominal first base (gee ‘opium or a similar 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 drug’) acting as a verb. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
3. Immigration in the 21st Century. 4 Crocco The Need for an Ethical Approach.the The Canadian ..... 51 Galèas (2003: 32-33) distinguishes type blue-eyed Experience from the compounds
Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg which have a past or present participle as their second member (e.g. easy-going). The author claims that the former is a derivational compound adjective “which firstly 3.1 World Population Increase 51 undergoes a rule of compounding and ............................................................. secondly a rule of derivation” (blue-eye + -ed), whereas the latter is “the result of a derivational rule (going) followed by a 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. -ed 53 compositional rule” (easy + going). Cf. Conti’s (2007) analysis of “double-base derivatives”. 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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Less common prepositions are off (as in pissed off Table of Contents ‘angry, irritated’) and on (as in switched-on ‘aware of
orig. U.S. all that is
considered fashionable and up-to-date’). 3.2.1.2.2. The type with a participial adjective as its second base is not as profuse as the previous one. Examples with a past participle are gobsmacked or gob-struck (Brit.) ( gob ‘the mouth’) ‘flabbergasted; speechless’, blasphemous God-damned ‘accursed, damnable’, and coarse shit-scared ‘extremely frightened’; whereas mind-blowing ‘consciousness-altering (esp. as a result of drug use)’ shows a present participle. The interpretation is, in both subgroups, Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 metaphorical: e.g., mind-blowing alludes to the fact that drugs Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini ‘blow one’s mind’. 1. Ethics and Rights 3.2.1.2.3. In Human the type God-awful ‘terrible; extremely awful’, the in the South American Migration Processes 15 second base is an adjective and the first one (a.................................... noun) often intensifies Santillo it. Other compounds belonging to this pattern are or Mario characterizes shit-hot (coarse)Rights ‘unpleasantly enthusiastic, very skilful’, slug-nutty 1.1 Migrants’ ............................................................................. 17 (U.S.) ‘punch-drunk’, and stir-crazy (chiefly U.S., Criminals’) ( Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 stir1.2‘aInternational prison’) ‘mentally deranged (as if) from long imprisonment’. The ‘ruined’, with a participial as its second 1.3compound Some Finalstone-broke Reflections................................................................... 23 base, has inspired the coining of comparable adjectives (e.g. stone Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 crazy, drunk, mad, etc.) (cf. St. E. stone-dead). This type with a verb in Migration the non-head position is found slap-happy dizzy 2. Policies and Ethics in in East and South‘punch-drunk; East Asia............ 27 (with happiness)’. Fabio Baggio
3.2.1.2.4. When the first base is an adjective, one may 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and Souththe Eastsecond Asia.............. 27 be either an adjective or a participial. The former is found in 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 squeaky clean ‘above criticism, beyond reproach’, and the latter in 2.3 Ethics andobs. Migration Management................................................. 43 half-cut (also half shaved), half-shot (orig. U.S.) ‘half-drunk’, and stony-broke ‘ruined’ (cf. stone-broke above). Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 3.2.1.2.5. The attributive type adjective + noun is clearly exophoric
3. Immigration in the 21st Century. (metaphoric), as the following examples seem to confirm: half-pie The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51
(N.Z.) ‘halfway towards, imperfect’, punk-ass (U.S.) ‘of a person: Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg worthless, good-for-nothing’, red-eye (U.S.) ‘used attrib. to designate World Population ............................................................. 51 an3.1 aeroplane flight on Increase which the traveller is unable to get adequate sleep’, sad-ass (N. Amer.) ‘poor, contemptible’, smart-arse/-ass (also 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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wise-ass) ‘ostentatiously or smugly clever’, split-arse/-ass (Forces’) Table of Contents ‘classy, showy’, white-shoe (chiefly U.S.) ‘effeminate, immature’. 3.2.1.2.6. A few unusual patterns combine a base with a particle, that is to say a preposition (in pod ‘pregnant’, all-in ‘exhausted’) or an adverb (spark out ‘forgotten; (completely) unconscious’), or two adverbs (as in far-out orig. U.S. ‘excellent, splendid’, way-in ‘conventional; sophisticated’, way-out ‘far removed from reality or from convention’). 3.2.1.3. Compound verbs
Opening Considerations andmostly Executive Summary .............................. 11 Slang compound verbs are obtained by conversion, as in (v)
Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini eyeball (n) eye-ball and (v) bad-mouth (n) bad mouth (see § 3.2.1.3.4). These are considered “verbal pseudo-compounds” by 1. Ethics and(1969: Human101) Rights Marchand and are classified together with verbal in the South American Processes .................................... 15 compounds obtained by Migration back-formation. Other types are relatively Mario Santillo marginal in slang.
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17
3.2.1.3.1. A possible combination within slang compound verbs is 1.2+International Instrument for Migrants’ ............................. 21 verb noun. Although the first base is a Defence verb, they generally thwart a literal reading, and are therefore exocentric: e.g., kick ass (orig. 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 and chiefly U.S.) ‘act roughly or aggressively’, raise Cain ‘create Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 trouble or confusion’, spit blood ‘of a spy: fear exposure’, spit chips (Austral.) ‘feel extreme thirst’. A partial exception is talk turkey 2. Migration Policies‘speak and Ethics in East South reserve’, East Asia............ (orig. N. Amer.) frankly andand without which 27 is Fabio Baggio endocentric, but not fully-compositional (see § 3.1.1). 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27
3.2.1.3.2. The opposite direction (noun + verb) yields more 2.2 Migration Policies incompounds, ESEA............................................................ frequently endocentric as donkey-lick (Austral.) (34v lick ‘defeat easily’, pig-jump (chiefly Austral. and 2.3‘beat, Ethicsthrash’) and Migration Management................................................. 43 N.Z.) ‘of a horse: jump from all four legs without bringing them Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 together, esp. in an attempt to unseat the rider’, and skin-pop (orig. U.S.) ( v pop) ‘inject st a drug subcutaneously’.
3. Immigration in the 21 Century. The NeedAfor an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience 51 3.2.1.3.3. verb is followed by a numeral in hang five, ten,.....etc. Christine‘allow Baghdady, Vanderberg (Surfing) the Richard specified number of toes to project over the nose of the surfboard, usu. to gain speed’, or by a grammatical 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 word, as in make it ‘achieve sexual intercourse (with)’, mix it 3.2 Urbanization, International Governance ................. 53 ‘quarrel, fight’, snuff it ‘die’,Migration stop oneand (Austral.) ‘take a drink’,
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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strong it (Brit.) ‘behave excessively, exaggerate’. A rare possibility Table of Contents combines a numeral with a noun, as in two-time (orig. U.S.) ‘be unfaithful to (a spouse or lover)’. 3.2.1.3.4. As anticipated, many (pseudo) compound verbs are converted from nouns (see also § 3.2.6.1.1). They follow either the pattern with two noun constituents or the pattern with an adjective plus a noun. The first subgroup is illustrated by eyeball (U.S.) ‘look or stare at’, pratfall ‘fall on to the buttocks’, sandbag ‘underperform in a race or competition in order to gain an advantage’, showboat (U.S.) ‘perform or behave ostentatiously; show off’, tear-arse/-ass Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 ‘drive recklessly’. Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini The second subgroup is exemplified by bad-mouth (orig. U.S.) ‘abuse (someone) verbally; criticize’, dead-head (chiefly U.S.) 1. Ethics and Human Rights ‘drive an empty train, truck, taxi, etc.’, highball (U.S.) ‘go or drive in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 at Mario high Santillo speed’, hot-stuff (Army) ( hot stuff ‘stolen goods’) ‘scrounge, steal’, hot-wire (N. Amer.) ‘by-pass the ignition system Migrants’ RightsPeculiarly, ............................................................................. 17 of 1.1 a motor vehicle’. sweetmouth (chiefly U.S., Black E.) ‘flatter’ has no corresponding nominal compound. 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 3.2.1.4. Non-prototypical slang compounds 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 The variety of potential members of slang compounds confronts us Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 with the problem of non-prototypical compounds. We distinguish various typesPolicies of such compounds in slang, which depart from the 2. Migration and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 universal preferences established within NM (see Dressler et al. Fabio Baggio 1987, Dressler 2005): 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27
Exocentric compounds, which have their head outside the
2.2 Migration Policies compound, as in in ESEA............................................................ greenback ‘a frog’, and lame-brain 34 ‘a
stupid person’; 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 Synthetic compounds, in which the head is a deverbal Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 derivative, as in block-busting and egg-beater ‘a helicopter’;
st Century. in which one of the compound 3. Immigration in the 21compounds, Three-member The Need for an(generally Ethical Approach. The Canadian members the non-head) is itself a Experience compound,..... as 51 in Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg four-letter man and one-arm joint;
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 Coordinate compounds, in which the first member does not
modify the first one, as in lover man; 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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of two or more elements which may resemble TableCombinations of Contents compounds, but are not: e.g., bunch of fives, mother’s ruin, tired and emotional, to kick the bucket, and phrasal verbs, such as knock in, off, etc. 3.2.1.4.1. In standard English, exocentric compounds were originally identified by Jespersen (1942: 142), who drew attention to bahuvrihicompounds such as red-coat, which is not ‘a kind of coat’ but ‘a person wearing a red coat’. Similarly, Marchand (1969) notices that the formula AB = B, though valid for endocentric compounds, does not apply to other types of combinations, viz. pseudo-, bahuvrihi or Opening Considerations Summary .............................. 11 exocentric compounds and (e.g.Executive birdbrain, blackout, pickpocket and Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini showoff). After such pioneering studies, many scholars have highlighted 1. Ethics and Human Rights the difference between endo- and exo-centric compounds: in in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 chronological order, Downing (1977), Warren (1978), Bauer (1983), Mario Santillo while Williams (1981: 250) suggests that exocentric compounds are Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 not1.1only evident exceptions to his Righthand Head Rule, but they are1.2even derived by headless rules. Lieber (1992: 82) likewise International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 distinguishes between endocentric compounds (i.e. “those in which 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 both the semantic and syntactic category of the compound corresponds that of the head”) and exocentric compounds (i.e. Bibliographyto......................................................................................... 25 “those in which either semantically or syntactically (or both), the compound a wholeand does not bear theand characteristics of its head”). 2. MigrationasPolicies Ethics in East South East Asia............ 27 In terms of naturalness/markedness (cf. Dressler et al. 1987), Fabio Baggio exocentric compounds are less natural/more marked than 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 endocentric compounds, based on the parameters of indexicality 2.2 Migration Policies intransparency: ESEA............................................................ 34 and morphosemantic first, they do not allow straightforward access to the compound head, which is outside the 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 compound or has to be inferred, and, second, they are nonBibliography ......................................................................................... 47 compositional and opaque, i.e. their meaning is not motivated by the compound members. st Century. 3. Immigration in the In slang there are21many exceptions to endocentric compounds. Thesuch Needexception for an Ethical Approach. ..... 51 One is illustrated byThe theCanadian extremelyExperience large group of Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg metonymic nominal compounds (see §§ 3.2.1.1.1-2, also Mattiello 2003; cf. Warren’s 27............................................................. “pars-pro-toto compounds”, Plag’s 3.1 World Population1978: Increase 51 2003: 146 “possessive compounds”), which have a body part as the 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 second member, but refer to the whole person: e.g., big mouth, 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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four-eyes, lame-brain, paleface, pink toe, pointy-head, red legs, red Table of Contents neck, roundeye, yellow belly, etc. These compounds imply a metonymic relationship between the expressed member (the body part) and the unexpressed one (the person), which is the actual semantic head of the compound. Hence, big mouth alludes to ‘a very talkative person’, four-eyes refers to ‘a person wearing glasses’, lame-brain to ‘a person having a lame brain’, etc. Another exception is illustrated by metaphoric slang compounds (snow-bird, post office, half-cut), in which the head has to be inferred. Thus, a snow-bird is ‘a person who uses snow, i.e. cocaine’,Considerations a post office isand ‘a Executive person who receives information’, and Opening Summary .............................. 11 half-cut refers to someone who is partially affected by the bad Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini effects of alcohol, that is ‘half-drunk’. Otherand exceptions fully compositional (transparent) compounds 1. Ethics Human to Rights certainly exist American (e.g. nominal beer-off, her indoors, adjectival all-in, in the South Migration Processes .................................... 15 far-out, verbal strong it, two-time, etc.), but, as seen, they represent Marioor Santillo marginal and sometimes the only cases within the vast amount of 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 slang compounds. 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21
3.2.1.4.2. Synthetic compounds (also called verbal, deverbal, or 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... verbal nexus compounds) are those in which the second member 23 is derived from a......................................................................................... verb. In standard English, the most productive are Bibliography 25 the types watchmaker and housekeeping, whereas cost containment, food spoilage, load tolerance, tax-evasion and waste 2. Migration Policies and Ethics power in Eastfailure, and South East Asia............ 27 disposal represent less productive types (see Marchand 1969, Allen Fabio Baggio 1980; cf. Roeper & Siegel 1978, Lieber 1983, 1992). 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 Within NM, synthetic compounds are universally less preferred Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 on2.2 theMigration basis of the parameter of morphotactic transparency, because one of the members is not a base word, but rather a derivative 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 (high-land-er, dish-wash-ing). Bibliography 47 In slang, we......................................................................................... find examples of the most frequent types, as in mittreader (U.S.) ‘a palmist, a fortune-teller’ and skin-popping ‘the act 3. in thesubcutaneously’. 21st Century. of Immigration injecting a drug However, the -er type is far Theproductive Need for anthan Ethical Approach. The itCanadian ..... 51 more the -ing type: e.g., is found Experience in dog-robber ‘a Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg navy or army officer’s orderly’, easy rider (U.S.) ‘a sexually satisfying ‘a guitar’, egg-beater (U.S.), gay deceivers 51 ‘a 3.1 Worldlover’, Population Increase ............................................................. padded brassière’, gob-stopper ‘a large, hard, freq. spherical sweet 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 for sucking’, gold-digger (orig. U.S.) ‘a girl or woman who attaches 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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herself to a man merely for gain’, head-banger ‘a young person Table of Contents shaking violently to the rhythm of pop music’, head-shrinker (orig. U.S.) ‘a psychiatrist’, herring choker (U.S.) ‘a Scandinavian’, highbinder ‘a swindler, esp. a fraudulent politician’, high-roller (U.S.) ‘one who spends extravagantly or gambles for high stakes’, kneetrembler ‘an act of sexual intercourse between persons in a standing position’, man-eater ‘a sexually voracious woman’, monkeyhurdler (U.S.) ‘an organist’, oil-burner ‘a vehicle which uses an excessive amount of lubricating oil’, pork-chopper (U.S.) ‘a fulltime union official’, sin-shifter ‘a clergyman’, skirt-chaser ‘one who pursues women with amorous attentions’, This type is also Opening Considerations and Executive Summaryetc. .............................. 11 in Fabio compounds which are not deverbal but denominal, as in leftBaggio, Laura Zanfrini footer ‘a Roman Catholic’ and short-timer (U.S., Military) ‘one nearing of hisRights period of military service’. 1. Ethicsthe andend Human the morphosemantic pointProcesses of view,.................................... most such compounds inFrom the South American Migration 15 areMario non-compositional and require a figurative interpretation: for Santillo instance, if gob-stopper is a sweet which ‘stops one’s gob ‘mouth’, 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 impeding talking’, an egg-beater does not ‘beat eggs’, but alludes to 1.2 theInternational helicopter Instrument rotor-blades, which resemble the appliance used for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 for beating eggs, and a skirt-chaser does not ‘chase skirts’, but, by 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 metonymic extension, he rather chases women. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 From the morphotactic point of view, synthetic compounds such as gob-stopper are analysable as a complex head that forms a 2. Migrationtogether Policies with and Ethics in EastTherefore, and South [gob East Asia............ compound a non-head. [stop-p-er]]27 is Fabio Baggio a better analysis than [[gob stop] -er] (see Oshita 1994: 201 and Plag 149 forMigration equivalent opinions). On the other hand, the -ing 2.12003: International in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 type (as in block-busting) is better analysable as a derivative 2.2 Migration ESEA............................................................ 34 compound, i.e. Policies [[block in bust] -ing]. Some combinations contain the verbal element in the 2.3 Ethics-ing and Migration Management................................................. 43 modifier non-head position. The slang compounds creeping Jesus Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 ‘an abject or servile person’, flaming onions (Services’) ‘an antiaircraft projectile’, and knocking-shop ‘a brothel’ belong to this 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. morphological type. However, since their head (i.e. most salient) The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 element is not a derivative, they cannot be compared to the types Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg illustrated earlier (see Marchand 1969: 19), though they are likewise 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 morphotactically opaque. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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3.2.1.4.3. Three-member compounds Table of Contents constituents include a compound, thus
are combinations whose called “compound-withincompounds” by Warren (1978: 10). Potentially, the modifier, the head or both may occur as compounds. Actually, results from studies on three-member compounds show that, across the various languages (esp. English and German), there is an evident preference for left-branching over right-branching compounds. Hence, the most common type is that of the modifier being a compound, as in St. E. three-star general, which is morphotactically less natural than star general, with a word as the first member (see Dressler 2005). The following are and slang three-member with 11a Opening Considerations Executive Summarycompounds .............................. compound in the non-head position: backroom boy ‘a person Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini engaged in (secret) research’, catbird seat (U.S.) ‘a superior or advantageous position’, five-finger discount (U.S.) ‘the activity or 1. Ethics and Human Rights proceeds of stealing’, forty-rod whisky (U.S.).................................... ‘cheap, fiery whisky’, in the South American Migration Processes 15 four-letter man (Brit.) ‘an obnoxious person’, necktie party (U.S.) Mario Santillo ‘a lynching or hanging’, ninety-day wonder (U.S., Services’, 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 humorous) ‘a graduate of a ninety-day officers’ training course’, one-arm bandit (orig. U.S.)for ‘a Migrants’ slot machine’, one-arm joint (U.S.) 1.2 International Instrument Defence ............................. 21 ‘a cheap restaurant where the seats have one arm wide enough to 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 hold a plate of food’, one-night stand ‘a casual sexual liaison’, Bibliography 25 peanut gallery......................................................................................... ‘the top gallery in a theatre or cinema’, underground mutton (Austral.) ‘a rabbit; rabbit meat’. 2. Migration Policies Ethics in Eastcompound and South East 27 An example of aand three-member withAsia............ a composite Fabio Baggio member in the head position is Mexican overdrive ‘the putting of the2.1 gears of a vehicle into neutral coasting downhill’, whereas International Migration in East while Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 drug-store cowboy (U.S.) ‘a braggart, good-for-nothing’ is rather a 2.2 Migrationcompound, Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 four-member with a compound in both the head and the non-head positions. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 The non-head position is covered by a phrase in butter-and-egg Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 man (U.S.) ‘a wealthy, unsophisticated man who spends money freely’ and wood-and-water joey (Austral.) ‘an odd job man’ (cf. 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. “phrasal compounds” in Lieber 1992: 92). The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 However, since grammatical relations are, like semiotic ones Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg (Peirce 1965), preferentially binary, three- and four-member 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 compounds can be grouped into two binary relations, i.e. [[catbird] [seat]], [[Mexican] [overdrive]], and [[drug-store] [cowboy]], where 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 catbird, overdrive, drug-store and cowboy form intermediate units. 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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The case of butter-and-egg man, on the other hand, is analysable as Table of Contents [[butter-and-egg] [man]], comparable to St. E. [[do-it-yourself] [movement]] (vs. eye movement) (Dressler 1999: 138, 2005: 276, also Plag 2003: 133). 3.2.1.4.4. Coordinate (coordinative, copulative, additive or dvandva) compounds are (esp. noun-noun) combinations whose first element does not modify or characterize the second one. To describe them, Jespersen (1942: 142) uses the formula ‘AB means A plus B’, as in Schleswig-Holstein, which consists of two districts (Schleswig and Holstein), while Marchand (1969: 41) prefers ‘B which is also A’ Opening Considerations and Executive .............................. 11 (e.g. Austria-Hungary meaning ‘AustriaSummary is also Hungary’). Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini In NM, coordinate compounds are less natural/more marked than subordinate ones because they appear to have two (or more) 1. Ethics and Human Rights morphosemantic heads with no clear figure-ground distinction. For in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 instance, in speaker-hearer both members are of equal status, even Mario Santillo if (pragmatically) the more important member, speaker, comes first. 1.1 Migrants’ Rightscompounds ............................................................................. 17 Slang coordinate similarly display members of equal status. Examples are nouns (e.g. witch-doctor ‘a psychiatrist’) and 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 adjectives (e.g. red-hot ‘uninhibited, sexy, passionate’). Such 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... compounds, however, are morphosemantically opaque. That is,23a witch-doctor to ‘a type of doctor’, who is not ‘a witch’, but25 is Bibliographyrefers ......................................................................................... metaphorically comparable to him for practices, skills, etc., and, similarly, red-hot something ‘red’ and 2. Migration Policiesonly and figuratively Ethics in Eastindicates and South East Asia............ 27 ‘hot’ at the same time. Fabio Baggio Coordinate compounds are therefore different from pleonastic 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 compounds (called “subsumptive” by Marchand 1969: 40), whose 2.2 Migration in ESEA............................................................ 34 second elementPolicies is a logical subclass of the first element (e.g. oaktree). Indeed, in pleonastic compounds (e.g. lover boy, lover man ‘a 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 lover, a woman-chaser’, nancy boy ‘an effeminate man or boy’) Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 semantic headedness is more evident, since the head is a hypernym of the non-head. Thus, a lover boy is ‘a boy’ and more specifically st Century. 3. the 21boy ‘a Immigration lover’, and ain nancy is ‘a boy’ and more specifically ‘a nancy’ The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian ..... 51 (i.e. a homosexual), representing a subgroup of the Experience general category Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg ‘boys’. 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51
3.2.1.4.5. Lastly, compounds have to be distinguished from lexical 3.2 Urbanization, Migration ................. 53 phrases, which areInternational not compounds forand twoGovernance reasons. First, unlike 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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compounds, lexical phrases exhibit syntactic markers, as in bread Table of Contents and butter, man in the street, mother of pearl (labelled “phrases” by Marchand 1969: 122-123).5 Second, whereas compounds, at least fully compositional ones, are motivated by their members, phrases are lexicalized, and therefore more opaque. Lexical phrases are frequent in slang, especially as nouns. Examples include phrases marked by prepositions (e.g. bunch of fives ‘the fist, the hand’, fly-by-night ‘one who defrauds his creditors by decamping in the night’, hill of beans ‘a thing of little value’, House of Lords ‘a lavatory’, six by six ‘six wheel truck with six-wheelConsiderations drive’), conjunctions (e.g. slap and tickle ‘light amorous Opening and Executive Summary .............................. 11 play’, soup-and-fish ‘men’s evening dress’), or articles (e.g. JackFabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini the-Lad ‘(a nickname for) a troublemaker or rogue’, from Jack Sheppard, a celebrated thief). 1. Ethics and Human Rights type is marked by the.................................... possessive case, as 15 in inThe the most Southfrequent American Migration Processes cat’s pyjamas/whiskers (orig. U.S.) ‘the acme of excellence’, dog’s Mario Santillo age (orig. U.S.) ‘a long time’, dog’s body ‘a junior person’, dog’s 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 breakfast/dinner ‘a mess’, donkey’s breakfast ‘a straw mattress or hat’, disease ‘a for shortness 21 of 1.2 duck’s/ducks’ International Instrument forfacetious Migrants’ expression Defence ............................. leg’, Irishman’s hurricane (Nautical) ‘a dead calm’, Irishman’s rise 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 ‘reduced wages’, Kelly’s eye ‘(in the game of bingo) the number Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 one’, magsman (orig. Brit.) ( mag ‘chatter, talk’) ‘a street swindler’, Montezuma’s revenge (jocular) ‘diarrhoea suffered by 2. Migrationesp. Policies and Ethics in East and Asia............ 27 travellers, in Mexico’, mother’s ruinSouth ‘gin’,East sailor’s blessing Fabio Baggio (Nautical) ‘a curse’, sailor’s farewell (Nautical) ‘a parting curse’. Slang lexical orMigration idiomatic adjectives (full 27 as 2.1 International in phrases East Asiamay and also SouthbeEast Asia.............. a goog, out-of-sight ‘extremely well’, tired and emotional, under Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 the2.2table ‘drunk’, what-the-hell ‘casual, careless, devil-may-care’), or 2.3 verbs (toand beMigration with it ‘be fashionable, up-to-date’, to kick one’s Ethics Management................................................. 43 heels ‘stand waiting idly or impatiently’, to kick the bucket ‘die’). Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 With slang phrasal verbs we observe the same state of affairs as with other lexical phrases. That is, they cannot be considered actual 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. compounds because, rather than being motivated by their members, The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 they are lexicalized as frozen phrases, and stored as such in the Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg mental lexicon. What follows is a partial exemplification. 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51
3.2 Urbanization, International Migrationphrase, and Governance 5 Accordingly, F. chemin de fer is a lexicalized whereas G. ................. Eisen-bahn,53 It. ferro-via and Sp. ferro-carril are compounds. 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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As in standard English, many of them have the same verbal base Table of Contents combining with different prepositions. Examples are buzz in ‘come in (quickly)’, buzz off ‘go off or away quickly’; kick in (U.S.) ‘break into (a building)’, ‘contribute (money, etc.)’, kick off (orig. U.S.) ‘die’; knock down (Austral. and N.Z.) ‘spend in drink or riot’, knock in (University) ‘knock so as to gain admission to college after the gate is closed’, knock off ‘die’, ‘steal, rob’, (orig. U.S.) ‘kill; murder’, ‘seduce (a woman)’, knock out (Austral., N.Z. and U.S.) ‘earn’, knock over (Underworld) ‘rob (a person), burgle (a building); steal (from)’, knock up (orig. U.S.) ‘make (a woman) pregnant’; make out ‘succeed in seducing’, make with ‘bring into Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 operation; use’; set over (U.S., Criminals’) ‘kill or murder’, set up Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini ‘lead on in order to fool, cheat, or incriminate (a person)’. Otherand bases occurRights with only one preposition. Instances include 1. Ethics Human dryin out ‘of a American drug addict or alcoholic: undergo treatment to cure the South Migration Processes .................................... 15 addiction’, gussy up ‘smarten up, esp. dress smartly’, hang out (in Mario Santillo early use chiefly U.S.) ‘spend or pass time’, ‘reside, live’, kiss off 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 ‘dismiss, get rid of, kill’, ‘go away, die’, lay for (orig. U.S.) ‘(of a woman) be willingInstrument to have (extramarital) sexual intercourse’, mix 21 in 1.2 International for Migrants’ Defence ............................. ‘start or join in a fight’, pig out (orig. N. Amer.) ‘over-indulge esp. 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 by overeating’, pop off ‘die’, race off (Austral.) ‘seduce (a Bibliography 25 woman)’, row ......................................................................................... in ‘conspire’, salt away ‘put by, store away (money, stock)’, scope out (U.S.) ‘investigate or assess (a person or a state 2. Policies and(orig. Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 of Migration affairs)’, send down U.S.) ‘dispatch or commit to prison by Fabio Baggio sentence’, shell out ‘pay up, hand over’, snuff out ‘kill, murder’, string out (U.S.)Migration ‘be under the Asia influence of East a drug’, wind up 2.1 International in East and South Asia.............. 27 (Racing) ‘put (a race-horse) into fit condition for running’, wipe out 2.2 Migration in ESEA............................................................ 34 (orig. U.S.) ‘of Policies drink: render intoxicated or senseless’. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43
3.2.2. Prefixation
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
Among slang affixes, prefixes play a marginal role. Their number is indeed small, especially compared with that of slang suffixes. The 3. Immigration in the 21stifCentury. only which deserves attention schm-/shm(as in ..... child Theprefix Need for an Ethical Approach. TheisCanadian Experience 51 schmild), its Richard origin Vanderberg is in colloquial rather than standard Christinesince Baghdady, language. The other prefixes (de-, re-, super-, un- and under-), which 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 are attested in standard English, offer no case study of slang extra3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 grammaticality. 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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3.2.2.1. The prefix deTable of Contents In standard English de- is prefixed to simple verbs to form complex verbs having the sense of ‘undoing the action of – ’, or of ‘depriving (anything) of the thing or character therein expressed’ (e.g. de-acidify ‘undo or reverse the acidifying process’). Less frequently, verbs (and their derivatives) are formed by prefixing de- to a noun with the meaning ‘deprive, divest, free from, or rid of the thing in question’ (e.g. debowel ‘take the bowels out of, eviscerate’). This latter pattern is found in the slang verbs debag ‘remove the trousers from (a person) as a punishment or for a joke’, from colloquial bag(s) ‘trousers’,Considerations and delouse ‘free something unpleasant’, figuratively Opening and from Executive Summary .............................. 11 from St. E. ‘clear of lice’. Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini 3.2.2.2. The prefix re-
1. Ethics and Human Rights In English formations, whether on native or Latin bases (or French in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15
in Mario line Santillo with Marchand 1969: 188), re- is almost exclusively employed in the sense of ‘again’, and only occasionally of ‘back’. It 1.1be Migrants’ ............................................................................. may prefixedRights to ordinary verbs of action, chiefly transitive (as 17 in rearrange) and to derivatives from these (rearrangement). In slang, 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 it is prefixed to the verb up ‘increase or raise’ to obtain re-up (U.S. 1.3 Some ‘re-enlist’ Final Reflections................................................................... 23 Services’) (also ‘one who re-enlists’), and its derivative re-upping. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
3.2.2.3. The prefix shm- in East and South East Asia............ 27 2. Migration Policiesschm-, and Ethics
Schmshm-) is a colloquial – chiefly American – element, Fabio(or Baggio derived from the numerous Yiddish words that begin with this 2.1 International Migration in East Asiaorand South East 27 sequence of sounds. It is fused with replaces the Asia.............. initial letter(s) of 2.2 a word, so as to form a nonsense-word which is added to the Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 original word in order to convey disparagement, dismissal, or 2.3 Ethics andresult Migration Management................................................. 43 derision. The is a reduplicative formation of the type of slang child schmild,......................................................................................... moon-schmoon, Oedipus Schmoedipus, TrotskyBibliography 47 Shmotsky, etc.
3. Immigration in the 21st Century. 3.2.2.4. The for prefix super- Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 The Need an Ethical
Prefixed inBaghdady, an adverbial relationship to adjectives, in English superChristine Richard Vanderberg has the sense of ‘exceedingly, very highly, extremely, supremely, 3.1 World Population ............................................................. 51 extraordinarily; over-’Increase (e.g. superactive ‘highly active’). This sense is 3.2 likewise conveyed by the slang adjectives super-cool (orig. and Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 chiefly U.S.) ‘very cool, relaxed, fine’, cool being itself a slang 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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adjective with the meaning ‘restrained or relaxed in style (applied Table of Contents to jazz music)’, and superfly (U.S.) ‘very good, excellent, the best (esp. in the context of drugs)’ (cf. slang adj fly chiefly Black E. ‘attractive; hence, excellent’). The adjective superfly is also used in the sense of ‘typical of the film character Super Fly’ (from the film of the same name), with a related noun meaning ‘one who sells illegal drugs’. 3.2.2.5. The prefix unIn the standard language, un- is freely prefixed to adjectives of all kinds to convey the basic meaning ‘not’ (e.g. unclear ‘not clear’, Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 unfair ‘not fair’). In slang it is regularly applied to obtain the Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini negative adjectives uncool ‘unrelaxed; unpleasant’, unreal (chiefly N. Amer. and Austral.) ‘so good or impressive as to seem incredible; 1. Ethics and Human Rights remarkable, amazing’, and untogether ‘poorly coordinated; not in full in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 control of one’s faculties’. Mario Santillo 3.2.2.6. The prefix under1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 In English the prefix under- is used with nouns in names of 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 garments worn under other articles of clothing (e.g. undershorts). In Schoolboys’ slang it is in denominal underfug (Brit.) ‘an undervest; 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 also, underpants’, from colloquial fug ‘a thick, close atmosphere’. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
3.2.3. Suffixation
2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 Fabio Baggio Suffixation is a wider phenomenon than prefixation in English slang. Yet the productivity of slang suffixes is constrained by their 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 ephemeral character, and it is difficult to predict possible words, 2.2is, Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 that their applicability in terms of base and suffix. It is perhaps easier to talk in terms of token frequency rather than type 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 productivity. This is expectable, given the scarce compliance of Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 slang words with regular morphological mechanisms. As anticipated in the distinction between grammatical and extra3. Immigration in the 21st Century. grammatical morphology, some slang suffixes behave regularly and The to Need for anbases Ethical The Canadian ..... 51 attach standard to Approach. form new words, as in (v)Experience chop chop-pChristine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg er, which entirely conforms to the universal patterns of the English grammar system. SuchIncrease suffixes, however, may also conform to the 3.1 World Population ............................................................. 51 regular mechanisms of morphological concatenation, but attach to 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 irregular bases, as in twocer, from the acronym twoc ( taking
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without owner’s consent). Other suffixes are, instead, outside Table of Contents grammar and do not obtain new words but connote existing ones, adding nuances of jocularity, humour, playfulness, etc., as in bedder ( bedroom) and preggers ( pregnant). The latter formations, which are not governed by well-known rules of grammatical morphology, deserve more attention and scrutiny than the regular ones, since they throw light on the core suffixes of slang. 3.2.3.1. The suffix -able In standard English -able is a suffix forming denominal and deverbal Opening and Executive Summary .............................. 11 adjectivesConsiderations (measure measurable, accept acceptable), normally Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini with a passive sense. In slang, it is found in deverbal ropeable (Austral. and N.Z.) ‘requiring to be roped; intractable’, from the verb 1. Ethics and Human Rights rope ‘tie, bind, or secure with a rope’, itself obtained from a noun. It in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 is also in colloquial noshable ‘suitable for noshing; tasty, delicious’, Mario Santillo again from a verb (nosh ‘eat, have a meal’). 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17
3.2.3.2. The suffix -ation, -ion International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 In 1.2 English -ion is a suffix forming nouns of action from verbs (e.g. pollute pollution). In slang, it is found in deverbal connection 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 (orig. U.S.) ‘a supplier of narcotics; the action of supplying Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 narcotics’, from connect ‘meet in order to obtain drugs (from)’. The alternative frequent -ationEast (as in St. E. damn 2. Migration Policiesand andmore Ethics in Eastform and South Asia............ 27 damnation) is in Black English trickeration (U.S.) ( trickery) ‘a Fabio Baggio trick or stratagem’, and in the colloquial noun yuppification (orig. 2.1 International Migration East§ Asia South U.S.), from the verb yuppifyin(see 3.1.3,and type g). East Asia.............. 27 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34
3.2.3.3. The suffix -dom 2.3abstract Ethics and Migration 43 The suffix of stateManagement................................................. -dom was originally attached to nouns and adjectives to convey the sense of ‘condition, state, dignity’, as 47 in Bibliography ......................................................................................... bishopdom (‘the dignity of a bishop’), freedom, wisdom (‘the condition of being free, etc. It is now a living suffix, freely 3. Immigration in the 21stwise’), Century. employed to form derivatives and with the ..... main The Need for an Ethical Approach.nonce-derivatives The Canadian Experience 51 sense of ‘domain, realm’, as in kingdom, popedom, sheriffdom, etc. Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg In slang formations, this suffix expresses both senses in 3.1 World Population ............................................................. hippiedom, queerdom Increase and yuppiedom, which respectively refer 51 to ‘the or the fact of being a hippie, queer ‘homosexual’, 3.2condition Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 yuppie’, or to ‘the domains of such people’. 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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3.2.3.4. The suffix -ed (deverbal type: cracked) Table of Contents In English the suffix -ed primarily obtains participial
adjectives from verbs (e.g. annoy annoyed, irritate irritated). In English slang, this pattern is found in cracked ‘unsound in mind, slightly insane’, crooked (Austral. and N.Z.) ‘irritable, angry’, gutted ‘bitterly disappointed; devastated’, paralysed (chiefly U.S.) ‘intoxicated; incapacitated through drink’, plastered ‘very drunk’, qualified ‘euphemistic substitute for bloody, damned, etc.’, smashed (orig. U.S.) ‘drunk; under the influence of drugs’. The same pattern from slang rather than standard verbs is in banjaxed (Anglo-Irish) and (Executive banjax ‘batter or .............................. destroy’) ‘ruined’, Opening Considerations Summary 11 blasted (chiefly U.S.) ( blast ‘smoke marijuana’) ‘under the Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini influence of drugs or alcohol’, bombed ( bomb Austral. ‘drug (a racehorse)’; St. E. ‘bombard’) ‘drunk; under the influence of 1. Ethics and cf. Human Rights drugs’, gassedAmerican ( gasMigration orig. U.S. ‘excite or thrill’) ‘drunk; in the South Processes .................................... 15 intoxicated’, knackered ‘exhausted’, oiled ( oil (up) N. Amer. and Mario Santillo Austral.) ‘(mildly) drunk’, pissed (orig. U.S.) ( piss (off)) ‘angry, 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 irritated’, plotzed (U.S.) ( plotz ‘burst, esp. fig. ‘explode’ with frustration’) ‘intoxicated; drunk’, splicedDefence ‘married’, stoned ‘drunk, 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ ............................. 21 extremely intoxicated’, wiped (orig. U.S.) ( wipe (out) ‘kill (a 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 person)’) ‘exhausted, tired out’, ‘incapacitated by drugs or alcohol’, etc.Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 3.2.3.5. The suffix -edand (denominal type:and potted) 2. Migration Policies Ethics in East South East Asia............ 27
The suffix -ed is also productively added to standard nouns to form Fabio Baggio adjectives with the sense of ‘possessing, provided with, 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 characterized by – ’, as in cultured, moneyed, toothed, etc., and in 2.2 Migration derivatives Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 parasynthetic (dark-eyed, lion-hearted, seven-hilled, etc.). It is likewise added to slang nouns to form the respective 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 adjectives: e.g., loaded (U.S.) ( load ‘a dose of narcotics or a Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 large amount of alcohol’) ‘drugged or drunk’, pipped (now chiefly Austral. and N.Z.) ( pip ‘a fit of disgust, annoyance’) ‘annoyed, 3. Immigration in the(chiefly 21st Century. irritated’, plonked Austral. and N.Z.) ( plonk ‘cheap The Need for an Ethical Approach. TheAmer.) Canadian ..... 51 wine’) ‘intoxicated, drunk’, potted (N. ( Experience pot ‘marijuana’) Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg ‘under the influence of cannabis’, etc. On the other hand, the adjective O.D.’d ‘having taken............................................................. an overdose’ is from the initialism 3.1 World Population Increase 51 O.D. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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This suffix is also productive in the formation of slang Table of Contents parasynthetic derivatives: e.g., mob-handed (Brit.) ( mob ‘a large crowd’) ‘that forms a large body’, moon-eyed (orig. and chiefly U.S.) ‘drunk’, mutton-headed (orig. U.S.) ‘stupid; foolish’, piefaced (orig. U.S., chiefly derog.) ‘having a round, flat face or a blank expression; stupid’, poker-faced ‘having a solemn or humourless expression’ (abbreviated as po-faced), snake-headed (Austral. and N.Z.) ‘angry, irritable’, sticky-fingered ‘apt to steal, light-fingered’, toffee-nosed ‘snobbish, supercilious’, and numerous vulgar derivatives with a second constituent -arsed (Amer. -assed), viz. half-arsed/-assed inadequate’, hard-assed ‘tough, Opening Considerations‘ineffectual, and Executive Summary .............................. 11 uncompromising, resolute’, raggedy-assed (orig. Military) ‘new and Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini inexperienced’, rat-arsed ‘drunk’ (also ratted as drunk as a rat), stiff-arsed/-assed ‘reserved, 1. Ethics and Human Rights supercilious’, tight-arsed/-assed ‘unable to inrelax and enjoy oneself’, tin-arsed (Austral. and N.Z.) ( tin the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 ‘money’) ‘very lucky’, white-arsed ‘contemptible, despicable’, etc. Mario Santillo 1.1 Migrants’ Rights 17 3.2.3.6. The suffix -er............................................................................. (type lifer, chancer) In 1.2 its International original use,Instrument the suffixfor -erMigrants’ (like L. -arius) was added to nouns Defence ............................. 21 to form derivative nouns with the general meaning ‘a man who has to Some do1.3 with (theFinal thingReflections................................................................... denoted by the base)’, and hence chiefly serving 23 to designate people according to their profession or occupation (e.g. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 hatter ‘one who makes hats’). The English words of this type not referring to Policies profession or employment are comparatively few: 2. Migration and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 examples are bencher, cottager, outsider, villager. Fabio Baggio Slang formations conforming to the regular model are numerous. 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 Examples include nouns formed from either standard or slang 2.2 Migration ESEA............................................................ 34 nominal bases: Policies gonger in(U.S.) ( gong ‘opium’) ‘an opium pipe’, jocker (N. Amer.) ( coarse jock ‘the male genitals’) ‘a male 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 homosexual’, josser (Austral.) ( joss ‘a Chinese figure of a deity’) 47 ‘a Bibliography clergyman or......................................................................................... minister of religion’, juicer ( juice ‘electricity’) ‘an electrician’, lifer ‘one sentenced to penal servitude for life’, looker 3. Immigration the 21st Century. (orig. U.S.) ‘ain person, usu. a woman, of particularly pleasing The Need for an Ethical Approach. Canadian(from Experience 51 appearance’, mucker ‘a heavy fall,The a cropper falling.....into Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg muck)’, ozoner (U.S.) ( colloq. ozone ‘fresh air’) ‘a drive-in cinema’, placer (Austral. and ............................................................. N.Z.) ‘a sheep which remains in one 3.1 World Population Increase 51 place’ (cf. deverbal placer below), popper ( pop ‘an injection of a 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 drug’) ‘a person who takes pills (esp. of stimulant drugs) excessively’, 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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rocker ‘head’, rounder (U.S.) ‘a transient railway worker’, topper Table of Contents (U.S., Military) ‘a first sergeant’, whaler (Austral.) ‘a tramp, orig. one whose route followed the course of a river’. A name noun pattern is in Christer (U.S.) ‘an over-zealous or sanctimonious person’. Some of them are from compound bases (see also § 3.2.1.4.2): e.g., eyewasher ( eye-wash ‘humbug’) ‘one who obscures actual facts’, hot rodder ( hot rod) ‘the driver of a powerful motor vehicle’, left-footer ‘a Roman Catholic’, moonlighter ‘a person who makes a hasty departure by night’, one-lunger ‘an engine with a single cylinder’, one-pipper (Military) ‘a second lieutenant (so called from this officer’s entitlement to wear one pip on the Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 shoulder of his uniform)’, weekender (orig. U.S.) ‘a person who Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini indulges in occasional drug-taking, esp. at weekends’. A special use of Rights the -er suffix in the standard language is its 1. Ethics and Human addition to names of places or countries to express the meaning 15 ‘a in the South American Migration Processes .................................... native ‘a resident of’ (e.g. Icelander, Londoner, New Yorker). Marioof’, Santillo This use is comparably illustrated by the derogatory American 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 slang noun Piker, referring to ‘a poor white migrant from the southern states ofInstrument the U.S.’for (orig. Pike County, Missouri), and by 1.2 International Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 Scouser ‘a native or inhabitant of Liverpool’. 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 The most common use of this suffix is, however, as a deverbal Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 formative of agent-nouns with the meaning ‘animate or inanimate performer of an action’ (e.g. St. E. baker). This is the pattern of 6 namely 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South 27 many slang agent-nouns, chancer ‘one East who Asia............ takes chances or Fabio does Baggio risky things’, chaser (chiefly U.S.) ( chase ‘pursue (a member of the opposite sex)inamorously’) women’, 2.1 International Migration East Asia and‘one Southwho Eastchases Asia.............. 27 chopper (U.S.) ‘a machine-gun or -gunner’, ‘a helicopter’, ‘a 2.2 Migrationclapper Policies( in ESEA............................................................ 34 motor-cycle’, clap ‘tinkle’) ‘the tongue of a bell, which strikes it onand theMigration inside and causes it to sound’, crimper ( crimp 2.3 Ethics Management................................................. 43 ‘curl’) ‘a hairdresser’, fizzer ( fizz ‘make a hissing or sputtering Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 sound’) ‘anything excellent or first-rate’, frightener ‘a member of a criminal gang who intimidates the victims of its activities’, greaser 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. (U.S.) ( grease ‘smear with grease’) ‘a native Mexican or native The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Spanish American’, heater ‘a gun’, joker (esp. Austral. and N.Z.) Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg ‘man, fellow, ‘chap’’, jumper ‘a ticket-inspector or ticket-collector, 3.1 World ............................................................. 51 jumping on Population to buses Increase to inspect tickets’, killer ( hyperbolic kill 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 6 Also Marchand (1969: 275, 280) observes that “slang is rich in -er words”.
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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‘excite, thrill, delight’) ‘an impressive, formidable, or excellent Table of Contents person or thing’, loser (U.S.) ( lose ‘perish’) ‘a convicted criminal’, owner (Nautical) ‘the captain of a ship’, passer ( pass ‘have currency’) ‘a person who puts base or forged money into circulation’, placer ‘an organizer of criminal practices, esp. a dealer in stolen goods’, roader (Taxi-drivers’) ( Amer. road ‘do (a distance) on the road’) ‘a long-distance taxi fare or journey’, shiner ‘coin, money’, ‘a mirror’, ‘a diamond’, ‘a black eye’, sitter (U.S.) ‘someone employed to sit in a bar and encourage other patrons to buy drinks’, snorer ‘the nose’, starrer ( star ‘perform the leading part’) ‘a Considerations play or film which provides an impressive leading role for Opening and Executive Summary .............................. 11 an Fabio actor Baggio, or actress’, stormer (Brit.) ( storm ‘rush with violence’) Laura Zanfrini ‘something of surpassing size, vigour, or excellence’, ticker (orig. U.S.) (and tickHuman ‘beat, pulse’) 1. Ethics Rights ‘the heart’, etc. from non-standard verbs are.................................... extremely frequent 15 in inAgent-nouns the South American Migration Processes slang. instances are crammer (orig. University) ‘one who MarioSome Santillo prepares pupils for an examination’, copper ( cop ‘capture, catch’) Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 ‘a 1.1 policeman’, crapper (coarse) ( crap ‘defecate’) ‘a privy’, croaker (now chiefly U.S.) (ironically Defence croak ‘kill’) ‘a doctor, esp. 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ ............................. 21 a prison doctor’, doer ( do ‘cheat, swindle’) ‘one who cheats 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 another’, doozer (perh. douse ‘strike, punch’) ‘something Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 remarkable or unbelievable’, dosser ( doss ‘sleep’) ‘one who stays at a common lodging-house’, dropper ‘one who passes counterfeit 2. Migration Policies and drummer Ethics in East and South money, cheques, etc.’, ‘a thief, esp. East one Asia............ who robs 27 an Fabio Baggio unoccupied house’, flasher ‘one who exposes himself indecently’, fucker ‘one who Migration copulates’, grafter U.S.)East ‘one who makes 2.1 International in East Asia(orig. and South Asia.............. 27 money by shady or dishonest means’, grasser ‘a police informer’, 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ hoofer ‘a (professional) dancer’, hustler ( hustle ‘engage 34 in prostitution’) ‘a Migration prostitute’,Management................................................. minder ‘a bodyguard employed to protect 2.3 Ethics and 43 a criminal’, mixer (Brit.) ( colloq. mix ‘fight or argue vigorously’) Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 ‘a troublemaker’, moocher ‘a beggar, a scrounger’, nailer ( nail ‘apprehend, incriminate (a person)’) ‘a police officer, detective’, 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. nobbler (chiefly Austral. and N.Z.) ( colloq. nobble ‘strike; stun’) The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 ‘a small quantity of alcoholic drink’, poisoner (Austral. and N.Z.) ( Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg colloq. poison) ‘a cook, esp. for large numbers’, poler (Austral. and 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 N.Z.) ( pole ‘take advantage of someone’) ‘a scrounger; a shirker’, pusher (orig. U.S.) ‘one who peddles drugs illegally’, rager 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 (Austral. and N.Z.) ( rage ‘revel’) ‘a person who enjoys having a 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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good time’, rapper (U.S.) ( colloq. rap ‘talk or chat in a discursive Table of Contents manner’) ‘a talker; a chatterer’, raver ( rave ‘give oneself over to enjoyment’) ‘a passionate enthusiast for a particular thing, idea, or cause’, renter ‘a male prostitute’, roller (chiefly N. Amer.) ( roll ‘rob’) ‘a thief; a prostitute who robs her customers’, rosiner ( dial. rosin ‘supply with liquor; make drunk’) ‘alcoholic drink’, scalper (U.S.) ‘someone who sells tickets, etc., esp. below the official rates’, scammer (orig. U.S.) ( scam ‘perpetrate a fraud; cheat’) ‘a criminal’, sender (orig. and chiefly U.S.) ( send ‘enthral, delight’) ‘one who or that which moves or enthrals, esp. a popular musician’, singer (Criminals’) (andcant sing Summary ‘peach, turn informer’) ‘an Opening Considerations Executive .............................. 11 informer’, skimmer (U.S.) ‘one who conceals some of his earnings in Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini order to avoid paying tax on them’, yacker (derog.) ‘a chatterbox or gossip’, (orig.Rights U.S.) ( zap Computing ‘erase or change (an 1. Ethics zapper and Human item in aSouth program)’) ‘the Migration remote-control unit for a piece of electronic in the American Processes .................................... 15 equipment’. Mario Santillo The following nouns are from complex slang verbs: ear-basher Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 (1.1ear-bash ‘talk inordinately’) ‘a chatterer; a bore’, four-flusher ( four ‘in poker: act in aforfraudulent ‘one who bluffs’, 1.2flush International Instrument Migrants’ manner’) Defence ............................. 21 and panhandler (U.S.) ( panhandle ‘beg from or importune (a 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 person)’) ‘a street beggar’. Bibliography 25 Slang words......................................................................................... not coined with a basic agentive meaning are blower ‘a speaking-tube or telephone’ and smacker (orig. U.S.) ‘a dollar; a 2. Migration Policies and ‘a Ethics in East and South 27 pound’, whereas cooler prison or prison cell’East has Asia............ an underlying Fabio Baggio agentive meaning as it metaphorically ‘cools’ prisoners. There are alsoMigration some class-maintaining slang East nouns with the -er 2.1 International in East Asia and South Asia.............. 27 suffix: e.g., gasser (orig. U.S.) ( gas) ‘something that gives 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 enormous fun and excitement’, nutter ( nut ‘a mad or crazy person’) ‘an2.3insane or eccentric scrubber ( scrub ‘disreputable Ethics and Migration person’, Management................................................. 43 woman’) ‘a prostitute; an untidy girl or woman’, slammer (orig. U.S.) Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 ( slam) ‘prison’. As in standard English (see Marchand 1969), in slang the -er 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. suffix may be tacked to almost any base: a proper name (Jimmy The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Woodser ‘a solitary drinker’), an adjective (deader ‘a dead person, a Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg corpse’, goner ‘one who is dead or undone’,7 no-hoper ‘a racehorse 3.1 no World Population Increase ............................................................. with prospect of winning’), a particle (downer ‘a depressant 51 or 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 7 Cf. St. E. goer, as in theatre-goer, with a totally different meaning.
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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tranquillizing drug’, upper ‘a drug (esp. an amphetamine)’, Public Table of Contents School ‘a pupil of the upper school’), an adverb (oncer ‘a one-pound note’, outer ‘the uncovered area of a racecourse or sports ground’, twicer ‘a crook, liar’), a converted adverbial (up-and-downer/upper and downer ‘an up-and-down fight or argument’), an interjection (coo-er ‘an exclamation expressing surprise or incredulity’), and a numeral (ten per center ‘a theatrical agent’). Some slang nouns are peculiarly obtained from irregular nominal, verbal or adjectival bases. For instance, fratter ‘one who ‘frats’’ is from the verb frat (short for fraternize) ‘establish friendly and esp.Considerations sexual relations German women’, prepper (U.S., Opening and with Executive Summary .............................. 11 School and College) ‘a student at a prep school’ is from the Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini abbreviated adjective prep ( preparatory), hotter (Brit.) ‘a person, youth, Rights who engages in ‘hotting’’ is from hot, a back1. Ethicsesp. and aHuman formation fromAmerican the verbal noun hotting ‘joyriding in stolen, highin the South Migration Processes .................................... 15 performance cars’, ligger ‘one who gatecrashes parties’ is from the Mario Santillo verb lig ‘sponge; gatecrash or attend parties’, a dialect variation of Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 lie,1.1and twocer (with alternative spellings twocker/TWOCer) (Brit., orig. Police) ‘a car thief’ for is from the Defence acronym twoc ( taking 1.2 International Instrument Migrants’ ............................. 21 without owner’s consent). 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 From abbreviated bases, the suffix also derives class-maintaining Bibliography 25 adjectives, such......................................................................................... as chocker (orig. Naval) ( chock-a-block ‘jammed or crammed close together’) ‘fed up; extremely disgruntled’, and 2. Migration Policies and Ethics East and East Asia............ upter (Austral.) ( colloq. up toinputty) ‘badSouth or worthless; no good’.27 Fabio Baggio
3.2.3.7. The suffix -er, -ers (type footer, champers) 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 The British slang suffix -er (and -ers, cumulated with -s) was 2.2 Migration Policiesfrom in ESEA............................................................ 34 originally introduced Rugby School into Oxford University slang in 1875. Since then, it has been used to obtain colloquial or 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 jocular forms of words and names, with curtailment and often some Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 distortion of the root. The earliest attested examples are nouns connected with sport and university habits, actions, objects, etc.: e.g., 3. Immigration in the1863), 21st Century. footer ( football, brekker ( breakfast, 1889), ekker ( The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 exercise, 1891), rugger ( rugby, 1893), Togger ( Torpid, 1897) Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg ‘a boat rowing in the Oxford college races called ‘Torpids’’, bonner (3.1bonfire, 1898), Divvers Divinity, 1905) ‘divinity honour World Population Increase ( ............................................................. 51 moderations, the first public examination in Holy Scripture’, and, 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 unusually, from the middle of words, tosher ( unattached, 1889) 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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‘an ‘unattached’ or non-collegiate student at a university having Table of Contents residential colleges’, and soccer/socker ( Association, 1891) ‘the game of football as played under Association rules’. Other familiar examples with an -er/-ers ending are bedder ( bedroom), bed-sitter ( bed-sitting room), champers ( champagne), collekkers ( collections) ‘an examination at the end of each term in the colleges of the University of Oxford’, cupper ( cup) ‘a series of intercollegiate matches played in competition for a cup’, leccer/ lecker/lekker ( lecture) and rudders ( rudiments of divinity). Examples of proper names with the same ending are Adders ( Addison’s Walk), Bodder Bodleian) and Johnners ( Brian Opening Considerations and( Executive Summary .............................. 11 Johnston, a British cricket commentator). Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini The respective extended variants -agger/-aggers are likewise used withand clipped nominal 1. Ethics Human Rights bases (e.g. chagger changing-room, sensagger American sensation,Migration spaggers/spadgers spaghetti, stragger in the South Processes .................................... 15 Mario stranger, wagger waste-paper basket), or with proper names Santillo (e.g. Jaggers Jesus College and Quaggers Queen’s College). 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 The cumulative suffix -ers is additionally used in Nautical slang to 1.2 coin nouns pertaining to drinks or liquids, such as pinkers (Brit.) International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 ( pink ‘a drink of pink gin’) ‘pink gin’, sippers (Brit.) ( sip) ‘a 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 sip (of rum)’, and strongers ( strong) ‘a mixture containing Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 caustic soda used for cleaning paintwork and woodwork on ships’ (cf. soogee-moogee in the same sense). 2. Migration in East suffix and South Eastthe Asia............ Another Policies use of and thisEthics composite is in coining 27 of Fabio Baggio adjectives, such as bonkers (perh. bonk ‘a blow or punch on the head’) ‘mad, crazy’, ‘slightly drunk’, ‘crazy, 2.1 International Migration in East Asia crackers and South( Eastcracker) Asia.............. 27 mad; infatuated’ (cf. cracked ‘unsound in mind, crazy’), and, after 2.2 Migrationpreggers Policies in(orig. ESEA............................................................ 34 abbreviation, Brit.) ( pregnant), ravers ‘raving mad, starkers (Brit.) ( stark naked) ‘absolutely without 2.3 delirious’, Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 clothing’. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
3.2.3.8. The suffix -eroo, -aroo
3. Immigration in the 21stitsCentury. The ending -eroo (and variant -aroo, also -roo, -oo)8 has been The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 defined as a “factitious slang suffix” (OED) or a “neo-pseudo-suffix” Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg (Wentworth 1972) peculiar to American slang formations, such as
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance 53 8 According to Wentworth (1972), there should be a further variant................. -amaroo, with an 3.3 intrusive element -am-, as is kissamaroo, longer in use. International Migration in Canada:noAn Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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Elisa Mattiello – An Introduction to English Slang 9
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flopperoo ‘a flop, a failure’. In fact, it can be viewed as a factitious or Table of Contents pseudo-suffix because it has no semantic consistency. Nevertheless, Marchand (1969: 211) suggests that it has an “endearing force”: that is to say, unlike regular slang suffixes (e.g. -er, as in life lifer), it does not derive new words, but rather new connoted variants, such as flopperoo, which sounds like a [non-serious] (Dressler & Merlini Barbaresi 1994) jocular account of a flop. According to Wentworth (1972), it may have originated from American dialect buckaroo (a corruption of Sp. vaquero ‘cowboy’), or from Australian kangaroo, after which, by analogy, many curious toy-words (e.g. and antseroo, bingeroo, bounceroo, etc.) have Opening Considerations Executive Summary .............................. 11 been formed. Thus, although the ending of the supposed progenitors Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini is -aroo, the most frequent form of the suffix is -eroo. It occurs some modern 1. Ethics andin Human Rights American slang nouns, such as jerkeroo (in the jerk)South ‘a fool, a stupid person’, peacheroo ( peach) ‘an American Migration Processes .................................... 15 attractive woman’ (cf. peacherino), pipperoo ( pip) ‘a particularly Mario Santillo remarkable or pleasing person or thing’, sockeroo ( sock) 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 ‘something with an overwhelming impact’, stinkeroo ( stink ‘a disgusting smell’)Instrument ‘something a veryDefence low standard; a very bad 1.2 International for of Migrants’ ............................. 21 performance’, switcheroo ( switch) ‘a change of position or an 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 exchange, esp. one intended to surprise or deceive’. Switcheroo may Bibliography also be used as......................................................................................... an attribute, with the meaning ‘reversible, reversed’.25 The suffix -aroo, with a basic vowel a instead of e, is less 2. Migrationused, Policies andmerely Ethics in South East frequently and asEast an and alternative to Asia............ -eroo, as 27 in Fabio Baggio stinkaroo/stinkeroo, buckaroo/buckeroo (also buckayro). The variant -roo is regularly usedand with bases having a final 2.1 International Migration in East Asia South East Asia.............. 27 vowel e, as in boozeroo (N.Z.) ( boose/booze) ‘a drinking spree’, 2.2 Migration whereas the -ooPolicies variantinisESEA............................................................ added to nominal er-ending bases, as 34 in poofteroo ( poofter orig. Austral.) ‘a homosexual man; 2.3 Ethics(derog.) and Migration Management................................................. 43 an effeminate or affected man’, smackeroo ( smacker) ‘a coin or Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 note of money’, ‘a kiss; a blow’, smasheroo ( smasher ‘anything uncommon’) ‘a great success’. 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. The -eroo suffix (or its variant -oo) may be added to shortened The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 bases as well, as in brusheroo ( brush-off) ‘a rebuff, dismissal’, Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg razoo ( raspberry) ‘ridicule; the arousing of indignation or the 3.1 World Population ............................................................. 51 like’, and skidoo ( v Increase skedaddle) ‘leave or depart hurriedly’. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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3.2.3.9. The suffix -ery Table of Contents The suffix -ery occurs in many English words adopted from French (e.g. F. batterie, E. battery), and, as -y, in many others formed on nouns ending in -er (e.g. baker bakery). The formatives in -ery regularly exhibit a general collective sense (machinery, scenery). They may denote classes of goods (as pottery, jewelry), actions/ behaviours characteristic of, with contemptuous implication (as knavery, monkery), or the place where an employment is carried on (brewery, fishery). The standard type brewery is identifiable in the English slang nouns (orig. U.S.).............................. ( night or 11 its Openingnightery/-erie, Considerationsnitery/-erie and Executive Summary respelling nite) ‘a nightclub’, noshery ( nosh ‘food, a meal’) ‘a Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini restaurant; a snack bar’, nuttery (U.S.) ( nut) ‘a mental hospital’, and in jocular Wrennery (Services’) ‘a building used to accommodate 1. Ethics and Human Rights Wrens’, from the noun Wren denoting ‘a member of the Women’s in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 Royal Naval Service’ (cf. nunnery, obs. slang ‘a brothel’, now only Mario Santillo St. E. ‘a convent’). 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 The senses expressed by pottery and knavery are less recurrent in 1.2 slang: an example of the is Defence ironmongery (‘firearms’), International Instrument for former Migrants’ ............................. 21 which is obtained from a complex base (iron + deverbal monger), 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 whereas the latter is in British slang yobbery ‘hooliganism’, from Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 yob (see § 3.1.3, type g). 3.2.3.10. ThePolicies suffix -ette 2. Migration and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27
The suffix -ette – corresponding to the French diminutive suffix Fabio Baggio (e.g. F. montagnette, E. mountainette) – is productively used in 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 English to form female nouns from male personal nouns (e.g. 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ suffragist suffragette). It is analogously used in English slang 34 to form hackette ( hack ‘a journalist or reporter’) ‘a jocular or 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 disparaging term for a female journalist’, and in colloquial British Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 English to obtain ladette ( lad ‘a boy, youth’) ‘young woman characterized by her enjoyment of male activities’. st 3. Immigration the 21 In slang the in suffix -etteCentury. may also be attached to a shortened base, Needcase for an Ethical Approach. Experience ..... 51 in The which it does not derive aThe newCanadian word but a connotative Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg option, as in derogatory bimbette ( bimbo) ‘a young woman regarded as Population sexually attractive but thought to lack intelligence’. 51 3.1 World Increase ............................................................. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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3.2.3.11. The suffix -ful Table of Contents In modern English the suffix
-ful – which originated, as in other Germanic languages, from the syntactic group a mouth full (of soup) – has become a suffix forming derivatives with the general meaning ‘quantity that fills or would fill – ’ (Marchand 1969: 292-293). It may therefore be freely attached to any noun denoting an object that can be regarded as holding or containing a more or less definite quantity of anything, as in bookful, bottleful, boxful, etc. (‘as much as a book, bottle, box, etc. will contain’). In slang, this suffix attaches to nouns denoting parts of the human body to form novel nouns a figurative rather than literal sense. Opening Considerations andwith Executive Summary .............................. 11 Examples are earful ‘as much (talk) as one’s ears can take in at one Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini time’, eyeful ‘a ‘good look’ at something’, hence, ‘a strikingly attractive woman’, handful 1. Ethics and Human Rights‘a five-year prison sentence’ (think of the five of aAmerican hand), mouthful (orig. and chiefly U.S.) ‘an utterance in fingers the South Migration Processes .................................... 15 of Mario notable truth or relevance’, skinful ‘as much as the skin can hold: Santillo as much as any one can drink’. Sometimes the variant -full is used 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 (eye-full, skinfull), so that the new words are more similar to compounds (with autonomous than to............................. derivatives. 1.2 International Instrument forconstituents) Migrants’ Defence 21 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 3.2.3.12. The suffix -ie, -y The suffix -ie/-y has a basic hypocoristic meaning/function 25 in Bibliography ......................................................................................... standard English: that is, it is used to form pet terms (terms of endearment) and familiar diminutives jocularity 27 or 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and expressing South East Asia............ affection. It may be tacked either to full common nouns (aunt Fabio Baggio auntie, babe baby) or to shortened or endearingly modified proper 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 names (Edward/Edmund Eddie, Elizabeth Lizzie or Betty). 2.2 Migration ESEA............................................................ 34 The forms -yPolicies and -iein are now almost equally common in proper names as such, but in a few pet forms one or other spelling is 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 preferred (Annie but Sally), whereas in the transferred applications of Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 these (as in dolly, jemmy) the variant -y prevails. In other hypocoristic forms -ie seems to be the favourite choice, after Scottish usage (as in st 3. Immigration dearie, laddie). in the 21 Century. The for an Ethical The Canadian 51 TheNeed variants of -ie/-y areApproach. -ey, regularly used with Experience bases with a..... final Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg vowel e (as in Charles Charley, love lovey), -ee (as in boot bootee ‘an infant’s wool boot’), and, after cumulation, -sie/-sy (often 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 in reduplicative formations, such as popsy-wopsy, tootsie-wootsie). As 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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Merlini Barbaresi (2001) remarks, one of the favourite areas of use of Table of Contents the suffix -ie/-y is slang. In slang, many proper name hypocoristics convert into the category of common nouns, though sometimes maintaining the initial capital letter. Examples are Archie ( Archibald) ‘an antiaircraft gun’, Charlie/-ey (orig. U.S.) ( Charles) ‘cocaine’, Hughie/Huey (Austral. and N.Z.) ( Hugh) ‘the ‘god’ of weather’, Joey ( Joe) ‘a threepenny bit’, Johnnie/-y ( John) ‘a policeman’, ‘a condom’, Judy ( Judith) ‘a girl, woman’, maggie/-y (U.S.) ( Margaret) ‘a prostitute’, patsy (orig. U.S.) ( Patrick) ‘someone who is the object of ridicule’, and many appellatives for cowards 11 or Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. effeminate men deriving from (mainly female) forenames (e.g. gussie Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini Augustus, Lizzie/lizzie Elizabeth, mollie/-y/-ey Mary, nancy Ethics Anne or Agnes, nellie/-y 1. and Human Rights Eleanor or Helen). is predominantly used to form nouns with 15 an inThe the -ie/-y South suffix American Migration Processes .................................... appellative hypocoristic meaning/function (as in duckie/-y ‘a term Mario Santillo of endearment’). However, it may also be used ironically or 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 sarcastically, esp. to refer to: 1.2 International for Migrants’ Defence ‘A person Instrument who belongs to a different race............................. or country’, as 21 in
Chinkie/-y/-ey ‘a Chinaman’, Dutchie/-y/-ee ‘a Dutchman 23 or 1.3 Some Final Reflections...................................................................
a German’, Eyetie ( jocular Eye-talian) ‘an Italian’, Heinie/ -ey (N. Amer.) ( Heinrich) ‘a German (soldier)’, homie/-ey (N.Z.) ‘an Englishman; a British immigrant’, Hymie (U.S.) 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 ( Jewish Hyman) ‘a Jewish person’, Ikey/-y ( Isaac) ‘a Fabio Baggio Jew’, Sammy (Brit.) ‘an American soldier in the war of 19142.1 International Migration Eastoriental, Asia andaSouth East Asia.............. 18’, slopy/-ey (U.S.)in‘an Chinese’, Welshie/-y 27 ‘a Welshman or Welshwoman’, whitie/-y/-ey (Black E.) ‘a white 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 person’, yardie (orig. West Indies) ‘a Jamaican’; Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43
‘One whose behaviour is not approved’, as in druggie/-y ‘a
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 drug addict’, junkie/-y/-ey (orig. U.S.) ( junk ‘any narcotic
drug’) ‘a drug addict’, queerie ( queer ‘homosexual’) ‘one
3. Immigration in theeffeminate, 21st Century. who is soft, or homosexual’, roughie/-y ‘a rough The Need for an Ethical Approach. The (chiefly CanadianU.S.) Experience ..... 51 or rowdy; a hooligan’, rummy ‘a habitual Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
drunkard’, sickie/-y (N. Amer.) ‘one who is mentally ill or perverted’; 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 ‘A person having a distinctive condition, defect 53 or 3.2 Urbanization, International Migrationphysical and Governance ................. mental deficiency’, as in gimpy ‘a cripple’, nully (rare) ‘a
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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Elisa Mattiello – An Introduction to English Slang 9
The electronic edition of this book is not sold and is made available in free access. Every contribution is published according to the terms of “Polimetrica License B”. “Polimetrica License B” gives anyone the possibility to distribute the contents of the work, provided that the authors of the work and the publisher are always recognised and mentioned. It does not allow use of the contents of the work for commercial purposes or for profit. Polimetrica Publisher has the exclusive right to publish and sell the contents of the work in paper and electronic format and by any other means of publication. Additional rights on the contents of the work are the author’s property.
person; a nobody’, shortie/-y ‘a person of short Tablestupid of Contents stature’, thickie ‘one who is dull of intellect’, weirdie/-y ‘an odd or unconventional person’, wheelie/-y (Austral.) ‘a person in or confined to a wheelchair’, wingy ‘a one-armed man’, wrinklie/-y ‘an old or middle-aged person’. The above terms, esp. those belonging to the first two groups, are deliberately used to produce an offensive effect, and most of them undeniably have a derogatory sense. With respect to the base categories, the -ie/-y suffix primarily obtains nouns from nominal or adjectival bases. Opening Considerations Executive .............................. 11 Denominal formativesand with an -ie/-ySummary ending mainly denote ‘people Fabio Baggio,byLaura Zanfrini occupation, hobby, etc.’. Examples are characterized an activity, bikie (Austral. and N.Z.) ‘a motor-cyclist’, chiefy (Forces’) ‘a chief 1. andofficer’, Human Rights or Ethics superior gobby ‘a coastguard, or an American sailor’, in the South American Migration .................................... 15 groupie (R.A.F.) ‘a group captain’,Processes groupie/-y ‘an ardent follower Mario Santillo of a touring pop group’, looie/louie/looey ( N. Amer. pronunciation /lu/ lieutenant) ‘a ............................................................................. lieutenant’, roadie/-y ‘someone who organizes 1.1ofMigrants’ Rights 17 and supervises a touring pop group’, schoolie (Naval) ‘a classroom 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 instructor’, shoppie/-y ‘a shop assistant’, slushie/-y/-ey ( slush 1.3 Some Final cook’, Reflections................................................................... 23 ‘food’) ‘a ship’s squaddie/-y (Services’) ‘a member of a squad; a private soldier’, stripey (Naval) ‘a long-service able seaman; one Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 with good-conduct stripes’, surfie (chiefly Austral.) ‘a surfer or surfboarding enthusiast’. 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 Inanimate Fabio Baggio nouns from a nominal base refer to ‘something characterized by or having to do with what the base denotes’: e.g., 2.1( International Migration in East Asia and middy South East Asia.............. 27 letty It. letto ‘bed’) ‘a bed, a lodging’, (Austral.) ( mid) ‘a 2.2 medium-sized measure of beer or other liquor’, munchie ( Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 colloq. munch ‘something to eat’) ‘snack food’, soupy/-ie (U.S., 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 Military) ‘(a summons to) a meal’, and woodie/-y (orig. Surfing, Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 chiefly U.S.) ‘an estate car with timber-framed sides’. Deadjectival formatives with this suffix generally refer to 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. ‘people or things having the quality indicated by the adjective’. The Need for an Ethical Approach. The ..... 51 They are similarly distinguished into Canadian animate Experience and inanimate. Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg Animate nouns are biggie/-y (orig. U.S.) ‘an important person’, cutie/-ey (orig. U.S.) Increase ‘a cute............................................................. person; esp. an attractive young 3.1 World Population 51 woman’, dummie/-y/-ee ( dumb ‘stupid’) ‘a deaf-mute’, hottie/-y 3.2 Urbanization, International and Governance ................. 53 (orig. U.S.) ( hot ‘sexuallyMigration attractive’) ‘a sexually attractive 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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person’, nuddie/-y (orig. Austral.) ( nude, as in in the nuddy), Table of Contents smoothie (orig. U.S.) ( smooth ‘stylish, suave, chic’) ‘a person who is ‘smooth’’, swiftie/-y ‘a fast-moving person: a rapid runner, a quick thinker’, weakie/-y (chiefly Austral.) ‘a person who is weak in constitution, character, or ability’. Instances denoting inanimate nouns are cheapie ‘something cheap’, darky/-ey ‘the night’, falsies (orig. U.S.) ‘a padded brassière’, greenie (Surfing) ‘a large wave before it breaks’, sharpie (N. Amer.) ( sharp ‘smart, well-equipped’) ‘that which is smart or in good condition, esp. of cars’. The -ie/-y suffix attaches to other Summary less common bases, such 11 as Opening Considerations and Executive .............................. verbs (clippie/-y ‘a bus-conductress’), and adverbs (downie ‘a Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini depressant or tranquillizing drug’). It peculiarly attaches to the thieves’ cantHuman verb chive 1. Ethics and Rights‘knife’ to obtain the synonymous slang verb chivvy/chivey. But Migration it mostlyProcesses attaches .................................... to irregular shortened in the South American 15 bases, clippings and acronymic formations (see §§ 3.2.11, Mariolike Santillo 3.2.9.1 for the base analysis). 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 Clippings with an additional pet suffix are particularly frequent in 1.2 slang. They areInstrument mainly class-maintaining nouns which pertain 21 to International for Migrants’ Defence ............................. the contexts of home, clothing, food, pub, sport, television, school, 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 military, job, etc. Examples are bevie/bevvy ( beverage), footie/-y Bibliography 25 (esp. Austral. ......................................................................................... and N.Z.) ( football), indie ( independent) ‘an independent theatre, film, or recorded company’, jerry ( 2. Migration and or Ethics in East and South Eastlocie/lokey Asia............(N. 27 jeroboam ‘a Policies large bowl goblet’) ‘a chamber-pot’, Fabio and Baggio Amer. N.Z.) ( locomotive), Minnie/-y (Military) ( G. Minenwerfer) ‘a German (orig. and chiefly 2.1 International Migrationtrench in Eastmortar’, Asia andnembie South East Asia.............. 27 U.S.) ( Nembutal) ‘a Nembutal capsule’, Polly ( Apollinaris) 2.2 Migrationmineral Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 ‘Apollinaris water’, pornie ( porn shortened from pornography) pornographic film’, tatie/tattie ( potato), U-ey 2.3 Ethics and‘aMigration Management................................................. 43 (Austral.) ( U-turn), wellie/-y ( Wellington ‘a Wellington boot’) Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 ‘a kick, acceleration’, and sammie or sarnie/-ey ( sandwich), after an alteration of the base due to natural preferences. 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. Some of these inanimate nouns seem to belong to a more formal The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 area, such as the jargon of business, banking, urban planning, etc. Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg (e.g. chippie/-y chip-shop; derry derelict, ‘a derelict building’; 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 divvy dividend; offie/-y off-licence, ‘an off-licence shop’), now also extended to everyday language. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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Other clippings with this suffix are hypocoristic names of places Table of Contents (countries or towns), or refer to their inhabitants: e.g., Argie ( Argentinian/Argentine), Aussie ( Australia(n)), and its variants Ossie/Ozzie, gippy/gyppie/gyppy ( gipsy) ‘an Egyptian’ (also ‘a gipsy’), Phillie/-y (U.S.) ( Philadelphia), and Tassie/-y/-ey (Austral.) ( Tasmania(n)). Animate nouns from clipped bases denote people who have a specific job, activity, habit, political/religious belief, or physical condition. Examples are cokie/-ey (orig. U.S.) ( coke abbrev. of cocaine) ‘a cocaine addict’, Commie/-y ( Communist; cf. Commo),Considerations flatty (orig. U.S.) flat-foot) ‘a policeman’, gremmie/-y Opening and ( Executive Summary .............................. 11 (Surfing) ( gremlin) ‘a young surfer’, hostie (Austral. and N.Z.) Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini ( hostess), juvie/-ey (U.S.) ( juvenile), kriegie ( G. Kriegsgefangener ‘prisoner 1. Ethics and Human Rights of war’) ‘an Allied prisoner of war in Germany during the war of 1939-45’, ( lesbian; cf. in the South American Migration ProcessesLesbie .................................... 15 Lesbo), its variants Lessie/-y/Lezzy, Limey (U.S.) ( lime-juicer) Mario Santillo ‘an English sailor’, pikey/-y (chiefly regional) ( pike shortened 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 from turnpike) ‘a vagrant’, polly (orig. U.S., now chiefly Austral. and ( Instrument politician),forProddie/-y (chiefly Ir.) ( Prod 1.2 N.Z.) International Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 shortened from protestant with voicing of intervocalic -t-), 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 prossie/-y or prostie/-y (N. Amer.) ( prostitute; cf. pross), statie Bibliography 25 (U.S.) ( state......................................................................................... trooper), trannie ( transvestite). A clipped word with previous alteration of the base is patootie (chiefly U.S.) ( 2. Migration Policies aand Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 potato) ‘a girlfriend, sweetheart; an attractive woman’. An adjective Fabio Baggio belonging here is preggie/-y ( pregnant; cf. preggers, preggo). A International small group Migration of (mostlyin American) nouns -ie/-y ending 2.1 East Asia and Southwith Eastan Asia.............. 27 originate from acronyms: e.g., dinkie/-y ( double income no kids), 2.2 Migration 34 woopie/-y ( Policies well-offin ESEA............................................................ old(er) person), and yumpie ( young upwardly people), after yuppie/-y ( young urban 2.3 Ethics mobile and Migration Management................................................. 43 professional, now also frequently interpreted as young upwardly Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 mobile professional), Fannie Mae ( Federal National Mortgage Association, after two female personal names), and Naffy, a variant 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. from NAAFI ( Navy, Army, and Air Force Institutes). The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 The suffix -ie/-y and its cumulative variants -sie/-sy/-sey Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg sometimes attach to reduplicative formations, as in footie-footie or 3.1 World‘amorous Populationplay Increase 51 footy-footy with............................................................. the feet’ (also footsie-footsie, footsyfootsy, or simply footy), and tootsie-wootsie or tootsey-wootsey 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 (chiefly U.S.) ‘a woman, a girl; a sweetheart’. 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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3.2.3.13. The suffix -ify, -fy Table of Contents The English suffix -ify (and
its variant -fy quoted in the OED) regularly forms verbs with the common meaning ‘make, convert into, bring into the state of – ’, as in denominal beautify and deadjectival uglify, with the regular dropping of final -y before the suffix is added. In slang, this suffix attaches to an irregular base – the acronym yuppie/-y – to form the verb yuppify (orig. U.S.) ‘subject to yuppification’ (see -ation, § 3.2.3.2). After cumulation with the -ed (participial) suffix, it also attaches to the slang noun pansy ‘a male homosexual; an effeminate man’ and to colloquial sissy ‘an Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 effeminate person; a coward’ to obtain the adjectives pansified Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini ‘excessively stylized or adorned; affected’ and sissified ‘effeminate’. 1. Ethics and Human Rights 3.2.3.14. The suffix -ing (n type: flaming) in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15
In Mario present-day English, -ing is a suffix forming verbal derivatives, Santillo originally abstract nouns of action (ask asking, learn 1.1 Migrants’ ............................................................................. learning), but Rights subsequently developed in various directions, 17 to express existence, processes, habits, etc. By later extension, 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 formations with this suffix have been analogically made from nouns 1.3 Somegardening), Final Reflections................................................................... 23 (bedding, and, by ellipsis, from adverbs (as inning, offing, outing);......................................................................................... while nonce-words in -ing are formed freely on Bibliography 25 words or phrases of many kinds: e.g. oh-ing, hear-hearing (‘calling oh!, hear! hear!’), how-d’ye-doing you do?’); 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East(‘saying and Southhow Eastdo Asia............ 27 pinting (‘having pints of beer’), etc. Fabio Baggio In English slang, verbal nouns ending in -ing mainly express 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 actions which have passed into a process, practice, habit: e.g., 2.2 Migration Policies‘the in ESEA............................................................ 34 flaming (Computing) action or practice of sending inflammatory or 2.3 abusive messages by e-mail’, foozling (Golf) ‘bungling’, fratting Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 ( frat) ‘friendly relations between British and American soldiers Bibliography 47 and German ......................................................................................... women’, mooching (regional) ‘begging; loafing’, phishing (Computing) (a respelling of fishing) ‘fraud perpetrated on st Century. 3. in the 21(U.S., theImmigration Internet’, ranking Black E.) ( rank ‘insult (a person)’) The Need for an Ethicalsteaming Approach.‘the The action Canadian ..... 51 ‘intra-group repartee’, of Experience passing rapidly Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg through a public place robbing bystanders’. Sometimes the notion of action may be limited to a single 51 or 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. particular occasion, as in bashing (Services’) ‘any arduous task’, 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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doing (dial.) ‘a scolding; a thrashing; a severe Table of Contents shellacking (chiefly U.S.) ‘a beating; a defeat’.
monetary loss’,
Nouns ending in -ing are also obtained from compound nouns or verbs, as in denominal gender-bending (back-formed Å genderbender, see § 3.2.8.3) ‘the action of affecting an androgynous appearance’), hot-rodding (orig. U.S.) (Å hot rod) ‘racing powerful motor vehicles’, jawboning (U.S.) (Å jaw-bone ‘credit’) ‘name applied to a policy’, and in deverbal ram-raiding (Å v ram-raid ‘break into (esp. commercial premises)’) ‘a form of smash-and-grab robbery in which premises are broken into by ramming a vehicle through aConsiderations window or wall’. Opening and Executive Summary .............................. 11 The -ing suffix may also attach to adjectives, as in hotting (Brit.) Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini (Å hot ‘stolen’ (goods)) ‘joyriding in stolen, high-performance cars’, or Ethics to nouns, as in sledging 1. and Human Rights (Austral., Cricket) (Å sledge ‘a large heavy usually wielded with both hands’) ‘unsportsmanlike in thehammer South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 attempts by fielders to upset a batsman’s concentration by abuse, Mario Santillo needling, etc.’. A peculiar irregular base is the acronym sug (Brit.) Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 (Å1.1sell under guise), which originates the noun sugging. 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21
3.2.3.15. The suffix -ing (ppl adj type: corking) 1.3English Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 The suffix -ing is used to form both adjectives of participial origin or nature......................................................................................... (as cunning orig. Å can, willing), and prepositions Bibliography 25 or adverbs of participial origin (as concerning, during, excepting, notwithstanding, pending, touching). 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 Instances of slang participial adjectives are corking (chiefly Fabio Baggio U.S.) ‘unusually fine or excellent; stunning’, happening (Å happen 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 ‘be successful’) ‘currently in vogue, fashionable’, storming (chiefly Migration Policiesoutstanding in ESEA............................................................ 34 in 2.2 Sport) ‘displaying vigour, speed, or skill’, swinging (Å2.3swing ‘be promiscuous’) ‘of or pertaining to one who engages Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 in promiscuous sexual activity’, topping ‘of high quality; excellent’, Bibliography ......................................................................................... zonking (Å zonk ‘overcome, overwhelm’) ‘impressively (large 47 or great)’. 3. Immigration the 21st Century. Most slanginparticipial adjectives of this type are used as The Need for an Ethical The Canadian Experience ..... 51 intensifying adverbs, orApproach. as euphemistic substitutes for strong Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg expletives (i.e. bloody, fucking), exhibiting a phonological resemblance with the original Examples are blinking, blooming, 3.1 World Population Increaseterm. ............................................................. 51 chuffing (Brit.), effing (Å eff ‘variant of ef, name of the letter F, 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 representing fuck’), flipping, fricking (orig. U.S.), frigging, naffing 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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(Brit.), perishing, pissing (chiefly Brit.), sodding, steaming, stonking. Table of Contents Intensifiers with an -ing ending may also originate from nouns (as pigging Brit.) or from adjectives (as hellishing chiefly Austral. and N.Z.). 3.2.3.16. The suffix -ish The adjectival suffix -ish has various functions and meanings in English. In OE it was used to form adjectives from national names: e.g., British (OE Brittisc), English (OE Englisc), Scottish (OE Scyttisc), etc. With the same basic meaning of appurtenance, -ish attaches to common nouns, as in more recent boyish, girlish, and, Opening Considerations and in Executive 11 with a derogatory meaning, babyish,Summary clownish,.............................. foolish, etc. Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini The suffix is now added to adjectives denoting colour (reddish, yellowish), and, in colloquial use, to other monosyllabic adjectives 1. Ethics and Human Rights with the meaning ‘of the nature of, approaching the quality of, in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 somewhat’ (darkish, poorish, smallish). Further examples of this Mario Santillo type are the colloquial plutish (orig. Austral., now chiefly U.S.) 1.1 Migrants’from Rightsthe ............................................................................. 17 ‘plutocratic’, base plute, shortened from plutocrat, and moreish ‘of food or drink: that makes one want to have more’. 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 The suffix may attach to other head classes: verbs (as in standard 1.3 Someand Final Reflections................................................................... 23 snappish colloq. peckish ‘somewhat hungry (of a person)’ Å peck orig. cant......................................................................................... ‘eat, feed’), particles (as in standard uppish) and Bibliography 25 numerals, to denote approximate age or time (as in standard fortyish, ninish). 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 In slang use, it also attaches to adverbial phrases (as in allFabio Baggio overish ‘having a general sense of illness pervading the body’), 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 nominal compounds (as in pound-noteish/notish Brit. ‘affected, 2.2 Migration in ESEA............................................................ 34 pompous’), andPolicies to such irregular bases as altered clipped nouns (hippish ‘somewhat hypochondriacal’ Å hip, altered abbreviation 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 of hypochondria), and as back-slang nouns (as in yobbish Å yob, Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 ‘characteristic of a yob’, see § 3.1.3, type g). 3.2.3.17. The suffix 3. Immigration in the-less 21st Century. The Need forsuffix an Ethical Canadian Experience 51 The adjectival -less,Approach. accordingThe to Marchand (1969: 324)..... “the Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg negative counterpart of -ful”, attaches to nominal bases to convey the3.1 privative sense ‘without, free from – ’ (as in careless, needless; World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 cf. careful, needful). This sense is in colloquial potless (now chiefly 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance 53 Brit.) ‘having no money, penniless’, obtained from the................. slang noun
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pot ‘a large sum of money’. Added to deverbal nouns of action, the Table of Contents adjectival derivative takes on the sense of ‘not to be –ed’ (as in countless, numberless ‘not to be counted, numbered’). In slang, the sense ‘without, not having – ’ has to be read metaphorically, as in legless alluding to the physical effects of drinking too much, and therefore referring to someone who is ‘drunk, esp. too drunk to stand’. A likewise metaphorical reading applies to motherless (Austral.) ‘very poor, having no money’, to coarse shitless ‘alluding to a state of extreme fear’, and to zipless ‘denoting a brief and passionate sexual encounter’. Some slang derivatives with a -less and ending are also used to .............................. intensify adjectives Opening Considerations Executive Summary 11 (asFabio motherless in motherless broke, drunk, stoney). Baggio, Laura Zanfrini 3.2.3.18. The suffix -ly
1. Ethics and Human Rights In English -ly is a suffix forming adverbs of manner, mainly from in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15
adjectives, as badly ‘in a bad manner’. With the sense ‘in a – Mario Santillo manner’ slang regularly obtains adverbs from slang adjectives 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 ending in y, changed to i before -ly: e.g., chestily (U.S.) ‘in a chesty manner’, dopily ‘in a dopey manner’, glitzily, groovily, hammily, 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 kookily, raunchily, spookily, wackily, etc. From an irregular 1.3 Some base Final Reflections................................................................... 23 adjectival (yobbish, see the adjective-forming suffix -ish above), slang coins yobbishly ‘in a loutish manner’. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 Slang adverbs may acquire the metaphorical sense ‘unusually, excessively, really, extraordinarily’ when intensifiers, as 27 in 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and used SouthasEast Asia............ all-firedly ( all-fired ‘infernal’, a euphemism for hell-fired), Fabio Baggio seriously (orig. U.S.) (esp. as seriously rich), stinkingly (e.g. 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 stinkingly drunk, pretty, rich). 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34
3.2.3.19. The suffix -ness 2.3English Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 The suffix -ness forms (mainly abstract) nouns from adjectives (hardness), participles (drunkenness, knowingness), adjectival phrases Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 (donothingness), and (more rarely) nouns (childness), pronouns (Iness), adverbs (nowness), particles (outness) and numerals (oneness). 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. The Need for an of Ethical Approach.isThe ..... 51 The general sense the derivatives ‘theCanadian condition,Experience quality, state of Christine Richard Vanderberg being what Baghdady, the base denotes’. Regularly-formed deadjectival nouns are chestiness ‘the 3.1 World Population slang Increase ............................................................. 51 condition or quality of being chesty’, crumbiness ( crumby ‘lousy; 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 filthy’), dragginess, glitziness, grunginess ( grungy ‘grimy, 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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unpleasant’), kookiness, peckishness ( Table of Contents raunchiness, schmal(t)ziness, scuzziness,
deverbal adj peckish), spookiness, wackiness,
yuckiness. Nouns ending in -ness from compound adjectives are, for instance, all-overishness (see the adj all-overish under -ish above), boneheadedness ( bone-headed ‘thick-headed, stupid’), slug-nuttiness ( slug-nutty U.S. ‘punch-drunk’), and with-it-ness ( with-it ‘fashionable’). The noun hotsy-totsiness is from a reduplicative adjective (i.e. hotsy-totsy ‘comfortable, satisfactory’) and yobbishness ‘the condition of being a hooligan’ is from a denominal adjective (yobbish),Considerations whereas hippi(e)ness ‘the characteristics of a hippie 11 or Opening and Executive Summary .............................. hippies’ is from a noun (hippie/-y ‘a hipster; a beatnik’). Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini 3.2.3.20. The suffix -o
1. Ethics and Human Rights The suffix -o – now widespread in English-speaking countries but in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15
especially associated with Australian English – has various origins, Mario Santillo which deserve some diachronic explanation. In the early 16th 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 century, it mainly represented the final syllable of Romance borrowings (e.g. E. camisado Sp. Camisada, E. lingo Portug. 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 lingua). In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, it represented the 1.3 Some Reflections................................................................... 23 vowel that Final became final after the shortening of words by dropping theBibliography syllables following a medial o, as in memo ( memorandum), ......................................................................................... 25 and more recent (19th cent.) loco ( locomotive). Since the late ME period, it has also theand interjections O, and oh 2. Migration Policies andrepresented Ethics in East South East ho, Asia............ 27 attached to a word to form refrains or vocative expressions (e.g. Fabio Baggio cheerio, heave-ho, righto). A number of words occur in the second 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 half of the 19th century which appear to have their origin in the 2.2 Migration ESEA............................................................ 34 attachment of Policies one of inthese interjections to a noun or adjective. Some of these are normally or frequently written as hyphenated 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 compounds (e.g. bottle-ho, dead-ho, smoke-ho, daddy-o, rabbit-o), Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 while others (e.g. milko, wino) are treated in spelling as having the suffix -o. 3. Immigration the 21st Century. The earliestinexample which shows a clear transition from one for anisEthical Experience ..... 51 useThe to Need the other milko, Approach. used both The as aCanadian milkman’s call indicating Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg that milk is available (esp. as Milk O, Milk-o) and as a slang word for3.1milkman. Further Increase examples used as interjections as well 51 as World Population ............................................................. nouns or adjectives are whizzo (‘an exclamation expressing delight’, 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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‘something excellent’), and socko (‘an interjection imitative of the Table of Contents sound of a violent blow’, ‘a success’, ‘stunningly effective’). The -o suffix has various uses in colloquial language and slang. In colloquial language, it is used to form exclamations by analogy with vocative expressions, as in Whacko ‘expressing delight or excitement’ and Whammo ‘suggesting a sudden violent blow or surprising event’, respectively from the onomatopoeic nouns whack and wham. In slang, the suffix is additionally used to form personal nouns from non-personal nouns, as in milko (orig. Austral. and N.Z.), plonko (Austral.) (Å plonk ‘cheap wine’) ‘an alcoholic’, rabbit-o/ Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 rabbit-oh (Austral.) ‘an itinerant seller of rabbits as food’, wino Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini (orig. U.S.) (Å wine) ‘a habitual drinker of cheap wine’. It alsoand forms nouns from adjectives, as in dumbo (orig. U.S.) (Å 1. Ethics Human Rights dumb) slow-witted stupid person’, pinko (chiefly N. Amer., in the‘aSouth AmericanorMigration Processes .................................... 15 freq. derog.) (Å pink ‘tending to left-wing’) ‘a socialist’, saddo Mario Santillo (Brit., deprec.) ‘a person perceived as socially inadequate or 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 contemptible’, scruffo ‘a scruffy person’, sicko (U.S.) ‘one who is mentally ill or Instrument perverted’for(cf. sickie),Defence single-o (U.S., chiefly 1.2 International Migrants’ ............................. 21 Criminals’) ‘a crime perpetrated without an assistant’, sleazo (U.S.) 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 ‘something sleazy, pornographic’, weirdo ‘an odd or unconventional Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 person’ (cf. weirdie), wrongo (chiefly U.S.) (Å Criminals’ wrong ‘untrustworthy, unreliable’) ‘a bad, dishonest person’. After 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in Eastthe and deadjectival South East Asia............ 27 cumulation, the suffix -so derives nouns fatso Fabio Baggio (humorous) ‘a fat person’ and nutso (Å nuts) ‘a mad or crazy person’ (cf.2.1nutsy under theMigration adjective-forming -y below). International in East Asiasuffix and South East Asia.............. 27 Less frequently, nouns are derived from verbs, as in stingo 2.2 Migration Policiesorin from ESEA............................................................ 34 ‘strong ale or beer’, deverbal nouns, as in stoppo ‘a rest from work’,and (Criminals’) ‘an escape, a get-away’. The adjective 2.3 Ethics Migration Management................................................. 43 stinko (orig. U.S.) ‘of a very low standard’, ‘intoxicated, drunk’ is Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 similarly formed from a verb (stink; cf. stinkeroo). In criminals’ slang, there are also the in-group verb nitto ‘keep 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. still or quiet; stop’, from another colloquial verb (nit), with the The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 opposite sense of ‘escape, decamp’, and the adverb doggo, as in to lie Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg doggo ‘lie quiet, remain hid’, perh. from dog ‘an informer; a traitor’. 3.1 Population Increase 51 YetWorld the most common use............................................................. of the -o suffix is to form familiar, informal equivalents of nouns and adjectives. Familiar nouns ending 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 in o are often used as forms of address: e.g., bucko (Nautical) (Å 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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buck ‘a man’) ‘a swaggering or domineering fellow’, daddy-o (Å Table of Contents daddy), kiddo (Å kid) ‘a young child, man or woman’, oafo (Brit.) (Å oaf ‘a fool’) ‘a lout, a hooligan’, yobbo/yobo (Å yob, see § 3.1.2). Examples of informal adjectives of this type are cheapo (Å adj cheap, also reduplicated as cheapo-cheapo), and neato (chiefly N. Amer.) ‘that is excellent, desirable’. The adjective wacko (orig. and chiefly U.S.) ‘crazy, mad; eccentric’ is from slang wack/whack, back-formed from wacky. The suffix preferentially attaches to truncated word-forms. According to the OED, and the Executive earliest example of.............................. the addition of the Opening Considerations Summary 11 suffix to a truncated word is probably beano (second half of 19th Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini cent., orig. Printers’) (Å bean-feast), followed by Australian Salvo (ÅEthics Salvationist) ‘a member 1. and Human Rights of the Salvation Army’, and robbo (Å Robinson) ‘a horse or trap, or its Processes driver; a .................................... poor horse’. Since the in the South American Migration 15 beginning of the 20th century, esp. Australian and New Zealand Mario Santillo slang formations of this kind have become numerous: e.g., aggro (Å 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 aggravation/aggression), ammo (Å ammunition), combo (Å combination), Commo (Å Communist), compo ............................. (Å compensation), 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence 21 garbo (Å garbage) ‘a dustman, a collector of rubbish’, gippo/gyppo/ 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 gypo (Å gipsy) ‘a gipsy’, ‘an Egyptian’, jollo (Å jollification), Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 journo (Å journalist), lesbo (Å lesbian), metho (Å methylated spirits), muso (Å musician), obbo/obo (Military) (Å observation) 2. Policies and Ethics in (Å Eastpregnant), and South propho East Asia............ 27 ‘anMigration observation balloon’, preggo (orig. U.S., Fabio Baggio Military) (Å prophylaxis), provo/Provo (Å provisional) ‘a member of 2.1 theInternational ProvisionalMigration I.R.A.’, reffo refugee) ‘a East European refugee’, in East(Å Asia and South Asia.............. 27 rego/reggo (Å registration) ‘motor-vehicle registration’, speako 2.2 Migration Policies ‘a in ESEA............................................................ 34 (U.S.) (Å speakeasy) shop or bar where alcoholic liquor is sold illegally’, (Å stark naked), susso (dated) (Å sustenance) 2.3 Ethicsstarko and Migration Management................................................. 43 ‘state government relief paid to the unemployed’, troppo (Å tropic) Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 ‘mentally ill through spending too much time (orig. on war service) in the tropics’. Some such words also display alteration of the base 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. spelling, as in arvo (Å afternoon), Nasho (Å National Service), The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 sammo (Å sandwich; cf. sammie in § 3.2.3.12), and secko (Å sex) ‘a Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg sexual pervert; a sex offender’. 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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3.2.3.21. The suffix -ock Table of Contents The suffix -ock originally forms diminutives (as in ME hillock ‘a little hill’, and early ME wretchock ‘a diminutive person, little wretch’). Most formations since the 18th century are regional (esp. Scots), as in bittock ‘a little bit’, and lassock ‘a little girl’. Several names of animals, esp. birds and fishes, have what appears to be the same ending (e.g. piddock, tarrock), and are probably diminutive formations. In slang, esp. the British English variety, the suffix -ock is no longer diminutive in nature, but is mainly used to form a number of familiar, Considerations mildly depreciative or disrespectful words for people, such Opening and Executive Summary .............................. 11 as Fabio fussock/fuzzock ‘a fat, unwieldy woman’, pillock ‘a fool, an Baggio, Laura Zanfrini idiot’, and wassock/wazzock (orig. northern dial.) ‘a stupid or annoying person’. 1. Ethics and Human Rights suffixAmerican is also present in the slang .................................... verb ballock ( ball) inThis the South Migration Processes 15 ‘reprimand or tell off severely’, and in the plural noun ballocks (and Mario Santillo its alterations bollocks, rollocks) meaning ‘an absurdity; a mess’, 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 also used as an interjection to mean ‘nonsense’, or as an adjective with sense of ‘naked’. 1.2the International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 3.2.3.22. The suffix -s In Bibliography English the ......................................................................................... suffix -s is commonly combined with other suffixes, 25 esp. -y (as -sy), used in proper names (Betsy, Patsy), common nouns (mopsy, petsy), and and reduplicatives (popsy-wopsy). Yet it may also 2. Migration Policies Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 be Fabio used Baggio autonomously with a hypocoristic function (as in Babs, ducks, moms) (see Quirk et al. 1985: 1584). 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 In slang the -s suffix is peculiarly used to form denominal 2.2 Migration in ESEA............................................................ 34 adjectives withPolicies the general meaning ‘crazy, mad’, or in weakened sense, ‘eccentric; wildly enthusiastic (about something or 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 someone)’. Examples are bananas (as in to go/drive bananas) and Bibliography ......................................................................................... nuts ( off one’s nut ‘out of one’s mind, insane’), also used 47 in British English as to be (dead) nuts on/upon ‘be fond of (a person); st Century. 3. the 21 beImmigration enthusiastic in about (a person or thing)’. The for an in Ethical Approach. As Need remarked section 3.1.3, The the Canadian -s suffix Experience may also ..... be 51a Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg reminiscence of a previous plural suffix. For instance, in ants (see antsy ‘agitated’ in § 3.2.3.24) and bats (‘crazy’), which originated 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 from longer phrases (i.e. to have ants in one’s pants, to have bats in 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 the belfry). 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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The suffix may also attach to nominal or adjectival bases to form Table of Contents nouns which refer to ‘human skills’ or ‘feelings, physical (or imaginary) mental diseases’, as in denominal guts ‘energy, verve; courage’ and deadjectival smarts (U.S.) ‘intelligence; wits’. The formatives of this type are usually preceded by a definite article the, as in the all-overs (chiefly U.S.) ‘a feeling of nervousness or unease’, the shits ‘diarrhoea’, the slows ‘an imaginary disease or ailment accounting for slowness’, and the uglies ‘depression, bad temper’. 3.2.3.23. The suffix -ster
Opening Considerations andhas Executive Summary 11 In English the suffix -ster been used in the .............................. formation of agent-
Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini nouns, derived from verbs or their corresponding nouns. According to Marchand (1969: 349), this suffix often exhibits a characteristic 1. Ethics and Human Rights nuance of “shadiness”, as in crimester (‘organized perpetrator of in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 crimes’, his quote), drugster, gangster, etc. Mario Santillo Slang formations with such a nuance are boomster (U.S.) ‘one who 1.1 Migrants’ Rightsa............................................................................. 17 works up a ‘boom’; speculator’, dopester ( dope ‘information’, ‘drug’) ‘one who collects information on, and forecasts the result of, 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 sporting events, elections, etc.’, ‘one who sells or uses drugs’, and 1.3 Some Reflections................................................................... 23 mobster (Final the Mob ‘the Mafia’) ‘a member of the Mafia’. The OED states that these......................................................................................... formations imitate those of trade designations, from Bibliography 25 which they derive the disparaging sense that we find, e.g., in boomster as Policies compared boomer ‘oneand who ‘booms’ or pushes 27 an 2. Migration andtoEthics in East South East Asia............ enterprise’. Fabio Baggio A non-disparaging sense is found in slang hipster/hepster (orig. 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 U.S.) ‘an addict of jazz, swing music, etc.’.
2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34
3.2.3.24. The suffix -y 2.3derivational Ethics and Migration 43 The suffix -yManagement................................................. – which descends from the OE -ig suffix – is used in English to form adjectives. Originally, it only attached Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 to nouns to provide the meaning ‘having the qualities of, full of – ’ st Century. (asImmigration in bloody, icy). 13th century, the suffix began to be used 3. in theIn21the Theverb-stems Need for an to Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... do 51 with express the meaning ‘inclined or apt to Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg something’, or ‘giving occasion to a certain action’ (as in choky). Since the early years ofIncrease the 19th century, it has been used still more 3.1 World Population ............................................................. 51 freely in nonce-words designed to connote such characteristics of a 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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person or thing as call for condemnation, ridicule, or contempt (as Table of Contents in beery, newspapery, piggy, etc.). The variant -ey regularly occurs when the base ends in y (as in skyey), or when the base ends in -e preceded by a vowel (as in bluey, gluey). When the final -e is preceded by a consonant, there may be variation (as in nosey/nosy). Denominal derivatives are numerous in slang with the meaning ‘of, pertaining to, or characterized by – ’. Instances are cheesy ( cheese ‘the right thing’) ‘fine or showy’, when found with the variant -ey ‘inferior, second-rate’, crappy (orig. U.S., coarse) ( crap ‘rubbish’) ‘rubbishy; dishy (.............................. dish ‘an attractive Opening Considerations andworthless’, Executive Summary 11 person’) ‘sexually attractive’, doggy ( dog ‘style’) ‘dashing, Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini smart’, dopy/-ey (orig. U.S.) ( dope ‘drugs’) ‘sluggish or stupefied, with or as Rights with a drug’, fig. ‘stupid’, drippy (orig. U.S.) 1. Ethics and Human (in the dripSouth ‘sentimental ‘drivelling, sloppily sentimental’, Americandrivel’) Migration Processes .................................... 15 faggoty/faggy Mario Santillo ( faggot/fag U.S. ‘a (male) homosexual’) ‘homosexual’, foxy (U.S.) ( fox ‘an attractive woman’) ‘attractive, 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 desirable, pretty, sexy’, froggy ( frog ‘a Frenchman’) ‘French’, funky (orig. U.S.) Instrument ( funk) ‘of jazz or similar music: down-to-earth 1.2 International for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 and uncomplicated; emotional’, gassy ( gas ‘empty or boastful 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 talk’) ‘characterized by empty talk’, gimpy (orig. U.S.) ( gimp ‘a Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 lame person or leg’) ‘lame, crippled’, groovy (orig. U.S.) ( groove ‘something excellent or very satisfying’) ‘excellent, very 2. Migration Policies Ethics in East andsubstance’) South East ‘of Asia............ good’, gungy/-ey (and gunge ‘any messy a sticky 27 or Fabioconsistency; Baggio messy mucky’, hammy ( ham ‘an ineffective or over-emphatic actor’) ‘characteristic a ham ham acting’, 2.1 International Migration in East Asiaofand Southactor East or Asia.............. 27 hippy (orig. U.S.) ( hyppie/-y ‘a hipster’) ‘characteristic of 2.2 Migration ESEA............................................................ 34 hippies’, hoppyPolicies (U.S.)in( hop ‘a narcotic drug; spec. opium’) ‘characterized drugs orManagement................................................. drug-taking’, hunky (orig. U.S.) ( hunk 2.3 Ethics andby Migration 43 ‘a sexually attractive man’) ‘attractive, handsome’, jivey/-y (chiefly Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 U.S.) ( jive ‘misleading or empty talk’) ‘phoney, pretentious’, kooky/-ie ( kook ‘a cranky or crazy person’) ‘crazy, eccentric’, 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. lippy (dial.) ( lip ‘saucy talk, impudence’) ‘impertinent; verbose’, The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 lushy/-ey ( lush ‘a habitual drunkard’) ‘intoxicated, drunk’, peachy Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg (orig. U.S.) ( peach ‘an attractive young woman’) ‘attractive, 3.1 Worldponcy/-ey Population(chiefly IncreaseBrit., ............................................................. 51 desirable’, derog.) ( ponce ‘an effeminate man; a homosexual’) ‘affected; homosexual’, queeny ( queen ‘a 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 male homosexual’) ‘effeminate’, raunchy/rancy (orig. U.S.) ( 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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raunch ‘shabbiness, grubbiness’) ‘inept; dirty’, salty (U.S., Nautical) Table of Contents ( salt ‘a sailor’) ‘of a sailor: hard-bitten; aggressive’, schmaltzy ( Yiddish schmaltz ‘sentimentality, emotionalism’) ‘sentimentalized, over-emotional’, sidy/-ey ( side ‘pretentiousness, conceit’) ‘conceited’, snitty (orig. and chiefly U.S.) ( snit ‘a state of agitation’) ‘ill-tempered, sulky’, spooky (U.S.) ( spook ‘a spy’) ‘of or pertaining to spies or espionage’, stakey/-y (chiefly Canad.) ( stake ‘an amount of money’) ‘well provided with money’, yucky ( yuck ‘messy or distasteful material’) ‘nasty, unpleasant’, zappy ( zap ‘liveliness, energy’) ‘lively; striking’, zizzy ( zizz ‘gaiety, liveliness’) ‘showy; uninhibited’. Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 Some such are obtained from standard nouns, such as Fabio Baggio,adjectives Laura Zanfrini chesty (U.S.) ‘having one’s chest thrust out as a sign of selfimportance’ and druggy ‘characteristic of narcotic drugs or their 1. Ethics and Human Rights users’. mostAmerican of them,Migration the connection with the nominal base 15 is in theIn South Processes .................................... metaphoric, as in dreamy (orig. U.S.) ‘perfect, ideal’, lemony Mario Santillo (Austral. and N.Z.) ‘irritated, angry’, mossy (U.S.) ‘extremely 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 conservative or reactionary; old-fashioned’, rosy ‘drunk, tipsy’, smelly ‘suspicious’, tasty for ‘sexually Of the same 1.2 International Instrument Migrants’ attractive’. Defence ............................. 21 figurative type is spooky (Surfing) ‘of a wave: dangerous or 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 frightening’, which originates from colloquial spook (‘a spectre, Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 apparition, ghost’). It should be stressed that the adjective-forming -y suffix also 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South Asia............ 27 attaches to plural nouns, as in antsy ‘agitated’ (East the pl. of ant, also Fabio Baggio reduplicated in antsy-pantsy), ballsy ‘courageous; determined’ ( the2.1 pl.International of ball), and dicey ‘risky, (East the Asia.............. pl. of die) (see Migration in Eastdangerous’ Asia and South 27 § 3.1.3, type h, for their morphotactic analysis). 2.2 Migration Policies ESEA............................................................ 34 Less frequently, theinsuffix attaches to bases other than nouns: e.g., ‘shabby or dirty in appearance; inferior’), verb 2.3verbs Ethics(scroungy and Migration Management................................................. 43 phrases (screwy to have a screw loose, ‘crazy; eccentric’; windy Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 to get the wind up, ‘apt to get into a state of alarm’), adjectives (nutsy ‘mad; eccentric’ nuts, after a cumulation with the slangy 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. suffix -s, see § 3.2.3.22), adjectival phrases (wacky ‘crazy; odd’ The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 outChristine of whack ‘disordered, malfunctioning’), and adverbs (e.g. Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg sometimey U.S. Black and Prison ‘variable, unstable’). 3.1 World Population suffix Increase-y............................................................. 51 The derivational is sometimes conflated with the hypocoristic -y. There are a number of borderline cases which seem 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 to legitimate such a conflation, such as the adjectives dotty, goofy, 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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goopy (‘silly, stupid’) and nutty (‘crazy’) in A person who is Table of Contents ‘wanting in the upper storey’ is: dotty, goofy or goopy, and You have to be a real sour square not to love the nutty, noisy, happy, handsome Beatles. The abbreviated type may be borderline as well, since it often corresponds to a hypocoristic noun. Abbreviated bases are mostly back-clippings: e.g., gutty (Jazz) ( gut-bucket ‘a primitive, unsophisticated brand of jazz’) ‘earthy, primitive’, poopy (chiefly U.S.) ( poop ‘a stupid or ineffectual person’, shortened from nincompoop) ‘foolish; ineffectual’, specky ( specs shortened from spectacles) ‘bespectacled’, sussy ( suspicious/suspected), (U.S.) ( wig out ‘be overcome by Opening Considerationswiggy and Executive Summary .............................. 11 extreme emotion; go mad’) ‘mad, crazy’. Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini Abbreviations with a quasi-hypocoristic -y suffix are grotty ( grotesque) dirty, ugly’, loony/-ey/luny ( lunatic), 1. Ethics and‘unpleasant, Human Rights porny pornAmerican shortened from pornography) ‘pornographic’ (also in the( South Migration Processes .................................... 15 n),Mario preppy (orig. and chiefly U.S.) ( prep shortened from Santillo preparatory) ‘of or relating to a student at a prep school’ (also n), 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 Proddy (chiefly Ir., derog.) ( Prod shortened from Protestant; cf. The and The Instrument Proddy Dogs ‘the Catholics and the Protestants’). 1.2Cats International for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 The base may be a blend, as in hokey (orig. U.S.) ( hokum, a 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 blend of hocus-pocus and bunkum, U.S., Theatrical) ‘sentimental, Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 melodramatic, artificial’, and scuzzy (orig. and chiefly N. Amer.) ( scuzz, a blend of scum and fuzz, or a corrupted abbrev. of 2. Migration‘disgusting Policies andinEthics in East and South East Asia............ 27 disgusting) appearance, behaviour, etc.’. It may also Baggio be Fabio clipped from a reduplicative formation, as in the American adjective zooty Migration ‘(strikingly) the rhyming 2.1 International in Eastfashionable’, Asia and Southfrom East Asia.............. 27 reduplicative zoot suit. A reversed base is in the adjective yobby 2.2 Migration Policies 34 ‘loutish’, from yob (seein§ ESEA............................................................ 3.1.3, type g). 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43
3.2.4. Final combining forms
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
Final combining forms are traditionally viewed as pseudo- or semisuffixes occurring neoclassical 3. Immigration in thein21st Century. compounds (Marchand 1969, Bauer e.g., (‘science of’),The an anglicised adaptation of The 1983): Need for an -logy Ethical Approach. Canadian Experience .....Gr. 51 logía via French use,Richard as inVanderberg pharmacology, psychology, sociology, Christine Baghdady, etc.9 In modern English there are two extra types of combining 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration andbíos, Governance ................. 53 9 Initial combining forms (e.g. bio- ‘life’, from Gr. as in biogenetic) are not included in this description because for the topic Assessment under investigation. 3.3 International Migration in irrelevant Canada: An Ethical ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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forms, namely truncated forms of model words (e.g. -holic Table of Contents alcoholic, as in spendaholic), and parts of model words, which happen to be established morpheme-forms (e.g. -gate Watergate, as in Yuppiegate) (see Warren 1990, Fradin 2000, Plag 2003, Mattiello 2007b). The modern types are found in slang as well, and, since some of them have acquired an autonomous morphological status, their formation mechanism has been compared to that of proper composition: e.g., by Dressler (2000), who classifies them as cases of marginal morphology. It remains true, however, that combining forms develop a novel is .............................. connected to, but Opening Considerations andmeaning Executivewhich Summary 11 independent from that of the original full word (cf. Amer. -burger Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini and hamburger explained below). 1. Ethics and Human Rights 3.2.4.1. The combining form -(a)licious in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15
The final combining form -alicious ( delicious), with a variant Mario Santillo -licious (esp. after a vowel or y), is used in American slang to form 1.1 Migrants’ ............................................................................. adjectives withRights the meaning ‘embodying the qualities denoted 17 or implied by the first element to a delightful or attractive degree’. 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 Examples of denominal adjectives are babelicious/babe-alicious Some Reflections................................................................... 23 (1.3babe ‘aFinal girl or woman’) ‘of a woman or girl: sexually attractive, gorgeous’, bootylicious ( booty ‘the buttocks’) ‘esp. of a woman, Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 often with reference to the buttocks: sexy; shapely’, and other nonce-words, such and as Ethics dog-licious, goodylicious, 2. Migration Policies in East and South East groovalicious, Asia............ 27 hunkalicious and spooklicious (recorded in the OED). Fabio Baggio 2.1 International Migration East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 3.2.4.2. The combining formin-burger The form -burger, whose origin is from the G. city 34 of 2.2combining Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ Hamburg, reanalysed as ham + burger by folk etymology – even if 2.3 Ethics Migration “there is noand ham in the Management................................................. hamburger” (Marchand 1969: 213) – 43 is commonly used in English as the second element in compounds Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 denoting types of hamburgers (e.g. beefburger, cheeseburger, 10 nutburger, fishburger, 3. Immigration in the 21stvegeburger Century. vegetable, etc.). The an early Ethical1980s, Approach. Canadian 51 YetNeed sinceforthe it hasThe also formed Experience American ..... slang Christine Richard Vanderberg words with Baghdady, the meaning ‘people characterized by the initial element’. The is probably mouseburger, coined by Gurley Brown 51 to 3.1progenitor World Population Increase ............................................................. denote ‘a person who does not have a particularly good-looking 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53
10 See Warren (1990: 119) for the semantic analysis of cheeseburger vs. fishburger.
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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appearance or high I.Q., but can nevertheless achieve professional Table of Contents and personal success through determination’. Since then, it has been attached to various bases to obtain similar humorous formations, such as cheerfulburger, nothingburger and psychoburger. 3.2.4.3. The combining form -fest The American English combining form -fest (from G. Fest ‘festival’, as in Oktoberfest, Sängerfest and Turnfest), is interpreted as an allomorph of E. feast. It attaches to nouns or verbs to denote ‘a festival or special occasion’, qualified by the accompanying word, as in hen fest, songfest ‘an informal session of group-singing’, Opening and Executive Summary .............................. 11 talk fest, Considerations and bookfest, eatfest, smokefest, stuntfest, walkfest reported Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini in Marchand (1969: 212). This combining form is analogously used in American slang 1. Ethics and Human Rights gabfest ( gab ‘talk’) ‘a gathering for talk; a prolonged conference in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 or Mario conversation’, and slug-fest ( v slug ‘hit’) ‘a hard-hitting contest, Santillo spec. in boxing and baseball’. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17
3.2.4.4. The combining form -ville 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 The final combining form -ville (from F. ville ‘town’) is appended to 1.3 nouns frequently have a plural suffix) or adjectives 23 to Some(which Final Reflections................................................................... form the names of fictitious places with reference to a particular Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 (often unpleasant) quality. In American slang, anEthics adjectival derivative withEast -ville is Dullsville 2. Migration Policies and in East and South Asia............ 27 ‘anFabio imaginary town characterized by extreme dullness or boredom’, Baggio and nominal ones are Cubesville denoting ‘a group or set of 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 extremely conventional or conservative persons’, Endsville/Endville ‘the things or people’, Niggerville, used 34 in 2.2imaginary Migration home Policiesofingood ESEA............................................................ the negative sense of ‘a neighbourhood with predominantly black 2.3 Ethics (cf. and Migration Management................................................. residents’ Niggertown), and Squaresville, a synonym 43 of Dullsville (see also Bauerle 1960). But there are other jocular Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 nonce-formations reported in the OED, such as Boneheadville (e.g. I’mImmigration telling youinyou’re theCentury. biggest bonehead from Boneheadville), 3. the 21st The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience .....out 51 Jaguar-threepointfoursville (e.g. It offers an enjoyable evening Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg in Christine Jaguar-threepointfoursville), etc. 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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3.2.5. Infixation Table of Contents
Infixation is the process whereby an affix (called an infix) is inserted in the middle of a word. Morphologists generally agree that English has no infixes, other than within extra-grammatical morphology of inserting expletives into words for additional emphasis, as in absolutely abso-blooming-lutely (Aronoff 1976, Siegel 1979, Bauer 1983, Plag 2003, Dressler 2005). McCarthy (1982) relevantly observes that there are some phonological constraints on expletive infixes: first, they must precede a vowel bearing some degree of stress, and, second, they must fall to the left Opening Considerationsconsonant and Executive Summary of the syllable-initial cluster. Thus, .............................. fan-fuckin-tastic 11 is Fabio but Baggio, Laura Zanfrini and *fa-fuckin-ntastic are not. correct, *fant-fuckin-astic The infixation process is frequent in slang, its most common 1. Ethics and Human Rights expletive infixes being -bally-, -blessed-, -bloody-, -blooming- and in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 -fucking-, often as -fuckin(pronounced [n] rather than [] after the Mario Santillo dropping of final g). The infixed base may be an adjective (e.g. 1.1 Migrants’fan-bloody-tastic), Rights ............................................................................. fantastic an adverb (e.g. absolutely 17 abso-bally-lutely, perhaps per-bloody-haps), a verb (e.g. 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 advance ad-bloody-vance), a noun (e.g. defence de-fuckin1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 fence), a pronoun (e.g. nobody no-bloody-body in McGrath’s 1978 Yobbo Nowt, yourself your-bloody-self), or an exclamation Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 (e.g. Jesus Christ Jesus-fucking-Christ in A Scanner Darkly 2006). In some cases,and theEthics infix is intoEast the Asia............ word but after 2. Migration Policies in not Eastinserted and South 27 theFabio prefix (e.g. un-believable un-fuckin-believable, un-touchable Baggio un-fucking-touchable in COLT). 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 The infix -bloodyis also in jocular triple bloody glazing (after double-glazing), in blasphemous Christ all bloody mighty ( 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 Christ Almighty) (both from The Full Monty 1997), and in Jehovah 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 bloody Witnesses (from Mickey Blue Eyes 1999).11 Most such Bibliography 47 formations are......................................................................................... anyway produced spontaneously by speakers, and often remain nonce-words,12 such as unfuckingtouchable, occurring 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. only once in COLT. The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg 11 3.1 Population Increase See World Wierzbicka (2002) and Biscetti............................................................. (2004) for the pragmatic meaning of bloody.51 12 Bauer (2001: 38-39) draws a distinction between ‘nonce-word’ and ‘neologism’
3.2 Urbanization, and Governance 53 according to which the International former “fails toMigration become part of the norm, and ................. is not generally seen part of the lexicographer’s brief”, but theAn reverse is true for the latter. 3.3asInternational Migration in Canada: Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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3.2.6. Conversion Table of Contents
Conversion (also called “zero-derivation”, “zero-affixation” or “functional shift” in the literature) is a process consisting of the syntactic change of a word without any corresponding formal change (e.g. v run n run, n bottle v bottle). Thus, since there is no overt marker distinguishing the base from the derivative, this process poses the problem of determining which member of the couple comes first. The question is often complicated, but at least two criteria may be used to establish the antecedence of the base over its derivative. First, the diachronic criterion, according to Opening Considerations Executive .............................. 11 which the base should and be the earlierSummary word. Second, the semantic Fabio Baggio, Zanfrini criterion, whichLaura imposes that the derivative is the word whose meaning includes the base word (cf. “directionality of conversion” 1. and Human in Ethics Plag 2003: 108). Rights inMarchand the South (1969: American Migration Processes .................................... 361) distinguishes the most common types 15 of Mario Santillo standard English conversion, namely, from noun into verb (n bridge v bridge) vice ............................................................................. versa (v look n look), from adjective into 1.1 Migrants’orRights 17 verb (adj idle v idle), and from particle into verb (adv out v 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 out). Besides the standard types, in slang we distinguish some extra 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 types. For instance, nouns may also be obtained from adjectives Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 (busy, queer), adverbs (down), proper names (Jack, Jane), numerals (forty), pronouns (it) and interjections (wow), adjectives may be 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 obtained from nouns (cuckoo, shoe), prepositions (on), and Fabio Baggio combining forms (mega), and adverbs may be, in turn, obtained 2.1 prepositions International Migration East Asia and SouthFor Eastalmost Asia.............. 27 from (inside) orinadjectives (dead). any type, we2.2also distinguish two main subtypes, according to whether the Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 base belongs to standard English or English slang. What follows is Ethics andofMigration Management................................................. 43 an2.3 overview the slang illustrative types and subtypes in the formation of verbs, nouns, adjectives and adverbs. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 3.2.6.1. Verbs in the 21st Century. 3. Immigration Slang verbs derived by aApproach. zero affixThe are Canadian from nouns, adjectives or The Need for an Ethical Experience ..... 51 adverbs. Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
3.1 World Population ............................................................. 51 3.2.6.1.1. The pattern Increase from nouns is extremely frequent. Some are nouns of standard English: e.g., oil ‘bribe’, souvenir (orig. Military) 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 ‘take as a ‘souvenir’; steal’, submarine (U.S.) ‘put out of action in 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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an underhand or covert way’, word (Austral.) ‘speak to; pass word Table of Contents to’, and, from a compound noun, moonlight (orig. U.S.) ‘do paid work in addition to one’s regular employment’. For the most part, however, they are slang nouns, as in chicken (orig. U.S.) ( chicken ‘cowardly person’) ‘fail to act from motives of cowardice’, chin (U.S.) ( chin ‘a talk; conversation’) ‘chat, chatter’, coke (orig. U.S.) ( coke ‘cocaine’) ‘drug oneself with cocaine’, dope (orig. U.S.) ( dope ‘narcotics’) ‘stupefy with a drug’, fag (U.S.) ( fag ‘a cigarette’) ‘smoke; supply with a cigarette’, funk ( funk ‘cowering fear’) ‘flinch or shrink through fear’, goof ( goof ‘a mistake’) ‘make a mistake’, graft ( graft Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 ‘work, esp. hard work’) ‘work hard’, grass ( grass ‘a police Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini informer’) ‘betray (someone); inform the police about (someone)’, heist (orig. (Rights heist ‘a hold-up, a robbery’) ‘hold up, rob, 1. Ethics andU.S.) Human steal’, (American jazz ‘sexual intercourse’) sexual intercourse in thejazz South Migration Processes‘have .................................... 15 (with)’, jive (orig. U.S.) ( jive ‘talk or conversation; spec. Mario Santillo misleading’) ‘mislead; talk nonsense’, jug ( jug ‘a prison’) ‘shut Rights ............................................................................. 17 up1.1 in Migrants’ jail; imprison’, naughty (Austral. and N.Z., rare) ( naughty ‘an1.2actInternational of sexual intercourse’) sexual intercourse with’, pansy Instrument for‘have Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 ( pansy ‘a male homosexual; an effeminate man’) ‘clothe or 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 adorn in an affected or effeminate manner’, rap ( rap ‘a criminal Bibliography‘charge, ......................................................................................... 25 accusation’) prosecute’, rocket (orig. Military) ( rocket ‘a severe reprimand’) ‘reprimand severely’, shelf (Austral.) ( 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in Eastupon’, and South East( Asia............ 27 shelf ‘a police informer’) ‘inform speed speed ‘an Fabio Baggio drug’) ‘be under the influence of an amphetamine amphetamine drug’. 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 Some such converted words are compound verbs derived from a 2.2 Migration in ESEA............................................................ 34 complex noun,Policies therefore considered “pseudo-compounds” by Marchand 101; cf.Management................................................. § 3.2.1.3.4 here). Some examples include 2.3 Ethics(1969: and Migration 43 fat-mouth (U.S.) ( fat-mouth ‘one who talks extravagantly’) ‘talk Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 a great deal about something’, freebase (orig. U.S.) ( freebase ‘cocaine purified by heating with ether’) ‘make a ‘freebase’ of 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. (cocaine)’, king-hit (Austral.) ( king-hit ‘a knock-out blow’) The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 ‘punch hard or knock out’, mainline (orig. U.S.) ( main line ‘a Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg principal vein, into which drugs can readily be injected’) ‘inject a 3.1 intravenously’, World Populationsin-bin Increase(orig. ............................................................. 51 drug Austral., Sport) ( sin-bin ‘an area set aside for players temporarily withdrawn from a game’) 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 ‘send (a player) off the field’. 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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Verbs converted from irregular nominal bases are especially Table of Contents significant: e.g., O.D. (orig. U.S.) ‘take an overdose of a drug’, from the initialism O.D., and snafu ‘mess up, play havoc with’, from the acronym snafu ( situation normal: all fouled/fucked up). 3.2.6.1.2. The patterns from adjectives and adverbs are less common. Verbs from standard adjectives are special ‘work as a special correspondent for a newspaper’, ‘attend continuously to (a single patient)’, and total (chiefly N. Amer.) ‘damage beyond repair (esp. a motor vehicle, in an accident)’, whereas hip (orig. U.S.) ‘inform’ is from a slang adjective (hip ‘well-informed’). Opening Summary .............................. 11 VerbsConsiderations from adverbs and are Executive fully ‘commit (a person) for trial’, off Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini (chiefly U.S.) ‘turn off, shut down’, ‘kill’, and out (Boxing) ‘knock out or defeat (an opponent)’, but also (orig. U.S.) ‘expose the 1. Ethics and Human Rights undeclared homosexuality of (esp. a prominent or public figure)’. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15
Mario Nouns Santillo 3.2.6.2. Converted nouns may............................................................................. be derived from a variety of base categories, 1.1 Migrants’ Rights 17 verbs and adjectives being the most frequent.
1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21
3.2.6.2.1. noun pattern is found uniquely with slang 1.3 SomeThe Finalverb Reflections................................................................... 23 bases: e.g., grind/lay ( v grind/lay) ‘(an act of) sexual intercourse’, Bibliography and pop ( v......................................................................................... pop) ‘an injection of a narcotic drug’. The base 25 is complex (i.e. a phrasal verb) in clean-up (orig. U.S.) ‘a profit; an 2. Migrationfinancial Policies and Ethicscome-on in East and South East Asia............ exceptional success’, (orig. U.S.) ‘(the victim of)27a Fabio Baggio swindler; an inducement’, cut-out ‘a person acting as a middle-man, esp. espionage’, drop-inin(U.S.) ‘something is easy; easy 2.1in International Migration East Asia and Southwhich East Asia.............. 27 money’, freak-out ‘an intense emotional experience, esp. one 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 resulting from the use of hallucinatory drugs’, hang-out ‘a residence; 2.3 Ethics(Amer. and Migration Management................................................. a lodging’, University) ‘a feast; an entertainment’, hash-up 43 ‘a hastily cooked......................................................................................... meal’, have-on (Farmer) ‘a swindle; a take-in’, hopBibliography 47 over (Army) ‘an assault’, knock-down ‘something overpowering, e.g. strong liquor’, (U.S., Austral. and N.Z.) ‘an introduction’, knock-off st Century. 3. Immigration in the 21 ‘a The robbery’, nosh-up (Brit.) ‘a hearty or lavishExperience meal’, pay-off Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian ..... 51 (Criminals’) ‘the proceeds of a criminal operation’, pig-out (orig. Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg U.S.) ‘a bout of excessive eating; a feast’, poke-out (U.S.) ‘a parcel of 3.1 given World to Population ............................................................. 51 food a tramp;Increase a lunch’, rave-up ‘a lively party’, ready-up (Austral.) ‘a conspiracy or swindle’, ride-out (Jazz) ‘a final chorus’, 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 ring-in (Austral.) ‘a fraudulent substitution’, roll-up (orig. Prisoners’) 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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‘a hand-rolled cigarette’, rough-up ‘an informal encounter or Table of Contents contest’, rub-out (U.S.) ‘a murder, an assassination’, run-in (Criminals’) ‘a hiding place for stolen goods’, sit-down (N. Amer., Tramps’) ‘a free sit-down meal’, smoke-up (U.S.) ‘an official notice that a student’s work is not up to the required standard’, sort-out ‘a fight or dispute’, wipe-out (Surfing) ‘a fall from one’s surfboard as a result of a collision with another surfer or a wave’. 3.2.6.2.2. Nouns from standard adjectives represent a rather frequent pattern, even if the semantic relation between onset and outset is sometimes metaphorical or opaque: e.g., busy ‘a detective’, Opening Considerations and Executive .............................. 11 frail (chiefly U.S.) ‘a woman’, mad Summary (chiefly U.S.) ‘fury, anger’, Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini mental ‘a person who is mentally ill’, moody (Brit., orig. Criminals’) ‘flattery or lies intended to persuade or elicit 1. Ethics and Human Rights compliance’, previous (Brit., Criminals’) ‘a criminal record’, ready in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 ‘ready money, cash’, single (U.S.) ‘a one-dollar bill’, and verbal Mario Santillo ‘insult or abuse’. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 The same pattern with slang bases is found in gaga ( gaga ‘doting, exhibiting senile decay; mad’) ‘a doting or senile person; 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21a madman’, grey ( grey ‘white-skinned’) ‘a white-skinned person’, 1.3queer Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 and ( queer ‘homosexual’) ‘a (usu. male) homosexual’, which, by contrast, display a transparent onset-outset relation. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 3.2.6.2.3. AnPolicies exclusive provided by Asia............ the shift from 2. Migration and slang Ethicspattern in East is and South East 27
proper Fabionames Baggio into common nouns. The name may be a family or Christian name: e.g., Jane/jane (orig. U.S.) ‘a woman, girl, 2.1 International East Asia and South East‘aAsia.............. 27 girlfriend’, jasperMigration (U.S.) ‘ainperson, fellow’, Jones drug addict’s habit’, (U.S.) ‘symptoms of withdrawal from a drug’, ‘any intense 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 craving or desire’, Mary (Austral.) ‘a woman, esp. an Aboriginal 2.3 Ethicsroscoe and Migration woman’, (U.S.) Management................................................. ‘a gun’, and peter, with a variety 43 of meanings ranging from cant ‘portmanteau, trunk, or other piece of Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 baggage’ to Criminals’ slang ‘a safe or cash box’, and from st Century. Australian ‘a cell in a21 prison’ to American slang ‘a hypnotic drug’. 3. Immigration in the The Ethical Approach.inThe Canadian Experience ..... 51 TheNeed shiftforis an from a nickname Jack ( John or James) ‘a Christine Baghdady, Richard policeman or detective’ andVanderberg Joe (Canad.) ( Joseph) ‘a French Canadian’ other examples with the -ie/-y suffix in § 3.2.3.12).51 3.1 World(cf. Population Increase ............................................................. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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3.2.6.2.4. Another distinctive pattern is adverb noun, as in down Table of Contents ‘a depressant or tranquillizing drug’, in ‘an introduction to someone of power, fame, or authority’, out ‘an outpatient department in a hospital’, outside ‘the world existing beyond a prison’, up ‘a stimulant drug (esp. an amphetamine)’, (U.S.) ‘a prospective customer’, and, from the comparative of soon, sooner (U.S.) ‘one who acts prematurely’, (chiefly Austral.) ‘an idler, shirker’. 3.2.6.2.5. Less frequent but equally distinctive slang bases are numerals (e.g. forty ‘a thief, sharper’, thirty chiefly Journalistic ‘the last sheet, word, or line of copy or of a despatch’), interjections Opening Considerations and Executive .............................. 11 (e.g. wow ‘a sensational success’),Summary pronouns (e.g. it ‘sexual Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini intercourse’), or prefixes (e.g. ex ‘a former husband, wife or lover’; cf. ex-wife). 1. Ethics and Human Rights in the Adjectives South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 3.2.6.3. and adverbs
Mario Santillo Conversions into adjectives and adverbs are quite rare but are attested in slang. Adjectives, for instance, may be obtained from 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 nouns (e.g. shoe ‘conforming to the dress, behaviour, or attitudes of 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 students at exclusive educational establishments’, cuckoo ‘crazy’ cuckoo ‘a silly from prepositions (on ‘under the influence 1.3 Some Finalperson’), Reflections................................................................... 23 of drink or drugs’), or, unusually, from combining forms, as in Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 mega ‘huge, great, substantial’, from the classical combining form mega(cf. megastar). 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 Adverbs are mostly derived from adjectives, especially when Fabio Baggio conveying an intensified sense (e.g. dead ‘utterly, completely’, 2.1 International Migration in andbeSouth Asia.............. 27 dirty ‘very, exceedingly’), orEast theyAsia may fromEast prepositions (e.g. inside ‘in prison’; cf. outside above). 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34
2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 3.2.7. Back-formation Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 Back-formation (called “backderivation” by Marchand 1969: 391) is a rather infrequent mechanism in standard English. According to st Century. 3. Immigration in the Marchand (1969), this21mechanism has only diachronic relevance: it Needthrough for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian .....the 51 is The indeed a diachronic approach that weExperience may derive Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg verb peddle (1532) from the noun peddler, pedlar (1377) (see Aronoff 1976: 27). Bauer 238) rather considers back3.1 World Population Increase(1988a: ............................................................. 51 formation as a special case of clipping, and redefines it as “the 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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formation of words by the deletion of actual or supposed affixes in Table of Contents longer words”. In line with Bauer (1988a) and Plag (2003), I consider backformation the process of extraction of a new (simple or compound) word from a non-existent base, which, however, is recreated analogically. For example, editor appears to be a derivative from a non-existent base edit, which is created by analogy with, e.g., (v) confess ( confessor) or (v) baby-sit ( baby-sitter). This word-formation process is quite frequent in slang. Examples mainly include verbs back-formed from nouns (baby-snatch babysnatcher),Considerations or, rarely, from (lay back.............................. laid-back), and Opening and adjectives Executive Summary 11 nouns back-derived from adjectives (with -y, -ed or -ish endings), as Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini in dill ( dilly), pea-brain ( pea-brained), Yid ( Yiddish). Remarkably, slang may also delete a word part which does not 1. Ethics and Human Rights correspond to American any suffix,Migration as in (v) Processes hoke ( .................................... hokum) (see § 3.2.7.1). in the South 15 A wider illustration of these patterns is given below. Mario Santillo 1.1 Migrants’ 3.2.7.1. Verbs Rights ............................................................................. 17 Slang verbs back-formed from nouns Defence generally delete the -er 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ ............................. 21 agentive suffix, as in grice ( gricer ‘a railway enthusiast’), hook 1.3 Some Final 23 (chiefly U.S.) (Reflections................................................................... hooker ‘a prostitute’) ‘solicit as a prostitute’, ring (Austral.) ( ringer ‘the fastest shearer in a shed’) ‘beat (a shedful Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 of men) at sheep-shearing’, and swamp (Austral.) ( swamper ‘one who obtains Policies a lift’) and ‘make (one’s way) obtaining a lift from27a 2. Migration Ethics in East andbySouth East Asia............ traveller’. This type is also found with compound bases, such as Fabio Baggio baby-snatcher and gold-digger, which respectively back-form 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 baby-snatch ‘enter into an amorous relationship with a much 2.2 Migration Policies ESEA............................................................ 34 younger member of theinopposite sex’ and gold-dig ‘extract money from’. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 As anticipated, the verb hoke (Theatrical) ‘overplay (a part)’ is Bibliography obtained from ......................................................................................... hokum ‘speech, action, etc., on the stage, designed 47 to make a sentimental or melodramatic appeal to an audience’. Yet st Century. 3. Immigration the 21in there is no -uminsuffix English, hokum being a blend ( hocusThe and Needbunkum) for an Ethical The Canadian pocus rather Approach. than a suffixed word. Experience ..... 51 Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg Verbs from adjectives are obtained by substituting the inflected form of the Population verb withIncrease its uninflected equivalent form, as in sozzle 3.1 World ............................................................. 51 ‘imbibe intoxicating drink’, deleting the -ed suffix from sozzled 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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‘intoxicated, drunk’, or in lay Table of Contents nothing, relax’.
back ( laid-back ‘relaxed’) ‘do
3.2.7.2. Nouns Slang nouns are usually back-formed from adjectives with an -y suffix, which is deleted in dill (Austral. and N.Z.) ( dilly ‘foolish’, prob. a blend from daft + silly) ‘a fool or simpleton’, dinge ( dingy) ‘dinginess’, drear ( dreary) ‘a dreary person’, flake (chiefly U.S.) ( flaky ‘crazy; feeble-minded’) ‘one who is liable to act in an eccentric or crazy manner’, glitz (orig. and chiefly N. Amer.) ( glitzy ‘extravagant’) ‘an extravagant but superficial Opening Executive Summary .............................. 11 display’, Considerations grot (Brit. and and Austral.) ( grotty ‘unpleasant’, shortened Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini from grotesque) ‘an unpleasant, dirty, or ugly person’, grunge (chiefly N. Amer.) ( grungy ‘unpleasant, bad’) ‘someone or 1. Ethics and Human Rights something that is repugnant or odious’, lair/lare (Austral.) ( in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 lairy/leary ‘flashily dressed; vulgar’) ‘a flashily dressed man, one Mario Santillo who ‘shows off’’, shonk (Austral.) ( shonky ‘unreliable, 1.1 Migrants’ ............................................................................. 17 dishonest’) ‘oneRights engaged in irregular or illegal business activities’, sleaze ( sleazy ‘dilapidated; sordid’) ‘squalor; dilapidation’, spike 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 ( spiky ‘of a particularly ritualistic or High-Church Anglican 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 character’) ‘an Anglican who practises Anglo-Catholic ritual and observances’. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 Less common types are from adjectives ending in -ed (e.g. peabrain pea-brained, ‘aEthics stupidinperson; a fool’), or inAsia............ -ish (e.g. Yid 2. Migration Policies and East and South East 27 Fabio Yiddish, ‘a (usu. offensive) name for a Jew’). Baggio Sometimes slang bases back-form more than one derivative. For 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 instance, the slang agent-noun joy-popper (orig. U.S.) ‘an 2.2 Migration in ESEA............................................................ 34 occasional takerPolicies of illegal drugs’, back-forms, by deletion of the -er suffix, the corresponding verb joy-pop and also the noun joy-pop 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 ‘(an inhalation or injection of) a drug’. Similarly, the slang Bibliography adjective rorty......................................................................................... (orig. Londoners’) ‘coarse, earthy’ back-forms, by 47 -y deletion, the noun rort ‘a trick; a fraud’, and the corresponding verb 3. Immigration in theshout 21st Century. (‘complain loudly; abuse’). However, such cases may also The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian involve conversions (v joy-pop n joy-pop; n rortExperience v rort). ..... 51 Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg Some cases still remain of uncertain attribution, although, from a diachronic semantic point ............................................................. of view, they seem to be classifiable 3.1 Worldand Population Increase 51 as back-formations: e.g., crumb (1918) ( crumby 1859 ‘dirty, 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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untidy’) ‘a lousy or filthy person’, (v) duff (1869, Austral., Table of Contents Thieves’) ( duffer 1851) ‘steal (cattle), altering the brands’. 3.2.8. Reduplicatives In Merlini Barbaresi’s (forthcoming) classification, English reduplicatives (or echo-words) belong to four main patterns: Ablaut (or apophonic) reduplicatives, exhibiting vowel gradation (i.e. a systematic alternation of the stressed vowel), as in chit-chat, tick-tock; Rhyming reduplicatives, exhibiting rhyming constituents Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 apophony of the initial consonant, as in fuzzy-wuzzy; Fabioand Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
Rhyming compounds, in which both bases are meaningful,
1. Ethics Human Rights asand in funny bunny; in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15
(or exact) reduplicatives, in which the two constituents MarioCopy Santillo are identical, as in bye-bye.
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17
Slang reduplicatives are classifiable according to the same criteria.
1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21
3.2.8.1. Ablaut reduplicatives 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 English ablaut reduplicatives may be obtained from either a leftBibliography ......................................................................................... 25 hand (handy-dandy) or right-hand base (dilly-dally), or have no existing base at all, as in zig-zag, with the two vowels suggesting 2. Policies and Ethics East productive and South East Asia............ 27 theMigration two different directions. Theinmost vowel alternations Fabio Baggio are //~/æ/ and //~//, as in slip-slap and ping pong (Marchand 2.1 International in East Asia English and Southablaut East Asia.............. 27 1969: 429, BauerMigration 1983: 213). Many reduplicatives are2.2 slang combinations. Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 Slang apophonic combinations based on the first element 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 include ding-dong ‘a heated argument; a quarrel’ and nig-nog ( nigger) ‘a black or dark-skinned person’, whereas the elements are Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 unexplained in jim-jams ‘delirium tremens’, ning-nong (Austral. and N.Z.) ‘a fool, a stupid person’ (cf. nigmenog ‘a fool, an idiot’), 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. tick-tack ‘applied to a system of ‘telegraphy’’, (Military, The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadianzig-zag Experience ..... 51 chiefly U.S.) ‘drunk’.Richard Vanderberg Christine Baghdady, 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 3.2.8.2. Rhyming reduplicatives English rhyming reduplicatives are twin consisting of two 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration andforms Governance ................. 53 rhyming elements, one of which reproduces the other by changing 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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its initial consonant. Rhyme is mainly obtained via familiarity Table of Contents suffixes (e.g. -ie/-y, -sie/-sy, -ers, -dy or -ty), which playfully extend the bases. The largest part of slang twin forms have the first member as base: e.g., argy-bargy (Å argue) ‘disputatious argument’, arty-farty/ artsy-fartsy (Å art) ‘pretentiously artistic’, easy-peasy (orig. and chiefly Brit., Children’s) ‘extremely easy, very simple’, jeeperscreepers (Å Jesus) ‘an exclamation of surprise or enthusiasm’, killer-diller (orig. U.S.) (Å killer) ‘an impressive, formidable, or excellent person or thing’, pee-wee (Children’s) ‘an act of urination’Considerations (cf. wee-wee), (Brit.) .............................. (Å rump) ‘sexual Opening andrumpy-pumpy Executive Summary 11 intercourse’, tootsie-wootsie or tootsy-wootsy (chiefly U.S.) (Å Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini toots ‘a woman’) ‘a woman, a girl; a sweetheart’, wingding (U.S.) ‘a Ethics fit or and spasm’, ‘a wild party’. The base is an initialism in okey1. Human Rights dokey (Å O.K.). in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 The base is or underlies the second member only in nitty-gritty Mario Santillo (U.S.) (Å gritty) ‘the realities or practical details of a matter’, and Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 in 1.1 zoot suit (orig. U.S.) ‘type of man’s suit of exaggerated style popular in the 1940s’. 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 Twin words formed by merely fanciful sound clusters, and 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 therefore entirely unmotivated by linguistic signs, include hankyBibliography ......................................................................................... 25 panky (prob. related to hocus pocus) ‘jugglery; trickery’, heebiejeebie(s) (orig. U.S.) ‘a feeling of discomfort, apprehension, or 2. Migration hotsy-totsy Policies and(coined Ethics by in East and South East Asia............ 27 depression’, an Amer. cartoonist) ‘comfortable, Fabio Baggio satisfactory’, ricky-ticky ‘of musical rhythm: repetitive, monotonous’, soogee-moogee (Nautical) used cleaning paintwork and 2.1 International Migration‘ainmixture East Asia andfor South East Asia.............. 27 woodwork on ships’. 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34
3.2.8.3. Rhyming compounds 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 Rhyming compounds are distinguished from the afore-mentioned Bibliography 47 type because, ......................................................................................... rather than having one meaningful base (the other being its rhyme gemination), they are motivated by two bases. On 3. the are 21stalso Century. theImmigration other hand, in they distinguished from regular compounds The Need for an Ethical Thetwo Canadian Experience 51 because the relationship Approach. between the bases is different ..... from Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg that induced by canonical rules of compounding, and no syntactic paraphrase identifiable. 3.1 WorldisPopulation Increase ............................................................. 51 Slang reduplicative rhyming compounds are illustrated, for 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 example, by mellow yellow (chiefly U.S.) (Å mellow ‘inducing a 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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pleasant euphoria’) ‘banana peel dried for smoking as a narcotic’, Table of Contents nitwit (orig. U.S.) ‘a stupid person’, poppa stoppa (U.S., Black E.) ( poppa ‘a father’, variant of papa, after momma, and stopper) ‘a person, esp. a man’, and razzle-dazzle ‘bewilderment or confusion’. In such reduplicative compounds, hardly any syntactic paraphrase is possible, and no headedness can be assigned to any member of the doublet, although identifiable as a meaning constituent, i.e. a mellow yellow is not ‘a type of yellow’. We can compare this set of reduplicative rhyming compounds with a large number of regular slang compounds exhibiting a rhyming Considerations pattern, but and which comply with .............................. grammatical rules. Opening Executive Summary 11 Examples are endocentric chill pill (orig. U.S.) ‘a (notional) pill Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini used to calm or relax a person’, cop-shop ( cop ‘policeman’ and shop ‘place’) ‘a police station’, gang-bang (orig. U.S.) ( bang ‘an 1. Ethics and Human Rights actinof ‘an occasion for.................................... multiple intercourse’, thesexual South intercourse’) American Migration Processes 15 popMario shopSantillo ( v pop ‘pawn’) ‘a pawnshop’, rag-bag ( bag ‘a disparaging term for a woman’) ‘a sloppily-dressed woman, a 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 slattern’, and exocentric culture vulture ‘a person who is voracious for1.2 culture’, fender-bender U.S.)Defence ( fender ‘vehicle’s wing International Instrument(chiefly for Migrants’ ............................. 21 or mudguard’) ‘a (usu. minor) motor accident’, gender-bender ‘a 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 person (esp. a pop singer) who deliberately affects an androgynous Bibliographyjelly-belly ......................................................................................... 25 appearance’, ‘a fat person’. In cases of endocentric compounds, we have no difficulty in identifying the syntactic head 2. and Ethics in East – Migration a chill pillPolicies is ‘a type of pill’ – butand weSouth may East haveAsia............ difficulty 27 in Fabio Baggio identifying the semantic head because of its slang sense, i.e. a ragbag not ‘a type Migration of bag’, but ‘a type woman’. 2.1isInternational in East Asiaofand South East Asia.............. 27 In rhyming compounds, the relationship between the bases may 2.2be Migration Policies 34 also metaphoric, as in in ESEA............................................................ fat cat (orig. and chiefly U.S.) ‘a political backer’, sinand binMigration (chiefly Management................................................. N. Amer.) ‘an area set aside for players 2.3 Ethics 43 temporarily withdrawn from a game as a penalty’, town clown Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 (U.S.) ‘a policeman working in a village or small town’, and in the endocentric toy boy ‘the younger partner of an older woman’. 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. Sometimes the bases rhyme thanks to a hypocoristic -y suffix, as The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 in Christine arsy-versy ( arse and versus) ‘upside-down, contrariwise’, silly Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg billy (Brit.) (Billy is a nickname from William) ‘a foolish or feeble3.1 World Population 51 minded person’, WavyIncrease Navy ............................................................. (Brit.) ‘the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve’. Abbreviation is another way to make the bases rhyme, as 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 in fave rave ‘a special favourite piece of music, film, etc.’, in which 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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favourite is shortened into fave, or in repple depple ( replacement Table of Contents depot), in which the bases are shortened (rep dep), and then extended (rep-p-le dep-p-le). These types have fuzzy boundaries, i.e. they can be located between reduplicative and canonical compounds. Their bases are actual words, but their shortening confines them to extra-grammatical morphology. The rhyming interjection hell’s bells ‘an expression of anger or annoyance’, with an underlying possessive form, is a rhyming phrase rather than a compound (see § 3.2.1.4.5). 3.2.8.4. Copy reduplicatives
Opening Considerations and Executive Summary 11 English copy reduplicatives commonly have a.............................. basic constituent,
Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini with the second member being its exact copy. The following slang copy reduplicatives have a recognizable base: boo-boo (orig. U.S.) 1. Ethics and Human Rights ( boob) ‘a foolish mistake or blunder’, chin chin ( v chin in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 ‘chat’) ‘insolent talk’, dumb-dumb or dum-dum (N. Amer.) ( Mario Santillo dumb) ‘a foolish or stupid person’, gee-gee ( gee ‘a command to 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. a horse to go faster’) ‘a horse’, goo-goo ( googly) ‘of the eyes 17 or glances: amorous’, never-never ‘the hire-purchase system’, no-no 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 (orig. U.S.) ‘something which is forbidden or unacceptable’, yen-yen 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 (U.S.) ( Chinese yīn ‘opium’) ‘opium addiction’, yum-yum ( yum ‘anBibliography exclamation......................................................................................... of pleasurable anticipation’) ‘love-making’. 25 The bases are extended in footy-footy or footsy-footsy ( foot) ‘amorous play withand theEthics feet’, inJacky-Jacky (Austral.) ( the pet 2. Migration Policies East and South East Asia............ 27 form of Jack, itself from John) ‘a white man’s name for an Fabio Baggio Aboriginal’, wakey-wakey (orig. Services’) ( v wake) ‘reveille’, 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 yackety-yackety ( yack ‘incessant talk’) ‘expressing the sound of 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 incessant chatter’. They may be shortened, as in ju-ju ( marijuana) 43 ‘a 2.3 Ethics and also Migration Management................................................. marijuana cigarette’ and rah rah (orig. U.S.) ( rah, aphetic for Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 hurrah) ‘a shout of support or encouragement’. Exact reduplicatives may be coined by onomatopoeic 3. Immigrationofinsounds, the 21stand Century. reproduction therefore have no identifiable base, as The Need for an Ethical The Canadian Experience ..... 51 in bling-bling ‘ostentatiousApproach. jewellery’, representing the visual effect Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg of light being reflected off precious stones or metals, hubbahubba/haba-haba (U.S.) ‘used............................................................. to express approval or enthusiasm’, 3.1 World Population Increase 51 jig-jig (see jig-a-jig below) ‘sexual intercourse’, expressing 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 reiteration of short and jerky movements, mau-mau (chiefly N.
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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Amer.) ‘intimidate, harass; terrorize’, pip-pip ‘goodbye’, from the Table of Contents sound of a motor-horn at departure, Woop Woop (Austral. and N.Z.) ‘the name of an imaginary place in a remote area’, and yo-yo (U.S.) ‘a stupid person, a fool’, from the earlier sense ‘a toy that goes up and down’. 3.2.8.5. Marginal cases of reduplication A small group of less prototypical slang reduplicative forms exhibits a linking element, as in ding-a-ling (N. Amer.) ‘one who is crazy or insane’, jig-a-jig (also jig-a-jog) ‘sexual intercourse’, and in coordinated odds and sods (orig. Services’) ‘miscellaneous Opening and Executive Summary .............................. 11 people orConsiderations articles’. Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini Some binomials do not conform to the above patterns of ablaut, rhyme or copy gemination, but exhibit a sort of internal phonic 1. Ethics and Human Rights resemblance via assonance, consonance or rhyme. Such slang in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 binomials with a lower degree of reduplication include, for instance, Mario Santillo hunky-dory/-dorey (U.S.) ‘satisfactory, fine’, jiggery-pokery ‘deceitful Migrants’‘manipulation’’, Rights ............................................................................. 17 or 1.1 dishonest lovely jubbly ‘money’, ram-sammy (orig. dial.) ‘a family quarrel’, razzmatazz (orig. U.S.) ‘a type of rag1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 time or early jazz music’ (cf. razzle-dazzle), ridgy-didge (Austral.) Some‘good, Final Reflections................................................................... 23 (Å1.3ridge) all right, genuine’. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
3.2.9. Acronyms and initialisms
2. Migrationand Policies and Ethics East and South Asia............ 27 Acronyms initialisms are inwords coined byEast taking the initial
FabioofBaggio letters the words in a title or phrase (see Marchand 1969, Makkai 1972, Cannon 1989, Algeoin ed. andSouth recent such 27 as 2.1 International Migration East1991, Asia and Eaststudies Asia.............. López Rúa 2002 and Merlini Barbaresi 2007). Still, they represent 2.2different Migrationword-formation Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 two processes, since acronyms are words pronounced as full words Management................................................. (i.e. by applying the regular reading rules), 2.3 Ethics and Migration 43 while initialisms are pronounced as sequences of letters (i.e. by Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 naming each individual letter of the abbreviated words) (see Bauer 1983: 237).13 Both spelt with either capital or lower-case 3. Immigration in thecan 21st be Century. letters, but, intuitively, only initialisms canCanadian have dotsExperience (see Plag ..... 2003: The Need for an Ethical Approach. The 51 127), though there seems to be a tendency towards avoiding them. Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg Thus, Nato/NATO /ne.t/ (Å North Atlantic Treaty Organization) is
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51
Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 13 3.2 Cf. López Rúa (2002), who proposes the term ‘initialisms’ for a general category comprising acronyms (e.g. laser) and alphabetisms BBC). 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An (e.g. Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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an acronym, U.S.A. /ju.ese/ ( United States of America) Table ofwhereas Contents
is an initialism. Another comment concerns the orthographic basis of acronyms, whose pronunciation depends on their orthography rather than on the phonetic value of each initial letter in the original words, i.e. the vowels in Nato are diphthongs, but the initial letters of Atlantic and Organization are not (see Aronoff 1976, Bauer 1983, Merlini Barbaresi 2007). Although acronymic formations and initialisms are rather frequent in standard English and English slang, their predictability and relative productivity are still controversial issues (see Bauer 1983: 237-238). The low Considerations predictability ofand such formations principally stems from the Opening Executive Summary .............................. 11 factFabio that Baggio, sometimes they may keep more than one letter in a word (cf. Laura Zanfrini Aronoff’s 1976: 20 “syllable words”). Hence, we may have borderline cases between 1. Ethics and Human Rightsacronyms and clipped compounds (see § in the South Migration Processes .................................... 15 3.2.11.3), as inAmerican wop (R.A.F.) ( wireless operator) ‘a radio operator’. Santillo OrMario we may have peripheral cases of initialisms which take more than one from Rights the same word, as in P.I. (U.S.) ( pimp), Q.T./q.t. 1.1letter Migrants’ ............................................................................. 17 ( quiet), T.B./t.b. (U.S.) ( tubercolosis) ‘a confidence trickster’, International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 TV1.2(orig. and chiefly N. Amer.) ( transvestite; cf. St. E. TV television). 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 Another reason for low predictability is that the phrase from Bibliography ......................................................................................... which the acronym is taken is treated with a certain amount 25 of freedom to permit the acronym to arise. For instance, the slang 2. Migration Policies Ethics in East South East Asia............ 27 acronym Wren (and Women’s RoyalandNaval Service) is made Fabio Baggio pronounceable by inserting a vowel e, so that it conforms to the regular phonological patternsinof English (cf.South WracEast andAsia.............. Wraf below).27 2.1 International Migration East Asia and Still another reason is that the initialism may include entire 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 particles (e.g. coordinators or prepositions), as in U.S. of A. ( 2.3 Ethics andofMigration Management................................................. 43 United States America), or M. and V. (Services’) ( meat and vegetables). Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 3.2.9.1. Acronyms
3. Immigration in the 21st Century. Slang acronyms are quite numerous. Some examples are dink (orig. N. The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51
Amer.) ( double/dual income no kids) ‘either partner of a usu. Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg professional working couple who have no children’ (cf. jocular 3.1 World Population Increaseno ............................................................. 51 oink/OINK one income kids), DOM ( dirty old man), fubar/FUBAR /fub/ (U.S. /fubr/, orig. Military) ( fouled/fucked 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 up beyond all recognition) ‘ruined, messed up’, Nimby/NIMBY ( not 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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in my back yard) ‘used as a slogan objecting to the siting of something Table of Contents
considered unpleasant in one’s locality’, snafu/SNAFU /snæfu/ (chiefly U.S., orig. Military) ( situation normal: all fouled/fucked up, fogged in Marchand 1969: 453) ‘confused, chaotic’ (also n), sug (Brit.) ( sell under guise) ‘(attempt to) sell (someone) a product under the guise of conducting market research’, SWA(L)K ( sealed with a (loving) kiss), viff ( vectoring in forward flight), Wrac/WRAC ( Women’s Royal Army Corps), Wraf ( Women’s Royal Air Force). In most such examples, the acronyms arise by taking the first letter of each word in the phrase. But this is not always the case. Compare, Opening Considerations and Executive .............................. 11 for instance, AWOL /e.wl/ ( Summary absent without leave) with Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini Tewt/TEWT /tjut/ (Army) ( tactical exercise without troops) and twoc/Twoc/TWOC /twk/ (Brit., orig. Police) ( taking without 1. Ethics and Human Rights owner’s consent). In theMigration former (AWOL), preposition without in the South American Processes the .................................... 15 provides two letters (w, o) for the acronym, whereas in the latter (Tewt, Mario Santillo twoc), it provides only one (w). This leaves the question open about the 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 underlying phrase deriving the acronym: that is to say, twoc may plausibly be derived from ‘taking without Defence consent’............................. instead of ‘without 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ 21 owner’s consent’, with no semantic shift of the derivative. As 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 anticipated, this morphotactic opacity and the irregularity governing theBibliography formation ......................................................................................... of acronyms make them good candidates for extra25 grammatical morphology. 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27
3.2.9.2. Fabio Initialisms Baggio Initialisms (or “alphabetisms” in Quirk et al. 1985: 1581; cf. López 2.1 International East and Asia and East Asia.............. 27 Rúa 2002) are Migration likewise infree not South rule-governed in their formation. The Policies following are slang instances: AC/DC, AC-DC (orig. 2.2 Migration in ESEA............................................................ 34 U.S.) (humorously alternating current, direct current) ‘bisexual’, 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 A-OK (chiefly U.S.) ( all (systems) OK), BLT (orig. U.S.) ( Bibliography 47 bacon, lettuce,......................................................................................... and tomato (sandwich)), D.T. (vulgar) ( delirium tremens), G.I. ( galvanized iron, used chiefly in G.I. can), MCP 3. in thepig), 21st m.o. Century. (Immigration male chauvinist ( modus operandi), OAO (Military) The Need for an Ethical Approach. Theoll/orl Canadian Experience ..... 51 ( one and only), O.K./OK/ok ( correct) ‘all right’, Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg ‘fashionable, modish’, O.O. (U.S.) ( once-over), O.P./O.P.’s (chiefly U.S.) ( other people’s (cigarettes or alcoholic drink)), 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 OPM (U.S.) ( other people’s money), P.B.I./p.b.i. ( Poor 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration( andpretty Governance ................. 53 Bloody Infantry(man)), P.D.Q./p.d.q. damn(ed) quick), 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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PFC/Pfc (U.S., chiefly Military) ( poor foolish/forlorn civilian), Table of Contents Q.B.I. (R.A.F.) ( quite bloody impossible), S.A./s.a. ( sex appeal), S.F.A. ( Sweet Fanny Adams, also F.A.) ‘nothing at all’, TCB (U.S., Black E.) ( take care of business), W.P.B./w.p.b. ( waste-paper basket). As anticipated, there are several irregularities in the production of such formations. Some of these irregularities, however, appear to be particularly remarkable. First, some initialisms are not obtained from phrases but rather from complex words (e.g. B.S. bullshit, DL down-low, O.D. overdose). Still, they keep more than one letter of Considerations the composite,and and precisely the initial letters of each Opening Executive Summary .............................. 11 underlying base. Second, they tend to keep the initial letters of Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini function words, such as over and the in over the top ( OTT), though are lessRights salient than lexical words and less preferred 1. Ethicsthese and Human bases Third, they doProcesses so arbitrarily: for instance, 15 in in thewithin South NM. American Migration .................................... S.O.B./s.o.b. ( son of a bitch; cf. sob ‘a pound’) the initial letter of Mario Santillo the preposition of is kept, but the determiner a is not. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17
3.2.10. Blending Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 1.2 International Blending a common derivational process in English. Blends, also 1.3 SomeisFinal Reflections................................................................... 23 called contaminations or “portmanteau words” (after Carroll), are Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 formed by merging parts of words into one word, as in smog, from smoke and fog. Since they are made up of curtailed members, 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 whose original bases are often unrecognizable (Bauer 1983, 1988a), Fabio Baggio they are less natural than composites (having full bases) on the 2.1 International Migration in East Asia andtransparency. South East Asia.............. 27 basis of the parameter of morphotactic Hence, they are2.2 classified theinlanguage “oddities” by Aronoff (1976: 20), Migrationamong Policies ESEA............................................................ 34 and generally excluded from canonical morphological grammar. 2.3 Ethics and 43 Blends, likeMigration acronymsManagement................................................. and initialisms, are not rule-governed, since they cannot be assigned a regular specific pattern and their Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 final segmental make-up is unpredictable (Dressler 2000). For instance, we doinnot exactly which part of a word is retained, 3. Immigration theknow 21st Century. norThe doNeed we know theApproach. word is curtailed, especially when ..... there for anwhere Ethical The Canadian Experience 51 is an overlap betweenRichard the first and the second member of the blend, Christine Baghdady, Vanderberg as in slanguage ( slang and language). 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 Yet blending exhibits some preferences. Blends are preferentially 3.2 Urbanization, International Governance formed by taking the beginningMigration (head) ofand a word and the................. end (tail) 53 of 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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another one (as in smog above). But also less typical blends exist, Table of Contents which are formed by combining two heads (as in modem modulator + demodulator), or a word with a tail (as in guesstimate guess + estimate, fanzine fan + magazine) (cf. Thornton’s 1993: 145-148 “partial blends”). In English slang, we distinguish prototypical from partial blends. 3.2.10.1. Prototypical blends Some slang blends prototypically consist of the head of one word and the tail of another one. They are often adjectives formed from two standard or colloquial adjectives having a similar or related Opening and Executive Summary 11 meaning,Considerations as in dilly (chiefly Austral.) ( daft.............................. + silly) ‘foolish’, Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini fantabulous ( fantastic + fabulous) ‘of almost incredible excellence’, ginormous ( gigantic + enormous), grungy (chiefly 1. Ethics and Human Rights N. Amer.) ( grubby + dingy), mingy ( mean/mangy + stingy) in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 ‘mean, stingy; disappointingly small’ (see “pleonastic blends” in Mario Santillo Cacchiani 2007: 109-111). 1.1 Migrants’ ............................................................................. 17 This patternRights is also found in some slang nouns, as in glob ( gob + blob) ‘a mass or lump of some liquid or semi-liquid 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 substance’ and revusical (orig. and chiefly U.S.) ( revue + 1.3 Some Reflections................................................................... 23 musical) ‘aFinal theatrical entertainment that combines elements of the revue and musical’. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 3.2.10.2. Partial andand lessEthics prototypical 2. Migration Policies in East blends and South East Asia............ 27
Partial Fabioblends Baggiobehave as typical blends, though one of the two bases remains intact. The first base is a word followed by a word head in 2.1 International East Asia East Asia.............. 27 kidvid (orig. andMigration chiefly inU.S.) ( and kidSouth + video) ‘a television programme or video made for children’ (cf. rhyming compounds).34 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ Examples of a word followed by a tail are to be found in gaydar Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 (2.3gay + radar) ‘an ability, attributed esp. to homosexual people, to Bibliography identify a (fellow) homosexual person’, sexational (orig. U.S.) ......................................................................................... 47 ( sex + sensational), sexcapade ( sex + escapade), squadrol
3. Immigration in the 21st Century. 14 The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian ExperienceDressler ..... 51 Hence the German name “Kopf-Schwanz-Wort” (lit. ‘head-tail-word’, Christine Baghdady, Vanderberg et al. 1987: 126, see alsoRichard Thornton 1993). Dressler (in Dressler et al. 1987: 117) explains that “the beginning and the end of a word are more salient than what 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. comes in between. Accordingly a general abbreviation device is to take the head51 of the first member of a compound/juxtaposition/phrase and the tail of the last 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance 53 member but never the other way round. E.g. motor hotel has become................. motel, but not *torhot”. 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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(U.S.) ( squad + patrol) ‘a small police van’, and in shagadelic Table of Contents ( shag + psychedelic) ‘sexy, esp. in a psychedelic or ‘retro’ way’, with a variant vowel a instead of e, in any case, both pronounced as a schwa, at least in Amer. E. This latter variation is commonly found across the few formations of the same type (e.g. funkadelic).15 The second base is a word preceded by a head in doohickey (orig. and chiefly U.S.) ( doodad + hickey, also doojigger) ‘any small object, esp. mechanical’, gazunder (Brit., humorous) ( gazump + under) ‘of a buyer: lower the amount of an offer made to (the seller) for a property’, tab show (U.S.) ( tabloid show) ‘a short version of a musical’. Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 The word a partial blend is inserted within another word in Fabio Baggio,ofLaura Zanfrini the humorous formation ambisextrous ‘bisexual’, from sex and ambidextrous, favoured by the similarity between dex and sex. 1. Ethics and Human Rights slangAmerican blends simply merge where the two words overlap, inMany the South Migration Processes .................................... 15 as Mario in nerk (Brit., deprec.) ( nerd + berk/jerk) ‘a foolish or Santillo objectionable person’, scuzz (perh. scum + fuzz, but also 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 considered a corrupted abbrev. of disgusting) ‘contemptible or despicable person’, sexpert (orig. U.S.) ( sex +............................. expert) ‘an expert 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence 21 on sexual matters’, squiz (Austral. and N.Z.) ( squint + quiz) ‘a 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 look or glance’, swingle (N. Amer.) ( swinging + single) ‘a Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 ‘swinging’ single or unaccompanied person’, vidiot (orig. and chiefly U.S., derog.) ( video + idiot) ‘a habitual viewer of 2. Migration Ethicsgames’, in East and South EastSc. Asia............ 27 television orPolicies player and of video yatter (orig. dialect) ( Fabio Baggio yammer + chatter) ‘talk idly and incessantly’. Sometimes the overlap is only in pronunciation, butand not in East orthography, as 27 in 2.1 International Migration in East Asia South Asia.............. Sloane Ranger ( Sloan (Square) + Lone Ranger) ‘an upper class 2.2 Migrationyoung Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 conventional woman in London’, and Trustafarian (chiefly Brit.) ( trust Rastafarian) ‘a wealthy young (white) person who 2.3 Ethics and+Migration Management................................................. 43 adopts aspects of the appearance and culture of Rastafarians’. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
3. Immigration in the 21st Century. 15 The Need for an Ethical Approach. The 51 According to the OED, -adelic/-edelic (or Canadian -delic after Experience a vowel or ..... y) (
Christine has Baghdady, Vanderberg psychedelic) become Richard an English combining form obtaining adjectives with the meaning ‘embodying the quality denoted or implied (by the first element) in a 3.1 Worldway’. Population Increase ............................................................. 51 psychedelic Yet its productivity is debatable: first, it is attested in a small number of formations (e.g. pimpadelic, scallydelic, etc.) which are mere 3.2 Urbanization, International and Governance ................. but 53 occasionalisms, and, second, it doesMigration not reinterpret psychedelic (secretion), simply abbreviates it, Migration including itsinmeaning the Ethical new word (see Mattiello 2007b). 3.3 International Canada:inAn Assessment ........... 54
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Sometimes slang blends have an acronym or an initialism as one Table of Contents of the two members, thus originating mixed formations, as in Amerikkka (orig. U.S.) ( G. Amerika ‘America’ + the initial letters of Ku Klux Klan), buppie (orig. U.S.) ( black + yuppie), guppie ( gay + yuppie) ‘a homosexual yuppie’, and guppie ( green + yuppie) ‘a yuppie concerned about the environment’. 3.2.11. Clipping Clipping is a process which abbreviates a word to one of its parts. The most common pattern is back-clipping, in which the beginning of a baseConsiderations lexeme is retained (e.g. lab laboratory). Other possible Opening and Executive Summary .............................. 11 Fabio Baggio, Zanfrini in which the final part of the word is patterns includeLaura fore-clipping, retained (e.g. phone telephone), clippings in which the middle of 1. Human (e.g. Rightsflu influenza), and clipped compounds theEthics wordand is retained in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 (e.g. cablegram cable telegram), which differ from partial Mario Santillo blends because their bases have a composite rather than independent meaning (see § 3.2.11.3). 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 As many present-day English colloquialisms show, clipping is a 1.2 International Instrument Migrants’ Defence 21 frequent process in familiar for language (e.g. auto ............................. automobile, bus 1.3 omnibus, profReflections................................................................... professor). Some Final 23 It is also common in slang.16 In particular, it develops slang Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 terms of special private groups, in which an allusion is sufficient to indicate the whole. For instance, American college students use frat 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 instead of fraternity, Oxford or Cambridge University students call Fabio Baggio ‘an officer’ prog, abbreviated from proggins or earlier proctor, pecs International Migration in to East Asiatoand South East Asia.............. is 2.1 used among bodybuilders refer pectoral muscles, post is27a medicine slang Policies term used in the place of post-mortem, prop is used 2.2 Migration in ESEA............................................................ 34 by criminals to refer to property (as in prop game, man, etc.), ump 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 stands for umpire in baseball slang, scorp and scram are military slang terms for scorpion ‘a civil inhabitant of Gibraltar’ and Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 scramble ‘depart quickly’. Semantically, clippings do not add any new information to the 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. original lexemes, but, pragmatically, express a particular The Need for an Ethical Approach. The they Canadian Experience ..... 51 attitude of Baghdady, the speaker and lower the stylistic level of discourse to Christine Richard Vanderberg 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51
16 Partridge (1933, in the OED), for instance, observes that “slang delights to curtail
3.2abbreviate, Urbanization, International and Governance ................. 53 (clip, shorten) words” (see Migration Jespersen 1942, Marchand 1969, Bauer 1983, 1988a related positions). 3.3 for International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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less formal speech. This allows the standard word criminal and the Table of Contents slang word crim to co-exist and select different registers. From the morphological point of view, clippings are however unpredictable, in the sense that, analysing their form, we cannot determine how much of the base word has been deleted (cf. spec specialist vs. specification). Yet we can approximately determine how much of it has been retained. Indeed, especially in backclippings (truncations), there seems to be a certain tendency to shorten words at the end of the first (less frequently, second) syllable, which normally carries stress. Hence, most clippings are monosyllabic or disyllabic schizSummary or schizo.............................. schizophrenic) Opening Considerations and (e.g. Executive 11 (more in Plag 2003: 116-121). Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini On the other hand, length and stress are not helpful criteria to explain of fore-clippings, which are not necessarily 1. Ethicsthe andformation Human Rights obtained by preserving stressedProcesses syllable within a word, as gator in the South Americanthe Migration .................................... 15 /et/ alligator /ælet/ attests. Mariofrom Santillo 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 3.2.11.1. Back-clipping Slang back-clippings are numerous. TheyDefence are primarily shortenings 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ ............................. 21 of nouns and adjectives: e.g., caff ( café), coke (orig. U.S.) ( 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 cocaine), con (Criminals’) ( convict/conviction, but also abbrev. 25 of Bibliography confidant, ......................................................................................... conformist, contract, conundrum), cred ( credit/ credibility), crim (U.S. and Austral.) ( criminal), ex-con ( ex2. Migration Policies Ethics East and South convict), fave (orig.and U.S.) (infavourite), Fed East ( Asia............ federalist) 27 ‘a Fabio official, Baggio esp. an FBI agent’, fla(d)ge ( flagellation), flip federal (2.1flippant), genMigration (orig. Services’) (and perh. abbrev. of general 27 in International in East Asia South East Asia.............. the official phrase for the general information of all ranks) 2.2 Migrationfacts’, Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 ‘information, hyper (orig. and chiefly U.S.) ( hyperactive), hypo ( hypodermic) hypodermic needle or injection’, klepto 2.3 Ethics and Migration‘aManagement................................................. 43 ( kleptomaniac), lat ( latrine), Merc ( Mercedes, now Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 Mercedes-Benz), Mex ( Mexican), mo (Austral. and N.Z.) ( moustache), narc/narco (U.S.) ( narcotic), Nip (orig. Military, 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. offens.) ( Nipponese) ‘a Japanese’, nitro ( nitroglycerine), The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 nuc/nuke ( nuclear), obs (chiefly Military) ( observation; cf. Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg obbo under suffix -o, § 3.2.3.20), Paki (orig. and chiefly Brit.) ( 3.1 World ped Population Increase ............................................................. 51 Pakistani), (orig. and chiefly U.S.) ( pedestrian), perp (U.S.) (3.2perpetrator), post ( postgraduate), pug ( pugilist), rehab Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 ( rehabilitation), scally (chiefly Lancashire and Liverpool) ( 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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scallywag) ‘a roguish, self-assured male (esp. from Liverpool)’, seg Table of Contents (chiefly U.S.) ( segregation), skell (U.S.) ( skeleton) ‘in New York, a homeless person or derelict’, sod (coarse) ( sodomite), spec (orig. U.S.) ( speculation/spectacle), stipe/stip ( stipendiary), terr (Rhodesian) ( terrorist), tick ( ticket), toup ( toupee), tranq/trank ( tranquillizer), trog ( troglodyte) ‘a lout, an obnoxious person’, vag (Austral. and N. Amer.) ( vagrancy/vagrant), vent (Theatrical) ( ventriloquist), vet ( veterinarian) ‘a doctor of medicine’. A few shortenings are verbs (e.g. frat fraternize, prep prepare, psych psychoanalyse, vegSummary vegetate ‘pass the time 11 in Opening Considerations and Executive .............................. mindless or vacuous inactivity, esp. by watching television’), or Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini interjections (lor lord). Someand back-clippings, 1. Ethics Human Rightshowever, stand for words belonging to different syntactic classes, withProcesses a consequent ambiguity 15 or in the South American Migration .................................... vagueness of the derivatives. For instance, cert stands for the noun Mario Santillo certainty, but also for the adjective certain, dif/diff for difference or 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 different, fash for fashion or fashionable, glam for glamour, glamorous and glamorize, homo for Defence homosexual (n and adj), 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ ............................. 21 (il)legit for (il)legitimate (n and adj), perv/perve for perversion, 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 pervert or perverted, psycho for psychopath or psychopathic, recon Bibliography 25 (U.S., Military)......................................................................................... for reconnaissance or reconnoitre, and sus/suss for suspicion or suspicious, or for suspect (adj and v). 2. Migration Policies may and Ethics in East and South EastofAsia............ 27 Some clippings be exclusive shortenings slang rather Fabio Baggio words, as in boob (orig. U.S.) ( booby) ‘a dull, than standard heavy, stupid fellow’, ‘a lock-up or cell’, dig (Austral. and N.Z.) 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 ( digger) ‘an Australian or New Zealander’, fag (U.S.) ( 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 faggot) ‘a (male) homosexual’, flim ( flimsy) ‘a bank-note’, griff (2.3griffin) ‘news; reliable information’, hood (orig. U.S.) ( Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 hoodlum) ‘a youthful street rowdy’, hum ( humbug) ‘an Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 imposition, a hoax’, mack ( mackerel) ‘a procurer or procuress; a pimp’, mech (N. Amer. and Austral.) ( mechanic) ‘a person who 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. cheats at gambling games, spec. cards’, mike ( microgram) ‘a The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 microgram of a drug, esp. LSD’ (cf. colloq. mike microphone), Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg mob ( mobile) ‘the mob; the common people’, mog (Brit.) ( 3.1 World‘a Population Increase ............................................................. moggie/-y) cat’, mong (Austral.) ( mongrel) ‘a person of low 51 or indeterminate status’, mush ( mushroom) ‘an umbrella, from the 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 shape’, nig (derog. and offens.) ( nigger) ‘a dark-skinned person’, 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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Pape (Sc. and Ir., derog.) ( papist) ‘a Roman Catholic’, peb Table of Contents (Austral., now rare) ( pebble) ‘a tough or indomitable person or animal’, pleb ( plebeian) ‘a new cadet at a military or naval academy’, Pom/pom (Austral. and N.Z.) ( Pommy) ‘an immigrant to Australia or New Zealand from Britain’, pro ( professional) ‘a prostitute’, pud ( coarse pudding) ‘the penis’, rad (N. Amer., orig. Surfers’) ( radical) ‘remarkable; amazing’, razz (orig. U.S.) ( razzberry, altered from raspberry) ‘a refusal; a reprimand’, roz ( rozzer) ‘a policeman or detective’, sawn (Austral.) ( sawney) ‘a simpleton, fool’, scoot ( scooter) ‘a fast vehicle, esp. a train or car’, simpConsiderations (U.S.) ( simpleton) ‘a fool’, spaz/spas (with voiced /z/) Opening and Executive Summary .............................. 11 (Fabio spastic) ‘one is uncoordinated or incompetent’, swizz Baggio, Laurawho Zanfrini (chiefly Schoolchildren’s) ( swizzle) ‘a disappointment’, tab ( tablet) tablet or pill, spec. one containing an illicit drug’, tab ( 1. Ethics‘aand Human Rights in the‘an South American Migration Processes tabby) (attractive) young woman or girl’..................................... 15 Mario ManySantillo slang back-clippings are now considered part of colloquial language, due Rights to their frequency in everyday use or among 1.1 Migrants’ ............................................................................. 17 members of the same group. They include, e.g., ag (chiefly N. 1.2 International Instrument Migrants’ Defencebi............................. 21 Amer.) ( agricultural), arbfor( arbitrageur), ( bisexual, also in 1.3 bi-guy), brillReflections................................................................... ( brilliant), cat ( catalytic) ‘a catalytic Some Final 23 converter’, dis ( disconnected) ‘broken, not working’, divi. ( Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 dividend), ex ( expense, always in pl., as exes), fab ( fabulous), hash ( hashish), info ( information), Jag ( Jaguar, name of a 2. Migration Policies Ethicsjolly in East South Eastcf. Asia............ 27 motor car), jock (and jockey), (and jollification; jollo under Fabio Baggio suffix -o, § 3.2.3.20), ma ( mama), max (chiefly U.S.) ( maximum), merc Migration ( mercenary) ‘a and soldier to serve in 27a 2.1 International in East Asia Southpaid East Asia.............. foreign army’, meth ( methamphetamine/Methedrine), Metho 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 (Austral.) ( Methodist), mo ( moment), obit (orig. Journalistic) Ethics andoke Migration Management................................................. 43 (2.3obituary), (orig. U.S.) ( okey), op ( operative/operator) ‘a Bibliography detective; ......................................................................................... esp. a private investigator’, pen (N. Amer.) ( 47 penitentiary), pep (orig. U.S.) ( pepper) ‘energy and high spirits; liveliness’, phenom ( phenomenon), phy (chiefly Brit.) ( st Century. 3. Immigration in the 21 Physeptone) ‘the drug methadone’, pi Canadian (dated) ( pious), ..... plute The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Experience 51 (chiefly U.S.) ( plutocrat), pol (N. Amer.) ( politician), preg Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg (orig. U.S.) ( pregnant), prog ( progressive/programme), 3.1 World( Population Increase 51 pros/pross prostitute), Prot............................................................. (chiefly Ir.) ( Protestant), rec ( recreation), seg (U.S.) ( segregationist), ( sovereign), spec 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration andsov Governance ................. 53 ( speculative), specs ( spectacles), speedo ( speedometer), 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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stew (U.S.) (Å stewardess), stupe (Å stupid), teach (Å teacher), Table of Contents thou (Å thousand), trat/tratt (Å trattoria), Uni/Univ (chiefly Austral. and N.Z.) (Å University), ute (chiefly Austral. and N.Z.) (Å utility) ‘a utility vehicle’, vis (orig. Military) (Å visibility), Yank (Å Yankee). A very unusual type of slang back-clipping preserves only the first letter of the base word, with a certain similarity with the wordformation pattern of acronyms and initialisms. This type is illustrated by b/B (Å bugger/bastard), D. (Å detective),17 E (Å ecstasy), G. (U.S.) (Å grand) ‘a thousand dollars’, H. (Å heroin), K (Å ketamine; cf. Special K, a punning after .............................. a proprietary name Opening Considerations and Executive Summary 11 forFabio a breakfast cereal), and, in combination with a full word, by big Baggio, Laura Zanfrini C (Å cancer) and big E (Brit.) ‘a personal rejection or rebuff’, abbreviated elbow. 1. Ethics andfrom Human Rights back-clippings may shorten initialisms to their first inSlang the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 abbreviated letter, as in W obtained from W.C. (Å water-closet) and Mario Santillo Y (chiefly U.S.), from the well-known initialism YMCA (Å Young 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 Men’s Christian Association). They may also shorten reduplicative formations, as in fud (orig. and chiefly U.S.) (Å ............................. rhym. reduplicative 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence 21 fuddy-duddy) ‘an old-fashioned person’, and heebies (orig. U.S.) (Å 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 heebie-jeebies) ‘a state of nervous depression or anxiety’. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
3.2.11.2. Fore-clipping and other marginal cases of clipping Fore-clippings are far less numerous slang. Examples are mostly 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in Eastinand South East Asia............ 27 nouns: e.g., gator (orig. U.S.) (Å alligator), loid (Criminals’) (Å Fabio Baggio celluloid), Nam (Å Vietnam), nana (Å banana) ‘a foolish or silly 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 person’, Scouse (Å lobscouse) ‘a native or inhabitant of Liverpool’, 2.2 Migration in ESEA............................................................ tache/tash (ÅPolicies moustache), Tab (University) (Å Cantab) 34 ‘a member of the University of Cambridge’, tato (Å potato), Ville (Å 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 Pentonville, a Prison in London), za (U.S.) (Å pizza). But there are Bibliography 47 also verbs (e.g.......................................................................................... niff chiefly Brit. Å sniff). The middle of the word is retained in slang script (orig. U.S.) st 3. in esp. the 21 (ÅImmigration prescription, one Century. for narcotic drugs) and tec (Å detective). The Need group for an of Ethical Approach. The Canadian ..... 51 A small (essentially back-)clippings notExperience only abbreviate Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg the original word but also alter its spelling. Yet they are not proper 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 Urbanization, Governance 17 3.2 Cf. the drug name DInternational (Å Death) inMigration A Scanner and Darkly (2006) and................. D (Å LSD)53 in Dalzell & Victor (eds)Migration (2007a). in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 3.3 International Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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altered forms (see alteration in § 3.2.14.5), since they do not vary in Table of Contents
pronunciation. They include chizz /tz/ ( chisel /tz l/), Jeez/Jese/Jez or Geez/Geeze /diz/ ( Jesus /dizs/), jelly /del/ ( gelignite /delnat/), mensh/mench /men/ ( mention /menn/), natch /næt/ (U.S.) ( natural /nætrl/), noov/noove /nuv/ (Brit.) ( F. nouveau riche /nuvri/; cf. clipped compounds in § 3.2.11.3 below), nuff /nf/ (orig. U.S.) ( enough /nf/), ork /k/ (orig. and chiefly U.S.) ( orchestra /kstr/), pash /pæ/ ( passion /pæn/), phiz /fz/ (now arch.) ( Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 physiognomy profesh /prfe/ ( profession Fabio Baggio, /fznm/), Laura Zanfrini /prfe n/), sesh /se/ (orig. Services’) ( session /sen/), sheen 1. Ethics and( Human Rights /in/ (U.S.) machine /min/) ‘a car’, and siff /sf/ ( syphilis in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 /sfls/; cf. syph). Mario Santillo
3.2.11.3. Clipped compounds 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 Slang clipped compounds (called “clipping-compounds” by Marchand 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 1969: 445) reduce a compound to one of its parts. They are kept separate from the usual patterns of clippings because, like blends, 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 they are made up of two or more bases. Nevertheless, at the same Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 time they differ from blends because, while in blends the bases have an autonomous in East clipped compounds they were 2. Migration Policies andsense, Ethics in and South East Asia............ 27 originally compound members, with a composite meaning. Hence, Fabio Baggio motel ( motor + hotel) is a blend, while pulmotor ( pulmonary 2.1 International Migration in East Furthermore, Asia and Southclipped East Asia.............. 27 motor) is a clipped compound. compounds differ from prototypical blends (but not from partial blends) 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 because one of their bases may remain intact. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 Slang clipped compounds with the first element intact are after (Bibliography afternoon),......................................................................................... common ( common sense), fag ( fag-end) ‘the 47 end of a cigarette’, hard ( hard labour), jock (N. Amer.) ( jockstrap) ‘an athletic moon (U.S.) ( moonshine) ‘illicitly 3. Immigration in the man’, 21st Century. distilled liquor’, motherApproach. (orig. and ( coarse The Need for an Ethical The chiefly CanadianU.S.) Experience ..... 51 Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg motherfucker) ‘an obnoxious or contemptible person’, natural ( natural life), pay (Navy) ( paymaster) ‘an official responsible for 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 dispensing pay, settling debts, etc.’, skin (U.S.) ( skinflint) ‘one 3.2 would Urbanization, Migration Governanceor................. 53 who skin aInternational flint to save or gainand something’, (Brit.) ( 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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skinhead) ‘a youth (often one of a gang)’, and speak ( speakeasy) Table of Contents ‘a shop or bar where alcoholic liquor is sold illegally’. The previous pattern with part of the second element retained is found in street cred ( street credibility) ‘familiarity with contemporary trends, fashions, social issues, etc.’, and Wingco (R.A.F.) ( Wing Commander). The compound may be reduced to a part of the first element, as in artic ( articulated lorry), choco (Austral.) ( chocolate soldier) ‘a militiaman or conscripted soldier’, lat (orig. Bodybuilding) ( latissimus dorsi), mutt ( mutton-head) ‘an incompetent, a fool’, oppo Services’) ( opposite number) 11 ‘a Opening Considerations and(orig. Executive Summary .............................. partner, a counterpart’, peck (U.S., Black E.) ( peckerwood) ‘a Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini white person regarded as poor’, sub ( subsistence money) ‘an advance of money’, torp ( torpedo juice) ‘intoxicating liquor 1. Ethics and Human Rights extracted fromAmerican torpedo Migration fuel’. Some such abbreviated compounds in the South Processes .................................... 15 also involve conversion: adj n, as in feeb (U.S.) ( feebleMario Santillo minded) ‘a feeble-minded person’, or n v, as in frag (U.S., 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 Military) ( fragmentation grenade) ‘throw a fragmentation grenade at one’s superior officer’. 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 Clipped compounds with the second element intact are less 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 numerous, as the following examples show: bin ( loony bin) ‘a Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 mental hospital’, Groper (Austral.) ( sand groper) ‘a jocular appellation for a native West Australian’, jug (orig. U.S.) ( stone2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 jug) ‘a prison, jail’, Kraut ( Sauerkraut) ‘a German’, pike (chiefly Baggio N. Fabio Amer.) ( turnpike) ‘a road on which a toll is collected at a toll gate’, twenty (orig.Migration and chiefly U.S., Radio) ( 102.1 International in East AsiaCitizens’ and SouthBand East Asia.............. 27 20) ‘one’s location or position’ (cf. ten-four/10-4 ‘message 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 received’). With a shortened second element we have only shrink (orig. U.S.) and ( Migration head-shrinker) ‘a psychiatrist’. 2.3 Ethics Management................................................. 43 The pattern with two shortened elements is particularly frequent Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 when the beginning of both elements is retained, as in des res ( desirable residence), Mespot (chiefly Military, now arch.) ( 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. Mesopotamia), misper (Brit., chiefly Police) ( missing person), The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 rigmo ( rigor mortis), slomo (Cinematography, chiefly U.S.) ( Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg slow motion), spag bol ( spaghetti Bolognese), sysop (orig. U.S., 3.1 World Population ............................................................. 51 Computing) ( systemIncrease operator; cf. acronymic wop § 3.2.9). 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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Less recurrent patterns are found in B-girl (U.S.) ( bar-girl), Table of Contents greycing, from the three-member compound greyhound racing, and shouse (Austral.) ‘a privy’, syncopated form of shit-house. 3.2.12. Elliptic rhyming slang Wilson: I’m gonna ’ave a butcher’s round the house. Ed Roel: Who you gonna butcher? Wilson: Butcher’s hook… look. (The Limey 1999, emphasis added)
Many rhyming slang formations are noSummary longer used in their full form, Opening Considerations and Executive .............................. 11
butFabio rather as elliptic Baggio, Laura forms Zanfriniwhich often drop the final element (see Kermas 2005: 134-135). For instance, in everyday conversation, the fullEthics formand butcher’s rhyming slang for ‘look’, is often reduced 1. Humanhook, Rights to in itsthe elliptic butcher’s,Processes as in the .................................... above quote. The main Southcounterpart American Migration 15 consequence of such an ellipsis is loss of rhyme, and therefore of Mario Santillo iconicity between onset (hook) and outset (the rhyming referent 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 ‘look’). Another consequence of elliptic forms is ambiguity, since the1.2same form may correspond to moreDefence than one referent, as 21 in International Instrument for Migrants’ ............................. apples, which is obtained both from apple(s) and pears (rhym. 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 slang for ‘stairs’) and, in Australian, from apples and rice/spice (for Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 ‘nice’). Therefore, only after contextualizing the elliptic form may we distinguish the noun (as in up the apples ‘the stairs’) from the 2. Migration Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 adjective (as Policies in she’sand apples ‘nice’). Fabio SinceBaggio back-clipping is more widespread than the other clipping patterns, elliptic Migration forms which drop are the 2.1 International in East Asiathe andrhyming South Eastelement Asia.............. 27 most common, as the following examples demonstrate: barnet ( 2.2 Migration Policies ESEA............................................................ 34 Barnet fair rhym. slangin for ‘hair’) ‘the head’, boat ( boat-race) ‘face’, brassand( brass nail for ‘tail’) ‘a prostitute’, Bristols ( 2.3 Ethics Migration Management................................................. 43 Bristol Cities for ‘titties’) ‘the breasts’, China ( china plate) Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 ‘mate’, flowery ( flowery dell) ‘cell’, grumble ( grumble and grunt for ‘cunt’) ‘women regarded as objects of sexual attraction’, 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. Hampsteads ( Hampstead Heath) ‘teeth’, iron ( iron hoof for The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 ‘poof’) ‘a homosexual’, Khyber ( Khyber Pass) ‘arse’, lakes ( Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg Lakes of Killarney for ‘barmy’) ‘mad, crazy’, mince ( mince-pie, 3.1in World Population Increase 51 usu. pl.) ‘eye’, Moreton Bay............................................................. (chiefly Austral.) ( Moreton Bay fig3.2 forUrbanization, ‘fizgig’) ‘anInternational informer’, Migration oscar (Austral. and N.Z.) ( Oscar and Governance ................. 53 Asche, the Australian actor) ‘cash’, Pat (chiefly Austral.) ( Pat 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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Malone) ‘own’, plates ( plates of meat) ‘feet’ (cf. the full form Table of Contents plate of meat for ‘a street’), potato (Austral.) ( potato peeler for ‘sheila’) ‘a girl or woman’, rabbit ( rabbit-and-pork) ‘talk’ (n and v), Richard ( Richard the Third for ‘bird’) ‘a girl or woman’, Sweeney ( Sweeney Todd for ‘Flying Squad’) ‘a member of the Flying Squad’, tod ( Tod Sloan) ‘own’ (in on one’s tod ‘alone’), turtle ( turtle-dove) ‘a glove’, twist (chiefly U.S., often derog.) ( twist-and-twirl) ‘a girl’. Ambiguous elliptic forms belonging to the above pattern include Jack ( Jack Jones for ‘alone’, or Jack’s alive for ‘five’) and Jimmy ( Jimmy O’Goblin for ‘sovereign’, Jimmy Riddle for Opening Considerations and Executive Summaryor.............................. 11 ‘piddle’), whereas the following forms have two different senses Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini which developed from the same phrase: loaf ( loaf of bread for ‘dead’ ‘head’), raspberry 1. Ethicsorand Human Rights ( raspberry tart for ‘the heart’ or ‘a ‘fart’’), Rory O’More for ‘the floor’.................................... or ‘a door’). in the Rory South( American Migration Processes 15 WhenSantillo the full form is a single word, it may be reduced to its Mario initial part, as in amster (or ampster with intrusive p) (Austral.) ( 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 Amsterdam for ‘ram’) ‘a trickster’s accomplice’, nav ( navigator for1.2‘tater’) ‘a potato’, tiddly ( tiddlywink) drink’, tom ( International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence‘a ............................. 21 tomfoolery) ‘jewellery’. 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 The elliptic form may undergo a slight change in spelling Bibliography 25 compared with......................................................................................... the full phrase, as in chiv(v)y ( Chevy Chase) ‘the face’. It may also be contracted, as in titfa/titfer/titfor ( tit for tat) 2. Ethics incase East becoming and South East 27 ‘a Migration hat’, esp. Policies with a and possessive a sortAsia............ of -s suffix Fabio Baggio (cobblers cobbler’s awls for ‘balls’, elephants elephant’s trunk for ‘drunk’), or it may exhibit a familiarizing suffix, as 27 in 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. porky ( pork pie) ‘a lie’, rammies (Austral. and S. Afr.) ( 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 round-the-houses) ‘trousers’, rubbedy/rubberdy/rubbidy (Austral.) (2.3rub-a-dub) Ethics and ‘pub’. Migration Management................................................. 43 The second member is rarely kept in abbreviated rhyming slang. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 An example would be kelly ( Derby/Darby Kelly) ‘belly’. 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. 3.2.13. Reversed forms The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51
Reversed in slang mayVanderberg appear similar to cases of semordnilap. Christineforms Baghdady, Richard This latter is a term coined in recent years (from a reverse spelling of 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 palindromes) to refer to words and phrases which make sense when 3.2 Urbanization, Migration andaGovernance ................. 53 read backwards: International e.g., the term live is semordnilap of evil. However, unlike semordnilap, which has a different meaning from 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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when it is read forwards, in slang the word obtained is created on Table of Contents purpose, and is only a different connoted variant of the original word. Hence, yob was initially used in the sense of ‘a boy, a youth’, but, in modern use, it has also taken on the derogatory sense of ‘a lout, a hooligan’. Slang reversed forms are typical of back-slang, i.e. “a kind of slang in which every word is pronounced backwards; as ynnep for penny” (OED; cf. French verlan in Méla 1991). Back-slang words primarily belong to the language of criminals and are especially used for reasons of secrecy: e.g. neves /nevs/ for seven ‘a prison Opening and Executive Summary .............................. sentence Considerations of seven years’, and rouf /rf/ for four ‘four shillings 11 or Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini pounds; a four-year prison sentence’. 1. EthicsVariation and Human Rights 3.2.14. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15
ByMario ‘variation’ Santillo I mean the slang formation mechanism which modifies a word base by varying (part of) its spelling. It is an 1.1 Migrants’ 17 umbrella termRights for ............................................................................. different processes, viz. analogy (e.g. Bananaland Queensland), (e.g. ............................. basket bastard), 1.2 International Instrument formalapropism Migrants’ Defence 21 metathesis (e.g. prad Dutch paard), letter pronunciation (e.g. gee Final Reflections................................................................... 23 1.3 theSome initial letter of guy), alteration (e.g. Canuck Canada), extension (e.g.......................................................................................... nope no), and, sometimes, their combination (e.g. Bibliography 25 jeepers, altered and extended from Jesus). The difference between malapropism and alteration is that the former reliesEast on existing words 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South Asia............ 27 (basket an autonomous word of English), whereas the latter does Fabio is Baggio not (Canuck does not correspond to any standard English word). 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 Variation covers a range of processes that are not merely 2.2 Migration Policies ESEA............................................................ 34 morphological, but alsoinpertain to the phonological system of English (hence “marginal” in morphology, Dressler 2000). For instance, letter 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 pronunciation is based on the pronunciation of word letters, which 47 areBibliography reproduced......................................................................................... at the written level, as in Beeb ( B.B.C.). Alteration likewise reproduces dialect variants of words (as in loverly, from a 3. Immigration in the 21st Cockney pronunciation ofCentury. lovely), or contractions which are made in The Need for an Ethical Approach. Canadian Experience ..... 51 spoken English (as in wotcher The what cheer?), or otherwise Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg reinterprets borrowings from foreign languages (as in vamoose Sp. Vamos). ButPopulation let us nowIncrease explore............................................................. each process. 3.1 World 51 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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3.2.14.1. Analogical formation Table of Contents Analogical formation refers to the creation of a new word using constructive processes which resemble existing ones. Such formations are often humorous, as in Bananaland (Austral.) (after and to designate Queensland), glitterati (orig. U.S.) ( glitter, after literati) ‘the celebrities or ‘glittering’ stars of fashionable society’, humongous (orig. U.S.) (after hugeous and monstrous) ‘extremely large, huge’, jigaboo (U.S., coarse) ( jig, after bugaboo) ‘a Black person’, Jixi (dated) ( Jix, nickname of Joynson-Hicks, after taxi) ‘a two-seated taxi-cab licensed in 1926’, neatnik (chiefly N. Amer.) (after beatnik) ‘a person is (excessively) neat in personal Opening Considerations andwho Executive Summary .............................. 11 habits’, orthopod (Medicine) ( orthopaedic, after taxonomic Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini words in -pod ‘foot’, such as epipod) ‘an orthopaedic surgeon’, prex (U.S., rare)Rights ( president with subsequent alteration after 1. Ethics andnow Human rexin‘atheking’), landlord) ‘the .................................... owner or manager of15a South Randlord American (after Migration Processes gold-mine on the Rand in South Africa’, squillionaire/zillionaire ‘a Mario Santillo multimillionaire’, from two altered bases (squillion/zillion), after 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 millionaire (see § 3.2.14.5). 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21
3.2.14.2. Malapropism 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 Malapropism is the ludicrous and often deliberate misuse of words, Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 esp. in mistaking a word for another resembling it (cf. folk etymology in Aronoff & Fudeman 2005). Some English slang 2. Migration Ethics in ( Eastbastard), and Southdick East( Asia............ 27 examples arePolicies basketand (euphem.) detective), Fabio ( Baggio Jumble John Bull) ‘a Black man’s nickname for a white man’, me-and-you, a facetious of colloquial pronunciation 2.1 International Migration adaptation in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 /minju/ of menu, pencil ( penis), and jocular shampoo ( 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 champagne), trick cyclist ( psychiatrist). The word to be adapted 2.3be Ethics Migration Management................................................. may oneand of foreign origin, as in matlow/matlo (Nautical) ( 43 F. matelot) ‘a sailor’ and olive oil ( F. au revoir) ‘good-bye’. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 The new word is a fictitious personal name or a name of place in Adam (orig. U.S.) ( MDMA), 3. Immigration in the 21st Century.(sweet) Fanny Adams ( (sweet) fuck all) ‘nothing at all’, Gordon Bennett ( Gor blimey),..... jake The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience 51 (orig. U.S.) ( Jamaica ginger) ‘an alcoholic beverage made from Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg Jamaica ginger’, Jerry (orig. Military) ( German), Maggie Ann 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 (Brit., Army) ( margarine), Mary Ann/J/Jane or Mary Warner (3.2marijuana) marijuana Urbanization,‘marijuana; InternationalaMigration and cigarette’, Governance Pompey .................( 53 Portsmouth) ‘Portsmouth (Football Club)’, Sam Hill (N. Amer.) ( 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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Hell), toc emma (Military) ( T.M., an initialism from trench Table of Contents mortar), Victor Charlie (U.S., Services’) ( Viet Cong) ‘a Vietcong soldier’. Such formations usually have a euphemistic character (e.g. Fanny Adams, Gordon Bennett), or they are used for cryptic reasons (e.g. Adam, Mary Ann and other drug names). 3.2.14.3. Metathesis Metathesis is the process that transposes sounds or letters in a word, or, occasionally, whole words or syllables. Some examples are prad (now chiefly Austral.) ( Dutch paard) ‘a horse’, rass (Jamaican, coarse) ( arse), and yok (derog.) ( Yiddish goy, with unvoicing Opening Considerations Executive Summary of the final consonant) ‘aand pejorative Jewish term.............................. for a non-Jew’. 11 Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
3.2.14.4. Letter pronunciation
1. Ethics and HumanisRights Letter pronunciation the process which reproduces the pronunciation in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 of the initial letters of a word to represent the whole word, as in eff ( Mario fuck), geeSantillo (U.S.) ( guy), key (U.S.) ( kilo) ‘a kilogram of a drug’, pee1.1( v piss) (cf. Quirk et al. 1985: 1582). Migrants’‘urinate’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 This process is common after abbreviation. For instance, it 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 occurs after initialisms (e.g. Beeb B.B.C. ‘British Broadcasting Corporation’, veejay V.J. ‘video jockey’, by analogy with D.J., 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 veep V.P. ‘vice-president’), acronymic formation (e.g. okay/okey Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 O.K. ‘oll/orl korrect’, also reversed as kayo), or clippings (e.g. deeMigration D ‘detective’). 2. Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27
Fabio Baggio 3.2.14.5. Alteration Alteration is the respelling of East a word, whereby novel item which 2.1 International Migration in Asia and South aEast Asia.............. 27 alliterates or rhymes with it is formed. Slang amply instances this type 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 of variation process: e.g., Canuck ( Canada) ‘a Canadian; spec. a 2.3 Ethics and Migration 43 French Canadian’, Chink Management................................................. (derog.) ( China) ‘a Chinaman’, clobber (Bibliography clothes), crickey/cricky/crikey ( Christ) ‘an exclamation 47 of ......................................................................................... astonishment’, cripes ( Christ, in the exclamation (by) cripes!), def (orig. U.S.) (indeath) st Century.fashionable’, dodger (Austral.) ( 3. Immigration the 21‘excellent; snodger ‘excellent’) ‘good, excellent’,The doozy/-ie (orig. and chiefly N. The Need for an Ethical Approach. Canadian Experience ..... 51 Amer.) ( daisy) ‘remarkable; amazing’, flick ( film) ‘a film’, pl. Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg ‘the cinema’, git ( get ‘a fool, idiot’) ‘a worthless person’, 3.1 World Population Increase 51 Gorblimy/-ey ( God blind ............................................................. me!), grift (U.S.) ( graft) ‘the obtaining of profit International or advantageMigration by dishonest means’, groise (Public 3.2 Urbanization, and Governance ................. 53 School) ( grease) ‘a hard worker, a swot’ (also v), hep (orig. U.S.)
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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( hip ‘fully informed or aware’) ‘well-informed, knowledgeable’, Table of Contents innards ( inwards) ‘intestines’, jiggered ( buggered) ‘used in mild oaths’, juggins (dated) ( muggins) ‘a fool, simpleton’, lawk ( lack/lord) ‘Lord!’, leaf/leef (Services’) ( leave) ‘leave of absence, furlough’, lummy ( (Lord) love me, via lumme), luvvy (Brit.) ( lovey) ‘an actor or actress’, mush ( mouth), nerts (orig. and chiefly U.S.) ( nuts), nurd ( nerd) ‘an insignificant or socially inept person’, pecker (chiefly U.S.) or pego ( penis), pod ( pot) ‘marijuana’, rookie ( recruit) ‘a raw recruit’, ruddy ( bloody) ‘damnable, blasted’, scarf (U.S.) ( scoff) ‘food’, shov(v)er ( chauffeur), smack (orig. ( Yiddish schmeck) ‘a drug, esp. Opening Considerations and U.S.) Executive Summary .............................. 11 heroin’, squillion/zillion ( million) ‘a very large number of Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini millions’, tarnation (chiefly U.S.) ( damnation), tits ( teat) ‘a woman’s breasts’. 1. Ethics and Human Rights often accompanied by shortening of the base 15 or inAlteration the South is American Migration Processes .................................... contraction, e.g. of a phrase or composite word: e.g., chutty/chuddy Mario Santillo (Austral. and N.Z.) ( chewing gum), frosh (N. Amer.) ( freshman), 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 gaffer ( godfather) ‘a foreman or boss’, grody (U.S.) ( grotesque) ‘disgusting, revolting’, guv ( as ............................. a term of address 21 to 1.2 International Instrument forgovernor) Migrants’ ‘used Defence a man’, jaundy/jaunty (Nautical) ( gendarme) ‘the master-at-arms on 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 board ship’, klick (orig. U.S., Army) ( kilometre), kook ( cuckoo) ......................................................................................... 25 ‘a Bibliography cranky or crazy person’, moffie (S. Afr.) ( hermaphrodite) ‘a male transvestite’, nabe ( neighbourhood), preem (orig. and chiefly U.S.) 2. Policies andshowing Ethics inorEast and Southesp. EastofAsia............ 27 (Migration F. première) ‘a first performance, a film’, Prod Fabio Ir. Baggio (chiefly and Sc., derog.) ( Protestant), recce/recco (Military) ( reconnaissance), (chiefly U.S. and (Asia.............. mosquito), sob 2.1 Internationalskeeter Migration in East Asia andAustral.) South East 27 ( sovereign; cf. sov) ‘a pound’, strides ( trousers), wotcher ( 2.2 cheer?) Migration ESEA............................................................ 34 what ‘a Policies familiaringreeting’. The altered oftenManagement................................................. represents a colloquial, dialect, regional 43 or 2.3 Ethics andform Migration standard word pronunciation, as in Jock ‘a Scottish sailor; any Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 Scotsman’, representing the Scotch equivalent of Jack, ho /h/ (chiefly U.S.) in‘athe sexually promiscuous woman’, reflecting a 3. Immigration 21st Century. r pronunciation whore /hApproach. / frequent The in African-American usage,.....larn The Need forofan Ethical Canadian Experience 51 Christine Richard Vanderberg ‘teach; giveBaghdady, (a person) a lesson’, from a dialect form of learn, loverly/lovally, from a Cockney pronunciation of lovely, meeja (chiefly 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 Brit.) ‘the mass media’, from a colloquial pronunciation of media, 3.2 Urbanization, Migration andofGovernance ................. 53 missus (regional) ‘aInternational wife’ or ‘used as a form address to any woman’, 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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representing a spoken form Table of Contents
of the abbreviation Mrs, nah (Brit.), representing a colloquial pronunciation of no/now, nigra /nr/ ‘a Black person’, from a colloquial Southern U.S. pronunciation of Negro, plurry (chiefly Austral. and N.Z.), from an Australian pronunciation of bloody, polis (Sc. and Ir.), from a regional pronunciation of police, sez from says, vulg. shaddup from shut up!, Taffy ‘a Welshman’, from a supposed Welsh pronunciation of the name David, zac (Austral.) ‘a sixpence’, from Scottish dialect saxpence. The altered form is an adaptation of a foreign word in au reservoirConsiderations ( F. au revoir), johndarm ( .............................. F. gendarme) 11 ‘a Opening and Executive Summary policeman’, kaput (Zanfrini G. kaputt) ‘finished; dead or destroyed’, nix Fabio Baggio, Laura ( G. and Dutch nichts) ‘nothing’, O.D.V. ( F. eau-de-vie) ‘brandy’, omee/omie (Polari slang) ( It. uomo ‘man’) ‘a landlord; 1. Ethics and Human Rights in the South Migration Processes .................................... 15 a man’, potzerAmerican (Chess) ( G. Patzer ‘inveterate bungler’) ‘a poor MarioaSantillo player, novice’, san fairy ann ( F. ça ne fait rien ‘it doesn’t matter’) ‘an expression of indifference or resigned acceptance’, 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 scarper ( It. scappare ‘escape’) ‘depart quickly’, simoleon (U.S.) Instrument for Migrants’ Defence 21 (1.2F.International napoleon ‘a French coin’) ‘a dollar’, swy............................. (Austral.) ( G. zwei ‘a two-shilling coin or a two-year prison sentence’, trey 1.3‘two’) Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 ( Anglo-Norman trei, F. trois, Sp. tres, It. tre) ‘three’, vamoose Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 (orig. and chiefly U.S.) ( Sp. vamos ‘let us go’) ‘depart’. 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 3.2.14.6. Extension
Fabio Baggio Extension designates the addition of one or more syllables to a word, which do not correspond to in any existing suffix. of possible 2.1 International Migration East Asia and SouthExamples East Asia.............. 27 slang extensions are -bie/-bee/-by (as in freebie/freebee/freeby free) 2.2-pe Migration in ESEA............................................................ 34 and (as in Policies nope no; cf. yep). Extensions with previously modified bases are found in jazzbo/jasbo ( Jasper) ‘a person; 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 spec. a Black person’, and jeepers (orig. U.S.) ( Jesus) ‘a mild Bibliography ......................................................................................... expression of surprise, delight, etc.’, but the latter cases remind 47 us of the respective suffixes -o and -ers illustrated in sections 3.2.3.20 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. and 3.2.3.7.
The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
3.2.15. Word manufacture and fanciful formations 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51
“Word manufacture” (a term used by Bauer 1983: 239, after 3.2 Urbanization, Migration and Governance 53 Marchand’s 1969: International 452 “word-manufacturing”) consists................. in creating words ex nihilo, with no morphological motivation, as in Kodak, an 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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arbitrary word invented by Mr. G. Eastman for trade-mark Table of Contents purposes. In ordinary English, this process is commonly used in the formation of brand names and scientific words. A slang example illustrating this process is scag/skag (U.S.) ‘a cigarette (stub)’, ‘heroin’, which is neither an acronym nor a blend, but a term of unknown origin. The origin of fanciful formations is likewise unknown. They have no recognizable base, in fact, but a fantastic odd shape, which mostly reproduces a blurred indistinct meaning, as in Amer. whangdoodle denoting ‘something unspecified’. Fanciful formations are mainly nouns: e.g., lallapaloosa (U.S.) ‘something outstandingly Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 good of its kind’, skeezicks (U.S., dated) ‘a good-for-nothing’, Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini slumgullion (chiefly U.S.) ‘muddy deposit in a mining sluice’, spondulicks (orig. U.S.) 1. Ethics and Human Rights‘money, cash’, whifflow (Nautical) ‘an unnamed gadget’. But some such formations may also belong to15a in the South American Migration Processes .................................... different syntactic category, such as verbs (e.g. skedaddle ‘go away Mario Santillo or depart hurriedly’), or adverbs (e.g. lickety-split ‘at full speed’). 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17
1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21
3.3. Conclusion
1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23
This investigation on slang word-formation mechanisms and patterns Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 has confirmed my expectations about the grammaticality of the phenomenon. On theand one hand, someand slang formations appear 27 to 2. Migration Policies Ethics in East South East Asia............ exploit re-activate many canonical derivational and compounding Fabioand Baggio patterns of standard English. They can be assigned to conventional 2.1 International Migration in EasttoAsia andofSouth East Asia.............. 27 morphological rules and conform many the universal preferences on2.2 naturalness established within NM (Dressler 2005). On Migrationparameters Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 the other hand, many slang formations expand the potential of word2.3 Ethicsmeans, and Migration Management................................................. 43 formation developing new patterns that exhibit various violations of basic properties of morphological grammar and fail 47 to Bibliography ......................................................................................... correspond to many of the parameters on which traditional derivation and incompounding are based, becoming less preferred 3. Immigration the 21st Century. The Need for NM. an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 choices within Christine Baghdady, Richardwe Vanderberg In defence of my claims have explored the preferential suffixes of 3.1 slang (i.e. -ie/-y, Brit. -er/-ers, rarely -ock, Amer. -eroo/-aroo, World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 Austral. -o), with a familiarizing rather than derivational function. Such 3.2 Urbanization, Migration and Governance ................. 53 suffixes are in factInternational used to convey morphopragmatic meanings (see 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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Dressler & Merlini Barbaresi 1994, 1997). We have also seen Table of Contents slang expletive infixes (e.g. -bally-, -blessed-, -bloody-,-bloomingand -fuckin(g)-), used for additional emphasis, and a set of abbreviatory operations (acronyms, initialisms, blending, clipping, elliptic rhyming slang) and other extra-grammatical mechanisms (reversed forms, variation) which create colloquial or in-group variants, but no new words. In relation to the structural properties of slang formations, the patterns so far observed seem to validate the various generalizations made on the extra-grammaticality of slang (see § 3.1.2). For example, the variability of the baseand category andSummary of the derivatives/compounds Opening Considerations Executive .............................. 11 is abundantly confirmed, and it is in fact much larger than admitted Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini for standard English. Virtually all grammatical classes of words (including particles, 1. Ethics and Humanproper Rights names and interjections) can be bases of slang formations, and a Migration majority can be outputs. Aronoff’s (1976) in the South American Processes .................................... 15 Unitary Hypothesis is clearly contradicted by this “promiscuity Mario Base Santillo with regard to input category” (Zwicky & Pullum 1987: 336; cf. Plag 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 2004), and so is Scalise’s (1988) Unitary Output Hypothesis. Furthermore, slang provides exceptions the Word-based 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defenceto............................. 21 Hypothesis (Bauer 1979), due to the irregularity of the bases, which 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 are often smaller (abbreviated), or larger (combined or inflected) Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 word forms rather than autonomous words, with a consequent morphotactic opacity and obstruction for the output perception or 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 interpretation. Fabio TheseBaggio irregularities are counterbalanced by slang uniformity in functions and effects, which are mostly or intimacy, 27 if 2.1 International Migration in East Asia andfamiliarity South East Asia.............. not irony, sarcastic opposition, or exclusion. My conviction is 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 indeed that slang uses new morphological patterns – patterns which I have tried and to categorize, since they represented descriptive gaps 43 in 2.3 Ethics Migration Management................................................. morphology (cf. Bauer 1988b) – to serve a cryptic function. Newly Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 coined words formed by means of unproductive irregular morphological mechanisms obstruct ease of perception, and 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. therefore word access to outsiders (see Aronoff & Anshen 1998). The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 They are therefore deliberately used by speakers to stop people Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg other than in-group members from understanding their private 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 speech. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
9
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4. Lexical Organization and Disorganization Table of Contents
Opening Considerations andover Executive Summary .............................. It has been stated over and again that slang, much more so than 11 Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini other language variants, has a tendency towards the creation of a lexicon of its own. (Sornig 1981: 22) 1. Ethics and Human Rights in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15
4.1. TheSantillo slang lexicon: hypotheses and aims Mario
1.1 main Migrants’ ............................................................................. 17 The aimRights of this chapter is to establish whether the slang lexicon organizesInstrument conceptual material Defence in accordance with the 1.2 International for Migrants’ ............................. 21 factors and dimensions of the lexicon of standard English, and can 1.3 Some Reflections................................................................... hence be Final viewed as one of its sub-systems, rather than 23 an autonomous dynamical system, with its own internal organization, Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 or, more plausibly, disorganization. My investigation therefore to and determine whether the slang 2. Migration Policies and Ethics aims in East South East Asia............ 27 Fabiosystem Baggio exhibits a certain regularity (in terms of schemata, lexical regular patterns, rules, structures, etc. which act as constraints for 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 the system behaviour), or whether there is no rational logic that can 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 predict the system dynamics. After a closer investigation on this topic, I would like to give an answer to the following questions: 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43
Is there......................................................................................... any organization within the slang lexicon? Bibliography 47 If so, is this organization the same as found in standard
3. Immigration the 21 English?in Or isstitCentury. rather an independent self-regulating The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 organization? Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
If not, what else?
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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I can anticipate that no generalizations are possible for the whole Table of Contents slang lexicon, but tendencies can be identified within specific areas of slang and for certain slang terms. My core hypothesis is that slang refuses the standard organization, and either develops a different one, with its own forms, dimensions and interactions among the system components, or substitutes it with disorganization, showing a tendency towards randomness and unpredictability. A finer-grained analysis is in order now. Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 4.2. Lexical organization Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
The key question from which my research starts is ‘How are words,
1. Ethics and Rights meanings andHuman concepts organized within the slang lexicon?’. inSemantic the South theories Americandevelop Migrationvarious Processes .................................... 15 approaches to meaning
Mario Santillo description and lexical organization. Two approaches which appear particularly relevant our semantic description view the lexicon 17 as 1.1 Migrants’ Rightsto ............................................................................. structured into either semantic fields or conceptual frames. Within 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 semantic field theories (e.g. Grandy 1992, Kittay 1992), words applicable a Reflections................................................................... common conceptual domain are organized within 1.3 Some to Final 23 semantic fields by paradigmatic relationships (synonymy, antonymy, Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 hyponymy, meronymy, etc.), called ‘meaning (or sense) relations’. Meaning relations members of South selected of lexical 2. Migration Policies connect and Ethics in East and Eastsets Asia............ 27 items: the names of the days of the week (Monday, Tuesday, Fabioe.g., Baggio Wednesday, etc.) can be defined by means of the ‘part of’ 2.1 International Migrationthat in East Asia and to South Asia.............. 27 relationship (meronymy) they hold theEast word naming the entire cycle of seven days, i.e. week. 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 By contrast, within frame semantics (Fillmore 1985, Fillmore & 2.3 Ethics andwords Migration 43 Atkins 1992), are Management................................................. not related to each other directly, but by way of their ......................................................................................... links to common background frames (also called Bibliography 47 ‘domains’ or ‘knowledge schemata’). That is, in a frame-based st Century. description, theinabove would be related to the more complete 3. Immigration the 21terms The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 system of Calendric Terms, including common nouns (day, week), as Christine well as Baghdady, the namesRichard of theVanderberg days (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc.), specialPopulation categories such as fortnight and week-end, and wider 3.1 World Increase ............................................................. 51 categories (month, year).
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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Barsalou (1992) provides a further development of the fillmorean Table of Contents notion of frame as consisting of attribute-value sets, structural invariants and constraints. In his view, frames are not rigid configurations of independent attributes, but they are rather dynamic relational structures whose form is flexible and context-dependent. In line with Barsalou’s (1992) model, Bertuccelli Papi & Lenci (2007) describe the frame as a dynamic structure whose format is the emerging result of external pressures, not built in relation to some pre-established intention, but rather resulting from the interplay of different sorts of constraints, both intra-linguistic (syntactic, morphological, textual) and (encyclopedic knowledge, Opening Considerations andextra-linguistic Executive Summary .............................. 11 contextual input, cognition). Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini In Bertuccelli Papi & Lenci’s (2007) approach, organization therefore entails the existence 1. Ethics and Human Rights of redundancies, i.e. schemata, regular patterns and rules that act as constraints for.................................... the system behaviour, in the South American Migration Processes 15 allowing us to capture the spectrum of word meaning modulations, Mario Santillo and to reduce the amount of information necessary to describe the 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 system itself: 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 Organization enables the system to stay away from total randomness, 1.3 Some Finalstates Reflections................................................................... makes some impossible or highly improbable given certain 23 constraints, and reduces the overall complexity of the system. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 (Bertuccelli Papi & Lenci 2007: 18) 2. Policies andwhether Ethics in andlexical South system East Asia............ 27 LetMigration us now investigate theEast slang accepts this
Fabio Baggio type of structural organization, and, if so, whether its behaviour is in 2.1 anyInternational way predictable describable in terms of established Migrationand in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 meaning relations and regular patterns.
2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34
4.2.1. Organization via meaning relations 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 Within an organized lexical area, each lexeme (or micro-system) Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 can be first of all described in terms of its relations with the other st Century. system components. from Croft & Cruse (2004), the 3. Immigration in the 21Moving primary paradigmatic relations thatThe I have foundExperience useful for.....my The Need for an Ethical Approach. Canadian 51 research include: Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg Relation of identity, similarity or synonymy (X equals Y, 51 as 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. in happy = glad);
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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of opposition or exclusion (X is the opposite of Y), TableRelation of Contents in which X and Y may be: •
Simple antonyms or complementaries, bisecting a domain into two subdomains (dead/alive, girl/boy);
•
Gradable antonyms, denoting different degrees of some property (long/short, good/bad);
•
Reversives or directional opposites, denoting changes in opposite directions (rise/fall, up/down);
•
Converses: describing a relation between two entities from alternative viewpoints (employer/employee, parent/child);
Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
Relation of inclusion: hyponymy (X is a kind of/type of Y, as
inand daffodil > Rights flower), and meronymy or partonymy (X is a 1. Ethics Human in thepart South American Migration of Y, as in arm > body).Processes .................................... 15 Mario Santillo
4.2.1.1. Synonymy 1.1 Migrants’ ............................................................................. 17 Synonymy is aRights relation of affinity which links two phonologically different words having a very similar meaning. In English slang 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 synonymy is a profuse phenomenon. Consider, for instance, 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 examples (21)-(24), all drawn from BNC: Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
21. Heroin (smack, horse, H, Chinese – when combined with cocaine it is called a snowball). May be sniffed, or burned Fabio Baggio and then inhaled (chasing the dragon) or injected.
2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27
2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27
22. Cocaine (coke, snow, freebase, crack). Psychologically 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 addictive. 2.3 Ethics Migration 43 23. LSDand (acid, trips,Management................................................. blotters, blue, smileys). A powerful hallucinogen. Few try it more than once. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
24. From left to right: amphetamines (or speed); cannabis
3. Immigration the 21st Century. (grass, in marijuana or pot); hashish resin (which is derived The Need Ethical Approach. Thecannabis) Canadianand Experience ..... 51 fromfor thean Indian hemp plant like ecstasy tabs. Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
3.1 WorldLyons Population Increase ............................................................. Following (1977), the meaning of an expression (sense) is51a property of language, and is not to be equated with the object 53 or 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. concept the expression may be used by speakers to refer to 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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(reference): i.e., the Morning Star and the Evening Star have Table of Contents different meanings (senses) but both refer to the planet Venus. Similarly, the slang expressions smack and horse have different senses, but both refer to heroin, i.e. denote heroin in the real world.1 Extracts (21)-(24) above show that each standard drug name (i.e. amphetamines, cannabis, cocaine, heroin, LSD) corresponds to a set of slang terms. For instance, heroin is called Chinese, H, horse or smack by drug addicts, cocaine is often referred to as coke, freebase or snow,2 and cannabis as grass or pot. Such slang terms can be considered exact, absolute or perfect synonyms because they have theConsiderations same referentandinExecutive the real Summary word, belong to the same Opening .............................. 11 syntactic category, and are therefore mutually substitutable, or, Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini more precisely, they are interchangeably used in drug addicts’ 3 On the other hand, they are not exact synonyms to conversations. 1. Ethics and Human Rights theincomparable standard Migration English words. Cf.: .................................... 15 the South American Processes Mario Santillo
25. Tests were being carried out on suspected drugs thought 17 to 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. include heroin, ecstasy, cocaine, LSD and cannabis. (BNC) 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21
Some Final In 1.3 effect, none of Reflections................................................................... the standard drug names in (25) can be substituted 23 by a slang co-referent without making the sentence appear anomalous, 25 as Bibliography ......................................................................................... in Tests were being carried out on suspected drugs thought to include 4 South East Asia............ 27 2. Migration Policies and Ethics East and heroin, ecstasy, *snow, LSD and in cannabis. Fabio Nor Baggio are the afore-mentioned slang terms exact synonyms for other slang wordsMigration used in aindifferent may highlight 2.1 International East Asiacontext, and Southwhich East Asia.............. 27 different shades of meaning. For example, junk, a slang word 2.2 Migration Policies ESEA............................................................ 34 referring to drugs in ingeneral or heroin in particular, assumes negative connotations which are not present in H or smack, and it is 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 in fact used by non-addicts, as in (26): Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
1
Lyons (1977: 207) definesstthe denotation of a lexeme as “the relationship that 3. Immigration in the 21 Century. holds between that lexeme and persons, things, places, properties, processes and The fortoantheEthical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 activitiesNeed external language-system”. 2 See Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg hyponymy (§ 4.2.1.3) for crack. 3 According to Lyons (1977: 202), two expressions are fully synonymous over a
3.1 World Population 51 certain range of utterancesIncrease iff “they............................................................. are substitutable in the utterances without affecting their descriptive meaning”. 3.2 Urbanization, Migration and Governance ................. 53 4 With regard to this,International Partridge (1947: 289) claims that “most slang words are unconventional synonyms of conventional words”. 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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26. ‘It’s an article on junk,’ he said. ‘Junk?’ ‘Drugs. It’s for the Table of Contents features department.’ (BNC) Synonymy in slang is a rather intricate sense relation, and many factors may enter at play when establishing whether or not two slang words are totally synonymous. For instance, the geographical collocation or the origin of the words under examination may determine their perfect (vs. partial, near or quasi) synonymy. In fact, two different regional variants are not mutually substitutable. Compare furphy with scuttlebutt in (27)-(28) below: Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
27. The persistent rumour that they were introduced to check ragwort is a furphy. (OED) 1. Ethics and Human Rights 28. scuttlebutt their contracts not yet signed and in theThe South Americansays Migration Processeswere .................................... 15 Mariothat Santillo the pair were holding out for better terms and conditions. (BNC) Rights ............................................................................. 17 1.1 Migrants’ 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21
Both terms have the same meaning/referent – i.e. ‘a false report or 1.3 Some– Final rumour’ but Reflections................................................................... furphy is Australian slang, while scuttlebutt 23 is American slang, or at least, it was originally. Hence, the two words Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 are not perfect but partial synonyms. On the other hand, motormouth and South big mouth, which both 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and East Asia............ 27 originated and are used in American English to mean ‘a very Fabio Baggio talkative or boastful person’, are perfect synonyms, as (29)-(30) 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 show: 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34
29. ‘Stow motormouth,’ she said, smiling sheepishly, ‘and 2.3 Ethics andit,Migration Management................................................. 43 drink your coffee.’ (BNC) Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
30. ‘You big mouth! Get out! Get out of here!’ (BNC)
3. Immigration in the 21st Century. The Need for an Ethicalwhich Approach. Canadian Experience ..... 51 Another crucial criterion may The determine perfect synonymy is Baghdady, form RichardofVanderberg theChristine morphological the words. For instance, the two adjectives fubar and snafu meaning ‘confused, messed up’ are both 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 American acronymic formations (see § 3.2.9.1), and therefore 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 perfect synonyms:
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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31. This was my grandfather’s and it works just fine... Table of Contents wristwatch, on the other hand, is still FUBAR. (OED)
My
32. Last week U.S. citizens knew that gasoline rationing and rubber requisitioning were snafu. (OED) Following the same criterion, the lexical phrases dog’s breakfast and dog’s dinner meaning ‘a mess’ are likewise synonymous: 33. He can’t make head or tail of it... It’s a complete dog’s (OED) Openingbreakfast. Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 FabioThe Baggio, Laura Zanfrini 34. influential Georgian Group described the main frontage of the scheme as a dog’s dinner yesterday. (ODMS)
1. Ethics and Human Rights in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15
andMario so are the exocentric compounds oddball and screwball used as Santillo nouns to denote ‘an eccentric or odd person’ or, attributively, to 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 mean ‘eccentric, strange’: 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21
35. Bernie was seen as a bit of an oddball – although not by me. 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 (BNC) Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
36. He was a scientist, but whether brilliant or a screwball nobody ever knew. (OED) 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 Fabio Baggio
4.2.1.2. Antonymy 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 Antonymy is a relation of sense oppositeness between two words. Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 In 2.2 English slang, however, this oppositeness relation is not always between two phonologically different words, but may also be 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 between two different uses of the same word. That is, the same Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 slang term can assume two opposite senses depending on the context: e.g., the slang adjective chuffed, commonly used with the 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. positive meaning ‘pleased, satisfied’, is sometimes used in the The Need for an sense EthicalofApproach. Thedisgruntled’, Canadian Experience ..... 51 contrary negative ‘displeased, as respectively Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg in (37) and (38): 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51
37. I’m really chuffed (‘pleased’) this is the third goal 3.2 Urbanization, International Migrationbecause and Governance ................. 53 I’ve scored in half an hour as a striker this season. (BNC) 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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38. Don’t let on they’re after you, see, or she’ll be dead chuffed Table of Contents (‘displeased’), see? She don’t like the law. (OED) But, clearly, these two pragmatically distinct uses of the same slang word cannot illustrate prototypical antonymy. Another remarkable aspect concerns the relationship between the standard and the slang sense. In fact, the slang sense of a word may turn out to be diametrically opposite to the standard sense of the same word. Thus, if bad in standard English means ‘lacking good or favourable qualities’, and is therefore the contrary of good, Opening as in (39):Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
39. There were bad times as well as good. (BNC)
1. Ethics and Human Rights in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 Santillo in Mario English slang it is assigned the opposed meaning ‘possessing an abundance of favourable qualities’, as in (40): 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17
1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21
40. I say read these poets of the Seventies. They got something 1.3 Some Reflections................................................................... 23 badFinal (‘good’) to say. (OED) Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
More prototypical slang antonyms are complementaries, expressing
2. Migration Policies Ethics East and South East given Asia............ 27 two alternatives that and exhaust theinpossibilities in some domain,
Baggio as Fabio male and female counterparts of the same concept. The following pairs of excerpts this opposition 2.1 Internationalshow Migration in East Asiatype: and South East Asia.............. 27
2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34
41. ‘And the other homeboy (‘group member’)?’ Boyle asked. 2.3 Ethics and aMigration ‘He got gun and Management................................................. shot himself right in the head.’ (BNC) 43 Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 42. Homegirls (a form of address), for once forget you got class, See a guy you like… (from the song Doowutchyalike, st 3. Immigration OED) in the 21 Century. The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51
43. It’s Baghdady, not his fault. that Paula Bristow – Lady Muck Christine RichardIt’s Vanderberg (‘pompous woman’) herself. Who does she think she is? 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 (BNC) 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
4. Lexical Organization and Disorganization
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44. Hey, Lord Muck (‘pompous man’)! May Table of Contents honour of introducing ourselves! (OED)
1659
we have the
45. The other rumour she heard was that she was a drag queen (‘a male homosexual transvestite’). (BNC) 46. [She] had experimented once with a drag-king friend (‘a woman dressed up as a man’), passing as a man on the street. (OED) 47. For all those for whom Baywatch just isn’t enough, 7 Sport’s World Beach Volleyball Championship in Rio de features and sun Executive and sand, Summary bronzed babes and beachboy OpeningJaneiro Considerations .............................. 11 (‘display Fabiobeefcake Baggio, Laura Zanfrini of sturdy masculine physique’), and occasionally a little sport. (BNC) 1. 48. EthicsInand Human Rights flickering torchlight the scenes probably appeared to in themove. South Some American Migration 15 of them clearlyProcesses included.................................... cheese-cake (‘display Mario Santillo
of attractive females’) and leg shows. (OED)
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17
It 1.2 is perhaps interesting to observe that one term............................. of each couple 21 is International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence coined first, and the other is formed, often humorously, as an 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 antonym. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 Slang adjectives can also be complementaries, as way-out ‘far removed from convention’ and, after it, way-in ‘conventional’:
2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 Fabio Baggio
49. Many artists have sought refuge in way-in or way-out 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 religious conversions. (OED) 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34
Reverse terms, the same for opposite directions on some 2.3 Ethics and expressing Migration Management................................................. 43 axis, are exemplified in (50) by the slang verbs gazump ‘of a seller: Bibliography 47 raise the price......................................................................................... of a property after having accepted an offer by (an intending buyer)’ and gazunder ‘of a buyer: lower the amount of an 3. Immigration in the 21st for Century. offer made to (the seller) a property’: The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
50. The risk of disappointment through being gazumped, or in 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 the current property slump, gazundered. (OED) 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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4.2.1.3. Hyponymy Table of Contents Hyponymy is a relation of inclusion, say, X is a hyponym of Y iff the meaning of Y is part of the meaning of X and X is a logical subordinate of Y. The more general term (Y), called superordinate or hypernym, may be the head of a compound, and the modifier may determine the kind of Y the whole compound represents, as in St. E. apple juice (X) is a type of juice (Y) (see Löbner 2002: 8587). This hyponymic relation is illustrated by the slang head, taking on the meaning of ‘a drug addict’, and its subordinate terms, with the modifier specifyingandthe type ofSummary drug or.............................. substance one 11 is Opening Considerations Executive addicted to, namely: Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini 1. Ethics andhead Human acid ‘an Rights LSD addict’ in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 Mariocoke-head Santillo ‘a cocaine addict’
crackhead ‘one............................................................................. who is addicted to crack cocaine’ 1.1 Migrants’ Rights 17 hophead ‘an opium-smoker’
1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21
meth head ‘a habitual user of methamphetamine’
1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23
pill-head ‘a person addicted to pills’
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
pothead, tea-head or weedhead ‘one who is addicted to marijuana’. 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 Fabio Baggio
Of2.1 theInternational subordinate terms above, some a relation of coMigration in East Asia andstand SouthinEast Asia.............. 27 hyponymy (e.g. acid head and meth head). Others are themselves in 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 a hypernym-hyponym relation (e.g. coke-head and crackhead), 2.3 Ethics and Migration 43 because crack is a typeManagement................................................. of coke. Still others are in an identity relation (e.g. pothead, tea-head, weedhead), because pot, tea and Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 weed are three synonymous drug names for ‘marijuana’. The resulting semantic networks form a logical hierarchy or 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. taxonomy which, moving from Lyons’ 295)Experience model, we The Need for an Ethical Approach. The(1977: Canadian .....can 51 represent schematically: Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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Table of Contents acid head
crackhead
coke-head hophead HEAD meth head ill-head Opening Considerations and pExecutive Summary .............................. 11
Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
1. Ethics and Human pothead Rights weedhead tea-head in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 Mario Santillo
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 Figure 1. A taxonomy of drug addict slang terms. 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21
This that every slang compound with head as 23 its 1.3 does Some not Finalimply Reflections................................................................... second element belongs to the taxonomy illustrated in Fig. 1. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 Compare acid head with the offensive term dickhead in (51) below: 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27
51. you go down to the woods today, make sure it’s not the FabioIfBaggio Forest Of Dean. Because every angel-dust dealer, acid 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 head, mushroom freak, rugby player and total dickhead in 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 the world lives there, apparently. (BNC) 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43
in which dickhead is not ‘a type of drug addict’, but ‘a type of Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 person’, even if the general category ‘person’ includes the subcategory ‘drug addict’. 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. The case of head is Approach. not isolated slang. Some analogous The Need for an Ethical Thein Canadian Experience ..... 51 examples include closet queen ‘a secret male homosexual’ and drag Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg queen ‘a male homosexual transvestite’, which specify the type of 3.1 World Increase queen ‘malePopulation homosexual’ one............................................................. is referring to, or muscle Mary 51 ‘a muscular homosexual’, whichMigration is fromandthe hypernym Mary 53 ‘a 3.2 Urbanization, International Governance ................. 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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homosexual’, or else rag-bag Table of Contents bag ‘a woman’.
‘a sloppily-dressed woman’, from
4.2.1.4. Meronymy Meronymy (or partonymy) describes a part-whole relationship between lexical items. Starting form Löbner’s (2002: 97) meronymy of standard body part terms, I have constructed a similar meronymy of slang body part terms. However, since some standard items have no slang comparable form (e.g. body or trunk), I have organized the slang meronymy as follows, with some items remaining unnamed (hence, indicated by variables Y and X):
Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
lug ‘ear’
1. Ethics and Human lamp ‘eye’ lemon Rights ‘head’ in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 Mario Santillo
clock ‘face’
sniffer ‘nose’
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 kisser ‘mouth’
wing ‘arm’
1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 Y ‘body’
melon
chopper
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 ‘breast’ ‘tooth’ 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 Fabio Baggio
X ‘trunk’
breadbasket ‘stomach’
2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 2.2 MigrationwPolicies heel ‘leg’ in ESEA............................................................ 34 bender
2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 ‘knee’ Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 Figure 2. A meronymy of body part slang terms. 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. The Need for an Ethical Approach. Canadian Experience 51 The incomplete meronymy in Fig. 2 The shows that, although the ..... slang Christine Baghdady, lexicon lacks some Richard lexemesVanderberg that the standard lexicon owns (cf.
“lexical gaps” in Lyons 1977:............................................................. 301), meronymic relations can 51 be 3.1 World Population Increase established with other co-meronyms and subordinate terms (e.g. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration Governance .................and 53 lamp-sniffer-kisser > clock), which areand mutually interrelated 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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therefore give organization and stability to the system. The same Table of Contents terms are also relevant from a cognitive perspective. Indeed, they activate a series of metaphors (e.g. lamp = eye of a lighthouse, wheel = leg of a car, wing = arm of a bird) or metonymies (e.g. bender, chopper, sniffer, etc.) which can help us identify additional patterns of organization (this aspect will be expanded in § 4.2.2.7). Let us inspect more closely how meaning is assigned to slang terms, and which cognitive operations are necessary to retrieve it. 4.2.2. Organization via regular patterns Words denote concepts.and In line with Fillmore’s (1982, 1985) frame Opening Considerations Executive Summary .............................. 11 Fabio Baggio, Laurasome Zanfrini semantics model, such concepts are related by human experience into frames. Hence, words index or evoke a frame (in the 1. Ethics and Human Rights speaker/hearer’s mind), and the interpreter invokes that frame to in the South American understand the underlyingMigration concept.5Processes .................................... 15 Mario Santillo This is, per se, a very naïve simplistic view. In fact, a person who encounters a slang word for the first time and invokes its standard 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 frame of reference, will not necessarily understand the word 1.2 International Instrument Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 meaning, since the concept for conventionally associated to that word does to the concept that slang associates to it. For 1.3 not Somecorrespond Final Reflections................................................................... 23 instance, if the word bread is traditionally related to the Food Frame, Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 in slang it would be rather related to the Commercial Transactional Frame (cf. Petruck 1996), since the concept it denotes is ‘money’. 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 Conversely, it is possible to retrieve the actual slang meaning via Fabio Baggio explicatures, calling upon complementary (co- and con-textual) 2.1 International Migration incalling East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 information, and inferences, upon supplementary information, e.g. by Policies metaphorical and figurative extensions (cf. Sperber 34 & 2.2derived Migration in ESEA............................................................ Wilson 1986). Inferences may indeed activate a sequence of 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 cognitive operations allowing our mind to associate the slang item
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. 5 Croft & Cruse (2004) propose a dynamic construal approach to conceptual The Need forthe anidea Ethical Approach. Theseems Canadian .....they 51 categories. Since of fixity of meaning to be aExperience mere illusion, Christine RichardConstrual Vanderberg formulate the Baghdady, Dynamic Meaning Hypothesis, according to which meaning is not steady but context-sensitive, and each lexical item is associated with a body of 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 conceptual content (a non-semantic entity called “purport”) transformed into contextualized meaning by means of a series of processes (“construal operations”). Urbanization, International Migration ................. 53 As3.2 a result, the categories are inherently variable,and andGovernance created on-line as and when needed. 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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bread with its slang meaning ‘money’. For instance, a proportion Table of Contents such as: bread stands for < physical survival > LIKE money stands for < economic survival > which implies that slang meaning is not, at least not always, assigned arbitrarily. As a corollary, slang words are not randomly chosen to denote such meaning. What Considerations I expect to find a closer examination of the slang Opening andfrom Executive Summary .............................. 11 lexicon is a set of regular associative patterns which will enable us Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini to reduce the complexity of the system, imposing structures and levels organization, and to enhance the predictability of its 1. Ethicsofand Human Rights dynamics. In particular, I expect that some .................................... slang items (signantia) in the South American Migration Processes 15 pertaining to the same conceptual domain will exhibit some Mario Santillo stability in their association to implicated meaning (signata). 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 The lexemes that I have identified and selected to verify such hypotheses include items for referring animate and inanimate 1.2 International Instrument Migrants’toDefence ............................. 21 concepts, namely: 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23
drug addicts;
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
homosexuals;
2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 foreign people; Fabio Baggio
attractive women;
2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27
drugs and narcotics;
2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34
alcoholic drinks;
2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43
body parts.
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
They have primarily been chosen on the basis of their relevance in terms of frequency and productivity within the English slang st Century. 3. Immigration in the 21 lexicon. The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Let us now proceed with Vanderberg the examination of these lexical sets. Christine Baghdady, Richard 3.1 World Population 4.2.2.1. Terms for drugIncrease addicts............................................................. 51 Terms used to name drug addicts appear and to exhibit three................. main stable 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration Governance 53 associative patterns, specifically: 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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Object Pattern: drug addicts are named after the drug or TableThe of Contents substance they are addicted to; The Action Pattern: they are named after the precise action they perform when taking the drug, substance, etc.; The Instrument Pattern: or after the instrument used to perform the action. 4.2.2.1.1. The Object Pattern is itself distinguished into two subpatterns. The first includes terms derived from general names for drugs and narcotics: Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 Fabiodopester Baggio, Laura Zanfrini ( dope ‘drug which is not specifically named’)
‘one who uses or is addicted to drugs’, 1. Ethics and Human Rights druggie/-y ‘one who takes or experiments with illegal drugs, in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15
a drug addict’,
Mario Santillo
junkie/-y/junker ( junk ‘any narcotic drug’) ‘a drug addict’,
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17
narco ( narcotics) ‘a drug addict’.
1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21
Access to the above terms is clearly more direct when the object is a 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 standard word (e.g. drug, narcotics, though abbreviated into narco) than when it is......................................................................................... a slang word, such as dope or junk. This statement25 is Bibliography likewise valid for terms derived from specific drug names: 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27
cokey/-ie ‘a cocaine addict’,
Fabio Baggio
hoppy ‘an opium addict’,
2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27
muggler ( muggle ‘marijuana’) ‘a person who smokes marijuana’,
2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34
2.3 Ethics Management................................................. reeferand (Migration reefer ‘marijuana’) ‘one who smokes marijuana’,43 Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 schmecker ( schmeck ‘heroin’) ‘a heroin addict’, st Century. snow-bird ( 21 snow ‘cocaine’) ‘one who sniffs cocaine’, 3. Immigration in the The Need an Ethical Approach. The Canadian drug’) Experience ..... 51 speedforfreak ( speed ‘an amphetamine ‘a person Christine Baghdady, Vanderberg addicted to anRichard amphetamine drug’,
3.1 World Population ............................................................. teaman ( tea Increase ‘marijuana’) ‘one who smokes marijuana’. 51 Urbanization, International Governance ................. 53 For3.2the respective drug names, Migration see also §and 4.2.2.5. 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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4.2.2.1.2. The Action Pattern is primarily based on actions performed Table of Contents by drug addicts when they inject or inhale the object (drug): popper/joy-popper ( v pop ‘swallow or inject (a narcotic drug)’) ‘a drug-taker’, sniffer ( v sniff ‘inhale cocaine through the nose’) ‘one who sniffs a drug’. In-between terms which, besides to the action, allude to the object are: glue-sniffer ‘a person who inhales the fumes of plastic cement for their narcotic effects’,
Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11
Fabiosnifter Baggio,( Laurasnifter Zanfrini‘a small quantity of cocaine inhaled
through the nose’) ‘a cocaine addict’.
1. Ethics and Human The following terms Rights allude to actions connected to the experience in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 of drug-taking: Mario Santillo
freak ( v freak out ‘undergo an intense emotional
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 experience, esp. under the influence of hallucinatory drugs’)
‘a drug addict’, 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 tripper ( v trip (out)) ‘one who experiences hallucinations 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 induced by a drug, esp. LSD’ (cf. (down) trip ‘the experience’).
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
4.2.2.1.3. The Instrument Pattern associates the drug addict to the tools used for the injection, especially the hypodermic needle of the Fabio Baggio syringe:
2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27
2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27
hypo ( hypo ‘a hypodermic needle or injection’) ‘a drug
2.2 Migration addict’, Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34
needle ‘a drugManagement................................................. addict who takes drugs by injection’ (cf. 2.3 Ethics andman Migration 43 St. E. needlewoman).
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
4.2.2.2. Terms for homosexuals 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. Terms used to name homosexual people likewise exhibit ..... some The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience 51
regularity. They are indeed after three preferential semantic Christine Baghdady, Richard coined Vanderberg patterns: 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51
The Attitude Pattern: which concerns the ways and manners
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration behaviour; and Governance ................. 53 that characterize the homosexual 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
4. Lexical Organization and Disorganization
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Action Pattern: TableThe of Contents and acts;
1739
concerning the homosexual practices
The Instrument Pattern: concerning the sexual organs involved in homosexual intercourses. 4.2.2.2.1. The Attitude Pattern is the most productive in associative slang relations. The predominance of homosexuals over lesbians and their natural distinction from heterosexuals makes their attitude be characterized by the features of effeminacy, delicacy and anomaly. Opening and Executive Summary The Considerations effeminacy feature associates ‘male.............................. homosexuals’ 11 or Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini ‘effeminate men’ to female proper names, especially nicknames (see also § 3.2.3.12): 1. Ethics and Human Rights Lizzie, Mary, molly, nancy, nelly, in theJessie/-y, South American Migration Processes .................................... 15
Santillo or Mario to general appellations normally used in slang for women or girls, which however presuppose previous knowledge of their slang use: 17 1.1 Migrants’ Rights .............................................................................
quean (cf. slang ‘a woman, a female’), 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 queen ‘theReflections................................................................... effeminate partner in a homosexual relationship’ 1.3 Some Final 23 (cf. slang ‘an attractive woman; a girl-friend’),
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
tart ‘the young homosexual companion of an older man’ (cf. slang Policies ‘a wife and or girl-friend’), 2. Migration Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 Fabioweeny Baggio(cf. slang ‘a girl’).
2.1 association International of Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 The homosexuals’ names to standard (pro)nouns denoting female gender is more explicit: 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34
queenie/-y,
2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43
she-male ‘a passive male homosexual or transvestite’ (cf. colloq. ‘female’),
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
sister ‘used byst Century. homosexual men to denote a fellow 3. Immigration in the 21 The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 homosexual’ (cf. St. E. brother used between friends or Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg fellows),
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. wife ‘the passive member of a homosexual partnership’. 51 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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The delicacy feature associates homosexuals to terms which exhibit Table of Contents the same feature, such as names of flowers, or of breath, food, etc. that is light or soft in character: flit (cf. ‘a light touch’), pansy/pansy boy (derog.) (cf. the flower), puff or its variant poof (cf. puff ‘a short impulsive blast of breath or wind’), pretty-boy (cf. pretty ‘good-looking, esp. in a delicate way’), twinkie/-y (cf. Twinkie ‘a brandSummary of cup-cake with a creamy Opening Considerations and Executive .............................. 11 Fabiofilling’). Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
The feature of anomaly rather connects homosexuals to terms
1. Ethics Human Rights which areand intrinsically or extrinsically related to strangeness, such in the South American .................................... as supernatural beings,Migration deities, Processes unexplainable events, or 15 to Mario Santillo adjectives denoting something strange, peculiar, etc.:
1.1 Migrants’ 17 fairy (cf.Rights ‘one............................................................................. of a class of supernatural beings, in popular
belief supposed to possess magicalDefence powers’), 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ ............................. 21 freakFinal (cf. Reflections................................................................... ‘a sudden causeless change or turn of the mind’),23 1.3 Some moffie ......................................................................................... ( hermaphrodite ‘a human being in which parts Bibliography 25
characteristic of both sexes are to some extent combined’) ‘a male transvestite’, 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 Fabioqueer/-ie Baggio (cf. queer ‘strange, peculiar, eccentric’).
2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27
4.2.2.2.2. A less widespread pattern, the Action one, relates 2.2 Migration in ESEA............................................................ homosexuals toPolicies their usual acts and behaviour, commonly viewed 34 as out2.3ofEthics the ordinary by heterosexuals. This pattern originates such and Migration Management................................................. 43 words as: Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
pronk ( v prank ‘dress in a smart, bright, or ostentatious
manner’)in‘an or effeminate person’, 3. Immigration theineffectual 21st Century. The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 shirtlifter,
Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
sod ( sodomite) ‘one who practises sodomy’ (cf. sodomy ‘an unnatural form of sexual intercourse, esp. that of one male with another’). 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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4.2.2.2.3. Similarly infrequent is the Instrument Pattern, alluding to Table of Contents the sexual organs involved in homosexual intercourses: bum-boy ( bum ‘the buttocks’) ‘a young male homosexual, esp. a prostitute’, jocker ( jock ‘the male genitals’), pussy (cf. ‘the external female organs’). 4.2.2.3. Terms for foreigners Foreign people are mostly renamed with critical or offensive intentions. The slang terms to obtain such effects pertain to the Opening Considerations andused Executive Summary .............................. 11 Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini following patterns: The Product Pattern: which is related to the product (e.g.
1. Ethics and Human Rights food) typically consumed or used by foreigners; in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15
Name Pattern: related to their most common Christian MarioThe Santillo names;
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17
The Appearance Pattern: related to some distinctive feature of their physical appearance.
1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23
4.2.2.3.1. In accordance with the Product Pattern, foreign people are Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 associated with terms for food or similar goods which they habitually use, or areand reputed 2. Migration Policies Ethicstoinuse: East and South East Asia............ 27 Fabiofrog/froggy/frog-eater Baggio (offens.) ‘a Frenchman’,
2.1 International Migration East Asia South East 27 herring choker ‘a in native or and inhabitant of Asia.............. the Maritime
Provinces’, ‘a Scandinavian’, 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 Kraut/Sauerkraut, sausage ‘a German’, 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 macaroni, spaghetti ‘an Italian’, Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 pea-soup ‘a French Canadian’,
3. Immigration in the 21st Century. Spud Islander ( spud ‘potato’) ‘a native or inhabitant of The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51
Prince Edward Island, which is noted for its fine potatoes’,
Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
Woodbine ‘an Englishman, esp. a soldier, considered as a habitual smoker of Woodbine cigarettes’.
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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4.2.2.3.2. Another quite recurrent association, which I have called Table of Contents the Name Pattern, correlates foreign people with their most frequent male proper names, especially in their hypocoristic or pet forms:
dago (Å Sp. Diego) ‘a Spaniard, a Portuguese, an Italian’,
Fritz (Å Friedrich) ‘a German’,
Heinie (Å Heinrich) ‘a German (soldier)’,
Hymie (Å Jewish Hyman) ‘a Jewish person’,
Ikey (Å Isaac) ‘a Jew’,
Opening Considerations andIrishman’, Executive Summary .............................. 11 Pat (Å Patrick) ‘an Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
Sammy ‘an American soldier’.
1. Ethics and Human Rights 4.2.2.3.3. The American Appearance PatternProcesses is based.................................... on some of the most in the South Migration 15
salient Mariophysical Santillo features of foreign people, e.g., the colour of their skin: 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17
blacky ‘a Black, a Negro’,
smoke (offens.) ‘a Black’,
whity/-ie/-ey ‘a white person’,
1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
the shape of their body:
2. Migration Policies(derog.) and Ethics in East andesp. South Asia............ 27 grease-ball ‘a foreigner, oneEast of Mediterranean FabioorBaggio Latin American origin’,
Migration or 2.1 theInternational form of their eyes: in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 Migration roundeyePolicies ‘a European’, 2.2 in ESEA............................................................ 34 Ethics slant-eye ‘a slant-eyed person, esp. an Asian’, 2.3 and Migration Management................................................. 43 slope/slopy/slopehead ‘an oriental; spec. a Vietnamese’ Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
(from Asians’ stereotypically slanting eyes).
3. Immigration in the 21st Century. The Need forfor an attractive Ethical Approach. Canadian Experience ..... 51 4.2.2.4. Terms (young) The women
Christinewomen Baghdady, Vanderberg Attractive areRichard often called by bizarre, curious names, esp. in young people’s slang (or ............................................................. “slanguage”, see Stenström 2000, 3.1 World Population Increase 51 Mattiello 2005, forthcoming b). The terms used by young men to 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 define a woman’s attractiveness mainly belong to:
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
4. Lexical Organization and Disorganization
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Appearance Pattern: connected to TableThe of Contents attractive women’s physical appearance;
1779
some feature of
The Attitude Pattern: connected to some feature of their behaviour; The Effect Pattern: connected to the effects they can produce upon men. 4.2.2.4.1. Following the Appearance Pattern, attractive women are named after their good-looking aspect: beaut ( beauty)and ‘a beautiful outstanding person or thing’, Opening Considerations ExecutiveorSummary .............................. 11 Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
doll ‘a very beautiful or attractive woman’,
dolly/dolly-bird ‘an attractive and stylish young woman’ (cf. 1. Ethics and Human Rights ‘girl’). in thebird South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 Mario Santillo
4.2.2.4.2. A far more common association is found between 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 attractive women and their attitude, hence, the Attitude Pattern. 1.2 International Instrument Migrants’sex, Defence ............................. 21 According to people of theforopposite beautiful women often show a puerile, attitude, as in: 1.3 Some Finalimmature Reflections................................................................... 23 babe ‘an......................................................................................... attractive young woman’, Bibliography 25 bimbo/bim/bimbette ‘a young woman considered to be
2. Migration Policies and Ethics East and South East Asia............ 27 sexually attractive but ofinlimited intelligence’. Fabio Baggio
They are generally weak, frail, and may love cuddles:
2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27
jelly ‘a pretty girl’,
2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34
snuggle-pup/snuggle-puppy/snuggle-pupper ‘an attractive
2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 young girl’. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 They may be supple or sensual:
fox ‘an attractive woman’ (cf. foxy),
3. Immigration in the 21st Century. elegant: The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Christine Baghdady, Richardwoman’, Vanderberg queen ‘an attractive
3.1 Worldeven Population sometimes clever,Increase acute: ............................................................. 51 3.2 Urbanization, Migration and Governance ................. 53 cutie/-ey ‘anInternational attractive young woman’. 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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But they normally attract men by their sexy attitude: Table of Contents
sex kitten ‘a young woman who exploits her sex appeal’.
4.2.2.4.3. The Effect Pattern associates attractive women with the effects they produce upon men. For instance, they commonly rouse men’s sexual desire, hence the names: hottie/-y ‘a sexually attractive person’ (cf. hot ‘of a person (originally a woman): sexually attractive’), sexboat/sex-bomb/sexpot ‘a sexually exciting person, esp. a woman’. Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini Metaphorically, they also tempt men’s appetite, and are therefore comparable to tasty, delicious food, e.g.:
1. Ethics and Human Rights woman,Migration esp. an attractive girl’, in thecookie South ‘a American Processes .................................... 15
Mariodish Santillo ‘an attractive person, esp. a woman’ (cf. dishy ‘very
attractive’), 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 peach ‘an Instrument attractive for young woman’ (cf. ............................. peachy ‘attractive, 1.2 International Migrants’ Defence 21 desirable’),
1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23
pippin ‘an excellent, pleasing, or beautiful person’ (from the
Bibliography 25 name of......................................................................................... the apple),
tomato ‘an attractive girl’. 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 Fabio they Baggio Lastly, may have strong, negative and destructive effects on men, also useMigration the following 2.1 who International in Eastlabels: Asia and South East Asia.............. 27
purler ‘aPolicies beauty’in(cf. earlier sense ‘a knock-down blow’), 34 2.2 Migration ESEA............................................................ ripper ‘an attractive young woman’, 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 smasher......................................................................................... ‘a very pretty or attractive woman’. Bibliography 47 4.2.2.5. Terms for drugs narcotics 3. Immigration in the 21stand Century. Drug represent of theExperience richest lexical The names, Need foras ananticipated, Ethical Approach. The one Canadian ..... 51
areas of slang. ManyRichard associative patterns can therefore be identified Christine Baghdady, Vanderberg relating terms to their referents, the most stable being: 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51
The Appearance Pattern: concerning the prominent features which characterize the external aspect of the drug;
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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Constituent Pattern: concerning the constitutive elements TableThe of Contents of the drug; The Way/Instrument Pattern: related to the way the drug is taken or to the instrument used for its taking; The Effect Pattern: related to the effects produced upon the drug addict by the drug inhalation or injection. 4.2.2.5.1. The Appearance Pattern associates the drug with some feature of its aspect, such as colour, consistency/texture, quantity/ weight or shape. The following terms evoke the drug colour: Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 FabioAcapulco Baggio, Laura goldZanfrini ‘a variety of marijuana grown in the vicinity
of Acapulco’, 1. Ethics and Human Rights black bomber ‘an amphetamine tablet’ (see also § 4.2.2.5.4), in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15
tar ‘a pure form of heroin originating in Mexico’, Marioblack Santillo
brown sugar ‘a drug consisting of heroin diluted with 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 caffeine’,
1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21
French blue ‘the name for a non-proprietary mixture of amphetamine and a barbiturate’,
1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 grass ‘marijuana’,
greenPolicies ‘marijuana of poorinquality’, 2. Migration and Ethics East and South East Asia............ 27 Fabioice Baggio ‘a potent, crystalline form of the drug methamphetamine’
(from the Migration drug’s colourless, appearance (like 2.1 International in East Asia crystalline and South East Asia.............. 27 crushed ice) during the manufacturing process),
2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34
mellow yellow ‘banana peel dried for smoking as a narcotic’
2.3 Ethics 43 (fromand theMigration colour ofManagement................................................. the peel),
Bibliography 47 minstrel......................................................................................... ‘a tablet containing amphetamine, coloured black
and white’ (fromst its black-and-white colour, with reference 3. Immigration in theand 21 White Century. to the Black Minstrels, a troupe of British variety The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 entertainers of the 1960s-70s),
Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
mud ‘opium; heroin’ (cf. slang ‘coffee, esp. strong or black coffee’),
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51
3.2 Urbanization, pink lady ‘aInternational barbiturate’,Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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haze ‘LSD’, Tablepurple/purple of Contents
purple heart ‘a tablet of the stimulant Drinamyl’, rainbow ‘a capsule containing the barbiturates Amytal and Seconal, one end of which is red and the other blue’, red/red bird/red devil ‘the drug Seconal; also, a tablet of this drug (coloured red)’, snow ‘cocaine; occas. heroin or morphine’, white ‘morphine’, ‘an amphetamine tablet’,
Opening Considerations and Executive white stuff ‘morphine, heroin, orSummary cocaine’,.............................. 11 Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
yellow jacket ‘a pentobarbitone capsule’.
In Ethics some and suchHuman terms, Rights the colour of the drug is included in its name 1. (e.g. green, white),Migration so there Processes is an overt association with 15 its in the Southred, American .................................... MarioIn Santillo aspect. others, the association is instead covert, mediated by an object having the same colour as the drug: e.g., grass and 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 marijuana have the same green colour, and snow is as white as 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 cocaine is. The following names more or less explicitly allude to the drug 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 consistency or texture:
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
angel dust ‘the drug phencyclidine used as a hallucinogen’,
2. Migration and Ethics in East and East Asia............ 27 grass Policies ‘marijuana’ (cf. the leaves ofSouth marijuana with herbage FabioinBaggio general),
2.1 International in East and South Asia.............. 27 Indian hayMigration ‘marijuana’ (cf. Asia hay ‘grass cut East or mown’), 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 rock ‘a crystallized form of cocaine’, 2.3 Ethics Management................................................. 43 sugarand ‘a Migration narcotic drug, esp. heroin’,
weed ‘marijuana; a marijuana cigarette’. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 The quantity or weight of the drug is instead evoked by:
3. Immigration in the 21st Century. charge or injection of The a drug; marijuana’, The Need for‘aandose Ethical Approach. Canadian Experience ..... 51 Christine Vanderberg loadBaghdady, ‘a dose ofRichard narcotics’,
3.1 World Increase 51 mike Population ‘a microgram of a ............................................................. drug, esp. LSD’, 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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‘five dollars’ worth of a drug’ (cf. ‘a five-cent piece’ Tablenickel of Contents and U.S. slang trey ‘a three-dollar packet of a narcotic’), piece ‘a quantity of a drug approximately equal to an ounce in weight’, weight ‘an illegal drug’ (cf. slang ‘a measure of an illegal drug’). Lastly, the drug shape is suggested by: crack ‘a potent, crystalline form of cocaine broken into small pieces’ (cf. ‘a break or breaking of various kinds’),
Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11
ofZanfrini various narcotic drugs in crystalline form’, Fabiocrystal Baggio,‘any Laura
line ‘a dose of a powdered narcotic, esp. cocaine, laid out in
1. Ethics and Human a thin line for Rights inhalation’, in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15
‘a pill of a drug, spec. a barbiturate or amphetamine’, Mariopill Santillo purple heart ‘a tablet of the stimulant Drinamyl’,
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17
rope ‘marijuana’ (cf. ‘a quantity of some material twisted together in the form of a rope’),
1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23
stick ‘a cigarette made with marijuana’,
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
tab ( tablet) ‘a tablet containing LSD or another illicit drug’.
2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 Fabio Baggio
4.2.2.5.2. The Constituent Pattern is relatively less productive. It 2.1 International Migration in East and South elements, East Asia.............. 27 associates the drug with one of itsAsia constitutive generally the2.2 chief one, asPolicies in: in ESEA............................................................ 34 Migration acid and ‘theMigration hallucinogenic drug LSD’ (cf. LSD ‘Lysergic acid 2.3 Ethics Management................................................. 43 diethylamide’),
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
bromo ‘a dose of a sedative drug containing a bromide mixture’,in the 21st Century. 3. Immigration The Need an Ethical Approach. The Experience ..... 51 coke for ‘cocaine’ (from the leaves of Canadian coca plants), Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
dex/-ie ‘the drug Dexedrine’,
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51
meth ‘methamphetamine/Methedrine taken as a stimulant
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 drug’, 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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‘morphine’, Tablemorph of Contents
poppy ‘opium’ (cf. the opium poppy or its extract used as a medicine, from the flower).
4.2.2.5.3. The Way/Instrument pattern creates an association between the drug and the drug-taking process, alluding to the instrument used (needle), the action performed (snifter, snort), the passage of the injection (main line) or of the inhalation (nose candy). A more complete list includes: main line ‘an intravenous injection of drugs’ (cf. slang ‘a principal vein, into which drugs can readily be injected’), Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11
needle ‘a measure of a drug for injecting’ (cf. ‘a hypodermic 1. Ethics and Human injection of anRights illegal drug’), in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15
nose candy ‘a drug that is inhaled through the nose; spec. cocaine’,
Mario Santillo
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17
schmeck ( Yiddish schmeck ‘sniff’) ‘a drug, esp. heroin’,
1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21
snifter ‘small quantity of cocaine inhaled through the nose’
1.3 Some Reflections................................................................... 23 (cf. vFinal snifter ‘sniff’),
snort ‘a......................................................................................... dose of cocaine or heroin which is taken by Bibliography 25 inhalation’, 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27
spike ‘a drug injected’ (cf. slang ‘a hypodermic needle or syringe used for the injection of an intoxicating drug’),
Fabio Baggio
2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27
sugar ‘LSD (taken on a lump of sugar)’,
2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34
tea ‘marijuana brewed in hot water to make a drink’,
2.3 Ethics and Migration 43 toot ‘cocaine’ (cf. Management................................................. slang ‘inhale cocaine’). Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
4.2.2.5.4. The Effect Pattern is a profuse one, as a result of the 3. Immigration in the Century. variety of effects that21astdrug can produce upon its addict, and also for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience 51 of The theNeed speaker’s point of view. Drug users tend to stress.....the Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg immediate – stimulant or tranquillizing – effects that a drug has, while non-users ratherIncrease focus their attention on the negative aspects 3.1 World Population ............................................................. 51 of drug-taking, mainly destruction, intoxication and dependence. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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The destructive effects of drugs motivate many slang adjectives Table of Contents meaning ‘intoxicated’, as frequently observed in the literature (see Eble 1996, Munro ed. 1997), but also many drug names, such as: bang ‘a ‘shot’ (of cocaine, etc.)’ (cf. St. E. ‘a nuclear explosion’, slang ‘excitement, pleasure’), black bomber ‘an amphetamine tablet’, bomber ‘a marijuana cigarette’, ‘a barbiturate drug’, dynamite ‘heroin or a similar narcotic’ (cf. ‘a high explosive prepared from nitro-glycerine’),
Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11
‘a dose a narcotic drug’ (cf. ‘a blow given to Fabiohit Baggio, Laura of Zanfrini something aimed at’),
1. Ethics and Rights jolt ‘aHuman quantity of a drug in the form of a cigarette, tablet, in theetc.’ South American Migration (cf. ‘an abrupt shock orProcesses jerk’), .................................... 15 Mario Santillo
pop ‘an injection of a narcotic drug’ (cf. ‘a blow, a knock’).
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17
Other negative effects of narcotics are a sort of foolishness, which International is 1.2 hinted at in: Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 1.3 Some Reflections................................................................... 23 goofFinal ball/goof pill ‘(a tablet of) any of various drugs, spec.
marijuana’ (cf. slang ‘a silly or stupid person’), Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 loco weed ‘marijuana’ (cf. Sp. loco ‘mad, crazy’),
2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27
but, above all, intoxication and inevitable dependence, as in: Fabio Baggio
junk ‘any narcotic drug, esp. heroin’ (cf. ‘rubbish’),
2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27
fix/fix-up ‘a dose of a narcotic drug’ (cf. ‘a position from which it is difficult to escape’),
2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34
2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43
scat ‘heroin’,
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 shit/shite ‘an intoxicating or euphoriant drug’.
AsImmigration expected, the effects of drugs (e.g. euphoria, happiness, 3. in positive the 21st Century. liveliness, are alluded to inThe a number terms typically The Needvigour) for an Ethical Approach. CanadianofExperience ..... 51 used by insiders: Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
ecstasy ‘a powerful synthetic hallucinogenic drug’ (cf. ‘the 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 state of being ‘beside oneself’, thrown into a frenzy or a stupor’),
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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dust ‘cocaine’, Tablehappy of Contents
joy-pop ‘(an inhalation or injection of) a drug’, pep-pill ‘a pill containing a stimulant drug, taken to increase a person’s energy or enthusiasm’ (cf. pep pepper ‘energy; liveliness’), speed ‘an amphetamine drug freq. taken intravenously’, speedball ‘a dose of a drug, esp. a mixture of cocaine and morphine (or heroin)’,
up/upper ‘a drug and which has a stimulant euphoric effect’.11 Opening Considerations Executive Summaryor.............................. Zanfrini about the depressant or tranquillizing WeFabio can Baggio, imply Laura information effects of some drugs in:
1. Ethics and Human Rights down/downer ‘a depressant or tranquillizing drug’, in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15
Mariomojo Santillo ‘any narcotic drug, esp. morphine’ (cf. ‘magical
power’ and the use of morphine as a narcotic analgesic).
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 1.2 International Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 4.2.2.6. Terms forInstrument alcoholic for drinks Alcoholic represent another prolific lexical area of slang. 1.3 Some drinks Final Reflections................................................................... 23 Many of the associative patterns established for drug names are Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 actually suitable for this area as well (e.g. appearance, constituent, effect), while other patterns are developed specifically to name 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 drinks. Overall, we distinguish the following patterns: Fabio Baggio
The Nature Pattern: connected with the main features which characterize the intrinsic nature of the drink;
2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27
2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 The Appearance Pattern: connected with the features
characterizing the Management................................................. external aspect of the drink; 2.3 Ethics and Migration 43 The Constituent Pattern: connected with the constitutive Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 elements of the drink;
3. Immigration in the 21st Century. The Effect Pattern: involving the effects upon the alcoholic The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51
or drunkard after too much drinking;
Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
The Container Pattern: involving a container-for-contained (metonymic) relationship.
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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4.2.2.6.1. The Nature Pattern focuses on the intrinsic nature of Table of Contents drinks. For instance, some drinks are characterized by their unlawfulness: Sneaky Pete ‘an illicit or cheap intoxicating beverage’ (cf. sneak ‘one who robs or steals in a sneaking manner’); by their poor quality: lunatic soup ‘alcoholic drink of poor quality’ (cf. lunatic ‘insane’), scrap iron ‘an alcoholic drink of poor quality’ (cf. ‘iron
Opening Considerations Executive Summary .............................. 11 which has alreadyand been wrought and broken up or cast aside Fabiofor Baggio, Laura or Zanfrini re-casting re-working’),
smoke ‘cheap Rights whisky’, 1. Ethics and Human in thetarantula-juice South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 ‘inferior whisky’; Mario Santillo
by their strength:
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17
alky ‘(illicit) alcoholic liquor’,
1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21
heavy-wet ‘malt liquor’ (see also here below),
1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23
jolt ‘a drink of liquor’ (cf. ‘a blow in boxing’),
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
King Kong ‘cheap alcohol’ (cf. the ape-like monster’s strength),
2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 Fabiopanther Baggio juice ‘strong, esp. bootleg, liquor’;
or 2.1 by International their wetness: Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 heavy-wet ‘maltinliquor’, 2.2 Migration Policies ESEA............................................................ 34 wet ‘liquor, drink’.Management................................................. 43 2.3 Ethics and Migration Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
4.2.2.6.2. The Appearance Pattern focuses on the external aspect of drinks, especially on their colour, quantity, and, less frequently, on 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. their in drug names,The colour may beExperience included in Theconsistency. Need for an As Ethical Approach. Canadian .....the 51 name of the alcoholic drink (as in pink lady, red ink), or it may be Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg implicitly referred to by calling the drink by the name of an object World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 or 3.1 thing having the implied colour (as in neck-oil ‘beer’ having the same colour as oil) (see Bertuccelli Papi 2000). Only rarely does 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 the colour refer to the reddening of the nose caused by excessive 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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drinking (as in nose paint ‘intoxicating Table of Contents names centred on colour includes:
liquor’). A list of drink
amber fluid/liquid/nectar ‘an alcoholic drink of an amber colour, spec. lager’, black and tan ‘a drink composed of porter (or stout) and ale’, neck-oil ‘an alcoholic drink, esp. beer’, pinkers ‘pink gin’, pink-eye ‘cheap or alcoholic.............................. drink’ (cf. red-eye Opening Considerations andhome-made Executive Summary 11 Fabio‘coarse Baggio,fiery Laurawhisky’), Zanfrini
pink lady ‘a cocktail usually consisting of gin, egg white,
1. Ethics and Human Rights and grenadine’, in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15
red biddy ‘a drink consisting of methylated spirits and cheap red wine’,
Mario Santillo
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17
red ink ‘cheap red wine’,
1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21
Red Ned ‘inferior red wine or other similar drink’,
1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23
rosiner ( rosin ‘resin’) ‘a drink of spirits; a stiff drink’
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 (from the colour of resin, gen. yellow or brown),
tincture ‘an alcoholic drink’,
2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27
‘intoxicating liquor, esp. beer’ (cf. the colour of oil of Fabioturps Baggio turpentine),
2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27
white lady ‘a drink of methylated spirits’,
2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34
white lightning ‘inferior or illicitly distilled whisky’,
2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43
white line ‘alcohol as a drink’,
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
white mule ‘a potent colourless alcoholic drink’.
st Century. 3. Immigration in the 21on The following names, the contrary, are centred on the quantity or The for an Ethical Canadian size ofNeed the alcoholic drink,Approach. generally The a small one: Experience ..... 51 Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
middy ‘a medium-sized measure of beer or other liquor’,
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51
shortie/-y ‘a short drink’,
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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( sip ‘a small quantity of some liquid’) ‘a sip (of Tablesippers of Contents rum)’, spot ‘a drop of liquor’ (cf. ‘a small quantity; a drop’), stubby ‘a short, squat beer-bottle’ (cf. the adj ‘of the nature of a stub; short and thick’), taste ‘an alcoholic drink; alcohol’ (cf. ‘a very small quantity, a sip’). Drink names may also allude to the drink consistency, as in: sauce ‘alcoholic liquor’, Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 Fabioslop Baggio, Laura ‘beer’ (cf.Zanfrini ‘liquid or semi-liquid food’),
suds ‘beer’ (cf. soapy water and the beer froth).
1. Ethics and Human Rights in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 Mario Santillo 4.2.2.6.3. The Constituent Pattern associates drinks with one of their basic constitutive elements. This pattern is not very productive 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 in English slang, but some examples can illustrate it:
1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21
hop ‘beer’ (cf. ‘a plant used for giving a bitter flavour to
1.3 Some Reflections................................................................... 23 maltFinal liquors’), Bibliography 25 pine-top......................................................................................... ‘cheap or illicit whisky, formerly flavoured with the
new shoots of a pine tree’,
2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27
torpedo juice ‘intoxicating liquor extracted from torpedo fuel’.
Fabio Baggio
2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27
4.2.2.6.4. By Policies contrast,in ESEA............................................................ the Effect Pattern appears much more 2.2 Migration 34 prolific. As previously remarked for drugs, the effects of alcohol Ethics and Migration Management................................................. are2.3 distinguished into positive and negative. The positive effects 43 of drinks range from stimulant and euphoric to fortifying: Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 giggle-water ‘intoxicating liquor’ (cf. ‘a giggling laugh’),
3. Immigration in the 21st Century. joy-juice ‘alcoholic drink’, The Canadian Experience ..... 51 The Need for an Ethical Approach. Christine Baghdady, Vanderberg lightning ‘gin;Richard any strong alcoholic spirit’ (cf. ‘enlightenment,
illumination’), 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 moonshine ‘illicitly distilled liquor,and esp. whisky’ (cf. ‘pleasant 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration Governance ................. 53 distraction’),
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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( eau-de-vie, lit. ‘water of life’) ‘brandy’, TableO.D.V. of Contents
popskull ‘inferior whisky’ (cf. colloq. v pop ‘give birth’), speedball ‘a glass of wine, spec. when strengthened by additional alcohol or spirits’, stiffener ‘a fortifying or reviving alcoholic drink’ (cf. v stiffen ‘make stiff or rigid, e.g. by means of starch’).
The opposite negative effects amount to destruction and risk, as exemplified by: jollop ‘strong liquor, or a drinkSummary of this’ (cf. slang jalap ‘type Opening Considerations and Executive .............................. 11 purgative FabioofBaggio, Lauraobtained Zanfrini from a Mexican plant’), mother’s ruin ‘gin’,
1. Ethics and Human Rights poison ‘alcoholic liquor (or drink)’, in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 Marioshooter Santillo ‘a measure or drink of spirit, esp. whisky’ (cf. slang
‘a shooting instrument, a gun or pistol’),
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17
snake juice/poison ‘whisky; any alcoholic drink’,
1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21
sting ‘strong drink’ (cf. ‘the wound inflicted by the aculeus of an insect’),
1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
wallop ‘alcohol, esp. beer; alcoholic drink’ (cf. colloq. v wallop ‘beat soundly’).
2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 Fabio Baggio
4.2.2.6.5. The Container Pattern establishes a metonymic relationship 2.1 International Migration East Asia glass, and South 27 between the container (e.g. inthe bottle, etc.)East andAsia.............. the contained (i.e. alcoholic drink in inside it), as in: 2.2the Migration Policies ESEA............................................................ 34 jar ‘aand drink of beer’, 2.3 Ethics Migration Management................................................. 43 long-sleever ( long-sleever ‘a tall glass’) ‘a drink contained Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 in a tall glass’,
st Century. 3. Immigration the 21(cf. shant ‘a in drink’ ‘a pot of drink’), The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51
tankBaghdady, ‘a drink (usu. of Vanderberg beer)’ (cf. ‘an artificial receptacle used Christine Richard for storing liquids in large quantities’),
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51
tube ‘a bottle or can of beer’ (cf. ‘a cylindrical body used to
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 contain a liquid or fluid’). 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
4. Lexical Organization and Disorganization
1899
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4.2.2.7. Terms for body parts Table of Contents The body part area, as observed in section 4.2.1.4, consists of many slang lexemes which are related to their referents via figurative meaning. The privileged associative patterns of this area are: The Appearance Pattern: which concerns the distinctive features of the body part aspect; The Function Pattern: concerning the typical function(s) of the body part; The Action Pattern: concerning the acts which are habitually performed by theand possessor via Summary the body part involved. Opening Considerations Executive .............................. 11 Fabio Baggio, Zanfrini Additional (lessLaura frequent) patterns regulating this area include:
The Pattern: making allusion to the material of 1. Ethics andSubstance Human Rights body part is made;Processes .................................... 15 in thewhich Souththe American Migration MarioThe Santillo Location Pattern: alluding to the spatial position of the
part in relation to the other parts, or to the whole body; 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 The Covering Pattern: alluding Defence to the ............................. covering (kind 21 of 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ cloth) standing for the covered body part.
1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23
4.2.2.7.1. The......................................................................................... Appearance Pattern evokes some attribute of the Bibliography 25 body part aspect. However, since the aspect of the various body 2. Migration andpeculiarities, Ethics in Eastthe and South East Asia............ 27 parts displaysPolicies different attributes evoking them are Fabio Baggio Body part terms are chiefly classifiable in relation heterogeneous. to 2.1 colour: International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 pearlies/pearly ‘teeth’; 2.2 Migration Policies whites in ESEA............................................................ 34 to roundness:
2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43
bean, crumpet, lemon, melon, nut, onion ‘the head’,
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
clock ‘the face’,
3. Immigration in the breasts’, 21st Century. melons ‘large The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51
moon ‘the buttocks’, Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
nuts (coarse), ‘the ............................................................. testicles’; 3.1 World Populationpills Increase 51 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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to hardness: Table of Contents
block ‘the head’ (cf. ‘a solid piece of wood’);
to sharpness: pegs ‘teeth’ (cf. ‘a short pin or bolt used to plug a hole’); to flatness: pocketbook ‘the female genitals’, tabs ‘the ears’ (cf. ‘a short broad strap or flat loop attached by one end to an object’); Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11
to length/thinness:
Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
length ‘the penis’,
1. Ethics and pin ‘a Human leg’, Rights in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15
‘a leg’ (cf. ‘the long slender rod forming the body of a Marioshaft Santillo lance or spear’),
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17
stems ‘the legs’ (cf. ‘a trunk, stock’);
1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21
to hook-shape:
1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23
hooks ‘the fingers or hands’,
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
meat-hook ‘a hand or arm’,
2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 mud-hook ‘a hand or foot’ (cf. slang ‘an anchor’). Fabio Baggio
4.2.2.7.2. Similarly, the Function Pattern varied, body part 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and is South East each Asia.............. 27 having one or more specific functions which distinguish them from Migration Policies ESEA............................................................ 34 the2.2 others. Among the in pivotal functions we can identify the bearing function: 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 hat-rack......................................................................................... ‘the head’; Bibliography 47 the identifying function:
3. Immigration in the 21st Century. map ‘the face’; The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg theChristine visual function:
3.1 World Increase ............................................................. 51 lampsPopulation ‘the eyes’; 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
4. Lexical Organization and Disorganization
1919
The electronic edition of this book is not sold and is made available in free access. Every contribution is published according to the terms of “Polimetrica License B”. “Polimetrica License B” gives anyone the possibility to distribute the contents of the work, provided that the authors of the work and the publisher are always recognised and mentioned. It does not allow use of the contents of the work for commercial purposes or for profit. Polimetrica Publisher has the exclusive right to publish and sell the contents of the work in paper and electronic format and by any other means of publication. Additional rights on the contents of the work are the author’s property.
the passage-way function: Table of Contents
hole/cake-hole ‘the mouth’;
the containing function: bread-basket ‘the stomach’; the opening/closing function: gate ‘the mouth’; the entrapping function: trap ‘the mouth’ (with reference to food);
Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11
theFabio protective defensive function: Baggio,orLaura Zanfrini
wing ‘an arm’ (cf. a bird’s wings);
1. Ethics and Human Rights theinmotor function: the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 Mariowheels Santillo‘the legs’ (cf. a car’s wheels);
Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 the1.1 instrumental function: 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ tool ‘the male generative organ’, Defence ............................. 21 1.3 Some Final(coarse) Reflections................................................................... 23 weapon ‘the penis’. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
4.2.2.7.3. Needless to say, the Action Pattern is likewise varied, due to Migration the diversity of actions performed possessor through the 2. Policies and Ethics in East by andthe South East Asia............ 27 body parts alluded to. English slang words belonging to this pattern Fabio Baggio include: 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27
bender ( v bend ‘assume or receive a curved form’) ‘a leg
2.2 Migration or knee’,Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34
2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 choppers ( v chop ‘cut into pieces’) ‘teeth’, Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 kisser ‘the mouth or face’,
snappers ( v snap ‘make a quick or sudden bite at
3. Immigration in the 21st Century. something’) ‘teeth’,Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 The Need for an Ethical Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg sniffer ( v sniff ‘inhale cocaine, etc.’) ‘the nose’,
snorer ( v snore ‘make harsh or noisy sounds in sleep’) 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 ‘the nose’,
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53
yap ( v yap ‘talk idly or loquaciously’) ‘the mouth’.
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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4.2.2.7.4. A marginal pattern uses synecdoche to associate the body Table of Contents part with the material, the substance it is made of, hence, the Substance Pattern, e.g.: ivory ‘teeth’, meat-hook ‘a hand or arm’. 4.2.2.7.5. Equally marginal is the pattern which associates the body part to its spatial position relative to the other parts or to the entire body. The Location Pattern is mostly used for euphemistic reasons, as illustrated by some of the following terms: Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 Fabioheinie Baggio, Laura Zanfrini ( behind) ‘the buttocks’,
middle leg ‘the penis’,
1. Ethics and Human Rights nose’ (cf. ‘the nose of an aircraft, a car, etc.’). 15 in thesnoot South‘the American Migration Processes .................................... Mario Santillo
4.2.2.7.6. The Rights Covering Pattern, on the other hand, establishes17a 1.1 Migrants’ ............................................................................. metonymic relationship between the type of clothing which covers International for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 the1.2 body part and Instrument the body part itself, as in: 1.3 Some Finalears’ Reflections................................................................... lug ‘the (cf. earlier sense ‘one of the flaps or lappets 23 of
a cap or......................................................................................... bonnet, covering the ears’, and lughole ‘ear-hole’),25 Bibliography mitt ‘a hand’ (cf. boxing sense ‘a boxing glove’).
2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 Fabio Baggio The above patterns appear to set up correspondences and correlations between different Migration conceptualindomains phenomena 2.1 International East Asiavia andsuch Southcognitive East Asia.............. 27 as categorization, metaphor, metonymy, inference, analogy, etc., 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 which have been amply discussed in the literature on meaning 2.3 Ethics andRuiz Migration Management................................................. 43 construal (e.g. de Mendoza & Santibáñez 2003, Croft & Cruse 2004) and blending (e.g. Fauconnier & Turner 2002). Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 Yet some of them seem to exhibit asymmetries and irregularities, due to the intricate network of conceptual connections activated. The 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. concept of ‘alcoholic drink’ is, forThe instance, much more rapidly The Need for an Ethical Approach. Canadian Experience ..... 51 activated by the slang expression amber fluid – by way of such Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg salient features as bright colour and full-bodied consistency – than by 3.1 World Population Increase 51 smoke, whose association to ............................................................. ‘cheap whisky’ requires much more complicated cognitive operations triggering less salient features, 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 such as darkish colour, lack of density, etc. In fact, Croft & Cruse
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
4. Lexical Organization and Disorganization
1939
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(2004) state that meaning is something that we construe, on-line, Table of Contents using the properties of linguistic elements as partial clues, alongside linguistic knowledge and information available from the context. Many of the afore-mentioned slang words provide only partial clues to their meanings, since they foreground components which may be latent in the corresponding standard words (cf. fox St. E. ‘cunning animal/person’ and slang ‘attractive person’). However, other slang words are even more difficult to disambiguate, since there are no logical connections between the standard and the slang frames of reference of the words. That is, the same signans appears to belongConsiderations to two completely different Summary conceptual domains, with no Opening and Executive .............................. 11 evident shared attributes relating the two. Expectably, such words Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini are the source of lexical disorganization. 1. Ethics and Human Rights in the Southdisorganization American Migration Processes .................................... 15 4.3. Lexical Mario Santillo
[…]Migrants’ slang semantics is a kind of secondary semiotics which is 17 1.1 Rights ............................................................................. motivated by the wish to distinguish itself from the ‘ordinary’ use of 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence words and consequently might be interpreted from............................. both its semantic 21 distance from its object and from the ‘ordinary’ semantic function of a 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 certain word. (Sornig 1981: 21) Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
In this section, I wish to validate the opening assumption that in slang, lexical organization viain East regular and logical 2. Migration Policies and Ethics and connections South East Asia............ 27 patterns is sometimes substituted by disorganization. I also wish to Fabio Baggio explain the modalities in accordance with which such disorganization 2.1 International in East Asia and South East 27 thwarts meaning Migration access and conceptualization, andAsia.............. to investigate whether or not there areindifferent degrees of disorganization. 2.2 Migration Policies ESEA............................................................ 34 At this stage of the survey, I can hypothesize that lexical 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 disorganization is the result of irrational word-meaning associations. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 Indeed, the associative patterns identified hitherto are not applicable to any slang word, because sometimes there is no logic assigning 3. Immigration in thesignata, 21st Century. signantia to slang and inferential work turns out to be The Need for Ethical Approach. Canadian ..... 51 unsuccessful inanfacilitating meaningThe access. This Experience latter hypothesis Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg appears to be extremely interesting from our point of view, as its verification would effectively distinguish slang from the standard 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 lexical system. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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An additional hypothesis concerns the degree of the Table of Contents disorganization. Indeed, I hypothesize that, in slang, there are cases of: (a) partial disorganization, with some meanings assigned arbitrarily to words and others still motivated by regularity and logic, and (b) total disorganization, with no actual possibility to identify connections with the corresponding standard meanings. Total disorganization entails overall randomness, prevents the macrosystem from finding any stable configuration, and sometimes brings it to the edge of chaos, or, in Bertuccelli & Lenci’s (2007) terms, to the highest degrees of complexity. The aim of my research is to verify theConsiderations validity of these hypotheses. Opening and Executive Summary .............................. 11 For this research, I have Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini selected a set of polysemous slang terms which provide challenging cases of meaning reconstruction, and which, seem to be functional to investigate both 1. Ethics and therefore, Human Rights partial totalAmerican disorganization. in theand South Migration Processes .................................... 15 Mario Santillo
4.3.1. Partial disorganization
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17
Partial disorganization involves a redefinition of words on the basis International Instrument for which Migrants’were Defence 21 of 1.2some semantic features not............................. in the standard meaning(s), but Reflections................................................................... which are acquired in slang. Slang preserves some 1.3 Some Final 23 of the original standard features and confers new ones on words. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 Hence, words are loaded in terms of information provided, their conceptual representation is complexified, and their interpretation is 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 made much more complicated. Fabio Baggio Let us examine a few tricky cases. 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27
4.3.1.1. The case of bird Migration Policies ESEA............................................................ 34 In 2.2 standard English, theinterm bird is normally used to refer to:
2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 ‘the young of the feathered tribes’. Bibliography Another St. E. ......................................................................................... meaning of this term foregrounds the role of birds 47 in hunting: st
3. Immigration in the 21 Century. Need ‘prey,for object of attack’. The an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51
Christine Richard Vanderberg Slang addsBaghdady, an extra meaning to this word, but the association with the3.1 standard meaning is still evident: World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 Urbanization, ‘an aeroplane’ (Appearance Pattern: a bird has................. wings, tail; 3.2 International Migration and Governance 53
Action Pattern: a bird flies).
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
4. Lexical Organization and Disorganization
1959
The electronic edition of this book is not sold and is made available in free access. Every contribution is published according to the terms of “Polimetrica License B”. “Polimetrica License B” gives anyone the possibility to distribute the contents of the work, provided that the authors of the work and the publisher are always recognised and mentioned. It does not allow use of the contents of the work for commercial purposes or for profit. Polimetrica Publisher has the exclusive right to publish and sell the contents of the work in paper and electronic format and by any other means of publication. Additional rights on the contents of the work are the author’s property.
However, it also adds a variety of meanings which have no evident Table of Contents connection with the original one: ‘a girl, woman’; ‘an exceptionally smart or accomplished person’; ‘a prison sentence; prison’; ‘an obscene gesture of contempt’. In fact, the association of a bird to the meanings ‘woman’ or ‘smart person’ is hard, and its association to inanimate objects (prison, obscene gesture) or evenand abstract entities (a prison sentence) has no Opening Considerations Executive Summary .............................. 11 tenable explanation. Hence, slang meanings integrate the semantic Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini description of bird with new semantic features, which are sometimes in Ethics contradiction with Rights previous ones (e.g. animate vs. inanimate, non1. and Human human human, concrete vs. abstract). in thevs. South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 Mario Santillo
4.3.1.2. The case of bomb 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 Another case of difficult interpretation is provided by bomb. This term is commonly used to refer to: 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 ‘an explosive projectile’. 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 Hence, by means of the Effect Pattern discussed above, we can Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 explain the following slang meanings of bomb: 2. Migration Policies and Ethicseffect; in Eastcf. andthe South East Asia............ ‘a failure’ (destructive opposite Brit. sense 27 of Fabio‘aBaggio success’);
2.1 International Migration in East Asia and effect); South East Asia.............. 27 ‘a large sum of money’ (dangerous
‘a (large) marijuana cigarette’ (destructive and dangerous 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 effect).
2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43
On the other hand, there are no patterns which can explain why Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 slang associates the word bomb with: ‘an old car’, 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 or can help us associate the word with this concept. Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
4.3.1.3. The Population case of dog 3.1 World Increase ............................................................. 51 The case of dog is even more complicated, since in slang it acquires 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 specific features which blatantly clash with the standard ones. As 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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everybody knows, in the standard language dog refers to: Table of Contents ‘a quadruped of the genus Canis; a hound’.
In slang, it acquires an extra meaning which is explainable in terms of the Attitude Pattern: ‘a gay or jovial man; a fellow’ (see the joyful and playful attitude of a dog), but also an array of incomprehensible meanings: ‘a worthless, despicable, or cowardly fellow’ (cf. guard dogs, police dogs,and rescue dogs, Summary watch-dogs); Opening Considerations Executive .............................. 11 Fabio‘an Baggio, Laura Zanfrini informer; a traitor; esp. one who betrays fellow
criminals’ (cf. a dog’s fidelity to its owner);
1. Ethics and Human Rights ‘an unattractive woman, girl or man’; in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 Mario‘something Santillo poor or mediocre; a failure’ (cf. guide dogs, dogs
kept for company);
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17
‘a horse that is slow, difficult to handle, etc.’ (cf. a dog’s agility, obedience, etc.).
1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23
When the word is used in the plural form, it takes on the sense of:
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
‘sausages’ (see hot dog ‘a hot sausage enclosed in a bread roll’);
2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 Fabio‘feet’. Baggio
This sense Migration is explainable way the rhyme between the 2.1 latter International in EastbyAsia andofSouth East Asia.............. 27 original full form dog’s meat and the signatum ‘feet’, but this phonic 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 similarity is lost in the elliptic form, thus obstructing meaning access. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43
4.3.1.4. The case of fish Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 Generally-speaking, the term fish refers to: ‘any animal exclusively in the water’. 3. Immigration in theliving 21st Century. Needslang, for anthe Ethical Canadian Experience In The nautical termApproach. also takes The on more specific senses: ..... 51 Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
‘a torpedo’;
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51
‘a submarine’,
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
4. Lexical Organization and Disorganization
1979
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the former of which is a hyponym of the general category, whereas Table of Contents the latter is a metaphorical extension based on a similarity in form and location. However, a less transparent slang sense also exists, i.e.: ‘a dollar’, which implies a semantic shift from animate to inanimate. 4.3.1.5. The case of gas A different case is found in gas, which in standard language refers to a concrete entity:
Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11
aeriform or completely elastic fluid’, Fabio‘any Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
but in slang refers to abstract entities, as in:
1. Ethics and Human Rights or boastfulMigration talk’; Processes .................................... 15 in the‘empty South American Mario‘showy Santillopretence’;
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 ‘humbug, nonsense’ (see the insubstantiality, triviality,
intangibility of gas); for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 1.2 International Instrument ‘fun;Final a joke’, 1.3 Some Reflections................................................................... 23 and, intriguingly, to animate ones: Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 ‘someone who is very pleasing, exciting, admirable, etc.’.
2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 Fabio The Baggio 4.3.1.6. case of ice In 2.1 standard English, ice hasina East literal interpretation: International Migration Asia and South East Asia.............. 27
‘frozen water’, 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 and figurative one: 2.3a Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 ‘a congelation or crystalline appearance resembling ice’ Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 (with allusion to the slippery, cold nature of ice).
st Century. 3. in theit21has In Immigration criminals’ slang, a transparent meaning, which alludes to The Need for an Ethical Approach. the clearness and brittle nature of ice:The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
‘diamonds; jewellery’ (see also the drug name in § 4.2.2.5.1),
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51
but also opaque meanings, which are disambiguable only via slang 3.2 Urbanization, Migrationofand Governance ................. 53 itself, e.g. referringInternational to the preciousness jewellery: 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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from the illegal sale of theatre, cinema, etc., tickets’; Table‘profit of Contents ‘protection money’.
4.3.1.7. The case of iron Another polysemous English word is iron, which in standard use refers to: ‘a metal’, to a mixture or object containing this: ‘a preparation of iron, used in medicine as a tonic’;
Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11
meteorite which contains a high proportion of iron’, Fabio‘any Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
to a thing made of this:
1. Ethics and Human Rights instrument, tool, utensil, etc. made of the in the‘an South American appliance, Migration Processes .................................... 15 Mariometal’, Santillo
or,1.1 metaphorically, to............................................................................. the hard, strong nature of iron itself: Migrants’ Rights 17 ‘a type of extreme hardness or strength’. 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 In 1.3 criminals’ andReflections................................................................... general slang, we find meanings which are easily Some Final 23 explainable by means of the Material Pattern: Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
‘a portable fire-arm; a pistol’;
2. Migration Policies in East and South East Asia............ 27 ‘a jemmy usedand in Ethics housebreaking’; Fabio Baggio
‘an old motor vehicle’.
2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27
On the other hand, we also find meanings which are obscure, e.g.:
2.2 Migration ‘money’,Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 or 2.3 accessible only in terms of the original rhyme, lost in the elliptic form: Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
‘a homosexual’ (see iron hoof, rhyming slang for ‘poof’; cf. st Century. 3. Immigration in the 21delicacy). a homosexual’s The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
4.3.1.8. The case of joint 3.1term World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 The joint is unambiguous in standard English: 3.2 Urbanization, ‘a junction’,International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
4. Lexical Organization and Disorganization
1999
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but polysemous in slang. Some slang meanings are traced back to Table of Contents the standard one by way of regular associative patterns: ‘a partnership or union, or a place of meeting or resort, esp. of persons engaged in some illicit occupation’ (see joining function); ‘a stall, tent, etc., in a circus or fair’ (see joining function); ‘a song, a recording; an album’ (see the American film director Spike Lee’s use of joint to mean ‘New York street talk’, hence, the substance (words) songs are made of). Opening Executive Summary .............................. 11 However,Considerations other slang and meanings exhibit no connection with the Fabio Baggio, original sense: Laura Zanfrini
‘aand marijuana 1. Ethics Humancigarette’; Rights in the‘prison’. South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 Mario Santillo
4.3.1.9. The case of kick 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 In standard English, kick is used to refer to both:
1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21
‘a blow or knock with the foot’,
1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23
and:
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
‘opposition, objection, repugnance’ (see the function of kicks Policies to showand hostility, 2. Migration Ethicsaggression, in East and etc.). South East Asia............ 27 Fabio Baggio Similarly, in slang, it refers to an action which evokes the function of 2.1 removal of kicks: International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27
‘discharge, dismissal’. 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 Yet a range Management................................................. of “senses of which the relationship 43 is 2.3slang Ethicsadds and Migration obscure” (OED): Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
‘the fashion, the newest style’;
3. Immigration in the 21st Century. ‘a sixpence’; The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51
‘a pocket’; Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
‘breeches, trousers’ (pl.); 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 ‘shoes’ (pl.),
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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which, as a result, contribute to the lexical disorganization of the Table of Contents concept. 4.3.1.10. The case of nut The standard meanings of nut, viz.: ‘a fruit or seed with a hard or leathery shell’; ‘something of trifling value’; ‘a difficult question or problem; a person hard to deal with, conciliate, etc.’ (with allusion to the difficulty of cracking hard-shelled nuts), Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 Fabio Baggio, display featuresLaura (e.g.Zanfrini roundness, smallness, hardness) which are reproduced in the following slang meanings:
1. Ethics and Human Rights ‘the head’; in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15
testicle’. Mario‘aSantillo
On1.1the other hand, features are not retained by other slang Migrants’ Rightsthese ............................................................................. 17 meanings: 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21
‘a source of pleasure or delight’ (pl.);
1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23
‘an excellent or first-rate person or thing’ (pl.);
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
‘a person’;
2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East man’; and South East Asia............ 27 ‘a fashionable or showy young Fabio Baggio
‘a mad or crazy person; an eccentric, a crank’;
2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27
‘the amount of money required for a venture’;
2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34
‘any sum of money; a bribe or payoff’.
2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43
Such meanings inevitably add new traits (e.g. pleasure, excellence, Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 fashion, craziness) to the semantic description of the word, and are, again, a source of partial disorganization.
3. Immigration in the 21st Century. 4.3.1.11. Thefor case of skin Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 The Need an Ethical
The last example of partial I propose is skin, i.e.: Christine Baghdady, Richarddisorganization Vanderberg
‘the integument of an animal stripped from the body’. 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 Slang assigns a variety of new meanings this label,................. which are 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and to Governance 53 justifiable on the basis of the Material Pattern: 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
4. Lexical Organization and Disorganization
2019
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purse, a money bag, a wallet’ (see an animal’s skin; cf. Table‘a of Contents leather); ‘a drum’; ‘the skin of the palm of the hand, as making contact in slapping hands in friendship or solidarity’; of the Function Pattern, esp. protective function: ‘a paper for rolling cigarettes (esp. in smoking marijuana)’; ‘a condom’; Opening Considerations of the Action Pattern: and Executive Summary .............................. 11 Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
‘an avaricious; a miser’ (see one who would skin a flint to save or gain something);
1. Ethics and Human Rights of in thethe Appearance Pattern: South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 Mario Santillo
‘a youth (often one of a gang), a skinhead’ (from his having
a bald head); 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 or 1.2 of aInternational part-wholeInstrument relationship: for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 ‘a horse mule’. 1.3 Some FinalorReflections................................................................... 23 Again, slang also adds meanings which are not explainable using Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 the above criteria: 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 ‘a dollar’; Fabio Baggio
‘a tyre’.
2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27
This shows thatinthe slang lexicon is not entirely organized 34 in 2.2survey Migration Policies ESEA............................................................ terms of meaning relations and regular patterns, but exhibits a 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 tendency towards arbitrariness: words acquire new meanings which ......................................................................................... areBibliography not connected with the standard one(s), and which cannot 47 be inferred by making reference to ordinary features. Slang meanings 3. Immigration in thefeatures 21st Century. often entail new which are added to existing ones, The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 increasing the amount of information necessary for semantic Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg description. New slang semanticIncrease features may even clash with standard ones 3.1 World Population ............................................................. 51 (as in dog), and entail inconsistencies between the standard system 3.2the Urbanization, International Migration and ................. 53 and slang system. This is symptomatic ofGovernance an independence of the 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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latter from the former, and from what is conventional, predictable and Table of Contents stable. 4.3.2. Total disorganization Total disorganization occurs when none of the regular features of a word are preserved in slang, and no rational pattern can activate the slang concept in our mind using universal processes, such as metaphor, metonymy, etc., or using traditional inferential work (see Grice’s 1989 notion of implicature, Sperber & Wilson’s 1986 expectations of relevance, etc.). Total Considerations disorganization not Summary imply an expansion and Opening and does Executive .............................. 11 Fabio Baggio, of Laura reorganization theZanfrini standard domain to include slang meanings, but rather a shift to a completely different domain, with a range of 1. Ethics and Human Rights features which depart from the standard ones, which make in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 conceptualization and interpretation challenging tasks. Mario Santillo Let us observe a few relevant examples. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17
4.3.2.1. The case of bag 1.2features International Instrument forconfer Migrants’ Defence The that we normally on the term............................. bag come from 21 its standard meaning: 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23
‘a receptacle made of some flexible material closed in on all sides except at the top’.
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
2. Migration andofEthics East and East Asia............ 27 The form andPolicies function a baginjustify the South additional meanings that
theFabio wordBaggio has in standard use: 2.1 International ‘an udder, Migration a dug’; in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 Migration ‘a sac (inPolicies the animal body) containing honey, poison, etc.’;34 2.2 in ESEA............................................................ Ethics ‘a fold loose skin beneath the (human) eyes’; 2.3 andofMigration Management................................................. 43 ‘the stomach, entrails’. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
On the other hand, such salient features do not justify the following
st 3. Immigration slang meanings:in the 21 Century. The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 ‘a preoccupation, mode of behaviour or experience’; Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
World ‘a characteristic manner............................................................. of playing jazz or similar music’; 51 3.1 Population Increase Urbanization, ‘an unattractive or elderly woman’. 3.2 International Migration and Governance ................. 53
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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These meanings imply a shift from concrete to abstract entities (a Table of Contents preoccupation, a music style), and from inanimate to human ones (a woman), and also the acquisition of new traits (e.g. anxiety, old age) which are not present in the standard meanings. Here slang imposes a totally new set of features. 4.3.2.2. The case of bottle In the case of bottle, the semantic shift is, again, from concrete standard entities: ‘a vessel with a narrow neck for holding liquids’; Opening Considerations Executive .............................. 11 ‘the quantity (of and liquor) which Summary a bottle can hold’ (containerFabiofor-contained), Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
to Ethics abstract slang ones:Rights 1. and Human in the‘aSouth American Migration Processes .................................... 15 reprimand’; Mario Santillo
‘courage, spirit’,
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17
and back to concreteness, but with completely new features (e.g. 1.2 International Instrument ............................. 21 value) and a different framefor ofMigrants’ referenceDefence (Commercial Transaction Frame): 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 ‘a collection or share of money’.
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
4.3.2.3. The case of cat 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27
Semantic shift also intervenes in the polysemic word cat,6 which in Fabio Baggio standard English refers to an animal: 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27
‘a well-known carnivorous quadruped (Felis domesticus)’
2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 (also short for catfish, cat-o’-nine-tails),
Ethics andobjects, Migration Management................................................. 43 or 2.3 to concrete such as: Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 ‘a double tripod with six legs’;
‘a smallinpiece wood tapering at each end, used in the st Century. 3. Immigration the 21of game of tip-cat’. The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Vanderberg ByChristine contrast,Baghdady, in slang,Richard the word cat applies to human beings, e.g.:
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 ‘an itinerant worker’; 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 6 See Iamartino (2006: 112-114) for the polysemy of cat and its difficult translation.
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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man’; Table‘a fellow, of Contents
‘a spiteful or backbiting woman’; ‘a prostitute’; ‘an expert in jazz’,
and, as such, it entails features (e.g. instability, professionality, expertise, etc.) which are not in its standard meaning. 4.3.2.4. The case of monkey Another polysemous word, monkey, is used in standard English for the animal: Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
‘the primate’,
as Ethics well asand forHuman humansRights who, as a result of their attitude or nature, are 1. comparable to American the animal: in the South Migration Processes .................................... 15 Mario‘aSantillo child; a junior; a foolish person’;
1.1 Migrants’ 17 ‘a personRights who ............................................................................. acts comically’; 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ ............................. 21 ‘a person performing a task whichDefence involves physical agility’
(see Final a monkey’s vivacity, nimbleness, etc.). 1.3 Some Reflections................................................................... 23 Slang adds some extra meanings which are not motivated by the Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 standard features. New meanings curiously refer to humans: 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 ‘an associate’; Fabio Baggio
‘a chorus girl’,
2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27
to non-human, concrete entities:
2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34
‘500 pounds sterling; 500 dollars’;
2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43
‘the male or female sexual organs’,
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
and, finally, to abstract entities:
‘addiction to, or habitual use of, a drug’. 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Christine Richard Vanderberg 4.3.2.5. TheBaghdady, case of mug The mug is not polysemous in the standard language: 3.1word World Population Increase ............................................................. 51
‘a (usually large) earthenware vessel bowl; a pot’, 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and or Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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but it is in slang, in which it is used to denote: Table of Contents ‘a face, esp. an unattractive one’;
‘a grotesque or exaggerated facial expression’; ‘a photograph of a person’s face, esp. in police records’; ‘the mouth’. Thus, slang meanings are related to one another by similar features, but they are distant from the original meaning, and from its salient features. Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 4.3.2.6. The case of potato
Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini Another common term which in slang is loaded with new meanings is potato. Indeed, while in standard language it is used for a type of 1. Ethics and Human Rights vegetable:
in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15
edible, usually oval tuberous root of the plant Ipomoea Mario‘the Santillo batatas’,
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17
or, given its little value, for:
1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21
‘something insignificant’,
1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23
in slang, it is rather used for:
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
‘the (very, real, or proper) thing’;
2. Migration Policies Ethics(pl.); in East and South East Asia............ 27 ‘money; spec.and dollars’ Fabio Baggio
‘a girl or woman’ (from potato peeler, rhyming slang for
2.1 International sheila). Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27
2.2 Migration in ESEA............................................................ 34 Here slang not Policies only adds new meanings, but also meanings which are2.3inEthics blatant contradiction with standard ones (cf. the value of and Migration Management................................................. 43 money). Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
4.3.2.7. The case of rabbit 3. Immigration in the 21stof Century. Again, a common word English, rabbit, designates an animal in The Need standard use:for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
‘a burrowing rodent of the hare-family’,
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51
but takes on various meanings in slang, where it designates a 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 human being: 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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performer at any game; a novice’, Table‘a poor of Contents an inanimate, but concrete entity: ‘liquor; a bottle of beer’; ‘a smuggled or stolen article’, or even an abstract entity: ‘a conversation, a talk; a lingo’ (from rabbit-and-pork, rhyming slang for ‘talk’). As in earlier instances, the addition of new slang meanings goes Opening Considerations Summary .............................. 11 along with the additionandofExecutive novel salient features, ranging from Fabio Baggio, Zanfrini inexperience to Laura strength and danger. Such features appear to belong to a different lexical system, in competition with the standard one 1. Ethics Human Rights and with and the standard rules.
in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15
Mario Santilloof representative cases of polysemy and low or no This analysis transparency seems to............................................................................. support our thesis, and to provide evidence for 1.1 Migrants’ Rights 17 prior expectations that the slang lexicon often exhibits disorganization International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. in 1.2 terms of meaning associations and predictable patterns. That is 21 to say, appears refuse the standard rules and organizatory criteria, 1.3itSome FinaltoReflections................................................................... 23 and to prefer unconventionality and arbitrariness. Hence, while the Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 content of a standard word is normally constructed on-line, in an ad hoc context-specific way, using encyclopedic information which 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 varies in accessibility from individual to individual (Barsalou 1992), Fabio Baggio the content of a slang word “is heavily dependent on shared 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and220), Southand Eastmay Asia.............. 27 background knowledge” (Gumperz 1972: thus remain inaccessible to Policies those individuals who are not familiar with its slang 2.2 Migration in ESEA............................................................ 34 meaning(s). 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 Disorganization is a gradable notion. Total disorganization does notBibliography rely on rational inferential processes or predictable behavioural ......................................................................................... 47 patterns, but rather on the memory of use of individual speakers. It leads the system degrees of randomness and ensuing 3. Immigration in to thethe 21sthighest Century. complexity, where no constraints to make some ..... states The Need for an Ethical Approach.are Thegiven Canadian Experience 51 impossible or highlyRichard improbable, and no prediction can be made, Christine Baghdady, Vanderberg since, paradoxically, the only certainty is chaos.
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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4.4. Conclusion Table of Contents The three fundamental questions which motivated the lexical semantic analysis conducted in this chapter were: Is there any organization within the slang lexicon? If so, is this organization the same as found in standard English? Or is it rather an independent self-regulating organization? If not, what else? Opening Considerations and Executive .............................. Our investigation has shown that, inSummary slang, some organization 11 is
Fabio Baggio, Zanfrini identifiable, butLaura it is not always the case, and disorganization often intervenes to destroy existing rules and favour system instability. 1. Ethics andstandard Human Rights Like the lexical system, the slang system has shown a in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 tendency to organize words into lexical fields, in which they can be Mario Santillo interrelated by means of paradigmatic meaning relations, esp. 1.1 Migrants’ ............................................................................. 17 synonymy. WeRights have drawn a distinction between perfect synonyms – i.e. words that denote the same concept and are interchangeable in 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 the same context (e.g. H, horse, smack for ‘heroin’) – and partial or 1.3 synonyms Some Final exhibiting Reflections................................................................... 23 near different shades of meanings (cf. smack and junk). Other factors have proved to be crucial to discriminate Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 perfect from partial synonymy among co-referents, viz. in-group usage, word Policies origin and form.South East Asia............ 27 2. Migration andmorphological Ethics in East and The slang system has also shown a tendency to organize sets of Fabio Baggio items pertaining to the same conceptual domain into predictable 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 behavioural patterns. Accordingly, we observe that non-users employ names for drugPolicies terms which allude to their destructive effects (e.g. 2.2 Migration in ESEA............................................................ 34 bomber, dynamite, hit), but users choose names which rather allude 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 to their opposite (stimulant or euphoric) effects (e.g. ecstasy, happy Bibliography 47 dust, joy-pop). ......................................................................................... We likewise observe that body parts are named after their function (e.g. cake-hole, gate, trap for ‘the mouth’), or after the st Century. 3. Immigration in the 21 action they perform (e.g. kisser ‘the mouth’, snorer ‘the nose’, The Need forteeth’). an Ethical Canadian Experience ..... 51 choppers ‘the TheApproach. recurrenceThe of rational associative patterns Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg such as Effect, Function, Action, etc. are symptomatic of the system attempt to find an autonomous stability, and to maintain integrity via 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 the development of new forms of (self-)organization, emerging out and Governance ................. 53 of 3.2 theUrbanization, interactionsInternational with the Migration environment (the context and the
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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speakers), as well as among the system components Table of Contents systems which make up the domain at issue).
(the micro-
On the other hand, slang has shown a tendency towards disorganization and irrationality when words are used in senses which totally depart from the standard ones, and which share no semantic features with them. Disorganization has turned out to be a gradable notion, in the sense that some of the original features may be kept by slang, and therefore impose only a reshuffle and integration of the standard domain to include slang meanings. This happens with the word nut. In standard English, this word denotes a definite concept evokingand theExecutive Food Frame, belongs to a distinct area Opening Considerations Summary .............................. 11 (i.e., Dried Fruit, itself part of the area of Fruit), and is defined by Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini specific features, such as roundness, smallness, hardness, etc. Such salient can Rights help us associate the word with some slang 1. Ethicsfeatures and Human meanings (e.g.American ‘the head’, ‘a testicle’), but .................................... are useless with others in the South Migration Processes 15 (e.g. ‘anSantillo excellent person’, ‘a fashionable young man’, ‘a mad or Mario crazy person’, etc.). Slang therefore adds new traits (e.g. excellence, 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 fashion, craziness) to the semantic description of the word, which create partial disorganization, complexify the............................. word’s conceptual 1.2 International Instrument forand Migrants’ Defence 21 representation. 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 When no standard feature is maintained by slang, and Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 randomness prevails over predictability, disorganization becomes total, and the entire macro-system collapses, thus excluding any 2. MigrationofPolicies and decoding Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 possibility a correct by interpreters reasoning on the Fabio basis ofBaggio the standard lexicon and applying traditional inferential processes. This happens with a polysemous word such as monkey. 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 In slang, this word acquires a variety of extra meanings which are 2.2 Migration ESEA............................................................ 34 inaccessible byPolicies makinginreference to its standard features. It indeed implies a semantic shift from a non-human to a human entity (‘an 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 associate’, ‘a chorus girl’), or even to an abstract one (‘addiction to Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 a drug’). A well-grounded theory of Lexical Complexity, as recently 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. expounded in Bertuccelli Papi & Lenci (2007), can help us interpret The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 slang data from a dynamical system perspective (cf. Elman 1995, Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg 1998). Bertuccelli Papi & Lenci (2007) view language and the 3.1 World Increase ............................................................. 51 lexicon as aPopulation complex dynamical system, in which lexical items are themselves conceived as micro-systems which organize conceptual 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 material in multiple ways depending on the task at issue. 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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When new semantic features are added to a micro-system, a larger Table of Contents amount of information is necessary for its semantic description. Additional information thus complexifies the system itself, increasing the number of its possible states at different times (tn), and simultaneously decreasing the extent of predictability of its dynamics. Moreover, when a micro-system is given features which totally depart from those commonly ascribed to the standard lexical item, it becomes completely unstable, and its dynamics unpredictable, to the point of chaos. This represents the highest degree of lexical disorganization, in which meaning is (perhaps deliberately) obscured, hidden orConsiderations concealed to and exclude outsiders, and to establish a secret Opening Executive Summary .............................. 11 linguistic code shared only with insiders. Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini 1. Ethics and Human Rights in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 Mario Santillo
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 Fabio Baggio
2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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9
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5. Sociological Properties Table of Contents
Opening Considerations and .............................. […] slang is indicative notExecutive only of Summary man’s earthiness but of his 11 Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini indomitable spirit: it sets him in his proper place: relates a man to his fellows, to his world and the world, and to the universe. (Partridge 1. Ethics and Human Rights 1947: 291) in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 Mario Santillo
5.1. Slang sociology
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17
As1.2 theInternational state of the Instrument art on slang (seeDefence chap. 2),............................. slang sociology21 is forshows Migrants’ a widely discussed topic and the aspects which play a role in its 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 sociological characterization have turned out to be as various as the phenomenon I here wish to give my contribution to the Bibliographyitself. ......................................................................................... 25 sociological description of slang by selecting and reorganizing properties highlighted far, in orderand to South offer East a more systematic 2. Migration Policies andsoEthics in East Asia............ 27 1 classification. Fabio Baggio The classification I propose, as anticipated at the end of chapter 2, 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 distinguishes slang sociological properties into speaker- and hearer2.2 Migration oriented ones: Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 Speaker-oriented which qualify the speaker 43 as 2.3 Ethics and Migration properties, Management................................................. belonging to some distinct group, include: group- and subjectrestriction, secrecy and privacy, informality and debasement, vulgarityin and obscenity, st Century.time-restriction, ephemerality and 3. Immigration the 21 localism; The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg Hearer-oriented properties, which produce some effect upon
the hearer, are: playfulness and humour, freshness and novelty, 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 3.2 Urbanization, International ................. 53 1 In Mattiello (2007a and forthcomingMigration a) some ofand the Governance slang sociological properties have studied in aMigration contrastivein (English-Italian) perspective. 3.3been International Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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to impress and faddishness, colour and Tabledesire of Contents impertinence, offensiveness and aggressiveness.
musicality,
As many of the foregoing criteria are mutually exclusive, slang words do not meet all of them simultaneously. However, they should meet at least some of them, as my assumptions are that an English slang expression should reveal something about its user, and at the same time achieve some pragmatic effect upon its hearer. Contextualized excerpts from film dialogues and COLT conversations can clarify these points: Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11
52. Renton: I’m cookin’ up (‘preparing drug for use’). Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini Allison: Cook one for me, Renton. I need a hit (‘dose’). (Trainspotting 1996) 1. Ethics and Human Rights 53. cop (‘policeman’) in the twentieth precinct tipped in theMan: SouthAAmerican Migration Processes .................................... 15 Mario(‘informed, Santillo alerted’) us. (Mickey Blue Eyes 1999) 54. Boss (wearing Uncle Vito’s glasses): My God, these things 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 are making me squiffy (‘drunk’). (Mickey Blue Eyes 1999) 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21
55. Jack: Good. Keep your snake (‘penis’) in its cage for 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 seventy-two hours. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 Greg: Okay. (Meet the Parents 2000) 56. Chris: He’s being
unfuckingtouchable (‘absolutely untouchable’) […]. (COLT) Fabio Baggio
2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27
57. Chuck: Hey, you the new kid? I’m talkin’ to you. Where’d 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 your tie go? I thought only pansies (‘homosexuals’) wore 2.2 Migration neckties.Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 Ren: Oh,Migration yeah? See that? I thought only assholes (‘idiots’) 2.3 Ethics and Management................................................. 43 used the word ‘pansy’. (Footloose 1984) Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
58. Kenickie: Hey Danny, what’s up, do you still think about that chick (‘girl’)? 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. Danny: What are you, nuts (‘mad’)? (Grease 1978) ..... 51 The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience Christine Baghdady, 59. Jo: you know,Richard tellingVanderberg him to sit and he was stubbing all the cigarettes out, drinking all the drinks on the table. He was51a 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. right yobbo (‘lout’)! (COLT)
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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60. Renton (voice over): Got no money: can’t get pished (‘drunk’). Table of Contents Got money: drinking too much. Can’t get a bird (‘girl-friend’): no chance of a ride (‘act of sexual intercourse’). Got a bird: too much hassle. (Trainspotting 1996) 61. Boy: Rizzo’s been knocked up (‘made pregnant’). (Grease 1978) As expected, the slang expressions in (52)-(61) above can be discriminated on the basis of their different functions and heterogeneous effects. Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 As for functions, some of them are used by the speaker to Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini identify with a specific group, be it on the basis of age or gender (bird, chick, nuts), habits (cook (up), hit, pished), or origin 1. Ethics and Human Rights (asshole). Others rather denote the Processes speaker’s .................................... vulgarity (knock up) 15 or in the South American Migration obscenity (ride), or his intention to hide private information (cop, Mario Santillo tip). 1.1 Rights ............................................................................. 17 AsMigrants’ for effects, some of the above expressions may appear fresh and (yobbo),forplayful (squiffy), or............................. humorous (snake) 1.2unconventional International Instrument Migrants’ Defence 21 to the hearer, or may rather impress, offend or challenge him 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 (asshole, pansy, unfuckingtouchable). Sociological......................................................................................... criteria are however more fluctuating and Bibliography 25 controversial than linguistic ones. For instance, it is indisputable that the slang word and yobbo is obtained from a cumulation of two 2. Migration Policies Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 extra-grammatical mechanisms – i.e. back-slang plus familiar suffix Fabio Baggio -o – and it is equally unquestionable that hit is a complex English 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 word due to its polysemy and, hence, to the large quantity of 2.2 Migration Policies infor ESEA............................................................ 34 information necessary its semantic description. On the other hand, it is questionable whether yobbo is a colourful or an offensive 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 word, and whether hit is simply a faddish expression, or it is rather ......................................................................................... 47 anBibliography opaque word used to exclude outsiders. English native speakers are naturally facilitated in the 3. Immigration in the of 21stsuch Century. sociological reading slang expressions. But they often turn The Need for an Ethical The Canadian ..... 51 out to be unhelpful, sinceApproach. their opinions about theExperience slang functions/ Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg effects are at times conflicting, and their use/perception of slang words is dissimilar, though they all seem to agree that most slang51 is 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. inappropriate for use in ‘polite company’. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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Let us first consider each of the selected criteria and then discuss Table of Contents experimental data drawn from questionnaires submitted to native informants.
5.2. Speaker-oriented properties By choosing the right words you show which group you belong to. (Andersson & Trudgill 1990: 79)
Many slang expressions are in fact deliberately used by speakers to show their affiliation to aand group. Choosing the ‘right words’ therefore Opening Considerations Executive Summary .............................. 11 implies using the specific vocabulary of the group affiliates, first, to Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini maintain a bond and solidarity with them, and, second, not to conform to people who do not belong there. 1. Ethics and Human Rights purposeMigration is not always that .................................... of keeping information inThe the speaker’s South American Processes 15 secret, Mariothough, Santillo since most users of slang wish to be understood and want other people to recognize, through it, their age, origin, lifestyle, 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 and their manifest need to escape common neutral vocabulary. LetInternational us see inInstrument greater detail how slang can be indexical 21 of 1.2 for Migrants’ Defence ............................. speakers’ characters, attitudes and intentions. 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 5.2.1. Group- and subject-restriction
Group- and subject-restriction go hand in hand, since speakers who adhere to a specific group certainly share the other members’ Fabio Baggio interests, concerns, values, pastimes and habits, which presuppose 2.1 International Migration Eastrelated Asia and South Asia.............. 27 similar conversational topicsinand areas forEast discussion. ForMigration instance,Policies the preferential topics of young men are sexuality 2.2 in ESEA............................................................ 34 and attraction for the opposite sex, as in this exchange drawn from 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 Grease (1978):
2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
62. Kenickie: How was the action at the beach?
st Century. 3. Immigration the 21 Danny: in It was flipping. The Need forYeah, an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Sonny: crazy, huh? Christine Baghdady, Richard Danny: I did meet thisVanderberg one chick, she was sort of cool.
Sonny: You mean she puts out? 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 Danny: Come on, Sonny, is that all you ever think about?
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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This extract shows that the interactants – three high school students Table of Contents at the Rydell High – are close friends, who are familiar with the respective summer holiday programmes and curious about their realization. They share not only such general characteristics as age and gender, but also socio-cultural traits, such as education and belonging to the same gang, the ‘T-birds’. Hence, they use slang or, as I prefer to call it, “slanguage” (Mattiello 2005), as a marker of social identity and group exclusiveness, and as a means of expressing the values and experiences of their peer group members. In (62) in-group distictiveness and cohesion are proclaimed by derogatory taboo wordsand (e.g. flipping ‘a substitute for a strong Opening Considerations Executive Summary .............................. 11 expletive’, put out ‘offer oneself for sexual intercourse’), as well as Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini by creative meaning associations (e.g. chick ‘girl’, cool ‘excellent’), which express the boys’ need for differentiation from adult society 1. Ethics and Human Rights and vocabulary. They indeed develop their.................................... own terminology 15 to in the South American Migration Processes show offSantillo and gain status within society. Mario Other intriguing topics which are normally favoured in young 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 men’s conversations are drinking and drugs, as the following extracts from show:Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 1.2 COLT International 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23
63. Aaron: Oh look wicked, wicked, wicked I’ve got a wicked Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 campaign, do a dope campaign yeah, and like the logo is dope may d= dope may be dear but you pay through the 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 nose for coke. Fabio Baggio Dan: ... Where did you nick that from? 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27
64. Jay: But you’re too young to go for girls. We’re drinking 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 beer, [getting pissed] Wayne: [No I’m 2.3 Ethics and Migrationnot.] Management................................................. 43 Jay: out of our nut. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
65. Chris: You just said you wanted to get wasted. Julian: Iindon’t wanna get wasted, I wanna get, [merry.] st Century. 3. Immigration the 21
The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Richard Vanderberg In Christine young Baghdady, men’s terminology, ‘drug’ is called dope, ‘cocaine’ becomes coke, and ‘completely drunk’ is expressed through such 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 metaphorical expressions as pissed and wasted. Other expressions 3.2 Urbanization, Migration and Governance 53 dominating their International slanguage are nick (‘steal’), out of................. one’s nut
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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(‘insane’) and wicked (‘excellent’), which in some way confirm Table of Contents their intimacy with the other group members and their need for a common creative vocabulary. 5.2.2. Secrecy and privacy Secrecy and privacy are especially peculiar to criminals and drug dealers, who tend to use secret slang words in their clandestine traffic. Yet private slang words are also used by (young) drug addicts, who exploit them to minimize the potential intrusion of non-users, esp. to hide confidential information from public or parental authority. Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 Fabio Baggio,examples Laura Zanfrini Illustrative of covert slang expressions are offered in the dialogues below, (66)-(68) taken from Trainspotting (1996) and 1. Ethics and Human RightsDarkly (2006): (69)-(72) from A Scanner in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 Mario Santillo
66. Sick Boy: There’s a mate of Swanney’s. Mikey Forrester – 1.1 Migrants’ Rights 17 you know the ............................................................................. guy. He’s come into some gear. A lot of gear. Renton: How much? 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 Sick Boy: About four kilos. 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23
67. Renton: So we’ve just come from Tommy’s funeral and Bibliography 25 you’re ......................................................................................... telling me about a skag deal? Begbie: Yeah. 2. Migration Policies East and South East Asia............ 27 Renton: Whatand wasEthics your in price? FabioSick Baggio Boy: Four Grand. 2.1 International in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 68. Diane: AreMigration you clean? Renton:Policies Yes. in ESEA............................................................ 34 2.2 Migration Diane: Is that a promise, then? 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 Renton: Yes, as a matter of fact, it is. Diane: ......................................................................................... Calm down, I’m just asking. Is that hash I can smell? Bibliography 47
69. Jim: Donna does coke, all right?
3. Immigration in the 21st Century. Charles: Three dollars doesn’t get you a line of coke. The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51
70. Charles: I heard you have to cold turkey. Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg Jim: Cold turkey doesn’t even apply to Substance D. 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 Unlike the legacy of inherited predisposition to addictive 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance 53 behaviour of substances this needs no genetic................. assistance. 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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no weekend warriors on the D. You’re either on it TableThere’s of Contents or you haven’t tried it. 71. Donna: Hey, do you have that money for the stuff? I need it tonight. Bob: Yeah. I have it. 72. Bob: How much do you do? Donna: Not that much. And I don’t shoot up. I never have and I never will, I – Once you start shooting, you got like six months, maybe. And even tap water. You get a habit. Bob: You have a habit.
Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
Marginal or isolated subgroups in society – esp. drug dealers/takers – use specific slang terms 1. Ethics and Human Rightsto name ‘drug’ (gear, stuff, (Substance) D inDeath) or types of drugs ((line of) coke ‘(dose of) cocaine’, hash the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 Mario Santillo ‘hashish’, skag ‘heroin’), and also rename the actions connected with drugs (be on it, do, do coke), e.g. ‘injecting oneself with them’ 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 (shoot up), ‘the practice of taking addictive drugs’ (habit), and the 1.2 of International Instrument for‘the Migrants’ 21 state being ‘free from’, or givingDefence up of’............................. them (clean, cold turkey). In this they intend to create a new restricted language 1.3 Some Finalway, Reflections................................................................... 23 code which assumes a high degree of shared contextual experience Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 between speaker and listener, but at the same time preserves secret talks from being decoded by outsiders. 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 Fabio Baggio 5.2.3. Informality and debasement
2.1 International Migration in East and evident South East 27 Informality and debasement are Asia chiefly inAsia.............. general slang words, which are deliberately used by speakers to break with the 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 neutral standard language and to reduce the level of discourse to 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 familiar or low speech. They signal the speakers’ intention to refuse conventions and their need to be informal, to ease social exchanges Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 and induce friendliness. 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. Consider, for instance, the welcome salutations between old The Need for taken an Ethical The Canadian ..... 51 friends in (73), fromApproach. There’s Something aboutExperience Mary (1998): Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
3.1 World Population Increase 73. Sully: Healy, you dog. ............................................................. 51 Healy: Sully. Look at you. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 Sully: You hot shit. You look fucking pisser. 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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The speakers adopt an informal debased vocabulary to express their Table of Contents closeness and equality. In particular, Sully uses the polysemous slang words dog and shit as familiar epithets, and then adds that his friend looks fucking pisser, that is, ‘particularly fine or impressive’. A similar informality is shown in the conversations below, (74) taken from The Full Monty (1997) and (75)-(76) from Notting Hill (1999): 74. Horse: Hey, you get some fit birds in there. Lomper: Nah, her tits are too big. Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11
75. Spike: There’s something wrong with the goggles, though. Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini William: No, they were, um… prescription. Spike: Groovy. 1. Ethics and Human Rights
76. in theMax: SouthWine? American Migration Processes .................................... 15 MarioTessa: SantilloOh, yes, please. Come on, Willie, let’s get sloshed. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17
Here slang terminology ranges from debased (tits ‘breasts’) to 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 familiar (groovy ‘excellent’), to intimate friendly language (birds 1.3 Some Final ‘drunk’). Reflections................................................................... ‘girls’, sloshed It is the vocabulary which people use 23 in common relaxed conversations, in such contexts as home, pub or Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 general free time, in which an educated formal register would be situationally inappropriate and inunconventional is instead 2. Migration Policies and Ethics East and Southlanguage East Asia............ 27 privileged. Fabio Baggio 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 5.2.4. Vulgarity and obscenity 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 Andrew: Are you allowed to swear? Josie: Yes,and that’s the whole point. Give me some of your slang. 43 2.3 Ethics Migration Management................................................. (COLT 132902: 19-20) Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
Vulgarity and obscenity spread through the language of adolescents,
st Century. 3. Immigration in the 21 known and referred to as “pubilect” (see Taylor 1998 and the The Need for an Adolescents Ethical Approach. Experience ..... 51 literature therein). in factThe use Canadian dirty, swear or taboo words Christinetheir Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg to exhibit strength, power and virility (in the case of boys), or, in general, to boast with their peers, and to show that, when parents 51 or 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. teachers are not there, they are free to go to excesses in their 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 language.
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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COLT dialogues are the widest collection of improper and Table of Contents unmentionable slang words. When adolescents are asked to provide their favourite swear word, they provide a list of options selected from their repertoire: 77. Josie: Like you, Shell, what’s your favourite swear word. Saira: Do we want to [read then?] Shelley: [bastard] Josie: I like cunt. I like the way it comes out. Cunt! And up your bum! ... And cock off! And bloody, bastard, Openingbuggery, Considerations Summary 11 bum and and Executive balls and holes. .............................. Oh! That Fabiostupid Baggio,girl. Laura UpZanfrini your bum! 78. Josie: We come to an agreement and that’s our biggest
1. Ethics and Human Rights I’veMigration got everyone’s, Mohammed! What’s in theword, South fuck. American Processesoi,.................................... 15
favourite swear word? ... Marioyour Santillo ?: Bollocks! […]
1.1 Migrants’ Rights like, ............................................................................. 17 Josie: Mine’s cunt and things like that.
Peter: thisfor or Migrants’ not? 1.2 International Instrument Defence ............................. 21 Alice: Usually shit and fuck, I think are my vocabulary.
1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 Josie: Yeah, or oh shit, you cunt!
Alice: Or shite is also another one. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
Josie: Yeah, or, or, or, budging hell cos your mum’s in front of you. 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 Fabio Baggio
Predictably, most Migration of the impolite words andEast expressions above 2.1 International in Eastslang Asia and South Asia.............. 27 have sexual connotations (balls and holes, bollocks, (up your) bum, 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 cock off, cunt, fuck). Others have scatological connotations (shit, 2.3 Ethics and Migration shite), and still others areManagement................................................. coarse terms of abuse used to insult 43 or express irritation or anger (bastard, bloody, budging hell, buggery).47 Bibliography ......................................................................................... COLT adolescents often turn out to be obscene when they make useImmigration of such words to refer to various types of sexual intercourses: 3. in the 21st Century. The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Christine Baghdady, Richard 79. Andrew: Thelma andVanderberg Louise. That was a good bit when he fucked her up the arse. 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 Josie: Like when he goes, [suck my cock!]
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53
80. Leanne: […] your Mum sucks a black knob.
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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A black knob? TableCraig: of Contents Leanne: Yeah. Craig: Your Mum sucks Chinky knobs. Your Mum’s got a fanny with a split the wrong way. ... You know [your Mu=] Leanne: [Yours sucks] her own boobs. These recordings show the speakers’ naivety, their call for slang “four-letter words” (arse, boob(s), cock, fuck, knob, suck) (Apte 1998: 987) to appear older than they are, or, for girls, to appear as wordly-wise as the boys are supposed to be. Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini 5.2.5. Time-restriction, ephemerality and localism
Time-restriction, ephemerality and localism are properties which
1. Ethics and Human Rights deal with the collocation of slang expressions in time or space. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15
Some slang words are indeed typical of a certain time period, which Mario Santillo may be associated with the speaker’s age. Others disappear as 1.1 Migrants’ 17 quickly as theyRights have............................................................................. been created, but they show the speakers’ effort to be novel in his speech. Still others are typical of a region, 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 normally connected to the speaker’s origin. 1.3 Reflections................................................................... AsSome for Final time-restriction, some slang words are typical of 23a generation or age group. Hence, when a person grows older and no Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 longer belongs to this age group, (s)he generally stops using them. Consider Policies Mr. De and Leon’s words in this fromAsia............ Frankie and 2. Migration Ethics in East andexcerpt South East 27 Johnny (1991): Fabio Baggio 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27
81. Mr. De Leon: … In my time, I said… tooties, dolls, gals, 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 chicks, babes… sometimes even broads. That’s when I was 2.3 Ethics and Migration a young man… Management................................................. 43 Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
As for ephemerality, some words have been slang for a very long st Century. 3. Immigration the 21 period of time.in For instance, the word quid, which was firstly The Need for anwith Ethical Canadian Experience 51 attested in 1688 the Approach. sense of ‘aThe guinea’, continues to be..... used Christine Richardthough Vanderberg now, as in Baghdady, COLT below, in the slightly different sense of ‘one 3.1pound World sterling’: Population Increase ............................................................. 51 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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82. Matt: How much do you get an hour? Table of Contents Claire: Three quid. How much [do you get?] Craig: [Ah no!] He’s been working his time man. Ah! That’s out of order. Ah nah! Ah ha ah! Jo: Three pound [is right.] Conversely, other slang words are ephemeral, and they are not recorded in dictionaries, though their slangy flavour is evident. Observe, for instance, the following insulting occasionalisms ending in -head: Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
83. Selum: What you doing? Peanut head. Elee: Shut up. 1. Ethics and Human Rights Peanut head. Bean Processes head. .................................... 15 in theSelum: South American Migration Elee: No. Mario Santillo Selum: [Boil head.] 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17
forisMigrants’ Defence 21 As1.2forInternational localism, Instrument some slang associated with............................. a specific region. The which follow, respectively from Grease (1978) 1.3conversations Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 and Footloose (1984), show examples of regional slang: Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
Boy: Policies What are Scorpions doing here? ain’t their 2. 84. Migration andthe Ethics in East and South EastThis Asia............ 27 Fabioturf. Baggio
Danny: Think they wanna rumble? Well, if they do, we’re
2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 gonna be ready for it.
2.2 Migration in ESEA............................................................ 34 85. Willard:Policies Oh, shit, really? Ren:and No.Migration Yeah, but we did dance. We danced our asses off! 2.3 Ethics Management................................................. 43 Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
The noun turf, denoting the streets controlled by a juvenile streetst Century. gang and regarded by21them as ‘their territory’, and the verb rumble 3. Immigration in the (‘have a gang fight’) areApproach. AmericanThe English slang, and so is The Need for an Ethical Canadian Experience .....the 51 expression to danceRichard one’sVanderberg ass off (‘dance a lot’), which we Christine Baghdady, distinguish from British slang to dance one’s arse off. 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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Another example of local slang is provided by Cockney rhyming Table of Contents slang, which occurs in its elliptic form in the example below, drawn from The Limey (1999): 86. Wilson: Eddy… yeah, he’s me new china. Elaine: What? Wilson: China plate… mate.
5.3. Hearer-oriented properties Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11
Slang words may be distinguished from the standard language Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini vocabulary because they normally produce some effect upon the hearer which the neutral comparable forms would not generate. 1. Ethics and Human Rights The effects of slang words range from positive to negative and in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 depend to a large extent on the interactants and the context of use. Mario Santillo They may vary in accordance with the participants’ relationship and 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 their mutual knowledge, or with the situation and the prosody intervening in theInstrument word pronunciation. these............................. factors guide the 1.2 International for Migrants’ All Defence 21 hearer’s interpretation of the slang words and his feeling about them. 1.3 Some Finalwords Reflections................................................................... Some slang can, for instance, cause the hearer’s laughter 23 or amuse him. Others may convey liveliness and vivacity by way 25 of Bibliography ......................................................................................... novel forms, or impress the hearer via creative meaning associations, 2. Policies and Ethics East and South EastBut Asia............ 27 or Migration else attract his attention via incaptivating sounds. others may Fabio Baggio shock the hearer, especially when they sound impudent or rude, and they make him feel authorised toand adopt theEast same language 27 to 2.1 may International Migration in East Asia South Asia.............. accept the speaker’s challenge. 2.2 Migration Policies 34 The different, evenin ESEA............................................................ divergent, effects that slang words can produce motivate the proliferation of slang co-referents, none of 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 which are actually redundant, but are rather necessary to arouse Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 some specific reaction on the hearer’s part. st Century. 3. Immigration in the 21humour 5.3.1. Playfulness and The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51
Playfulness and humour areVanderberg typical features of metaphorical slang Christine Baghdady, Richard words. Generally, people find a slang word amusing when the 3.1 World Population Increasesounds ............................................................. 51 association with its referent unfamiliar, odd, and therefore out3.2 ofUrbanization, the ordinary.International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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For instance, the metaphor snake referring to ‘the male sexual Table of Contents organ’ sounds rather comical in this extract from Meet the Parents (2000): 87. Greg: I forgot. I’m not supposed to let the snake out of my cage. Pam: You what? Greg: I told your dad I wouldn’t touch you for seventy-two hours. Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11
Similarly, the metaphorical expression a bun in the oven for ‘a child Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini conceived’ would be funny to the reader of this secret dialogue drawn from Grease (1978):
1. Ethics and Human Rights in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 MarioSonny: SantilloHey Marty, what’s up? 88. Marty: Rizzo’s pregnant, don’t tell anybody. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 Sonny: Rizzo got a bun in the oven.
1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21
1.3 humour Some Finaland Reflections................................................................... 23 The playfulness of such expressions are mainly obtained by means of a subtle play of metaphorical extensions, Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 which presupposes the hearer’s knowledge of the circumstances to identify the actual meanings implied. 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 People also find a slang word funny when it is used across Fabio Baggio generation boundaries: e.g., by a speaker who is younger or older 2.1expected. International Migration East Asia and South 27 than Consider theinword fox used by a East childAsia.............. in (89) (from Footloose 1984), and chick used by an adult in (90) (from Notting 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 Hill 1999): 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 89. Wes: Ethel, you sure you’re not too tired? Ethel: No, Ren did most of the driving. 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. Amy: If you ask me, Ren is a total fox. The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Lulu: Amy! Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg Wes: Where did you hear that? 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51
90. William: Um, I wouldn’t go outside. 3.2 Urbanization, Migration and Governance ................. 53 Spike: WhyInternational not? 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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William: Just take a word for it. TableSpike: of Contents Oh. How did I look? Not bad. Not at all bad. Wellchosen briefs, I’d say. Chicks love grey. Nice firm buttocks. In both cases, the terms used sound anomalous or bizarre, as they give the impression of being an emulation of teenage language. Hence, their comical effect upon the hearer. Furthermore, a slang word may sound humorous when it is felt as outdated. Consequently, people who continue using it may appear ridiculous. An example is the old-fashioned word ninny (‘a Opening Considerations and Executive Summary 11 simpleton; a fool’) contextualized in this extract.............................. from Mickey Blue Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini Eyes (1999): 1. Ethics and Human Rights 91. I’m sorry, Phillip. Processes Uncle Vito! in theMichael: South American Migration .................................... 15
Oh, Michael, I’m a ninny! I quite forgot to tell you MarioBoss: Santillo the good news.
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17
5.3.2. Freshness and noveltyfor Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 1.2 International Instrument Freshness are distinctive features of slanguage, since 1.3 Someand Finalnovelty Reflections................................................................... 23 teenagers, and young people in general, tend to be up-to-date and Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 innovative in their speech. Consider some original expressions – all from COLT – used by 2. Migration Policies in East and South East Asia............ 27 London teenagers to and referEthics to ‘crazy (people)’: Fabio Baggio
2.1 International Migration East bloody Asia andpotty, Southoff East Asia.............. 27 92. Robert: He’s bloodyinmad, his rocker. (into microphone) 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 Amanda: Where did you get it? 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43
93. Kath: She’s allergic to alcohol, she ge = she gets really Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 pissed on like one, two glasses of wine. Lizzie: Yeah but allergic means you come up in something. 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. Kath: No I mean, basically it means that, it gets to her head The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 really quickly, like one, two glasses of wine, and she’s off Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg her trolley. 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51
94. Orgady: 3.2 Urbanization, International andwith Governance ................. 53 Charlotte: You could goMigration a bit nutty it. Obina: What are you two arguing for? 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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95. Sabrina: Oh he’s such a nutter isn’t he. Table of Contents Caroline: Oh right. Sabrina: God he’s such a nutcase. 96. Charitra: yeah, he’s gonna go bonkers. Sarah: Teenagers’ efforts to invent new words and to modify the form or meaning of existing ones are evident from the above slang nouns (nutcase, nutter), and adjectives/phrases (bonkers, nutty, off her trolley, off his rocker). The young are indeed creative and continually Opening and Executive Summary .............................. 11 in searchConsiderations of novel expressions which show that they are fashionable. Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini They change their way of speaking as quickly as they change their clothing, hairstyle or make-up, in line with the trends of modern 1. Ethics and Human Rights society (cf. Milroy 1998). in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 Slanguage originality and inventiveness are confirmed by Josie’s Mario Santillo lesson (again from COLT) on the sense of some words of her own 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 creation: 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21
97. Josie: Hi Sam! ... I was taping, Sam. ... <speaking quietly 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 just for the tape> battyman means you’re gay. And Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 Lezzypal means you’re a lesbian. Okay? (break in tape)
2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 Fabio Baggio
But often modern slanguage runs the risk of appearing obscure to International Migration in East Asia South East 27 the2.1hearer who, though perceiving theand freshness of Asia.............. a slang word, may be ablePolicies to catch meaning, as in (98) below: 2.2not Migration in its ESEA............................................................ 34 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43
98. Peter: any fags? Got any fags? Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 Liam: Pardon? ...
3. Immigration in the 21st Century. The word fag being here used in the place of standard English The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51
‘cigarette’. Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
3.1 World Increase ............................................................. 51 5.3.3. DesirePopulation to impress and faddishness 3.2 Urbanization, Migrationdesire and Governance 53 Some slang wordsInternational show the speaker’s to impress................. the hearer, and they actually do, because of their faddishness. The extravagance 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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of the numerous expressions coined for ‘homosexual male or female’ Table of Contents can illustrate this aspect of slang. We can draw from COLT useful exemplifications: 99. Danny: He’s a bender. Matthew: Hong Kong and he’s gay bent bastard. 100. Leanne: Your Dad, is a fucking lesy. Craig: How can my Dad be a lesy? Your Mum’s a lesy. And your Dad’s gay, so shut up! That’s the end. 101. Josh: Jonathan’s and a dancing queen. Opening Considerations Executive Summary .............................. 11 FabioJonathan: Baggio, Laura Zanfrini Yeah, you dickhead. Rob: Jonathan’s a queen, period.
1.102. EthicsKath: and Human Rights Queer bastard. in theClaire: South American Migration Who’s a que= me? Processes .................................... 15 Mario Santillo
Kath: Mm.
Claire: I’m not............................................................................. queer! 1.1 Migrants’ Rights 17 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21
Bent, lesy, queen, queer (n and adj) and many other unconventional 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 slang words can strike the hearer, because of their eccentric Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 character and/or figurative sense. Another teenage slang word which may shock the hearer is cow. 2. Policies Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 A Migration small sample fromand COLT conversations is enough to understand its Fabio use inBaggio context: 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27
103. Josie: [Yeah, yeah] like your mum goes, you stupid 2.2 Migration Policiesyeah, in ESEA............................................................ 34 cow! 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43
104. Josie: … what you laughing at you flat chested cow? I was Bibliography ......................................................................................... laughing and you were getting the hump with it ... cos47I knew I had it all on tape. 3. Immigration the 21stcall Century. Wesley:inI didn’t you a flat chested cow. The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51
105. Owain: You’re a fucking flaming cow. Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg Leon: You’re so bad beat him up.
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51
106. Sabrina: Good. Ain’t that a big cow. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 Caroline: 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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Bloody right cow! And you know yesterday she TableSabrina: of Contents had the nerve, to ask me if she could sit, at the end of our table. As these extracts show, cow is not properly an offensive slang word, but it is rather used in jest (as in 103, 104), or to impress the hearer (as in 105, 106). What is faddish about this word is that it collocates with unpleasant or intensifying adjectives (big, bloody right, flaming, flat chested, fucking stupid) and, in spite of this, it is not necessarily an insulting bad word. Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 Fabio Baggio,and Laura Zanfrini 5.3.4. Colour musicality
Slang words often play with sounds or may display an onomatopoeic
1. Ethics and Human Rights colour. Musicality may be obtained by way of reduplicative formations in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15
or Mario rhyming phrases. Santillo In the following conversation taken from Grease (1978), Marty 1.1aMigrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 uses copy reduplicative to express her disappointment: 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21
107. Marty: Oh, double doo doo. 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 Betty: Please. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 Jan: What was that? Marty: One of my diamonds just fell in the macaroni!
2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 Fabio Baggio
and the musicality of doo-doo (‘faeces’) is further reinforced by the 2.1 International Migration alliterative adjective double.in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 Other instances of in exact reduplication are in the extracts from 2.2 Migration Policies ESEA............................................................ 34 COLT reported below: 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 108. Samantha: a boo boo, got my voice, too big. Dawn: You’re telling me. st
3. Immigration in the 21 Century. 109. Joanne: <whine> <mimicking> booExperience boo. Oh. ..... Oh51I The Need for an Ethical Approach. The pinky Canadian
mean, Lynn, you always… Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
Lynn: cow’s poo poo.
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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in which the words boo-boo (‘a foolish mistake or blunder’) and Table of Contents poo-poo (‘faeces’) exhibit only an internal echo. Rhyme is another common source of musicality, as the excerpts below, respectively from Grease (1978), When Harry Met Sally (1989) and Notting Hill (1999), illustrate: 110. Betty: Okay. So you guys think this is a gang-bang? Doody: You wish! 111. Harry: […] A ‘Sheldon’ can do you income taxes. If you need a root canal, Sheldon is your man. But humping and Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 pumping is not Sheldon’s strong suit. It’s the name. […] Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
112. William: Oh. Well, great. Fantastic. That’s er… Oh… brickitty. 1. Ethicsshittity and Human Rights It’s my sister’s birthday. Shit. We’re be having dinner. Processes .................................... 15 in themeant South to American Migration MarioAnna: Santillo Okay, that’s fine. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17
The compound gang-bang (‘a sexual orgy’), the phrase humping 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 and pumping, from two vulgar verbs (hump, pump) meaning 1.3 Some Final intercourse’, Reflections................................................................... 23 ‘having sexual and the interjection shittity brickitty, from shit a brick (‘expressing surprise or amazement’), make the Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 hearer aware of slang echoic character, which mostly emerges when theMigration speaker modulates mitigating) the force of his 2. Policies and(aggravating Ethics in Eastorand South East Asia............ 27 speech act. Fabio Baggio An additional source of musicality is onomatopoeia. Consider International Migration East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 the2.1dialogue below, drawnin from There’s Something about Mary (1998): 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43
113. Detective Stabler: First tell us why you did it. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 Ted: Why I did it? Um, I don’t know. Boredom? The guy turns out to be a blabbermouth. Just would not shut up. I 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. mean with the, just… The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
Blabbermouth used here is a colourful expression indicating ‘one 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 who blabs; a tell-tale’, thus evoking the sound one produces when 3.2 Urbanization, International and Governance ................. 53 ‘blabbing’ via the /b/ consonantMigration reiteration. 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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The consonant cluster /m/ rather denotes someone or something Table of Contents unpleasant, as in (114) below:
114. Josie: Karen! What are you going to be when you gro= Karen! Oi! You ugly schmuck! Indeed, schmuck (‘idiot’) belongs to a set of slang words of Yiddish origin which normally have bad connotations (e.g. schmeck ‘heroin’, schmooze ‘a chat or gossip’, schmutz ‘filth, dirt’, etc.). Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11
5.3.5. Impertinence, and aggressiveness Fabio Baggio, Laura offensiveness Zanfrini
The impertinence and aggressiveness of some slang words have
1. Ethics and Human offensiveness as anRights inevitable consequence. Insolent terms of in the South American Migration .................................... 15 address, or strong, even cruel slang Processes expressions may be used to insult Mario Santillo other people, in impolite conversations, or to show one’s disapproval and condemnation of the hearer’s behaviour, way of life, etc. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 People sometimes address their friends using impudent 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 expressions. Below is a series of contextualized examples, some (115, 116) drawn from The Full Monty (1997), and the others from 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 COLT:
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
Dave:Policies I try dieting. I doin try. I’veEast spent most of my 2.115. Migration and Ethics EastSeems and South Asia............ 27 Fabiofuckin’ Baggio life on a diet. The less I eat, the fatter I get.
Lomper: So stuff yourself and get thin. Guy: Oh, shut up, saggy tits!
2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34
116. Gaz: Dave. Oi, you deaf twat! 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 Dave: Oh, what d’you want now? I’ve told you, I’m finished with it. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 117. Ian: You lard arse. He’s got ...
3. Immigration in the 21st Grace: ... Century. The Need for ananEthical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Ian: He’s old cunt. Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderbergas you boy. Grace: So
3.1 World Population ............................................................. 51 118. Vicki: Fuck youIncrease arsehole! Jay: ... No fuck you arsehole! 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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119. Terry: <mimicking cry> I d=, oh no. <whistle> See how Table of Contents much money you got. <shouting> You fool! You dumb arse! Mother: Terry: <shouting> I don’t care! Bloody prick ! <sigh> These brief excerpts show that most slang uncouth expressions collocate with vulgar taboo words related to male or female genitals (arse, arsehole, cunt, prick, tits, twat). OtherConsiderations aggressive nasty wordsSummary are rather related to female Opening andslang Executive .............................. 11 promiscuity. Below are some instances from COLT: Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini 1.120. EthicsShelley: and Human Shut Rights up you old tart! in theJosie: SouthOoh American Migrationplease! Processes .................................... 15 ooh! Language Mario Santillo
121. Jay: Your Mum’s a slut. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 Craig: Ah! Your Mum’s a slut. 1.2 International for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 122. Anthony: Instrument <mimicking> Now to=, for some fucking dirty swear! Woooooh! You fucking bitch! You Irish bastard! 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 Aden and Mandy have it in bed! Wo oh! Bed squeaking! Ah Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 ha, ah ha, ah ha, ah ah! Fucking slag! Dirty whore! 2. Migration Policies and in East and South East Asia............ 27 Still others are related to Ethics the animal kingdom: Fabio Baggio
2.1 International Migration in...East Asia and South Asia.............. 123. Shelley: [] <screaming> YouEast rotten bastard! 27 Josie: <shouting> You ... Shelley ... are a sick fat bitch! 34 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................
124. Leon: I really hate anybody who’s being horrible to other 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 people, it makes me feel bad. Bibliography 47 Casey: ......................................................................................... Oh, stuff it pig head. st Century. 3. Immigration the 21the Notice, finally,inhow slang word dog varies across different The Need for an and Ethical Approach. Canadian Experience .....(cf. 51 regional varieties turns out to beThe offensive in British slang Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg Amer. slang in 73 above):
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51
125. Samantha: You’re dirtyMigration dog. 3.2 Urbanization, International and Governance ................. 53 Romax: You’re dirty dog. [Get lost.] 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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5.4. The of opinion of native speakers Table Contents The opinion of native speakers of English2 has been crucial to confirm our expectations about the sociological factors characterizing slang. Results from experiments conducted on native informants aged between 17 and 54, though not relevant statistically, have for the most part confirmed that the functions/effects of English slang amount to the speaker-/hearer-oriented criteria just examined. For instance, in the questionnaires they filled in, natives offered the following comments about the words/expressions highlighted in (52)(61): Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 FabioCook Baggio, up,Laura hit Zanfrini
The verbandcook up Rights and the noun hit turned out to be hardly 1. Ethics Human comprehensible for most English speakers. none would use in the South American Migration Processes Hence, .................................... 15
them, and the majority declared that they consider them faddish Mario Santillo private words essentially used to communicate efficiently among 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 insiders, and, simultaneously, to exclude outsiders. The informantsInstrument who understood the sense of............................. cook up provided 1.2 International for Migrants’ Defence 21 such definitions as ‘prepare a dose/shot of heroin’ or ‘heat heroin’, 1.3 Some itFinal 23 describing as aReflections................................................................... novel word. They did not always succeed in disambiguating the sense of hit Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 either. They attempted such descriptions as ‘a heroin dose’, ‘a shot 2. andaEthics East and South Asia............ 27 of Migration heroin’, Policies or, with few inuncertainties, ‘aEast dose of drugs’. Fabio Baggioa woman from Leicester described hit through another Interestingly, slang term – i.e. fix – whichinwas to her. 27 2.1 International Migration Eastprobably Asia and more Southfamiliar East Asia.............. By contrast, an erroneous description of hit was ‘the effect of 2.2 Migration ESEA............................................................ 34 heroin’, which Policies howeverinconfirmed that this word can be associated with a drug dose via the negative effects a drug can produce on its 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 addict (see Effect Pattern in § 4.2.2.5.4). Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
Cop, tip
st Century.by all informants, who provided 3. Immigration the 21 The noun cop inwas understood The Need such for anasEthical Approach. Canadian Experience ..... 51 definitions ‘a policeman’ orThe ‘a police officer’. A 17-year-
Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg oldChristine girl from Liverpool defined it an American English word, but
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51
2 The informants were all speakers from the U.K., but their regional origins were
3.2 Urbanization, and Governance 53 various, viz. from SouthInternational East (London)Migration to East Midlands (Leicester),................. from Northern England (Liverpool, Manchester) 3.3 International Migration to inScotland Canada:(Edinburgh). An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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most of the informants affirmed that they would use it in informal Table of Contents or familiar British English as well. On the other hand, the verb tip was heterogeneously defined as ‘give some money’, ‘help’, ‘warn; give advice’, ‘tell; give information’, but this latter is the most appropriate slang interpretation, as illustrated in (53). Squiffy The adjective squiffy was not clear to many informants, who consequently would not use it in their everyday speech. Some speakers interpreted the word sense as ‘dizzy’ or ‘feel sick’, and Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 only a few provided the more precise definition ‘feel tipsy’ or Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini ‘drunk’. The adjective was generally described as humorous and playful 1. Ethics and Human Rights at inthe chiefly because it was.................................... regarded as an oldthesame South time, American Migration Processes 15 fashioned colourful expression. Mario Santillo Snake Rights ............................................................................. 17 1.1 Migrants’ The euphemism snake for ‘penis’ was familiar to nearly all 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 informants, who however stated that they would not use this word. 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 They generally agreed about the word playfulness and humorous effect. Some (chiefly young or middle-aged women) also added Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 comments on the word’s vulgarity/obscenity. 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 Unfuckingtouchable Fabio Baggio
The novel adjective unfuckingtouchable (an occasionalism from 2.1 International in East by Asiathe andinformants. South East Asia.............. 27 COLT) had neverMigration heard before Hence, some were able toPolicies recoverin the word meaning from the context. Others 2.2 not Migration ESEA............................................................ 34 asserted that they would not use this word, but tried to find out its 2.3 Ethics and‘refusing Migrationcontact Management................................................. 43 meaning (e.g. with others’, ‘aloof’, ‘stand offish’). As regards ......................................................................................... the word’s functions/effects, interpretations ranged Bibliography 47 from vulgarity and obscenity to playfulness and faddishness.
3. Immigration in the 21st Century. Pansy, asshole The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51
The noun pansy was Richard not recognizable Christine Baghdady, Vanderbergto young informants, whereas middle-aged speakers provided the correct definition (i.e. 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 ‘homosexual man’, ‘effeminate man’, ‘effeminate gay man’, ‘gay’), though some of them specifiedMigration that the word is felt as out-dated. 3.2 Urbanization, International and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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On the other hand, the noun asshole was clear to everyone. Most Table of Contents speakers gave the definition ‘idiot’ or ‘stupid person’, though some others tried to be more precise (‘a person with an exaggerated idea of his own importance’). Both words were viewed as offensive and aggressive espressions which are now part of derogatory vocabulary, but asshole was additionally felt as a vulgar/obscene swear word of American use. Chick, nuts There is discrepancy between the perceptions of the various informants, who rated as out-dated words like chick and nuts. Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 The noun chick for ‘girl, woman’ was known by the informants Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini but not used by them for different reasons. Some claimed it is a playful/humorous faddish word, but colourful and offensive to the 1. Ethics and Human Rights addressee. Others claimed it is American English, and therefore not in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 used in Britain. Still other people claimed that chick is late Mario Santillo 1960s/70s slang, so, when it is used by adult people who were 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 young in that period, it produces comical effects. The adjective Instrument nuts was similarly viewed as a............................. humorous/playful 1.2 International for Migrants’ Defence 21 but offensive term for ‘crazy’ or ‘mad’, which has now become 1.3 Some Reflections................................................................... 23 dated slangFinal or has entered into informal language. Bibliography Yobbo ......................................................................................... 25
The noun yobbo seemed familiar to most English speakers. 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and British South East Asia............ 27 With a few exceptions – e.g. some did not provide any definition Fabio Baggio for the word and one interpreted it as ‘homeless alcoholic’ – 2.1 International Migration Asia and South East Asia.............. speakers considered yobbo ina East colourful efficient word for ‘thug’ 27 or ‘brainless aggressive person’, an informal British English term for 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 ‘aggressive man’ or ‘uncouth person’, and some would even use it 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 in such senses. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47
Pished, bird, ride
The adjective in pished pissed, some informants remark – 3. Immigration the 21–st from Century. would be used as Ethical a playful/humorous term for ‘drunk’, or avoided The Need for an Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 as Christine a result of its colourful character. Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg Also the noun bird for ‘girlfriend’, ‘girl’ or ‘woman’ was 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 considered colourful, and by some people offensive. Others felt it is 3.2informal Urbanization, International now British English. Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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The verb ride was described as a private word for ‘carried/lift’, a Table of Contents vulgar American slang term for ‘having sex’, a colourful term for ‘sexual intercourse’, or an offensive word for ‘sex’. Knocked up The participle knocked up was plain to most informants, with the exception of some young ones. The sense indicated was ‘made pregnant’, ‘left pregnant’, ‘got pregnant’, and the word’s characteristics dealt with vulgarity, offensiveness and localism (i.e. Amer. slang). Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11
5.5. Conclusion Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
1. Ethics and Human Rights that the functions and effects of slang This chapter has confirmed the South American 15 areinnumerous, sometimesMigration divergent,Processes but more.................................... often interrelated and Mario Santillo hard to keep separate. They may indeed merge to characterize the same slang expression and to suggest its different facets, depending 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 on the conversation participants and situation of occurrence. 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ ............................. Some slang words have turned out to Defence index different speakers 21 or to 1.3 generate dissimilar effects in relation to the context. For instance, Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 in American English the word dog can be viewed as an indicator of Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 informal or low level discourse, thus implying the speaker’s effort to establish a close intimate relationship with his hearer. But it can 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 also be an indicator of the participants’ place of origin, since British Fabio Baggio speakers would rather use it as a colourful word for ‘bastard’, 2.1 International in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 hence, as a meansMigration to challenge their hearers. Similarly, such words as bird for ‘a girl’ and fox for ‘an 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 attractive woman’ can signal the speaker’s age and gender, since 2.3 are Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 they generally used by young men as verbal means of group cohesion and ......................................................................................... distinctiveness. Yet when they are used across Bibliography 47 generation boundaries – e.g. by adult men – they give the st Century. impression of in being bad imitations of teenage slanguage, with a 3. Immigration the 21 consequent humorous effect upon theThe hearer. The Need for an Ethical Approach. Canadian Experience ..... 51 An audio-visual context – as in the Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg case of film dialogues – or a specific data collection with clues about the speakers’ origin, age, 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 occupation, and interpersonal relations – as drawn from COLT conversations – has helped usMigration associateand sociological to 3.2 Urbanization, International Governanceproperties ................. 53 the slang words/expressions investigated.
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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In addition, experiments on British English native speakers have Table of Contents wholly confirmed our expectations about slang functions/effects. Predictably, the only divergencies among the results obtained originated from the different speakers’ ages, genders and cities of origin, which are variables we took into account in our sociological survey. Hence, it is ultimately in the speaker’s intentionality and in the hearer’s acceptability that slang acquires its socio-cultural value, and it is in the speakers’ mutual behaviour and respect that we can perceive the authentic function that a slang word fulfils, or the actual effect it produces.and Executive Summary .............................. 11 Opening Considerations Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
1. Ethics and Human Rights in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 Mario Santillo
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 Fabio Baggio
2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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9
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Final Remarks Table of Contents
Opening and Executive Is slangConsiderations a word for linguistics? (DumasSummary & Lighter .............................. 1978, article title) 11 Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
Thirty years after Dumas & Lighter’s article, this study has tried to
1. Ethicsconfirmation and Human Rights provide that slang can truly be considered ‘a word for in the South American Processes .................................... 15 linguistics’. First of all, it Migration is a word for morphologists who analyse the
Mario Santillo phenomena violating universal principles of English word-formation grammar, hitherto marginalized to extra-grammatical morphology. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 Secondly, it is a word for semanticists who study the organization of International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 the1.2English lexical system, and, particularly, the behavioural tendencies items departing from such organization and generating 1.3 Some of Final Reflections................................................................... 23 complexity. Thirdly, slang is a word for sociolinguists who Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 investigate the interrelations among participants in a conversation, and wish to identify the linguistic means qualifying the speakers 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 and/or Fabioproducing Baggio some effect upon the hearers. The morphological inspection conducted in this study has given 2.1 International in East South East Asia.............. 27 significant resultsMigration pertaining toAsia theand grammaticality vs. extragrammaticality of slanginformations. We have established that some 2.2 Migration Policies ESEA............................................................ 34 of them conform to the canonical derivation and compounding 2.3 Ethics and 43 mechanisms of Migration standard Management................................................. English, including noun-forming suffixes, e.g., -er (chancer) and -ing (ranking), adjective-forming suffixes, Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 e.g., -ed (potted), -ing (happening) and -y (foxy), compound nouns (baglady), adjectives (pie-faced), 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. and verbs (talk turkey), and conversions (adv out ‘knockThe outCanadian or defeat Experience (an opponent)’). The Need for anout EthicalvApproach. ..... 51 Christine Baghdady, Vanderberg because: Other formations are Richard extra-grammatical
Rather than creating new words, they obtain connoted 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 variants, as in the case of some slang suffixes, e.g., -eroo (flopperoo), -ie/-y (bikie, chiefy), -er/-ers (brekker, champers),
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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Elisa Mattiello – An Introduction to English Slang 9
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(kiddo), and of numerous abbreviatory operations, such as Table-o of Contents initialisms (once-over O.O.), blending (sex + sensational sexational), and clipping (fabulous nana);
fab, banana
In blatant contradiction with Aronoff’s (1976) Unitary Base Hypothesis and Scalise’s (1988) Unitary Output Hypothesis, they apply to various base categories and display output promiscuity: e.g., the -ie/-y suffix is indiscriminately applied to nouns (druggie/-y), adjectives (biggie/-y), verbs (clippie/ -y), and adverbs (downie); Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11
Rather than exhibiting predictable form change, they are irregularly formed from discontinuous bases, as in infixation (abso-bloody-lutely), with consequent morphotactic and 1. Ethics and Human Rights (Dressler 1999, 2005); in themorphosemantic South American opacity Migration Processes .................................... 15 Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
MarioRather Santillothan relying on existing stem or word bases, they
may show no meaningful bases, as in rhyming or copy reduplication (hotsy-totsy, bling-bling) or word manufacture 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 (scag). 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17
1.3 Some Reflections................................................................... 23 Still otherFinal formations lie between grammatical and extragrammatical morphology. On the one hand, they may conform to Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 the regular patterns of morphotactic concatenation, but display extra-grammaticality in Ethics the base forms (yobby yob), or, on the 2. Migration Policies and in East and South East Asia............ 27 other hand, they may display regular bases, but irregular order of Fabio Baggio morphological processes (dicey pl. of die). 2.1 International Migration in East Asiabelong and South East Asia.............. 27 Lastly, some rare slang formations to marginal morphology because their processes across the margin between derivation 2.2 Migration Policies instand ESEA............................................................ 34 and compounding (-fest in gabfest), or between morphology and 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 phonology (gee guy, Beeb B.B.C.). Bibliography ......................................................................................... Interestingly, while some idiomatically combining expressions 47 of Standard English (e.g. to take advantage of) are compositional, slang 3. Immigration in the Century. idiomatic phrases (e.g.21tost kick the bucket) are non-compositional, and The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience 51 therefore lexicalized as such, or, at least, metaphorical (e.g. to ..... work Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg one’s guts out) (see Nunberg et al. 1994; cf. Mateu & Espinal 2007). The semantic inspection shown that most regular (rule3.1 World Population Increase has ............................................................. 51 governed) slang formations exhibit irregularity in meaning association, 3.2therefore Urbanization, International Migration andthe Governance ................. 53 and generate disorganization within lexical system. 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
Final Remarks
2399
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The way slang words organize the lexicon into semantic areas is Table of Contents sometimes predictable on the basis of meaning relations (synonymy, antonymy, hyponymy, meronymy), or of regular patterns which may help recreate the correlation between slang words and their meaning. Yet slang organization has often turned out to be unpredictable, and the cognitive operations linking slang words to the correlated concepts have appeared hard, if not impossible, to identify. For this reason we have explored slang disorganization. Lexical disorganization is pertinent to items such as nut, which in slang maintains some of its standard semantic features but also acquires Considerations new ones. Standard featuresSummary (e.g. roundness, smallness, Opening and Executive .............................. 11 hardness) are useful to disambiguate such slang meanings as ‘the Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini head’ or ‘a testicle’, but they are useless with other slang meanings. Hence, have madeRights use of new features (e.g. excellence, fashion, 1. Ethicswe and Human craziness) to interpret meanings as ‘an.................................... excellent person’, 15 ‘a in the South Americansuch Migration Processes fashionable young man’, or ‘a mad or crazy person’. Mario Santillo Lexical disorganization is total when no standard feature is 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 maintained by slang, as in monkey. We have seen that, in slang, this word implies a semantic shift a non-human to a human entity 1.2 International Instrument forfrom Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 (‘an associate’, ‘a chorus girl’), or even to an abstract one (‘addiction 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 to a drug’). Here, slang meanings have turned out to be inaccessible Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 using our common knowledge of standard English, and, in such conditions, the micro-system has turned out to be unstable, and its 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 dynamics unpredictable. Fabio TheseBaggio findings are in line with a recently-developed theory of Lexical Complexity (Bertuccelli grounded on 2.1 International Migration in EastPapi Asia & andLenci South2007), East Asia.............. 27 the notions of dynamicity and complexity. Accordingly, we can 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 claim that the slang macro-system is complex due to: (a) the high number of and dimensions related states of the system, and, 43 in 2.3 Ethics Migrationand Management................................................. particular, (b) the irregularity and unpredictability of its dynamics. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 Lastly, the sociological inspection has illustrated the possible functions/effects of slang in free conversation. This inspection starts 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. from the crucial distinction we have made between speaker- and The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 hearer-oriented criteria. The former – including group-restriction, Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg secrecy, vulgarity and others – index the speakers’ characters, 3.1 World Increase 51 attitudes andPopulation intentions, while............................................................. the latter include a set of effects, such as humour or offensiveness, which slang words and phrases 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 can produce upon the hearer/addressee. 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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Elisa Mattiello – An Introduction to English Slang 9
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As for functions, we have identified words which qualify the Table of Contents speaker as a member of a particular group, such as young men chatting about sex, alcohol, drugs (chick, dope, pissed, wasted), or criminals talking about drug traffic (gear, hash, skag, stuff). We have also observed that certain slang words can ease social exchanges and encourage friendliness (bird, dog, groovy, sloshed), but they may become offensive in a different regional context (cf. dog Amer. ‘mate’ vs. Brit. ‘idiot’). We have likewise observed the vulgarity or even obscenity of many adolescents’ swear words (cunt, fuck, knob, suck), and the restriction of other words to age groups: e.g., babes, broads, dolls and gals belong to the young Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 generation, so their use is limited to that generation and not to the Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini next one. As for have distinguished humorous or playful 1. Ethics andeffects, Human we Rights words/expressions (a bun in the Processes oven, snake) from offensive 15 or in the South American Migration .................................... aggessive ones (fat bitch, lard arse, old tart, saggy tits). We have Mario Santillo also focused on the freshness of slanguage and on the creative 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 expressions that teenagers use, for instance, to express craziness (bonkers, nutcase,Instrument nutter, nutty, off one’sDefence trolley/rocker), or on their 1.2 International for Migrants’ ............................. 21 faddish options for ‘homosexual’ (bent, lesy, queen, queer), 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 sometimes mere occasionalisms (battyman, lezzypal). Lastly, we Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 have commented on the musicality of such slang words as boo-boo and poo-poo, or the colour of such expressions as gang-bang and 2. Migration and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 humping andPolicies pumping. Fabio Baggiowe have also drawn attention to the subjectivity and However, questionableness of some in such properties, compared 2.1 International Migration Eastsociological Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 with the objectivity of linguistic peculiarities, which can 2.2 Migration Policies 34 indiscriminately assignin ESEA............................................................ the label ‘slang’ to new words. I am referring to the EMOs discussed in section 3.1.2, viz. 2.3 Ethicshere and Migration Management................................................. 43 infixation, abbreviated (elliptic) rhyming formations, inverted and Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 altered forms, and familiarity markers such as the English suffix -ie/-y, -ers (Brit.), -eroo (Amer.), -o (Austral.), and -s. But I am also 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. referring to the polysemy or semantic indeterminacy of the terms The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 discussed in sections 4.3.1 and 4.3.2, i.e. highly complex microChristine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg systems which have no internal equilibrium among fluctuating 3.1 World and Population Increase ............................................................. 51 meanings, consequently menace the stability of the whole macro-system and hinder prediction of its dynamics. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
Final Remarks
2419
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In this study, I have re-examined slang from different pespectives, Table of Contents and shown new directions of analysis. In this way, I hope to have demonstrated that slang is not marginal, but a basic linguistic phenomenon which offers the occasion for intriguing considerations about the evolution of the English grammar system, and is the starting-point of lively discussions on the complexity of the English lexical system. Slang is, we might say, a ‘foxy’ topic.
Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
1. Ethics and Human Rights in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 Mario Santillo
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 Fabio Baggio
2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
The electronic edition of this book is not sold and is made available in free access. Every contribution is published according to the terms of “Polimetrica License B”. “Polimetrica License B” gives anyone the possibility to distribute the contents of the work, provided that the authors of the work and the publisher are always recognised and mentioned. It does not allow use of the contents of the work for commercial purposes or for profit. Polimetrica Publisher has the exclusive right to publish and sell the contents of the work in paper and electronic format and by any other means of publication. Additional rights on the contents of the work are the author’s property.
9
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Apte, M.L. (1998) “Taboo words”, in J.L. Mey & R.E. Asher (eds), Concise Encyclopedia of Pragmatics, Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 986-989. 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 Aronoff, M. (1976) Word formation in generative grammar, MIT Press, Cambridge Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 (MA). Aronoff, M. & F. Anshen (1998) “Morphology and the lexicon: Lexicalization and
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Fabio Baggio
Williams, E. (1981) “On the notions ‘lexically related’ and ‘head of a word’”, Linguistic Inquiry 12 (2), pp. 245-274. 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 Wilson, D. (2003) “Relevance lexical pragmatics”, Rivista di Linguistica 15 (2), pp. 2.2 Migration Policies inand ESEA............................................................ 34 273-291.
2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 Wurzel, W.U. (1994) “Morphology, natural”, in R.E. Asher & J.M.Y. Simpson (eds), The Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics, Pergamon Press, Oxford/New Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 York, pp. 2590-2598. Yust, W. (ed.) (1950) Encyclopaedia Britannica, Encyclopaedia Britannica Ltd & 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. University of Chicago, Chicago. The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51
Zwicky, A.M. & G.K. Pullum (1987) “Plain morphology and expressive morphology”, Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg in J. Aske, N. Beery, L. Michaelis & H. Filip (eds), Proceedings of the 13th Annual Meeting of Population the Berkeley Increase Linguistic ............................................................. Society, Berkeley Linguistic Society, Berkeley, 3.1 World 51 pp. 330-340.
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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9
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Authorof Index Table Contents
Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11
A Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
C
Algeo, J., 135 Cacchiani, S., 139 1. Ethics Human Rights Allen, I.L.,and 31-33, 36, 39, 41, 49, Cagliero, R., 28 in the South American Migration Processes 15 53-57 Cannon,.................................... G., 135 Allen, M.R., 86 Cappelli, G., 26 Mario Santillo Andersen, G., (see Stenström et al.) Chambers, J.K., 37 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 31-33, 39, 47-49, 54, 56, 57 Conti, S., 81 Andersson, L.G., 32, 33, 36-38, 40, Crocco Galèas, G., 81 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 41, 47, 50, 51, 53, 54, 56, 57, Croft, W., 159, 169, 192 214Some Final Reflections................................................................... Cruse, D.A., 159, 169, 192 1.3 23 Anshen, F., 156 Apte, M.L., 50, 52, 220 Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 D Aronoff, M., 19, 22, 23, 61, 67, 68, Dalphinis, M., 44 123, 128, 136, 138,and 151,Ethics 156, in East and South East Asia............ 27 2. Migration Policies Dalzell, T., 21, 27, 28, 145 238 Doleschal, U., 20, 22, 25, 61 Fabio Baggio Atkins, B.T., 158 Downing, P.A., 85 Ayto, J., 27 2.1 International Migration in East AsiaDressler, and South East19, Asia.............. 27 W.U., 20, 22-25, 29, 61, 63, 65, 66, 68, 69, 71, 72, 84, 34 B 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 85, 88, 89, 102, 121, 123, 138, 139, 150, 155, 156, 238 Barisone, E., 36 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 Barsalou, L.W., 26, 159, 206 Dumas, B.K., 27, 31, 33, 40, 49, 56, Bauer, L., 19, 23, ......................................................................................... 61, 66, 68, 70, 85, 57, 237 Bibliography 47 120, 123, 128, 129, 131, 135, Dundes, A., 31, 33, 56, 57 136, 138, 141, 154, 15621st Century. 3. Immigration in the Bauerle, R.F., 122 E TheL.,Need Beier, 36 for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 ChristinePapi, Baghdady, VanderbergEble, C., 19, 22, 31-34, 37, 39, 41, Bertuccelli M., 22, Richard 25, 26, 30, 43-45, 49, 51, 53, 56, 57, 183 159, 185, 208, 239 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 Elman, J.L., 208 Biscetti, S., 123 Espinal, M.T., 238 Burke, P., 36 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
Author Index 9
254
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F Table of Contents Fauconnier, G., 192 Fillmore, C.J., 158, 169 Flexner, S.B., 33, 39-41, 56, 57 Fradin, B., 25, 121 Franceschi, D., 26 Franklyn, J., 32, 56, 57 Fudeman, K., 151
Löbner, S., 166, 168 López Rúa, P., 135, 137 Lorenzetti, M.I., 26 Lyons, J., 160, 161, 166, 168
M
Makkai, A., 135 Marchand, H., 20, 65, 68, 73, 83, 85-87, 89, 90, 92, 97, 99, 102, 104, 111, 117, 120-122, 124, G 125, 128, 131, 135, 137, 141, Gotti, M., 36 146, 154 Grandy, R.E., 158 S., 26 .............................. 11 Opening Considerations and Executive Masi, Summary Greenbaum, S., (see Quirk et al.) Mateu, J., 238 Fabio Laura 31, 33,Baggio, 56, 57, 69, 116,Zanfrini 137, 152 Matthews, P.H., 56, 57 Grice, H.P., 202 Mattiello, E., 20, 32, 49, 50, 71, 85, Gumperz, 206 Rights 1. Ethics J.J., and45, Human 121, 140, 176, 211, 215 in the South American Migration Processes 15 Maurer, .................................... D.W., 33 H Mario Santillo Mayerthaler, W., 19 (see Dressler et al.) 19, 23, 84, Hasund, I.K., (see Stenström et al.) 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 85, 139 31-33, 39, 47-49, 54, 56, 57 McCarthy, J.J., 123 High, E.C., 33 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence 21 McGrath, J., ............................. 123 McHenry, R., 49, 56, 57 I 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 McKechnie, J.L., 34, 35, 56, 57 Iamartino, G., 51,......................................................................................... 203 Méla, V., 52, 150 Bibliography 25 Mencken, H.L., 31, 33, 34, 56, 57 J Merlini Barbaresi, L., 20, 22, 24, 25, 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 61, 66, 67, 69, 102, 105, 131, Jespersen, O., 33, 41, 56, 57, 73, 85, Fabio Baggio 135, 136, 156 89, 141 Milroy, J., 225 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 Montermini, F., 67 K Monti, S., 28 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 Kermas, S., 148 Munro, P., 22, 27, 28, 31-33, 37-39, Kilani-Schoch, M., Migration 19 43, 44, 48, 51, 52, 56, 57, 18343 2.3 Ethics and Management................................................. Kittay, E.F., 158
L
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 N
Nash, W., 36 3. Immigration in the 21st31,Century. Leech, G., (see Quirk et al.) 33, Nunberg, G., 238 The Need for an Ethical 56, 57, 69, 116, 137, 152 Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51
Christine VanderbergO Lenci, A., 22,Baghdady, 25, 30, 159,Richard 194, 208, 239 Olesen, V., 31, 33, 56, 57 3.1 World 51 Lieber, R., 73, Population 85, 86, 88 Increase ............................................................. Olivares, C., 54 Lighter, J., 27, 31, 33, 40, 49, 56, 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 Oshita, H., 87 57, 237
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
Author Index
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P Table of Contents
2559
T
Panagl, O., (see Dressler et al.) 19, Taylor, R.L., 54, 218 23, 84, 85, 139 Thornton, A.M., 20-22, 25, 61, 66, Partridge, E., 27, 33, 34, 38, 40, 50, 139 54, 56, 57, 141, 161, 211 Tonelli, L., 19 Pearsall, J., 56, 57 Trudgill, P., 32, 33, 36-38, 40, 41, Peirce, C.S., 88 47, 50, 51, 53, 54, 56, 57, 214 Petruck, M.R.L., 169 Turner, M., 192 Pinnavaia, L., 51 Plag, I., 67, 72, 85, 87, 89, 121, 123, V 124, 129, 135, 142, 156 Victor, T., 21, 27, 28, 145 Plank, F., 67 Pullum, G.K., 20, 25, 61, 67, and 156 Executive Summary .............................. 11 Opening Considerations
Q
Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
W
Walker, A.G.H., 38 Warren, B., 74, 85, 88, 121 Quirk, R., and 31, 33, 56, 57, 69, 116, 1. Ethics Human Rights Wasow, T., (see Nunberg et al.) 238 137, in the152 South American Migration Processes 15 Webster,.................................... N., 34, 35, 56, 57 Mario Santillo Wentworth, H., 101, 102 R Whittaker, E., 31, 33, 56, 57 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 Roeper, T., 86 Wierzbicka, A., 123 Romaine, S., 37 Williams, E., 72, 85 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 Ruiz de Mendoza, F.J., 192 Wilson, D., 45, 169, 202 Ryder, M.E., 67 Wurzel, W.U., 19 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 (see Dressler et al.) 19, 23, 84, 25 85, 139 S Bibliography ......................................................................................... Sag, I., (see Nunberg et al.) 238
2. Migration and Ethics in EastY and South East Asia............ 27 Santibáñez, F., Policies 192
FabioS.,Baggio Scalise, 19, 22, 23, 67, 73, 156, Yust, W., 33, 50, 51, 56, 57 238 2.1 International Schonhorn, M.R., 31, Migration 33, 56, 57 in East AsiaZand South East Asia.............. 27 Siegel, D., 123 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ Zwicky, A.M., 20, 25, 61, 67, 15634 Siegel, M.E.A., 86 Simpson, J.M.Y., 2.3 Ethics and38Migration Management................................................. 43 Skeat, W.W., 34 Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 Sornig, K., 31, 34, 41, 43, 53, 5557, 61, 157, 193 Spallino, C., 28 in the 21st Century. 3. Immigration Sperber, D., The Need169, for202 an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Stein, J., 56, 57 Christine Baghdady, Vanderberg Stenström, A.-B., 31-33, Richard 37, 39, 4749, World 54, 56, 57, 176 3.1 Population Increase ............................................................. 51 Svartvik, J., (see Quirk et al.) 31, 33, Urbanization, 56, 57, 69, 116, International 137, 152 3.2 Migration and Governance ................. 53
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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Subjectof Index Table Contents
Opening Considerations and Executive -bloody-, Summary 23,.............................. 43, 68, 123, 156, 23811
A Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini -able, 64, 94
-blooming-, 25, 66, 123, 156 -burger, 71, 121, 122
1. Ethics Human Rights accent, 19, and 36, 38, 54 C in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 acronym, 23-25, 29, 49, 66, 70, 93, 100, 107-110, Mario Santillo 126, 135-138,
cant, 19, 33-37, 99, 107, 111, 127 clipped compound, (see com141, 145, 147, 152, 155, 156, 1.1 17 pound(ing)) 162Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. clipping, 23, 24, 29, 66, 68, 69, 107, aggressiveness, 33, 53, 58, 60, 212, 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ 108, Defence ............................. 21 128, 141-148, 152, 156, 238 229, 230, 233 back-, 42, 120, 141-146, 148 23 -(a)licious, 121 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... fore-, 141, 142, 145 alteration, 38, 66, 68, 72, 107, 108, colloquial language, 19, 36, 38-40, 111, 115, 116, 144-146, 150Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 47, 91, 114, 144 154, 240 21, 35, 51, Asia............ 58, 60, 212, 213, analogical formation, 66, in Eastcolour, 2. Migration Policies16, and41, Ethics and South East 27 227-229, 232-234, 240 150-152 Fabio Baggio combining form, 21, 25, 63, 120antonymy, 158, 160, 163-165, 239 122, 124, East 128, 140 associative pattern, Migration 170-193, 199, 2.1 International in East Asia and South Asia.............. 27 final, 71, 120-122 207 complexity (lexical), 22, 25, 26, 30, 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 159, 170, 194, 206, 208, 237, B 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 239, 241 back-formation, 23-25, 29, 65, 83, compound(ing), 16, 23-25, 29, 43, 100, 110, 115,......................................................................................... 128-131 Bibliography 47 54, 63, 65, 70-91, 97, 104, 113, back-slang, 43, 62, 68, 70, 71, 111, 121, 129, 139, 155, 156, 166, 150, 213 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. 167, 228, 237, 238 -bally-, 123, 156 adjective, 65,Experience 81-83, 113, 237 The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian ..... 51 blend(ing), 16, 21, 23-25, 29, 34, clipped, 136, 141, 146-148 Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg 43, 55, 66, 68, 120, 129, 130, coordinate, 84, 89 138-141, 146, 155, 156, 238 endocentric, 24, 65, 73-75, 77, 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 partial, 21, 139-141, 146 79, 80, 83, 85, 133 prototypical, 139, 146 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance 53 exocentric, 24, 76,................. 78, 79, 84-86, -blessed-, 123, 156 163
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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Subject Index 9
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metaphoric, 75, 77, 80, 86, 87, Table of Contents 133
-eroo/-aroo, 42, 66, 68, 69, 101, 102, 155, 237, 240 metonymic, 74, 78, 85, 86 -ery, 64, 103 neoclassical, 120 -ette, 64, 103 noun, 65, 71, 73-80, 84, 85, 110, expressive morphology, 20, 24-26, 111, 125, 237 29, 61 rhyming, 131-134, 139 extension, 66, 150, 154 synthetic, 84, 86, 87 extra-grammatical, 16, 22, 70 three-member, 84, 88, 89, 148 formations, 20, 21, 65-69, 71, verb, 65, 83, 84, 110, 125, 237 237 conversion, 23, 43, 65, 72, 83, 124morphology, 19, 20, 22, 24-26, 128, 130, 147, 237 29, 60, 61, 68, 70, 72, 93, 123, 134, 137, 156, 213, 237, 238 Opening Considerations and Executive extra-grammaticality, Summary .............................. 11 59, 61, 63, 70, D 91, 156, 237, 238 Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini de-, 64, 91, 92 debasement, 46, 47, 57, 59, 60, 211, F 1. Ethics 217, 218and Human Rights in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 derivation, 23, 25, 63, 65, 66, 70, faddishness, 21, 49, 50, 58, 60, 212, 71, 155,Santillo 237, 238 213, 225-227, 231-233, 240 Mario desire to impress, 50, 60, 212, 213, fanciful formation, 29, 66, 67, 154, 1.1 17 155 222,Migrants’ 225-227 Rights ............................................................................. dialect, 19, 33-37, 44, 52, 72, 100, frame, 26, 27, 158, 159, 169, 193, 1.2 for Migrants’ 203, Defence 208 ............................. 21 102,International 140, 150, 153,Instrument 154 semantics, 158, 169 disorganization (lexical), 30, 59, 60, 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 freshness, 21, 31, 35, 40, 46-48, 57, 157, 158, 193-209, 238, 239 60, 211, 213, 224, 225, 240 25 partial, 194-202, 208 Bibliography ......................................................................................... total, 194, 202-206, 208, 239 -fuckin(g)-, 43, 123, 156 -dom, 94 -ful, 64, 104, 111 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 domain (conceptual), 26, 158, 160, Fabio Baggio 164, 170, 192, 193, 202, 207, G 208 2.1 International Migration in East Asiageneral and South Asia.............. 27 slang,East 28, 29, 35, 37, 39, 40, 46, 59, 198, 217 E 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 generative grammar/morphology, 19, 23, 26 -ed (denominal type: potted), 64, 95, 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 WFRs, 68 96, 237 -edBibliography (deverbal type: cracked) 64, 95, grammatical ......................................................................................... 47 109 formations, 21, 63-65 ephemerality, 29, 33, 47, 57,st59, 60, morphology, 16, 26, 29, 60, 61, 3. Immigration in the 21 Century. 93, 211, 220-222 93, 238 an Ethical Approach. The MRs, Canadian .....133 51 16, 61,Experience 63, 66, 70, 94, -erThe (typeNeed lifer, for chancer), 63, 96-100, Christine 102, 237 Baghdady, Richard Vanderberggrammaticality, 155, 237 group-restriction, 15, 17, 21, 28, 30-er/-ers (type footer, champers), 43, 3.1 Increase 51 32, 35-40, 46, 48, 52-55, 57, 59, 66, World 68, 69,Population 100, 101, 132, 154, ............................................................. 60, 141, 156, 207, 211, 213-217, 155, 237, 240 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 220, 234, 239, 240
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
Subject Index
The electronic edition of this book is not sold and is made available in free access. Every contribution is published according to the terms of “Polimetrica License B”. “Polimetrica License B” gives anyone the possibility to distribute the contents of the work, provided that the authors of the work and the publisher are always recognised and mentioned. It does not allow use of the contents of the work for commercial purposes or for profit. Polimetrica Publisher has the exclusive right to publish and sell the contents of the work in paper and electronic format and by any other means of publication. Additional rights on the contents of the work are the author’s property.
H Table of Contents
humour, 35, 39, 50, 58, 60, 68, 79, 80, 88, 94, 114, 122, 137, 140, 151, 165, 211, 213, 222-224, 232-234, 239, 240 hyponymy, 158, 160, 161, 166-168, 197, 239
I
2599 marginal morphology, 24, 25, 63, 70, 71, 121, 150, 238 meronymy, 158, 160, 168, 169, 239 metaphor, 44, 45, 49, 99, 112, 119, 127, 169, 178, 192, 197, 198, 202, 215, 222, 223, 238 metathesis, 66, 150, 152 musicality, 21, 53, 58, 60, 212, 227229, 240
N -ie/-y, 66-69, 104-108, 127, 132, 155, 237, 238, 240 natural morphology/NM, 19, 23, 24, -ify/-fy, 109 68, 84, 86, 88, 89, 107, 138, 155 Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 impertinence, 39, 51, 52, 58, 60, naturalness/markedness, 22-24, 85, Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini 212, 229, 230 155 infixation, 23-25, 43, 65, 66, 68, -ness, 64, 112, 113 123, 156, 238, 240 Rights 1. Ethics and Human novelty, 20, 31, 35, 38, 47-49, 57, inflection(al morphology), 43, in the South American25, Migration Processes .................................... 15 60, 104, 121, 206, 211, 220, 222, 44, 69-71 224, 225, 231, 232 Mario Santillo informality, 28, 31-33, 35, 38-40, 46, Migrants’ 47, 57, 59, Rights 60, 69,............................................................................. 114, 115, 1.1 17 O 211, 217, 218, 232-234 -o, Defence 43, 62, 66, 68, 69, 72, 113-115, 1.2(nInternational for Migrants’ ............................. 21 -ing type: flaming),Instrument 64, 109, 110, 142, 144, 154, 155, 213, 238, 237 1.3 Some Finalcorking), Reflections................................................................... 23 240 -ing (ppl adj type: 64, 110, obscenity, 28, 48, 50, 57, 59, 60, 111, 237 Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 211, 213, 218-220, 232, 233, 240 initialism, 29, 66, 68, 95, 126, 132, -ock, 116, 155 135-138, 141, 145, 152, 156, 238 39, Asia............ 50, 52, 58, 60, 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in Eastoffensiveness, and South East 27 -ish, 64, 111-113, 129, 130 106, 130, 167, 175, 212, 213, Fabio Baggio 229, 230, 233, 234, 239, J 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and227, South East Asia.............. 27 240 jargon, 19, 33, 35, 36, 107 organization (lexical), 22, 29, 45, 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 60, 157-193, 207, 237, 239 34 L 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 P letter pronunciation, 66, 72, 150,
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 152 playfulness, 21, 25, 32, 48, 57, 60, lexical phrase, 89-91, 163 69, 94, 132, 211, 213, 222-224, localism, 37, 38, in51, 211, 232, 233, 240 3. Immigration the58-60, 21st Century. 220-222, 234 polysemy, 26, 27, 52, 194, 198, The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience .....199, 51 -ly, 64, 112 203-206, 208, 213, 218, 240 Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg prefixation, 24, 63, 64, 66, 68, 72, M3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 91-93 51 privacy, 28, 32, 37, 39, 42, 53, 58malapropism, 66, 150-152 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance 53 60, 141, 156, 211,................. 213, 216, 217, 231, 234 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
Subject Index 9
260
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R Table of Contents
suffixation, 21, 24, 42-44, 63, 64, 66-72, 81, 91, 93-120, 127, 129, 130, 132, 133, 142, 144, 149, 154, 155, 213, 237, 238, 240 super-, 64, 91-93 synonymy, 27, 34, 35, 41, 47, 48, 107, 122, 158-163, 166, 207, 239
re-, 64, 91, 92 reduplication, 24, 29, 135 reduplicative (formation), 53, 66-68, 92, 104, 108, 113, 116, 120, 131135, 145, 227 ablaut, 25, 131 copy, 42, 72, 131, 134, 135, 227, T 238 time-restriction, 33, 47, 57, 59, 60, rhyming, 16, 120, 131, 132, 145, 211, 220-222 238 reversed form, 29, 66, 68, 120, 149, 150, 152, 156 Opening Considerations and Executive U Summary .............................. 11 rhyming (Cockney), 16, 26, Fabio slang Baggio, Laura Zanfrini un-, 64, 91, 93, 123 42, 43, 51, 53, 62, 148, 149, 196, under-, 64, 91, 93 198, 205, 206, 222 Unitary Base Hypothesis, 67, 156, 1. Ethics and Human Rights elliptic, 26, 29, 51, 62, 66, 68, 238 .................................... 15 in the149, South American Processes 148, 156, 196, 198,Migration 205, Unitary Output Hypothesis, 67, 156, Mario Santillo 206, 222, 240 238
17 S 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. V
Instrument for Migrants’ Defence 21 -s, 1.2 43, International 66, 69, 100, 116, 117, 119, variation, 29,............................. 41, 42, 66, 68, 100, 240 150-154, 156 1.3 Some24, Final Reflections................................................................... 23 schm-/shm-, 66, 68, 91, 92 vernacular, 19, 36, 38 secrecy, 15, 17, 32, 36, 37, 39, 40, -ville, 122 Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 52, 53, 58-60, 150, 209, 211, vulgarity, 21, 28, 37, 39, 50, 52, 58214, 216, 217, 223, 239 60, 74, 96, 137, 211, 213, 2182. Migrationproperty, Policies20, and30, Ethics South East Asia............ 27 sociological 41, in East and 220, 228, 230, 232-234, 239, 240 Fabio 46-55, Baggio 57-60, 221-235, 240 hearer-oriented, 20, 21, 30, 60, 2.1 International Migration in East AsiaW and South East Asia.............. 27 222-230, 239 word manufacture, 23, 29, 66-68, speaker-oriented, 20, 21, 30, 59, 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 154, 155, 238 60, 214-222, 239 specific slang, and 29, 35-37, 39, 40, 46, 2.3 Ethics Migration Management................................................. 43 Y 48, 59, 214, 217 Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 -ster, 64, 117 -y, 64, 114, 117-120, 129, 130, 237 subject-restriction, 28, 40, 48, 57, 59, 60, 211, 214-216 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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Glossary Table of Contents
Opening Considerations Executive Summary .............................. 11 abso-bloody-lutely (adv) Used and as a considerably more emphatic version of absolutely.
Fabio LauraofZanfrini Other Baggio, infixed forms the word are abso-bally-lutely, abso-blessed-lutely, absoblooming-lutely and abso-fuckin(g)-lutely.
Abyssinia From the parting salutation I’ll be seeing you. 1. Ethics(int) and(jocular) Human Rights Acapulco (n) A variety of marijuana grown in the vicinity of Acapulco. in the gold South American Migration Processes .................................... 15
AC/DC (adj) (orig. U.S.) Also AC-DC. Bisexual. Humorously from alternating current, Mario Santillo direct current. acid (n)Migrants’ (orig. U.S.)Rights The hallucinogenic drug LSD. 1.1 ............................................................................. 17 acid head (n) (orig. U.S.) Someone who habitually takes the LSD drug. acker (orig. Services’ slang) (1) Afor piastre. (2) pl. Money, cash; coins or bank-notes. 1.2(n) International Instrument Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 Adam (n) (orig. U.S.) The hallucinogenic drug MDMA. 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 Adam-and-Eve (v) Rhyming slang for ‘believe’. after (n) Afternoon. 25 ag Bibliography (adj) (chiefly N.......................................................................................... Amer.) Agricultural. aggro (n) (1) Aggravation. (2) Aggression; deliberate trouble-making or harassment. 2. Migration Policies andSomeone Ethics in East and South East Asia............ airhead (n) (chiefly N. Amer.) who is foolish, simple-minded, or stupid. 27 alkyFabio (n) Alcohol; Baggiospec. (illicit) alcoholic liquor. all-firedly (adv) Unusually, excessively. 2.1(adj) International all-in Exhausted. Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 all-over (n) (chiefly U.S.) pl. As the all-overs, a feeling of nervousness or unease 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 (occas. of annoyance). all-overish (adj) Having a generalManagement................................................. and indefinite sense of illness pervading the body. 43 2.3 Ethics and Migration amber fluid (n) Also amber liquid (or nectar). A liquid or (alcoholic) drink of an amber colour, spec. lager. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 ambisextrous (adj) (humorous) Bisexual. From sex and ambidextrous. Amerikkka (n) (orig. U.S.) American society viewed as racist, fascist, or oppressive, 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. esp. by Black consciousness. From G. Amerika, America, and the initial letters of The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Ku Klux Klan. Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg ammo (n) Ammunition (esp. for small arms). amster (n) (Austral.) Also ampster. From Amsterdam, rhyming slang for ram, a 3.1 Worldaccomplice. Population Increase ............................................................. 51 trickster’s angel dust (n) (orig. U.S.) The drug phencyclidine a hallucinogen. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migrationused andasGovernance ................. 53
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ant (n) (orig. U.S.) pl. Esp. in to have ants in one’s pants, to fidget constantly, esp. Table Contents because of of extreme agitation, excitement, nervousness, etc. antsy (adj) (chiefly U.S.) Also antsy-pantsy. Agitated, impatient, restless; also, sexually eager. A-OK (adj/adv phr) (chiefly U.S.) In perfect order or condition. From all (systems) OK. apple (n) pl. From apple(s) and pears, rhyming slang for ‘stairs’. (adj) (Austral. and N.Z.) From apples and rice (or spice) for ‘nice’. arb (n) Arbitrageur. Archie (n) An anti-aircraft gun. Argie (n, adj) (1) Argentine. (2) Argentinian. argy-bargy (n) Contentious argument. arse (n) (1) The buttocks, posterior. (2) (Brit.) A stupid, unpleasant, or contemptible person. (3) As my arse! (chiefly Brit. and Ir.), Nonsense!, You must be joking! Opening and Executive .............................. 11 arsehole (n)Considerations (coarse) Amer. asshole. (1) The anus.Summary (2) A stupid, irritating, or despicable person.Baggio, Laura Zanfrini Fabio arsy-versy (adv) Upside-down, contrariwise. artic (n) Articulated lorry. Rights 1. Ethics and Human arty-farty (adj) Also artsy-fartsy. Pretentiously artistic. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 arvo (n) Afternoon. Santillo assMario (n) (U.S.) Used casually in various phrases as an intensifier, esp. to indicate strength of feeling, action, etc.: to dance one’s ass off, to dance to the point of exhaustion; to 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 work (run, etc.) one’s ass off; to chew ass, to reprimand severely; to tear ass, to move fast, to hurry.Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 1.2 International au reservoir (int) A malapropism from F. au revoir. 1.3 (n, Some Reflections................................................................... 23 Aussie adj) Final Also Ossie, Ozzie. (1) Australia. (2) (An) Australian. AWOL (adj) (orig. U.S.) Absent without leave. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 b (n) Also B. (1) Bugger. (2) Bastard. babe (n) (chiefly U.S.) A girl or woman (often as a form of address). babelicious (adj) (orig. U.S.) Also babe-alicious. a woman or girl: sexually 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and Of South East Asia............ 27 attractive, gorgeous. Fabio Baggio baby-snatch (v) To enter into an amorous relationship with a much younger member of theInternational opposite sex. Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 2.1 backroom boy (n) A person engaged in (secret) research. Migration in ESEA............................................................ bad2.2 (adj) (orig. andPolicies chiefly U.S., esp. Jazz and Black E.) Possessing an abundance34 of favourable qualities; of a musical performance or player: going to the limits of free 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 improvisation; of a lover: extravagantly loving. badBibliography mouth (n) (orig. U.S.) Also bad-mouth. (1) A curse or spell. (2) Evil or slanderous ......................................................................................... 47 talk; malicious gossip; severe criticism. bad-mouth (v) (orig. U.S.) Also badmouth. To abuse (someone) verbally; to criticize, 3. Immigration in maliciously the 21st Century. slander, or gossip about (a person or thing). NeedU.S.) for (1) an A Ethical Approach. Canadian ..... 51 bagThe (n) (orig. disparaging term for aThe woman, esp. one Experience who is unattractive or elderly. (2)Baghdady, A preoccupation, mode of behaviour or experience. (3) A characteristic Christine Richard Vanderberg manner of playing jazz or similar music. 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 baglady (n) (orig. U.S.) Also bag-lady, bag lady. A homeless woman, often elderly, who carries her possessions in shopping bags.
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ball (n) pl. (1) Testicles. (2) Nonsense. (3) (chiefly U.S.) Courage, determination; Table Contents (manly) of power or strength; masculinity. ballock (v) To reprimand or tell off severely. ballsy (adj) (1) (rare) Nonsensical, ridiculous. (2) Courageous; determined; also, powerful, masculine. Bananaland (n) (Austral.) Queensland. bananas (adj) Crazy, mad, wild. bang (n) (1) (U.S.) Excitement, pleasure. (2) An act of sexual intercourse. (3) A ‘shot’ (of cocaine, etc.). banjaxed (ppl adj) (Anglo-Irish) Ruined, stymied. barf (v) (orig. and chiefly U.S.) To vomit or retch. barnet (n) From Barnet fair, rhyming slang for ‘hair’; hence, the head. bashing (vbl n) (Services’ slang) Any arduous task. Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 basket (n) Euphemistic alteration of bastard. bastard Used vulgarly as a term of abuse for a man or boy, and, with weakened Fabio(n)Baggio, Laura Zanfrini force, as the equivalent of ‘fellow’, ‘chap’; also trivially for ‘thing’, esp. something bad or annoying. 1. Ethics and Human Rights bats (adj) Crazy, mad; in weakened sense, eccentric. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 bazoom (n) pl. A woman’s breast. Mario Santillo bean (n) (orig. U.S.) The head. beano (n) (orig. Printers’ slang) Bean-feast. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 beaut (n) (chiefly U.S., Austral. and N.Z.) A beautiful or outstanding person or thing. From beauty. 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 bedder (n) (University slang) A bedroom. 1.3 Some FinalUniversity Reflections................................................................... 23 bed-sitter (n) (orig. slang) Bed-sitting room. Beeb (n) A contraction of B.B.C., British Broadcasting Corporation. Bibliography ......................................................................................... beefcake (n) (humorous) After cheesecake. (A display of) sturdy masculine physique.25 beer belly (n) (1) One who has a protruding stomach or paunch caused by drinking large quantities of beer.and (2) Such a stomach. 2. Migration Policies Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 beer-off (n) An off-licence. Fabio Baggio beer-up (n) A drinking-bout or -party. bejesus (int) An alteration of the oath Jesus. 2.1 International Migration inby East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 bender (n) (orig. U.S.) A leg or knee. 2.2(ppl Migration Policies criminal. in ESEA............................................................ bent adj) (1) Dishonest, (2) Illegal, stolen. (3) Of things: out of order;34 of persons: eccentric, spec. homosexual. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 bevvied (adj) Drunk, intoxicated. bevvy (n) Also bevie, bevy. A drink, esp. beer. (v) To drink. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 B-girl (n) (U.S.) A bar-girl, a woman employed to encourage customers to buy drinks at a bar. st 3. Immigration bi (n, adj) Bisexual.in the 21 Century. Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 bigThe C (n)Need (orig. for U.S.)an Cancer. bigChristine E (n) (Brit.) As the big E, a personal rejection or rebuff, esp. insensitively or Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg unceremoniously conveyed; the abrupt breaking off of a (romantic) relationship. 3.1 (n) World Increase ............................................................. 51 biggie (orig.Population U.S.) Also biggy. (1) An important person. (2) Anything impressively large or influential.
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big mouth (n) (orig. and chiefly U.S.) A very talkative or boastful person; also, Table ofboastful Contents loquacity, talk. bikie (n) (Austral. and N.Z.) A motor-cyclist; spec. a member of a gang of motorcyclists, notorious for disturbing civil order. Bill (n) (1) The police-force. (2) A policeman. Freq. preceded by the. bimbo (n) (1) (derog.) Also bim, bimbette. A young woman or adolescent girl, esp. one regarded as sexually attractive but thought to lack intelligence or distinctive personality. (2) A fellow, ‘chap’; usu. contemptuous. (3) A woman; esp. a whore. bin (n) A mental hospital. bird (n) (1) A girl, woman. (2) An aeroplane. (3) (U.S., freq. ironical) An exceptionally smart or accomplished person; a first-rate animal or thing. (4) (U.S.) An obscene gesture of contempt. (5) A prison sentence; prison. bit (n) In phr a (little) bit of all right, something or somebody regarded as highly Opening Considerations Executive Summary satisfactory, esp. applied toand a pretty or obliging woman. .............................. 11 bitch (n) (1) Something difficult or unpleasant. (2) A malicious or Fabio Baggio, Laura outstandingly Zanfrini treacherous woman. bitching (adj, int)Human (1) Expressing anger, frustration, or contempt: unpleasant, despicable. 1. Ethics and Rights (2) Expressing admiration, approval, or enthusiasm: great, excellent; very attractive inorthe South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 appealing. (adv) As an intensifier, very, extremely. Mario Santillo blabbermouth (n) (orig. U.S.) Also blabber-mouth. One who blabs; one who reveals secrets, a tell-tale. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 black and tan (n) A drink composed of porter (or stout) and ale. black (n) An amphetamine 1.2bomber International Instrumenttablet. for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 black tar (n) (U.S.) Heroin, esp. in a potent black form. 1.3 (n) Some Finala Reflections................................................................... 23 blacky A Black, Negro. blasted (ppl adj) (chiefly U.S.) Under the influence of drugs or alcohol, intoxicated. Bibliography 25 bling-bling (n) (A......................................................................................... piece of) ostentatious jewellery. Hence: wealth; conspicuous consumption. block (n) The head, esp. inand to knock one’sinblock So off one’sEast block:Asia............ angry, insane.27 2. Migration Policies Ethics Eastoff.and South bloke (n) (1) (Brit.) Man, fellow. (2) (Naval slang) The ship’s commander. Fabio Baggio blood wagon (n) An ambulance. bloody (adj, adv) A vague epithet expressing anger, resentment, detestation; but often 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27a mere intensive. 2.2 Migration Policiesorintelephone. ESEA............................................................ 34 blower (n) A speaking-tube BLT (n) (orig. U.S.) Bacon, lettuce, and tomato (sandwich). 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 boat (n) From boat-race, rhyming slang for ‘face’. boffBibliography (n) (1) A blow,......................................................................................... a punch. (2) In the entertainment industry: a great success, a hit. 47 (3) Sexual intercourse. (v) (1) To hit, strike. (2) (orig. U.S.) To have sexual intercourse (with). 3. Immigration inretch. the 21st Century. bolk (v) To vomit; to The (n) Need forAlso an Ethical The Canadian Experience .....(Ir.) 51 bollock pl. (1) ballocks Approach. or rollocks. An absurdity; a mess, a muddle. (2) Also bollox. A stupid,Richard contemptible, or blundering man or boy. (adj) pl. Naked. Christine Baghdady, Vanderberg (int) pl. (1) Nonsense. (2) Expressing frustration, regret, or annoyance. 3.1(n) World ............................................................. bomb (1) APopulation success (esp.Increase in entertainment). (2) (U.S.) A failure. (3) A large sum51 of money. (4) A (large) marijuana cigarette. (5) (Austral. and N.Z.) An old car. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 bombed (ppl adj) Drunk; under the influence of drugs. Freq. with out.
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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bomber (n) (1) (U.S.) A marijuana cigarette. (2) A barbiturate drug. Table of(orig. Contents bone-head (n) U.S.) A stupid person. bone-headed (adj) Thick-headed, stupid. bonk (v) To have sexual intercourse (with). bonkers (adj) (1) Mad, crazy. (2) Slightly drunk. bonner (n) (University slang) Bonfire. boob (n) (orig. U.S.) (1) A dull, heavy, stupid fellow. (2) A lock-up or cell. (3) pl. The breasts. boo-boo (n) (orig. U.S.) A foolish mistake or blunder. boomster (n) (U.S.) One who works up a ‘boom’; a speculator. booty (n) (1) Sexual intercourse; a person (esp. a woman) regarded as an object of sexual desire. Also (occas.): the female genitals. (2) The buttocks. From botty. bootylicious (adj) (1) Esp. of a woman, often with reference to the buttocks: sexually Opening Considerations Executive Summary attractive, sexy; shapely. (2)and (rare) Of rap lyrics: bad, weak............................... 11 boozeroo (N.Z.) Laura A drinking spree. Fabio(n) Baggio, Zanfrini booze-up (n) A drinking bout. bottle (n) (1) (Naval slang)Rights A reprimand. (2) Courage, spirit. (3) Collection or share of 1. Ethics and Human money. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 bovver (n) Trouble, disturbance, or fighting, esp. caused by skinhead gangs. Mario brain (n) ASantillo clever person. brass (n) From brass nail, rhyming slang for tail, a prostitute. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 bread (n) (orig. U.S.) Money. bread-basket (n) (1) The stomach. (2)for A Migrants’ large bomb containing smaller bombs. 1.2 International Instrument Defence ............................. 21 brekker (n) (University slang) Breakfast. 1.3 Some Finalamazing, Reflections................................................................... 23 brill (adj) Brilliant, fantastic. Bristols (n) From Bristol Cities, rhyming slang for titties, the breasts. Bibliography 25 broad (n) (orig. and......................................................................................... chiefly U.S.) A woman, esp. a prostitute. bromo (n) (A dose of) one of the proprietary sedatives containing a bromide mixture. brown sugar (n)Policies A drug consisting of heroin diluted with caffeine. 2. Migration and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 brusheroo (n) A rebuff, dismissal. Fabio Baggio B.S. (n) (chiefly N. Amer.) Bullshit. bubblehead (n) (orig. U.S.) An empty-headed or stupid person.East Asia.............. 27 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South bucko (n) (Nautical slang) A blustering, swaggering, or domineering fellow. 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 buggery (n) Hell, perdition. bull (v) (1) (Army slang) To polish (equipment, etc.) in order to meet excessive 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 standards of neatness. (2) (U.S.) To behave or move like a bull. bum (n) The buttocks; the posterior. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 bum-boy (n) A young male homosexual, esp. a prostitute. bun (n) In phr (a) bun in the oven, a child conceived. Also in to do one’s bun (N.Z.), to 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. lose one’s temper. TheofNeed forThe anfist, Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 bunch fives (n) the hand. buppie (n) (orig. U.S.) A member a socio-economic group comprising young black Christine Baghdady, RichardofVanderberg professional people working in cities. From black and yuppie. 3.1(n)World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 busy A detective. butcher’s (n) From butcher’s hook, rhyming slang for ‘look’.
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butter-and-egg man (n) (U.S.) A wealthy, unsophisticated man who spends money Table freely. of Contents buzz (v) To go (quickly). As buzz off, to go off or away quickly. As buzz in, to come in (quickly), to enter. cack (v) (obs. and dial.) To void excrement. caff (n) A café. cake (n) (jocular) A foolish or stupid fellow. cakehole (n) A person’s mouth. Canuck (n) A Canadian; spec. a French Canadian. capeesh (v) (chiefly U.S.) Also capisce. To understand. Chiefly used in interrogative: ‘Do you understand?’. cat (n) (1) (U.S.) A spiteful or backbiting woman. (2) (obs.) A prostitute. (3) (U.S.) An itinerant worker. (4) (orig. U.S.) An expert in jazz. (5) A fellow, man. (6) A Opening and Executive Summary .............................. 11 catalyticConsiderations converter. catbird seatBaggio, (n) (U.S.) As the catbird seat, a superior or advantageous position. Fabio Laura Zanfrini cat’s pyjamas (n) (orig. U.S.) As the cat’s pyjamas (or whiskers), the acme of excellence. 1. Ethics and Human Rights cert (n) Certainty; spec. in horse-racing, a horse that is considered certain to win. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 chagger (n) (University slang) A changing-room. Mario Santillo champers (n) Champagne. chancer (n) One who takes chances or does risky things. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 charge (n) (1) A dose or injection of a drug; marijuana, esp. a marijuana cigarette. (2) (U.S.) A thrill; a feeling of excitement or satisfaction. 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 Charley (n) Also Charlie. (1) A fool, simpleton, esp. as proper (or right) Charley. (2) 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... (U.S., Black E.) A white man. (3) (U.S., Services’ slang) A North Vietnamese23 or Vietcong soldier. (4) (orig. U.S.) Cocaine. (5) pl. A woman’s breasts. (adj) Afraid, Bibliography 25 cowardly, esp.......................................................................................... in to turn Charlie. chase (v) To pursue (a member of the opposite sex) amorously. Also with after. chaser (n) (chiefly U.S.) One chasesinwomen, a woman-chaser. 2. Migration Policies andwho Ethics East and South East Asia............ 27 cheapie (n) Also cheapo, cheapo-cheapo. Something cheap; a thing of little value or of Fabio Baggio poor quality. (adj) Rather cheap, and often of inferior quality; produced or sold at a lowInternational price. Freq. of Migration films. 2.1 in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 cheesecake (n) (orig. U.S.) Display of the female form, esp. in photographs, 2.2 Migration Policies ESEA............................................................ advertisements, etc., in theininterest of sex-appeal; female sexual attractiveness. 34 cheesy (adj) (1) Fine or showy. (2) Also cheesey. Inferior, second-rate, cheap and nasty. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 chesty (adj) (U.S.) Conceited and self-assertive; having one’s chest thrust out as a sign of self-importance. Hence, chestily (adv), chestiness (n). Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 chick (n) (orig. U.S.) A girl; a young woman. chicken (n) (1) A cowardly person. st (2) (chiefly U.S.) A girl or young woman. (v) (orig. 3. Immigration U.S.) To fail to in act,the or to21backCentury. down, from motives of cowardice. The(n)Need forslang) an Ethical The Canadian Experience ..... 51 chiefy (Forces’ A chief Approach. or superior officer. chillChristine pill (n) (orig. U.S.) A (notional) pill used to calm or relax a person. Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg chin (n) Also chin chin. A talk; conversation; spec. insolent talk. (v) (U.S.) To chat, 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 chatter. China (n) From china plate, rhyming slang for ‘mate’. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 Chink (n) (derog.) Also Chinkey, Chinkie, Chinky. A Chinaman.
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chippie (n) Also chippy. (1) (usu. derog.) A young woman; a promiscuous or delinquent Table of Contents girl or young woman; a prostitute. (2) A chip-shop. chivvy (n) Also chivy. From Chevy Chase, rhyming slang for ‘the face’. chivvy (v) Also chivey. To knife. chizz (n) (School slang) Also chiz. A swindle; a nuisance. chock-a-block (adj) Jammed or crammed close together; also crammed with, chock-full of. chocker (adj) (orig. Naval slang) ‘Fed up’; extremely disgruntled. choco (n) (Austral.) Also chocko. A militiaman or conscripted soldier. choom (n) (Austral. and N.Z.) An English soldier; an Englishman. chopper (n) (U.S.) (1) A machine-gun or -gunner. (2) A helicopter. (3) A motor-cycle. (4) (orig. U.S.) pl. Teeth; esp. (a set of) false teeth. Christer (n) (U.S.) An over-zealous or sanctimonious person. Opening and(1)Executive Summary .............................. chuffed (adj)Considerations (orig. Military slang) Pleased, satisfied. (2) Displeased, disgruntled. 11 chunder (Austral.) To vomit. Fabio(v)Baggio, Laura Zanfrini chutty (n) (Austral. and N.Z.) Also chuddy. Chewing gum. ciao (int) An informal Italian greeting or farewell, hello; good-bye. 1. Ethics and Human Rights civvy (n) pl. Civilian clothes, mufti. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 clap a guy on (phr) (Nautical slang) To put a stop to; to ‘stow’. Mario clapper (n)Santillo The tongue of a bell, which strikes it on the inside and causes it to sound. As like the clappers, very fast or very hard. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 clean (adj) Free from suspicion of criminal or treacherous intent or involvement; not carrying incriminating material (as weapons, etc.). ............................. 21 1.2 International Instrument fordrugs, Migrants’ Defence clean-up (n) (orig. U.S.) A profit; an exceptional financial success; also, a robbery or its 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 proceeds. clippie (n) Also clippy. A bus-conductress. Bibliography clobber (n) Clothes.......................................................................................... 25 clock (n) (1) The human face. (2) A punch (on the face). closet queen (n) Policies A secret male 2. Migration andhomosexual. Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 cloth ears (n) A person with a poor sense of hearing. Fabio Baggio cluck (n) (U.S.) A dull or unintelligent person, a fool. cobblers (n) From cobbler’s (or cobblers’) awls,and rhyming for balls, testicles; 2.1 International Migration in East Asia South slang East Asia.............. 27 nonsense, rubbish. 2.2(n)Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 cock (1) The penis. (2) Used as a form of address to a man. (3) Short for cock-andbull story, a fictitious narrative. Hence (esp. spoken) nonsense, an unfounded 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 statement. (v) With up: to bungle or mess up (a situation, task, etc.); to spoil, to ruin. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 cocoa (v) Also coco. Rhyming slang for ‘say so’. Freq. used ironically. coke (n) (orig. U.S.) Cocaine. (v) To drug oneself with cocaine. st Century. 3. Immigration theAn 21addict coke-head (n) (orig.in U.S.) or habitual user of cocaine. The(n)Need Ethical Approach. cokey (U.S.)for Alsoan cokie. A cocaine addict. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 coldChristine turkey (n) (orig. N. Amer.) method of treating drug addicts by sudden and Baghdady, RichardAVanderberg complete withdrawal of the drug, instead of by a gradual process. 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 cold-turkey (v) To cure of drug addiction by ‘cold turkey’ treatment. collekkers (n) (University slang) An examination at the end of each term in the colleges 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 of the University of Oxford.
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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combo (n) (1) Combination, partnership. (2) (Austral.) A white man who lives with an Table ofwoman. Contents Aboriginal come-on (n) (orig. U.S.) (1) (The victim of) a swindler. (2) An inducement; an invitation to approach. Commie (n) Also Commy, (chiefly Austral. and N.Z.) Commo. A communist. common (n) Common sense. compo (n) (Austral. and N.Z.) Compensation, esp. that paid for an injury received while working. con (n) (1) (Criminals’ slang) Convict, conviction. (2) Confidant. (3) Conundrum. (4) Conformist. (5) Contract. connect (v) (1) To meet in order to obtain drugs (from). (2) (U.S.) To succeed in obtaining something (e.g. in a burglary). connection (n) (orig. U.S.) (1) A supplier of narcotics. (2) The action of supplying Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 narcotics. coo-er (int)Baggio, An exclamation expressing surprise or incredulity. Fabio Laura Zanfrini cook (v) Also followed by up. To prepare opium for use by the application of heat. cookie (n) and (orig.Human U.S.) (1)Rights A woman; esp. an attractive girl. (2) A man, often with 1. Ethics defining word. (3) (Air Force slang) A bomb. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 cool (adj) (orig. U.S., in African-American usage) As a general term of approval, Mario Santillo admirable, excellent. cooler (n) A prison or prison cell. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 cop (n) (1) A policeman. (2) Capture; used chiefly in a fair cop. (v) (Schoolboys’, Criminals’, Policemen’s slang) (1) capture, catch. (2) To............................. steal. 1.2 International Instrument forTo Migrants’ Defence 21 copper (n) A policeman or police informant. 1.3 Some 23 cop-shop (n) AFinal policeReflections................................................................... station. corking (ppl adj) (chiefly U.S.) Unusually fine, large, or excellent; stunning. ......................................................................................... 25 cowBibliography (n) (1) Applied to a coarse or degraded woman. Also, loosely, any woman, used esp. as a coarse form of address. (2) (Austral. and N.Z.) An objectionable person or thing, a distasteful situation, etc. 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 crack (n) (1) (Thieves’ slang) House-breaking. (2) A burglar. (3) (orig. U.S.) A potent, Fabio Baggio crystalline form of cocaine broken into small pieces. cracked (ppl adj) Unsound in mind,in slightly insane,and crazy. 2.1 International Migration East Asia South East Asia.............. 27 crackers (pred adj) Crazy, mad; infatuated. 2.2 Migration Policies ESEA............................................................ 34 crackhead (n) (orig. U.S.) Ain person who habitually takes or is addicted to crack cocaine. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 crammer (n) (1) (orig. University slang) One who prepares pupils for an examination. (2) A lie. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 crap (n) (1) (coarse) Excrement; defecation. (2) Rubbish, nonsense. (v) (1) To defecate. (2) (U.S.) To talk nonsensestto; to act or speak deceitfully to. 3. Immigration 21 Century. crapper (n) (coarse)in A the privy. The(adj) Need forU.S., an Ethical Approach. The Canadian crappy (orig. coarse) Rubbishy; worthless; disgusting. Experience ..... 51 credChristine (n) Credibility; reputation or status among one’s peers. (adj) Credible; fashionable, Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg trendy. 3.1 (n) World Population ............................................................. creep (1) (orig. U.S.) AIncrease despicable, worthless, stupid, or tiresome person. 51 (2) (Criminals’ slang) A stealthy robber; a sneak thief. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 creeping Jesus (n) An abject, sycophantic, or servile person.
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crikey (int) Also crickey, cricky. An exclamation of astonishment. From Christ. Table ofandContents crim (n) (U.S. Austral.) A criminal. crimper (n) A hairdresser. cripes (int) In the exclamation (by) cripes!, vulgar perversion of Christ. croaker (n) (now chiefly U.S.) A doctor, esp. a prison doctor. crooked (adj) (Austral. and N.Z.) Irritable, bad-tempered, angry. crumb (n) (1) (U.S.) A body-louse. (2) (orig. U.S.) A lousy or filthy person. crumby (adj) Lousy; filthy. crumpet (n) The head. crystal (n) (orig. and chiefly U.S.) Any of various narcotic drugs in crystalline or powdered form, esp. an amphetamine in crystalline form. Cubesville (n) (U.S.) A group or set of extremely conventional or conservative persons. cuckoo (n) A silly person. (adj) (orig. U.S.) Crazy, out of one’s wits. Opening Considerations and Executive .............................. 11 culture vulture (n) A person who is voracious for Summary culture. cuntFabio (n) (1)Baggio, The external genital organs. (2) Applied to a person, esp. a woman, Laurafemale Zanfrini as a term of vulgar abuse. cupper (n) and (Oxford University slang) A series of intercollegiate matches played in 1. Ethics Human Rights competition for a cup. Freq. in pl. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 cutie (n) (orig. U.S.) Also cutey. A cute person; esp. an attractive young woman. Mario cut-out (n) Santillo A person acting as a middle-man, esp. in espionage. D. (n) (1) A detective. (2) LSD. (3) Narcotics. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 daddy-o (n) Daddy. dago (orig. U.S.) AInstrument name given to Portuguese, Italians in general,21 or 1.2(n)International forSpaniards, Migrants’ Defenceand ............................. used as a disparaging term for any foreigner. From Spanish Diego, James. 1.3(n) Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 daisy (chiefly U.S.) A first-rate thing or person. (adj) First-rate, charming. darky (n) Also darkey. (1) The night. (2) A dark-lantern. Bibliography 25 dead (adv) Utterly,......................................................................................... completely. As in dead to rights, completely, certainly. deader (n) A dead person, a corpse. dead-head (v) (chiefly U.S.) To Ethics drive anin empty taxi,East etc. Asia............ 27 2. Migration Policies and Easttrain, andtruck, South dead soldier (n) (U.S.) An empty bottle. Fabio Baggio debag (v) To remove the trousers from (a person) as a punishment or for a joke. dee2.1 (n) International A detective. Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 def (adj) (orig. U.S., esp. in African-American usage) Excellent, outstanding; 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 fashionable. delouse (v) To free from something unpleasant. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 derry (n) A derelict building. desBibliography res (n) (Estate-agents’ jargon) A house or other dwelling-place presented as47a ......................................................................................... highly desirable purchase. From desirable residence. dex (n) (orig. U.S.) Also dexie.st(A tablet of) the drug Dexedrine. 3. Immigration the 21 dicey (adj) (orig. AirinForce slang)Century. Risky, dangerous; uncertain, unreliable. The for anwhip. Ethical Approach. The(3) Canadian Experience dick (n) Need (1) A riding (2) (coarse) The penis. A detective, a policeman...... (4)51 A dictionary.Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg Christine dick-head (n) Also dickhead. A stupid person. World Increase ............................................................. 51 dif 3.1 (n) Also diff.Population Difference. (adj) Different. dig (n) (1) (Austral. and N.Z.) An Australian or New Zealander. (2) (U.S., Students’ 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 slang) A diligent or plodding student.
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dill (n) (Austral. and N.Z.) Also dil. A fool or simpleton; spec. one who is duped by a Table trickster.of Contents dilly (adj) (chiefly Austral.) Foolish, stupid, mad. From daft and silly. ding-a-ling (n) (1) (N. Amer.) One who is crazy or insane; an eccentric. (2) The penis. ding-dong (n) A heated argument; a quarrel. dinge (n) Dinginess. dink (n) (orig. N. Amer.) Also dinkie, dinky. Either partner of a usu. professional working couple who have no children. From double (also dual) income no kids. dinky-die (adj) (Austral. and N.Z.) Honest, genuine, real. dirty (adv) As an intensive, very, exceedingly. dis (adj) Broken, not working. dish (n) An attractive person, esp. a woman. dishy (adj) Very attractive, esp. sexually. Opening and Executive .............................. 11 Divvers (n)Considerations (Oxford University slang) Divinity Summary honour moderations, the first public examination in Holy Scripture. Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini divvy (n) Also divi. A dividend. DLEthics (n) (orig. in Human African-American 1. and Rights usage) From down-low in on the down-low: quiet, low-profile; in secret; (in later use) spec. (of a man) secretly engaging in inhomosexual the Southactivity. American Migration Processes .................................... 15 Mario Santillo do (v) (1) To arrest; to charge; to convict. (2) (chiefly U.S.) To take (a hallucinogenic or other drug); to smoke (marijuana). (3) To break into; to burgle or rob. (4) With in, 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 to bring disaster upon, do a great injury to, ruin; often, to murder, kill. dodger (adj) (Austral.) Instrument Good, excellent. 1.2 International for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 doer (n) One who cheats another. Final Reflections................................................................... dog1.3 (n)Some (1) A gay or jovial man; a fellow, ‘chap’. (2) A worthless, despicable, surly,23 or cowardly fellow. (3) (U.S. and Austral.) An informer; a traitor; esp. one who Bibliography betrays fellow......................................................................................... criminals. (4) (U.S.) Something poor or mediocre; a failure. (5)25 A horse that is slow, difficult to handle, etc. (6) pl. From dog’s meat, rhyming slang for ‘feet’. (7) pl. Sausages. (8) (orig. U.S., and derog., usu. East considered offens.) An 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East South Asia............ 27 unattractive woman, girl, or man. Fabio Baggio dog and bone (n) (Brit.) Rhyming slang for ‘telephone’. doggo As to lie doggo, to lie quiet, to remain hid. South East Asia.............. 27 2.1 (adv) International Migration in East Asia and doggy (adj) Dashing, stylish, smart. 2.2 Migration Policies ESEA............................................................ dog-robber (n) (1) A navy orin army officer’s orderly. (2) pl. Civilian clothes worn by34a naval officer on shore leave. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 dog’s age (n) (orig. U.S.) A long time. dog’s body (n) A junior person, esp. one to whom a variety of menial tasks is given. 47 Bibliography ......................................................................................... dog’s breakfast (n) Also dog’s dinner. A mess. dog’s meat (n) Rhyming slangst for ‘feet’. 3. Immigration the 21 aCentury. doing (vbl n) (dial.)in A scolding; thrashing, beating-up; a severe monetary loss. for an Ethical TheorCanadian Experience ..... 51a dollThe (n) Need A woman; a girl; esp. aApproach. very beautiful attractive woman; also occas., pleasant orBaghdady, attractive man. Christine Richard Vanderberg dolly-bird (n) Also dolly. An attractive and stylish young woman. 3.1(n) World Increase ............................................................. 51 DOM Dirty Population old man. donkey-lick (v) (Austral.) To defeat easily (e.g. in a horse-race). 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 donkey’s breakfast (n) (1) A straw mattress. (2) A straw hat.
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doo-doo (n) (orig. and chiefly N. Amer., euphem.) (1) Faeces, excrement. (2) Nonsense, Table rubbish. of Contents doohickey (n) (orig. and chiefly U.S.) Also doojigger. Any small object, esp. mechanical. From doodad and hickey. doozer (n) (N. Amer.) Something remarkable, amazing, or unbelievable. doozy (adj) (orig. and chiefly N. Amer.) Also doozie. Remarkable, excellent; also, amazing, incredible. dope (n) (orig. U.S.) (1) A preparation, mixture, or drug which is not specifically named. (2) A person under the influence of, or addicted to, some drug. (3) Information, a statement, etc., designed to gloss over or disguise facts. (v) (1) To administer dope to (a person, a horse); to stupefy with a drug; to drug. (2) To take or be addicted to drugs. dopester (n) (orig. U.S.) (1) One who collects information on, and forecasts the result Opening Considerations and of, sporting events, elections, etc.Executive (2) One whoSummary sells, uses, .............................. or is addicted to, drugs.11 dopey (adj)Baggio, (orig. U.S.) Also dopy. (1) Sluggish or stupefied, with or as with a drug. (2) Fabio Laura Zanfrini Stupid. dopily (adv)and In a Human ‘dopey’ manner. 1. Ethics Rights dosser (n) One who stays at a common lodging-house. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 doss-house (n) A common lodging-house. Mario Santillo dotty (adj) Silly, stupid. double O (n) (U.S.) An intense look. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 down (n) Also downer or downie. Freq. in pl. A drug (esp. a barbiturate) that has a depressant or tranquillizing effect. 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 drag king (n) (orig. in gay and lesbian usage) After drag queen. A woman who dresses 1.3 Final Reflections................................................................... 23 up Some as a man; a male impersonator. drag queen (n) A male homosexual transvestite. Bibliography ......................................................................................... dream-boat (n) (orig. U.S.) An exceptionally attractive or pleasing person or thing. 25 dreamy (adj) (orig. U.S.) Perfect, ideal; delightful, beautiful. drear (n) A dreary person. and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 2. Migration Policies drippy (adj) (orig. U.S.) Drivelling, sloppily sentimental. Fabio Baggio drongo (n) (Austral.) A simpleton, a stupid person. (adj) Silly, foolish. droopy drawers (n) AnMigration untidy, sloppy, or depressing such a man). 27 2.1 International in East Asia andwoman South(occas., East Asia.............. drop-in (n) (U.S.) Something which is easy; easy money. 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 dropper (n) One who passes counterfeit money, cheques, etc. druggie (n) Also druggy. One who takes or experiments with illegal drugs, a drug 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 addict. druggy (adj) Characteristic of narcotic drugs or their users. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 drug-store cowboy (n) (U.S.) A braggart, loafer, or good-for-nothing. drummer (n) (1) A thief, esp.stone who robs an unoccupied house. (2) (Austral. and 3. Immigration in the 21 Century. N.Z.) A swagman or tramp. Need Ethical Approach. The Canadian ..... 51 dryThe out (v) Of afor drugan addict, alcoholic, etc.: to undergo treatment toExperience cure addiction. D.T.Christine (n) (vulgar) Delirium tremens. Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg duck’s disease (n) Also ducks’ disease. A facetious expression for shortness of leg. 3.1(n) World Population ............................................................. 51 ducky Also duckie. A termIncrease of endearment. dude (n) A fellow or ‘chap’, a ‘guy’. Hence also approvingly, esp. (through Black E.) 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 applied to a member of one’s own circle or group.
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duff (v) (1) To dress or manipulate (a thing) fraudulently. (2) (Austral., Thieves’ slang) Table Contents To steal of (cattle), altering the brands. duffer (n) (1) One who sells trashy goods as valuable, upon false pretences, e.g. pretending that they are smuggled or stolen, and offered as bargains. (2) (Austral.) One who ‘duffs’ cattle. Dullsville (n) (U.S.) An imaginary town characterized by extreme dullness or boredom. dumb-dumb (n) (N. Amer.) Also dum-dum. A foolish or stupid person. dumbo (n) (orig. U.S.) A slow-witted or stupid person. dummie (n) Also dummee, dummy. A deaf-mute. Dutchie (n) Also Dutchee, Dutchy. A Dutchman or a German. dynamite (n) (orig. U.S.) Heroin or a similar narcotic. E (n) The hallucinogenic drug ‘Ecstasy’. ear-basher (n) (chiefly Austral.) A chatterer; a bore. Opening Considerations andears Executive 11 earful (n) As much (talk) as one’s can take inSummary at one time;.............................. a large quantity (of talk, gossip,Baggio, etc.). Laura Zanfrini Fabio easy-peasy (adj) (orig. and chiefly Brit., Children’s slang) Extremely easy, very simple. easy rider (n) (U.S.) (1) A sexually 1. Ethics and Human Rights satisfying lover. (2) A guitar. ecstasy (n) Also Ecstasy. A powerful synthetic hallucinogenic drug. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 eejit (n) (chiefly Anglo-Irish) Idiot. Mario Santillo eff (v) To ‘fuck’. egg-beater (n) (U.S.) A helicopter. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 ekker (n) (University or School slang) Exercise. elephants (adj) From elephant’s trunk, slangDefence for ‘drunk’. 1.2 International Instrument forrhyming Migrants’ ............................. 21 Endsville (n) (U.S.) Also Endville. The greatest, the best; the imaginary home of good 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 things or people. eppie (n) (Brit.) Also eppy. A fit of temper or a tantrum, likened hyperbolically to an Bibliography epileptic fit. ......................................................................................... 25 ex (n) (1) A former husband, wife or lover. (2) pl. Expenses. ex-con (n) A former convict. 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 eyeball (v) (U.S.) Also eye-ball. To look or stare (at). Fabio Baggio eyeful (n) (1) A ‘good look’ at something; an exhilarating or remarkable sight. (2) A strikingly attractiveMigration woman. in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 2.1 International Eyetalian (n) An Italian. Cf. (offens.) Eyetie. 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ eyewash (n) (Military slang) Also eye-wash. (1) Unnecessary routine tasks 34 or ceremonial. (2) Humbug, blarney; nonsense. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 eyewasher (n) One who obscures or conceals actual facts or motives. fabBibliography (adj) Fabulous:......................................................................................... marvellous, terrific. 47 face-ache (n) A mournful-looking person; also as a term of address. fag (n) (1) (U.S.) A cigarette. (2) The fag-end of a cigarette. (3) (U.S.) A (male) 3. Immigration 21sttoCentury. homosexual. (v)inTothe smoke; supply with a cigarette. The(n)Need Ethical The Canadian Experience ..... 51 faggot (orig.for andan chiefly U.S.)Approach. A (male) homosexual. faggoty (adj) Also faggy. Homosexual. Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg fairy (n) A male homosexual. 3.1 (n World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 falsies pl.) (orig. U.S.) A padded brassière; breast-pads. Family (n) (1) Usu. with the. The thieving fraternity. (2) (orig. and chiefly U.S.) (The 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 members of) a local organizational unit of the Mafia.
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family jewels (n pl.) (orig. U.S.) The male genitals, esp. the testicles. Table fancy pants of (n) AContents dandy; a snob. (adj) As fancy-pants, overly fancy; posh; snobbish, pretentious. Fannie Mae (n) Federal National Mortgage Association. fanny (n) (1) (orig. and chiefly U.S.) The posterior or rump. (2) (chiefly Brit.) The female genitals. Fanny Adams (n) Also sweet Fanny Adams. Nothing at all. fantabulous (adj) Of almost incredible excellence. From fantastic and fabulous. far-out (adj) (orig. U.S.) Excellent, splendid. fart (n) (1) A breaking wind. (2) A contemptible person. fash (n) Fashion. (adj) Fashionable. fat cat (n) (orig. and chiefly U.S.) A political backer. fat-mouth (n) (U.S.) One who talks extravagantly. (v) To talk a great deal about Opening Considerations Executive something, with little or noand action or result. Summary .............................. 11 fatso (n) Used humorously derisively as a nickname for a fat person. Fabio Baggio, Laura or Zanfrini fave (n, adj) (orig. U.S.) Favourite. faveEthics rave (n)and A special favourite piece of music, film, musician, etc. 1. Human Rights Fed (n) A federalist, a federal official, esp. an FBI agent. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 feeb (n) (U.S.) A feeble-minded person. Mario Santillo wing or mudguard. fender (n) Vehicle’s fender-bender (n) (chiefly U.S.) A (usu. minor) motor accident. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 fiddley-did (n) (Austral.) Rhyming slang for quid, one pound; a pound note. filth1.2 (n)International (Criminals’ slang) The police. Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 fish (n) (1) (U.S.) A dollar. (2) (Nautical slang) A torpedo; also, a submarine. 1.3 Some Final(n) Reflections................................................................... five-finger discount (U.S.) The activity or proceeds of stealing or of shop-lifting. 23 fiver (n) (Thieves’ slang) A fifth (term of imprisonment). Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 five-to-two (n) Rhyming slang for ‘Jew’. fix (n) Also fix-up. A dose of a narcotic drug. fizzer (n) Anything excellent or first-rate. 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 flage (n) Also fladge. Flagellation, esp. as a means of sexual gratification. Fabio Baggio flake (n) (chiefly U.S.) One who is ‘flaky’ or liable to act in an eccentric or crazy manner. 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 flaky (adj) Crazy; feeble-minded, stupid. 2.2 Migration Policies The in ESEA............................................................ 34 flaming (vbl n) (Computing) action or practice of sending inflammatory or abusive messages by e-mail. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 flaming onions (n) (Services’ slang) An anti-aircraft projectile consisting of about ten balls of fire shot upwards in succession. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 flannel-mouth (n) (U.S.) An empty talker. flasher (n) One who exposes himself indecently. 3. Immigration the 21st Century. flat-head (n) A fool,insimpleton. The for an Ethical Approach. Canadian Experience ..... 51 flatty (n)Need (orig. U.S.) A ‘flat-foot’, a policeman, The a plain-clothes man. flickChristine (n) A film; also in pl., Richard the cinema. Baghdady, Vanderberg flim (n) A bank-note. World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 flip3.1 (adj) Flippant. flipping (adj, adv) (usu. derog.) Used as a substitute for a strong expletive. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 flit (n) A male homosexual.
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flowery (n) From flowery dell, rhyming slang for ‘a prison cell’. Table of Contents fly (adj) (1) (U.S.) Stylish, sophisticated; fashionable. (2) (chiefly Black E.) Attractive, good-looking; hence, excellent, fabulous. fly-by-night (n) One who defrauds his creditors by decamping in the night. footer (n) Football. footy (n) (1) Also footie, footie-footie, footsie-footsie, footsy-footsy, footy-footy. Amorous play with the feet. (2) (esp. Austral. and N.Z.) Football. foozling (n) Bungling. forty (n) (Austral.) A ‘crook’, thief, sharper. forty-rod whisky (n) (U.S.) Cheap, fiery whisky. four-eyes (n) A person who habitually wears spectacles. four-flusher (n) One who bluffs, a pretender, braggart, humbug. four-letter man (n) (Brit.) An obnoxious person. Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 fox (n) (U.S.) An attractive woman. foxyFabio (adj) (U.S.) Of aLaura woman: attractive, desirable, pretty, sexy. Baggio, Zanfrini frag (v) (U.S., Military slang) To throw a fragmentation grenade at one’s superior officer.and Human Rights 1. Ethics frail (n) (chiefly U.S.) A woman. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 frat (n) (U.S., College slang) (1) Fraternity. (2) A member of fraternity. (v) To Mario Santillo fraternize, esp. to cultivate friendly relations with (troops of an opposing army). fratter (n) One who establishes friendly and esp. sexual relations with German women. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 fratting (vbl n) Friendly relations between British and American soldiers and German women in the occupied parts of Western Germany after the............................. war of 1939-45. 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence 21 freak (n) (1) A drug addict. (2) A gay man or a lesbian. (3) A person who enjoys 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 unorthodox sexual practices; a fetishist. (4) (U.S., esp. in African-American usage) An attractive young woman or (rare) man. Bibliography freak-out (n) An ......................................................................................... intense emotional experience, esp. one resulting from the use 25 of hallucinatory drugs. freak out (v) ToPolicies undergo an intense emotional to East become stimulated, esp. 2. Migration and Ethics in Eastexperience, and South Asia............ 27 under the influence of hallucinatory drugs. Fabio Baggio freebase (n) (orig. U.S.) Cocaine purified by heating with ether, and taken (illegally) by inhaling the fumes Migration or smoking the residue. (v)and To make a ‘freebase’ of (cocaine).27 2.1 International in East Asia South East Asia.............. freebie (n) (U.S.) Also freebee, freeby. Something that is provided free. (adj) Free, 2.2 Migration without charge.Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 French blue (n) The name for a non-proprietary mixture of amphetamine and a 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 barbiturate. frightener (n) A member of a criminal gang who intimidates the victims of its activities. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 Fritz (n) A German, esp. a German soldier. froggy (n) Also frog, froggee or frog-eater. A term of contempt for a Frenchman, from 3. Immigration in the 21stfrogs. Century. their reputed habit of eating (adj) French. The for an Ethical Approach. TheofCanadian frosh (n)Need (N. Amer.) A college freshman; a member a freshmanExperience sports team. ..... 51 fruitcake (n) (orig. U.S.) A Richard crazy or eccentric person. Christine Baghdady, Vanderberg fubar (adj) (U.S., orig. Military slang) Also FUBAR. Bungled, ruined, messed up. From 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 fouled (or fucked) up beyond all recognition. fuck (v) To copulate (with); to have sexual connection with. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 fucker (n) One who copulates. Also in extended use as a general term of abuse.
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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fud (n) (orig. and chiefly U.S.) An old-fashioned person. From fuddy-duddy. Table full as a googof (adjContents phr) Drunk. From Austral. slang goog, egg. fully (v) To commit (a person) for trial. funk (n) (1) (orig. U.S.) Music that is ‘funky’. (2) Cowering fear; a state of panic or shrinking terror. (3) One who funks; a coward. (v) (1) To flinch or shrink through fear. (2) To blow smoke upon (a person); to annoy with smoke. funky (adj) (orig. U.S.) Of jazz or similar music: down-to-earth and uncomplicated; emotional. furphy (n) (Austral.) A false report or rumour; an absurd story. fussock (n) Also fuzzock. A fat, unwieldy woman. fuzz (n) (orig. U.S.) A policeman or detective; freq. collect., the police. G. (n) (U.S.) ‘Grand’, a thousand dollars. gabfest (n) (U.S.) A gathering for talk; a spell of talking; a prolonged conference or Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 conversation. gaffer (n) A foremanLaura or boss. Fabio Baggio, Zanfrini gaga (n) A doting or senile person; a madman. (adj) Doting, exhibiting senile decay; mad; fatuous. 1. Ethics and Human Rights gal (n) (chiefly N. Amer.) Vulgar and dialect pronunciation of girl. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 gang-bang (n) (orig. U.S.) An act of or occasion for multiple intercourse; a sexual orgy. Mario Santillo garbo (n) (Austral.) A dustman, a collector of rubbish. garn (int) Cockney pronunciation of go on, often used to express disbelief or ridicule of 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 a statement. gas1.2 (n)International (1) Empty or Instrument boastful talk;for showy pretence; humbug, nonsense. (2) (AngloMigrants’ Defence ............................. 21 Irish) Fun; a joke. (3) Someone who is very pleasing, exciting, impressive, 1.3 Some Final admirable, etc. Reflections................................................................... 23 gasbag (n) An empty talker. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 gassed (ppl adj) Drunk; intoxicated. gasser (n) (orig. U.S.) Something or someone that is very pleasing, exciting, impressive, admirable, etc. Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 2. Migration Policies and gassy (adj) Characterized by empty talk. Fabio Baggio gate (n) The mouth. gator (orig. U.S.) Alligator. 2.1(n) International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 gaydar (n) An ability, attributed esp. to homosexual people, to identify a (fellow) 2.2 Migration Policies ESEA............................................................ 34 homosexual person. Fromingay and radar. gay deceivers (n pl.) A padded brassière; breast-pads. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 gazump (v) Of a seller: to raise the price of a property after having accepted an offer by (an intending buyer). Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 gazunder (v) (Brit., humorous) Of a buyer: to lower the amount of an offer made to (the seller) for a property. Fromstgazump and under. 3. Immigration in the 21 heroin; Century. gear (n) (1) (U.S.) Marijuana; drugs in general. (2) The organs of generation. NeedAfor anfellow. Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 geeThe (n) (U.S.) man, From guy. geed-up (adj) Drugged. Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg gee-gee (n) A horse. Population ............................................................. gen3.1 (n)World (orig. Services’ slang)Increase Information, facts. Perhaps abbreviation of general in 51 the official phr for the general information of all ranks.
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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gender-bender (n) A person (esp. a pop singer or follower of a pop cult) who Table of affects Contents deliberately an androgynous appearance by wearing sexually ambiguous clothing, make-up, etc. get (n) A fool, idiot. G.I. (n) A German artillery shell. Chiefly in G.I. can. From galvanized iron. giggle-water (n) Intoxicating liquor. gimp (n) A cripple; a lame person or leg; a limp. gimpy (n) (orig. U.S.) A cripple. (adj) Lame, crippled. ginger-beer (n) Also ginger. Rhyming slang for queer, a homosexual. ginormous (adj) Very large, simply enormous; excessive in size, amount, etc. From gigantic and enormous. gippy (n) Also gyppie, gyppy or gippo, gypo, gyppo. (1) An Egyptian, esp. a native Egyptian soldier. (2) A gipsy. Opening Considerations and Executive git (n) In contemptuous use: a worthless person. Summary .............................. 11 giveFabio (a person) the hump To annoy, depress, a person. Baggio, Laura(phr) Zanfrini glad eye (n) A look or movement of the eyes designed to attract a person of the opposite sex. and Human Rights 1. Ethics glad hand (n) Hand of welcome; a cordial handshake or greeting. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 glam (n) Glamour. (adj) Glamorous. (v) To glamorize. Marioboy Santillo glamour (n) A member of the R.A.F. glamour puss (n) A glamorous person. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 glass-house (n) A military prison or guard-room. glitterati (n) (orig. U.S.) The celebrities ‘glittering’Defence stars of fashionable society, or21 of 1.2 International Instrument for or Migrants’ ............................. the literary and show-business world. 1.3 Final Reflections................................................................... 23 glitz (n)Some (orig. and chiefly N. Amer.) An extravagant but superficial display; showiness, ostentation. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 glitzy (adj) Characterized by glitter or extravagant show; ostentatious. glob (n) A mass or lump of some liquid or semi-liquid substance. From gob and blob. glue-sniffer (n) Policies A person and who Ethics inhales the fumesand of plastic for their narcotic 2. Migration in East Southcement East Asia............ 27 effects. Fabio Baggio gobby (n) A coastguard, or an American sailor. go 2.1 big (v phr) (orig. U.S.) To be a big haveand a large sale.East Asia.............. 27 International Migration in success, East Asia South gobsmacked (ppl adj) (Brit.) Also gob-struck. Flabbergasted, astounded; speechless or 2.2 Migration in ESEA............................................................ 34 incoherent withPolicies amazement. gobstick (n) A clarinet. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 gob-stopper (n) A large, hard, freq. spherical sweet for sucking. God-awful (adj) (orig. U.S.) Terrible; extremely awful. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 God-box (n) A church or other place of worship. God-damned (adj) Accursed, damnable. 3. Immigration in the 21stforCentury. God forbid (n) Rhyming slang ‘kid’. The Need for an Ethical goggle-box (n) A television set. Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 going-over (n)Baghdady, (orig. U.S.) Also going over. A beating; a thrashing. Christine Richard Vanderberg go it (v phr) To go along at great speed. 3.1 World gold-dig (v) To Population extract moneyIncrease from. ............................................................. 51 gold-digger (n) (orig. U.S.) A girl or woman who attaches herself to a man merely for 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 gain.
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goner (n) One who is dead or undone; something which is doomed or ended. Table of Contents gonger (n) (U.S.) (1) Opium. (2) An opium pipe. good oil (n) (Austral.) Reliable information. goof (n) (1) A foolish or stupid person. (2) A mistake. (v) (1) To dawdle, to spend time idly or foolishly. (2) To make a mistake. goof ball (n) (1) Also goof pill. (A tablet of) any of various drugs, spec. marijuana. (2) A silly, stupid, or ‘daft’ person. goofy (adj) Stupid, silly. goo-goo (adj) Of the eyes or glances: amorous. goopy (adj) (orig. U.S.) Fatuous, esp. fatuously amorous; stupid. Gor blimey! (int) Also Gawblimy, Gorblimey, Gorblimy. Vulgar corruption of the imprecation God blind me. Gordon Bennett (int) An exclamation of astonishment or exasperation. From Gor Opening blimey.Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 graft (n) (1)Baggio, Work, esp. hardZanfrini work. (2) A trade, craft. (v) To work hard. Fabio Laura grafter (n) (orig. U.S.) One who makes money by shady or dishonest means; a thief; a swindler. 1. Ethics and Human Rights grass (n) (1) Green vegetables. (2) (orig. U.S.) Marijuana, used as a drug. (3) The inground. the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 (4) (Criminals’ slang) A police informer. (v) (1) To knock or throw (an Mario Santillo adversary) down; to fell. (2) To betray (someone); to inform the police about (someone). 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 grease-ball (n) (U.S.) A derogatory term for a foreigner, esp. applied to one of Mediterranean or Latin American 1.2 International Instrument fororigin. Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 grease monkey (n) A mechanic. 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 greaser (n) (U.S.) A native Mexican or native Spanish American. greasy spoon (restaurant) (n) (orig. U.S.) A cheap and inferior eating-house. Bibliography 25 green (n) (1) (orig.......................................................................................... U.S.) Marijuana of poor quality. (2) pl. Money. greenback (n) A frog. greenhouse (n) (Aeronautical The covering overAsia............ observation and 2. Migration Policies andslang) Ethics inglass Eastcockpit and South East 27 similar planes. Fabio Baggio greenie (n) (Surfing slang) A large wave before it breaks. gremmie (n) (Surfing Migration slang) Also in gremmy. (1) Aand young surfer. A trouble-maker 2.1 International East Asia South East(2)Asia.............. 27 who spends most of his time on the beaches but does not surf. 2.2(n)Migration in ESEA............................................................ grey (U.S., BlackPolicies E.) A white-skinned person. (adj) Of a person: white-skinned. 34 greycing (n) Greyhound racing, a sport in which a dummy hare propelled mechanically 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 round a set track is pursued by greyhounds. gricer (n) A railway enthusiast; loosely, a train-spotter. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 griff (n) News; reliable information. grift (n) (U.S.) The obtaining of profit or advantage by dishonest or shady means. 3. Immigration in student. the 21st(2)Century. grind (n) (1) A hard (An act of) sexual intercourse. (v) To have sexual The Need for Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 intercourse withan (a woman). grody (adj) (U.S.) Disgusting, revolting. Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg groise (n) (Public School slang) (1) A hard worker, a swot; one who curries favour. (2) 3.1 World Increase ............................................................. 51 Hard work.Population (v) To work hard, to swot; to curry favour. groovy (adj) (orig. U.S.) A general term of commendation: excellent, very good.
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Groper (n) (1) (Austral.) A jocular appellation for a native West Australian. (2) A blind Table man. of Contents gross-out (n) (chiefly U.S.) An instance of (deliberately) crude or disgusting behaviour; a repellent or shocking person or thing. (adj) Shocking, repellent, disgusting. grot (n) (Brit. and Austral.) An unpleasant, dirty, or ugly person. (adj) Also grotty. Unpleasant, dirty, nasty, ugly. groupie (n) (1) (R.A.F. slang) A group captain. (2) Also groupy. An ardent follower of a touring pop group. grumble (n) From grumble and grunt, rhyming slang for cunt, a woman or women regarded collectively as a means of sexual gratification. grunge (n) (1) (U.S.) A style of rock music. (2) (chiefly N. Amer.) Someone or something that is repugnant or odious, unpleasant, or dull. grungy (adj) (chiefly N. Amer.) Grimy, unpleasant. From grubby and dingy. Opening Executive gum-bucketConsiderations (n) (Naval slang) Aand smoker’s pipe. Summary .............................. 11 gum-game (n) (U.S.)Laura A trickZanfrini or dodge. Fabio Baggio, gum-shoe (n) A detective. gungy (adj)and AlsoHuman gungey. Of a sticky or messy consistency; mucky, greasy, slimy. 1. Ethics Rights guppie (n) (1) A homosexual ‘yuppie’. From gay and yuppie. (2) A ‘yuppie’ concerned inabout the the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 environment and ecological issues. From green and yuppie. Mario Santillo gussie (n) (Austral.) An effeminate man. gussy (v) With up: to smarten up, esp. to dress smartly. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 gut (n) pl. Energy, verve, staying power; courage, force of character. gutted Bitterly disappointed; 1.2 (adj) International Instrumentdevastated. for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 gutty (adj) (Jazz slang) Earthy, primitive. 23 guv1.3 (n)Some Used asFinal a termReflections................................................................... of address to a man. guzzle-guts (n) A glutton. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 H (n) Heroin. habit (n) (orig. U.S.) The practice of taking addictive drugs. hack (n) (1) (orig. disparaging, chiefly jocular) A journalist or reporter, esp. a staff 2. Migration Policies and now Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 newspaper writer. (2) A prostitute; a bawd. Fabio Baggio hackette (n) A jocular or disparaging term for a female journalist. half-arsed (adj) Amer. Migration -assed. Ineffectual, stupid, inexperienced. 2.1 International in Eastinadequate, Asia andmediocre; South East Asia.............. 27 half-cut (adj) Half-drunk. 2.2 Migration in ESEA............................................................ 34 half-pie (adj) (N.Z.)Policies Halfway towards, imperfect, mediocre. half-shaved (ppl adj) (obs.) Also half shaved. Partly intoxicated, drunk. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 half-shot (adj) (orig. U.S.) Half-drunk. hammy (adj) Characteristic of a ham actor or ham acting. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 Hampsteads (n) From Hampstead Heath, rhyming slang for ‘teeth’. handbag (house) (n) A form ofstelectronic dance music. 3. Immigration in the 21 sentence. Century. handful (n) A five-year prison The for anslang) Ethical Canadian Experience 51 hang fiveNeed (v) (Surfing AlsoApproach. hang ten, etc.The To allow the specified number ..... of toes to project over the noseRichard of the surfboard, usu. to gain speed. Christine Baghdady, Vanderberg hang-out (n) (1) A residence; a lodging. (2) (Amer. University slang) A feast; an 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 entertainment. hang out (v) (1) (in early use chiefly U.S.) To spend or pass time, esp. habitually, idly, 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 or at leisure. (2) To reside, live.
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hanky-panky (n) (1) Jugglery, legerdemain; trickery, double dealing, underhand dealing. Table ofactivity Contents (2) Sexual or dalliance, esp. of a surreptitious nature. happening (ppl adj) (orig. U.S.) Currently in vogue, fashionable, trendy. happy dust (n) Cocaine. hard (n) Hard labour. hard-assed (adj) (orig. U.S.) Tough, uncompromising, resolute. hard cheese (n) (Brit.) Bad luck. hardcore (n) A form of popular music regarded as particularly extreme, aggressive, or experimental. hard tail (n) (U.S.) A mule. Harry (in phr) In arbitrary appositive uses of which a few have emerged as set expressions, e.g., Harry Flakers (Nautical slang), exhausted; Harry Flatters (Nautical slang), (of the sea) calm; Harry Frees (chiefly Nautical slang), free; Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 Harry James, nose. hash (n) Hashish. Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini hash-joint (n) (chiefly U.S.) A cheap eating-house, boarding house. hash-up (n)and A hastily cooked meal. 1. Ethics Human Rights hat-rack (n) (1) The head. (2) A scraggy animal. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 have-on (n) (Farmer slang) A swindle; a take-in; a do. Mario Santillo head (n) (orig. U.S.) A drug addict or drug-taker. head-banger (n) A young person shaking violently to the rhythm of pop music. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 head case (n) (orig. Brit.) A person characterized as mentally ill or unstable. head-shrinker (n) (orig.Instrument U.S.) A psychiatrist. 1.2 International for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 heat (n) (1) Also heater. A gun. (2) Involvement with or pursuit by the police; a police 1.3 Some officer, theFinal police.Reflections................................................................... (3) A state of intoxication caused by alcohol or drugs, esp. in23 to have a heat on. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 heavy sugar (n) (U.S.) Big money. heavy-wet (n) Malt liquor. heck (int) Euphemistic alteration of hell. in East and South East Asia............ 27 2. Migration Policies and Ethics heebie-jeebie(s) (n) (orig. U.S.) Also heebies. A feeling of discomfort, apprehension, or Fabio Baggio depression. heinie The buttocks.Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 2.1 (n) International Heinie (n) (N. Amer.) Also Heiney. A German (soldier). 2.2(n)Migration inaESEA............................................................ 34 heist (orig. U.S.)Policies A hold-up, robbery. (v) To hold up, rob, steal. hell’s bells (int) An expression of anger or annoyance. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 hep (adj) (orig. U.S.) Well-informed, knowledgeable, up-to-date; smart, stylish. herBibliography indoors (n) (Brit.) One’s wife or girlfriend. ......................................................................................... 47 herring choker (n) (1) (Canad.) A native or inhabitant of the Maritime Provinces. (2) (U.S.) A Scandinavian. st 3. Immigration in go theor21 highball (v) (U.S.) To driveCentury. at high speed. The Need an(1) Ethical Approach. Thewhich Canadian ..... 51 high-binder (n) for (U.S.) A rowdy; one of a gang commitsExperience outrages on persons and property. (2) One of a secretVanderberg society or gang said to exist among the Chinese in Christine Baghdady, Richard California and other parts of the United States for the purpose of blackmailing and 3.1 World Population ............................................................. 51 even of assassination. (3)Increase A swindler, esp. a fraudulent politician. high-roller (n) (U.S.) One who spends extravagantly; one who gambles for high stakes. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 hill (n) As hill of beans (orig. U.S.), a thing of little value.
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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hinny (n) Also hinnie. A term of endearment: sweet one, sweetheart, darling. From Table honey. of Contents hip (adj) (orig. U.S.) Well-informed, knowledgeable. From hep. (v) To inform. hippie (n) Also hippy. A hipster; a person, usually exotically dressed, who is given to the use of hallucinogenic drugs; a beatnik. hippieness (n) Also hippiness. The quality or characteristics of a ‘hippie’ or ‘hippies’. hippish (adj) Somewhat hypochondriacal; low-spirited. hippy (adj) (orig. U.S.) Characteristic of ‘hippies’. hipster (n) (orig. U.S.) Also hepster. An addict of jazz, swing music, etc. hit (n) (orig. U.S.) (1) A dose of a narcotic drug; the action of obtaining or administering such a dose. (2) A killing; a robbery. hit list (n) A list of persons to be assassinated. hit-man (n) A hired murderer. Opening and Summary .............................. 11 hit squad (n)Considerations (orig. U.S.) A group of Executive esp. politically-motivated assassins or kidnappers. ho Fabio (n) (chiefly U.S., orig. Zanfrini in African-American usage) (1) A sexually promiscuous Baggio, Laura woman. (2) A prostitute. From whore. hock-shop A pawnshop. 1. Ethics (n) and Human Rights hoke (v) (Theatrical slang) To overplay (a part), to act (a part) in an insincere, insentimental, the SouthorAmerican Migration Processes .................................... 15 melodramatic manner. Mario Santillo hokey (adj) (orig. U.S.) Sentimental, melodramatic, artificial. hokum (n) (orig. U.S., Theatrical slang) Speech, action, properties, etc., on the stage, 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 designed to make a sentimental or melodramatic appeal to an audience. hole (1) Also cake-hole. The mouth. (2) The anus, or the............................. external female genital 1.2(n)International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence 21 organs. 1.3 Some Final U.S., Reflections................................................................... 23 homeboy (n) (orig. esp. Black E.) A member of one’s peer group or gang. Sometimes used as a term of address. Bibliography 25 homegirl (n) (orig.......................................................................................... and chiefly U.S., esp. Black E.) A woman or girl from one’s home town, region, or neighbourhood; hence, a member of one’s peer group. homey (n) (N.Z.) Also homie. An Englishman; a British immigrant, esp. one newly 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 arrived. Fabio Baggio homo (n, adj) (A) homosexual. hood (chiefly U.S., Migration esp. in African-American A youthful rowdy. 2.1(n)International in East Asiausage) and South Eaststreet Asia.............. 27 hoofer (n) A (professional) dancer. 2.2(n)Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 hook pl. The fingers or hands. hook (v) (1) To solicit as a prostitute. (2) To move with a sudden turn or twist. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 hooker (n) (chiefly U.S.) A prostitute. Hooray Henry (n) A type of loud, rich, rather ineffectual or foolish young society man. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 hop (n) (chiefly Austral. and N.Z.) Beer. hophead (n) (1) (orig. and chiefly U.S.) An opium-smoker; a drug-addict. (2) (N.Z.) A 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. drunkard, a tippler. The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 hop-over (n) (Army slang) An assault. hopped-up (adj) (U.S.) (1) Richard Stimulated by, or under the influence of a narcotic drug. (2) Christine Baghdady, Vanderberg Excited, enthusiastic. (3) Of a motor vehicle: having its engine altered to give 3.1 Worldperformance. Population Increase ............................................................. 51 improved hoppy (n) (U.S.) An opium addict. (adj) Characterized by drugs or drug-taking. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 hop toy (n) A container used for smoking opium.
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horse (n) (orig. U.S.) Heroin. Table of(n)Contents horse feathers (U.S.) Nonsense, rubbish, balderdash. horse opera (n) (orig. U.S.) A Western film or television series. hostie (n) (Austral. and N.Z.) An air hostess. hot (n) pl. Strong sexual desire. (adj) (1) Of a person (originally a woman): sexually attractive. (2) Of goods: stolen. As hot stuff, stolen goods. Hot beef (int) Rhyming slang for ‘Stop, thief!’. hot chair (n) The electric chair. hot rod (n) (orig. U.S.) A motor vehicle specially modified to give high power and speed. hot rodder (n) The driver of a ‘hot rod’. hot-rodding (n) (orig. U.S.) Racing ‘hot rods’. hot-shot (n) (U.S.) Injection of a drug that is of higher potency than the addict is Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 accustomed to. hot-stuff (Army slang) scrounge, steal. Fabio(v)Baggio, LauraTo Zanfrini hotsy-totsy (adj) (orig. U.S.) Comfortable, satisfactory, just right. hotter (n) (Brit.) joyrider.Rights 1. Ethics and A Human hottie (n) (orig. U.S.) Also hotty. A sexually attractive person. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 hotting (vbl n) (Brit.) Joyriding in stolen, high-performance cars, esp. dangerously and Mario Santillo for display. hot-wire (v) (N. Amer.) To by-pass the ignition system of a motor vehicle (as a 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 preliminary to stealing the vehicle). house (orig. U.S.) AInstrument type of popular 1.2(n) International for music. Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 house-man (n) (U.S.) Also houseman. A burglar. 1.3 of Some 23 House LordsFinal (n) AReflections................................................................... lavatory. hubba-hubba (int) (U.S.) Also haba-haba. Used to express approval, excitement, or Bibliography enthusiasm. ......................................................................................... 25 Hughie (n) (Austral. and N.Z.) Also Huey. The ‘god’ of weather. hum (n) (1) A Policies piece of humbug; an imposition, a hoax. (2)East (Austral.) A persistent 2. Migration and Ethics in East and South Asia............ 27 borrower, a scrounger. Fabio Baggio humongous (adj) (orig. U.S.) Extremely large; huge, enormous. hump (coarse) To have a sexual in intercourse with. 2.1(v) International Migration East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 hung up (adj) Confused, bewildered, mixed-up. 2.2(n)Migration in attractive, ESEA............................................................ 34 hunk (orig. U.S.)Policies A sexually ruggedly handsome man. hunky (adj) (orig. U.S.) Sexually attractive, ruggedly handsome. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 hunky-dory (adj) (U.S.) Also hunky-dorey. Satisfactory, fine. hustler (n) A prostitute. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 Hymie (n) (U.S., derog. and offens.) A Jewish person. hyper (adj) (orig. and chiefly U.S.) Hyperactive, excitable, highly-strung; 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. extraordinarily energetic. The for an Ethical The Canadian hypo (n)Need (1) A drug-addict. (2) A Approach. hypodermic needle or injection. Experience ..... 51 I AM (n) A (self-)important person. Vanderberg Christine Baghdady, Richard ice (n) (1) (orig. U.S.) Diamonds; jewellery. (2) (U.S.) Profit from the illegal sale of 3.1 World Population Increase 51 theatre, cinema, etc., tickets. (3) ............................................................. Protection money. (4) (orig. U.S.) A potent, crystalline form of the drug methamphetamine, smoked (illegally) as a stimulant. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 idiot box (n) A television set.
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idiot stick (n) (U.S.) A shovel. Table Ikey (n) Alsoof Iky. Contents A Jew or someone taken to be a Jew. illegit (n) An illegitimate actor, child, etc. (adj) Illegitimate. in (n) (orig. U.S.) An introduction to someone of power, fame, or authority; influence with such a person. indeedee (adv) Also indeedy. Indeed. Indian hay (n) (U.S.) Marijuana. indie (n) An independent theatre, film, or recorded company. info (n) Information. innards (n) pl. Intestines. in pod (adj) Pregnant. inside (adv) In prison. inside job (n) A crime committed in a house, etc., by, or with the help of, a resident or Opening servantConsiderations in the building. and Executive Summary .............................. 11 inside stand (n) TheLaura placingZanfrini of a gang member incognito as one of the staff of a place to Fabio Baggio, be robbed, in order to facilitate the robbery. Irish confetti (n) pl. Stones,Rights bricks, etc., esp. when used as weapons. 1. Ethics and Human Irishman’s hurricane (n) (Nautical slang) A dead calm. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 Irishman’s rise (n) Reduced wages. ironMario (n) (1)Santillo A portable fire-arm; a pistol. (2) Money. (3) An old motor vehicle. (4) A jemmy used in housebreaking. (5) From iron hoof, rhyming slang for poof, a 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 homosexual. ironmongery (n) Firearms. 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 it (n) Sexual intercourse. 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 ivories (n) pl. Teeth. Jack (n) A policeman or detective; a military policeman. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 Jack (n) From Jack’s alive, rhyming slang for ‘five’; also, a five-pound note. (adj) From Jack Jones, rhyming slang for ‘alone’, usu. in on one’s Jack Jones, on one’s own; alone. 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 jack-leg (U.S.) An incompetent or unskilled or unprincipled person. Fabio(n)Baggio Jack-the-Lad (n) (A nickname for) a troublemaker or rogue. Jacky-Jacky (n) (Austral.) A white man’s name forand an Aboriginal. 2.1 International Migration in East Asia South East Asia.............. 27 Jag (n) A Jaguar, the proprietary name of a make of motor car. 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 Jaggers (n) (Brit., Oxford University slang) Jesus College. jail-bait (n) (orig. U.S.) A girl who is under the legal age of consent. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 jake (n) (orig. U.S.) An alcoholic beverage made from Jamaica ginger. jalap (n) Type of purgative obtained from a Mexican plant. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 Jane (n) (orig. U.S.) Also jane. A woman, girl, girlfriend. jar (n) A drink (of beer, etc.). st 3. Immigration the 21fellow, Century. jasper (n) (U.S.) Ainperson, usu. with contemptuous overtones; spec. a rustic The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 simpleton. jaunty (n) (Nautical slang) Also jaundy. The master-at-arms on board ship. Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg jaw-bone (n) (N. Amer., orig. Canad.) Credit. 3.1 World Population Increase 51 jawboning (n) (U.S.) Name applied to a............................................................. policy of urging management and union leaders to adopt a policy of restraint in wage and price negotiations.
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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jazz (n) (1) (orig. U.S.) A type of music originating among American Negroes. (2) Table of Contents Sexual intercourse. (v) To have sexual intercourse (with). jazzbo (n) (U.S.) Also jasbo. A person; spec. a Black person. jeepers (int) (orig. U.S.) Also jeepers-creepers. A mild expression of surprise, delight, etc. Jeez (int) (orig. U.S.) Also Jese, Jez or Geez(e). An exclamation of surprise or enthusiasm; also used simply for emphasis. jelly (n) (1) A pretty girl; a girl-friend. (2) Gelignite. jelly bean (n) An unpleasant, weak, or dishonest person; spec. a pimp. jelly-belly (n) A fat person. jelly-dog (n) A harrier. jelly roll (n) (1) A lover. (2) Sexual intercourse. (3) The female genitalia. jerkeroo (n) (U.S.) A fool, a stupid person. Opening Considerations and Executive .............................. Jerry (n) (orig. Military slang) A German; spec. aSummary German soldier; a German aircraft.11 jerry (n) ABaggio, chamber-pot. Fabio Laura Zanfrini Jessie (n) Also Jessy. A cowardly or effeminate man; a male homosexual. JewEthics boy (n)and (offens.) A Jewish male. 1. Human Rights jigaboo (n) (U.S., coarse) A Black person, a Negro. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 jig-a-jig (n) Also jig-jig or jig-a-jog. Sexual intercourse. (v) To copulate. Mario Santillo jigger (v) Used in mild oaths, as in I’m jiggered, I’ll be jiggered. jiggery-pokery (n) Deceitful or dishonest ‘manipulation’. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 jim-jam (n) pl. Delirium tremens. Jimmy (n) (1) From Jimmy O’Goblin, slangDefence for ‘sovereign’, twenty shillings. 1.2 International Instrument forrhyming Migrants’ ............................. 21 (2) From Jimmy Riddle, rhyming slang for ‘piddle’. 1.3 Woodser Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 Jimmy (n) (Austral. and N.Z.) A solitary drinker. jitterbug (n) (orig. U.S.) A jittery or nervous person; an alarmist. ......................................................................................... 25 jiveBibliography (n) (orig. U.S.) Talk or conversation; spec. misleading. (v) To mislead; to talk nonsense. jive-ass (n) (U.S.) A personand whoEthics loves fun excitement. 2. Migration Policies inorEast and South East Asia............ 27 jivey (adj) (chiefly U.S.) Also jivy. Misleading, phoney, pretentious. Fabio Baggio Jixi (n) (dated) Also Jixie. A two-seated taxi-cab licensed in 1926. joanna (n) Rhyming slang for ‘piano’. 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 Jock (n) A Scottish sailor; any Scotsman. 2.2 in ESEA............................................................ 34 jock (n)Migration (1) Jockey.Policies (2) (coarse) The genitals of a man. (3) Food. (4) (N. Amer.) From jock-strap, an athletic man. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 jocker (n) (N. Amer.) (1) A tramp who is accompanied by a youth who begs for him or acts as his catamite. (2) A male homosexual. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 Joe (n) (Canad.) A French Canadian. Joey (n) (1) A threepenny bit. (2) A fourpenny piece. 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. johndarm (n) A policeman. The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 John Hop (n) Rhyming slang for cop, a policeman. Johnnie (n) Also Johnny. (1) A policeman. (2) A condom. Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg joint (n) (chiefly U.S.) (1) A marijuana cigarette; also, hypodermic equipment used by 3.1 World Population Increaseor............................................................. drug addicts. (2) A partnership union, or a place of meeting or resort. 51 (3) (Fairground slang) A stall, tent, etc., in a circus or fair. (4) Prison. (5) (Music slang) 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 A song, a recording; an album.
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joker (n) (esp. Austral. and N.Z.) Man, fellow, ‘chap’. Table of Contents jollo (n) (Austral.) A party, esp. one at which liquor is drunk. jollop (n) (1) Strong liquor, or a drink of this. (2) A purgative, a medicine. jolly (n) Jollification; so, a thrill of enjoyment or excitement. jolt (n) (chiefly U.S.) (1) A drink of liquor. (2) A quantity of a drug in the form of a cigarette, tablet, etc. (3) A prison sentence. Jones (n) (1) A drug addict’s habit. (2) (U.S.) Symptoms of withdrawal from heroin or another drug. (3) (U.S.) Any intense craving or desire. josser (n) (1) (Austral.) A clergyman or minister of religion. (2) A simpleton; a soft or silly fellow. journo (n) (orig. Austral.) A journalist, esp. a newspaper journalist. joy-house (n) A brothel. joy juice (n) (U.S.) Also joy-juice. Alcoholic drink. Opening and Executive joy-pop (n) Considerations (An inhalation or injection of) a drug. Summary .............................. 11 joy-popper (n) (orig.Laura U.S.) An occasional taker of illegal drugs. Fabio Baggio, Zanfrini Judy (n) A girl, woman. jugEthics (n) (1) (orig. A prison, jail. (2) A bank. (v) To shut up in jail; to imprison. 1. and U.S.) Human Rights juggins (n) (dated) A fool, simpleton. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 juicer (n) (1) An electrician. (2) (U.S.) An alcoholic. Mario ju-ju (n) A Santillo marijuana cigarette. Jumble (n) A Black man’s nickname for a white man. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 jumper (n) A ticket-inspector or ticket-collector, jumping on to buses to inspect tickets. jungle (n) A genre of Instrument dance music,for originating in Defence Britain in............................. the early 1990s, which 1.2 International Migrants’ 21 incorporates elements of ragga, hip-hop, and techno. 1.3 bunny Some (n) Final Reflections................................................................... 23 jungle A derogatory term used by some white people to designate Blacks, Australian Aborigines, etc. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 jungle juice (n) Alcoholic liquor, esp. liquor that is either very powerful or that has been prepared illicitly or amateurishly. junk (n) (orig. U.S.) Any narcotic drug; also, such and drugsSouth collectively. 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East East Asia............ 27 junkie (n) (orig. U.S.) Also junkey, junky or junker. A drug-addict; a drug-peddler. Fabio Baggio juvie (n) (U.S.) Also juvey. A juvenile or juvenile delinquent. K (n) Special K. Ketamine, used a recreational 2.1Also International Migration in as East Asia and drug. South East Asia.............. 27 kaput (adj) Also kaputt. (1) Finished, worn out; dead or destroyed. (2) Rendered useless 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 or unable to function. kelly (n) (1) From Derby (or Darby) Kelly, rhyming slang for ‘belly’. (2) (chiefly U.S.) 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 A man’s hat; spec. a derby hat. Kelly’s eye (n) (In the game of bingo) the number one. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 key (n) (U.S.) A kilogram of a drug. Khyber (n) From Khyber Pass,strhyming slang for arse, the buttocks. 3. thedischarge, 21 Century. kickImmigration (n) (1) As the in kick, dismissal. (2) As the kick, the fashion, the newest The an Ethical Canadian Experience ..... 51 style.Need (3) Afor sixpence. (4) A Approach. pocket. (5) pl.The Breeches, trousers. (6) (orig. U.S.) pl. Shoes. Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg Christine kick ass (v) (orig. and chiefly U.S.) To act roughly or aggressively; to be powerful or 3.1 World(adj) Population Increase powerful. ............................................................. 51 assertive. Rough, aggressive, kick in (v) (U.S.) (1) To break into (a building). (2) To contribute (money, etc.); to pay 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 (one’s share).
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kick off (v) (orig. U.S.) To die. Table of(phr) Contents kick one’s heels To stand waiting idly or impatiently. kick the bucket (phr) To die. kiddo (n) A young child, man or woman. From kid. kidvid (n) (orig. and chiefly U.S.) A television programme or video made for children. From kid and video. killer (n) (orig. U.S.) Also killer-diller. An impressive, formidable, or excellent person or thing. king-fish (n) (U.S.) A leader, chief, boss. king-hit (n) (Austral.) A knock-out blow; a hard punch. (v) To punch hard or knock out. King Kong (n) Cheap alcohol. kisser (n) (orig. Boxing slang) The mouth; the face. kiss off (v) (1) To dismiss, get rid of, kill. (2) To go away, die. Opening and Executive Summary .............................. 11 klepto (n) AConsiderations kleptomaniac. klick (n) (orig. U.S., Laura Army slang) A kilometre. Fabio Baggio, Zanfrini knackered (ppl adj) Exhausted, worn out. knee-trembler (n)Human An act ofRights sexual intercourse between persons in a standing position. 1. Ethics and knob (n) (1) The penis. (2) The head. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 knock-down (n) (1) Something that knocks one down; something overpowering; e.g. Mario strong Santillo liquor. (2) (U.S., Austral. and N.Z.) An introduction. knock down (v) (1) (Austral. and N.Z.) To spend in drink or riot. (2) (U.S.) To 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 appropriate or embezzle (esp. passengers’ fares). knock (v) (University slang) To knock so as to gain admission to college after 21 the 1.2 in International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. gate is closed. 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 knocking-shop (n) A brothel. knock-off (n) A robbery. Bibliography ......................................................................................... knock off (v) (1) To die. (2) To steal, to rob. (3) (orig. U.S.) To kill; to murder. 25 (4) (Underworld slang) To arrest (a person); to raid (an establishment). (5) To copulate with, to seduce (a woman). 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 knock out (v) (Austral., N.Z. and U.S.) To earn. Fabio Baggio knock over (v) (Underworld slang) To rob (a person), to burgle (a building); to steal (from). 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 knock up (v) (orig. U.S.) (1) To make (a woman) pregnant. (2) To have sexual 2.2 Migration in ESEA............................................................ 34 intercourse withPolicies (a woman). knucklehead (n) Also knuckle-head. A slow-witted or stupid person. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 knuckle sandwich (n) A punch in the mouth. kook (n) A cranky,......................................................................................... crazy, or eccentric person. Bibliography 47 kooky (adj) Also kookie. Cranky, crazy, eccentric. Kraut (n) A German, esp. a German soldier. st Century. 3. Immigration inprisoner the 21of kriegie (n) An Allied war in Germany during the war of 1939-45. for ana young Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 ladThe (n) ANeed boy, youth; man, young fellow. ladette (n) (Brit.) A youngRichard woman characterized Christine Baghdady, Vanderberg by her enjoyment of social drinking, sport, or other activities typically considered to be male-oriented. 3.1Muck World(n)Population Increase Lady (orig. Austral.) Also............................................................. Lord Muck. A self-important, pompous, 51 or pretentious woman (or man).
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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laid-back (ppl adj) Of music: mellow, subdued; of a person, etc.: casually unperturbed, Table relaxed. of Contents lair (n) (Austral.) Also lare. A flashily dressed man, one who ‘shows off’. lairy (adj) (1) Also leary, leery. Flashily dressed; vulgar. (2) (Cockney) Knowing, conceited. lakes (adj) From Lakes of Killarney, rhyming slang for barmy, mad, crazy. lallapaloosa (n) (U.S.) Something outstandingly good of its kind. lame-brain (n) A dull-witted or stupid person. lamps (n) pl. The eyes. lard-ass (n) (orig. N. Amer.) (A term of abuse for) a person who has large buttocks or is fat. larn (v) To teach; to give (a person) a lesson. lat (n) (1) (orig. Bodybuilding) Latissimus dorsi. (2) Latrine. Opening Considerations lawk (int) Also lawks. Lord! and Executive Summary .............................. 11 lay Fabio (n) (1) Baggio, (orig. U.S.) A woman who is readily available for sexual intercourse; an act Laura Zanfrini of sexual intercourse. (2) A line or plan of business, occupation, adventure, etc. (v) (orig. U.S.) have sexual intercourse with (a woman). 1. Ethics andTo Human Rights lay back (v) To do nothing, relax. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 lay for (v) (orig. U.S.) (Of a woman) to be willing to have (extramarital) sexual Mario Santillo intercourse. lazy dog (n) (U.S., Military slang) A type of fragmentation bomb designed to explode in 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 mid-air and scatter steel pellets at high velocity over the target area. lead balloon (n) A failure, an unsuccessful venture. Defence ............................. 21 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ leaf (n) (Services’ slang) Also leef. Leave of absence, furlough. 1.3 (n) Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 leccer (University slang) Also lecker, lekker. A lecture. left field (n) A position away from the centre of activity or interest. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 left-footer (n) A Roman Catholic. legit (n) A legitimate actor, child, etc. (adj) Legitimate. legless (adj) Drunk, esp. too drunk to stand. 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 leg-over (n) (Brit.) (An act of) sexual intercourse. Fabio Baggio lemon (n) (1) The head. (2) A simpleton, a loser. (3) (orig. U.S.) Something which is badInternational or undesirableMigration or which infails meetand one’s expectations. (4) (U.S.) An 2.1 EasttoAsia South East Asia.............. 27 informer. 2.2 Migration Policies in Irritated, ESEA............................................................ 34 lemony (adj) (Austral. and N.Z.) angry. length (n) A penis; sexual intercourse. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 Les (n, adj) Also Lessie, Lessy, Lezzy. (A) lesbian. Lesbie (n) Also Lesbo, lesbo. A lesbian. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 letty (n) A bed, a lodging. lickety-split (adv) (chiefly U.S.) At full speed; headlong. 3. Immigration the 21stofCentury. lickle (adj) Childlikeincorruption little. an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience liferThe (n) Need (1) Onefor sentenced to penal servitude (or earlier, transportation) for life...... (2)51 A sentence for life. Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg ligger (n) One who gatecrashes parties. 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. lightning (n) (chiefly U.S.) Gin; also, any strong, freq. low-quality, alcoholic spirit. 51 Limey (n) (1) (esp. Austral., N.Z. and S. Afr.) An English immigrant. (2) (U.S.) An 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 English ship; an English (or British) sailor.
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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limo (n) (U.S.) A limousine. Table of Contents line (n) A dose of a powdered narcotic, esp. cocaine, laid out in a thin line for inhalation. lippy (adj) (dial.) Impertinent, insolent; talkative, verbose. liquid lunch (n) (often jocular) A midday meal at which drink rather than food is consumed. liquorice-stick (n) (Jazz slang) A clarinet. lit up (ppl adj) Drunk or under the influence of a drug. Lizzie (n) Also lizzie. (1) A lesbian. Also, an effeminate young man. (2) A motor car, esp. an early model of a ‘Ford’. load (n) (1) An occurrence of venereal disease. (2) (U.S.) A dose of narcotics or large amount of alcohol. (3) (orig. U.S., coarse) An ejaculation of semen. loaded (ppl adj) (U.S.) (1) Drunk. (2) Drugged; under the influence of drugs; containing Opening and Executive Summary .............................. 11 a drug. Considerations (3) (orig. U.S.) Rich; extremely wealthy. loafFabio (n, adj)Baggio, From loaf of bread, rhyming slang for ‘head’ or ‘dead’. Laura Zanfrini locie (n) (N. Amer. and N.Z.) Also lokey. A locomotive. loco (adj) (orig. Mad,Rights insane. 1. Ethics andU.S.) Human loco weed (n) Marijuana. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 loid (n) (Criminals’ slang) A celluloid strip used by thieves to force open a spring lock. Mario Santillo long-sleever (n) (Austral.) (1) A tall glass. (2) Drink contained in a tall glass. looie (n) Also looey or louie. A lieutenant. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 looker (n) (orig. U.S.) A person, usu. a woman, of particularly pleasing appearance. look-see (n) Also looksee. A survey; a tour of Defence inspection, a reconnaissance; 21 an 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ ............................. investigation. 1.3(adj) Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 loony Also looney or luny. Lunatic, crazed, dazed, foolish, silly. loony bin (n) A mental hospital. Bibliography 25 loony-doctor (n) A......................................................................................... doctor who treats mental illnesses, a psychiatrist. lor (int) (vulgar) Also lor’. Lord. loser (n) (U.S.) A convicted criminal, a person who hasSouth served aEast sentence in prison. 27 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and Asia............ lounge lizard (n) (orig. U.S.) A man who spends his time idling in fashionable society, Fabio Baggio esp. in search of a wealthy patroness. lovely (n) Money. 2.1jubbly International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 lover boy (n) (orig. U.S.) Also lover man. A lover, an attractive man, a woman-chaser; 2.2 Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 alsoMigration used as a form of address. loverly (adj) Also lovally. Cockney pronunciation of lovely. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 low-down (n) (orig. U.S.) The fundamental, though not generally known, facts on (about) a person, situation, etc. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 lug (n) (jocular) Ear. lughole (n) Ear-hole. st Century. 3. Immigration in theA21 lummy (int) Also lumme. corruption of (Lord) love me. Thesoup Need an Ethical Approach. TheofCanadian Experience ..... 51 lunatic (n)for (Austral. and N.Z.) Alcoholic drink poor quality. lurkman (n) (Austral.) A person whoVanderberg lives by sharp practice. Christine Baghdady, Richard lush (n) (1) Liquor, drink. (2) A habitual drunkard. 3.1(adj) World Increase ............................................................. 51 lushy AlsoPopulation lushey. Intoxicated, drunk. luvvy (n) (Brit.) Also luvvie. (1) An actor or actress. (2) As a term of address, lovey. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 ma (n) Mother. Chiefly as a form of address. From mama.
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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macaroni (n) (1) (derog.) An Italian. (2) (chiefly Austral.) Rhyming slang for baloney, Table ofmeaningless Contents nonsense, talk. mack (n) (1) A pimp. (2) (U.S., chiefly in African-American usage) A deceptive and convincing speaker. mad (n) (chiefly U.S.) Fury, anger; a fit of anger. mad money (n) Money for use in an emergency or in any unexpected eventuality. maggie (n) (U.S.) Also maggy. A prostitute. Maggie Ann (n) (Brit., Army slang) Margarine. magic (adj, int) Superlatively good, excellent, fantastic. magsman (n) (orig. Brit.) A street swindler, a confidence trickster. main guy (n) (U.S.) A man of authority or importance; a leader, a chief. main line (n) (orig. U.S.) Also main-line. (1) A principal vein, into which drugs can readily be injected. (2) An intravenous injection of drugs. Opening and(heroin Executive Summary .............................. 11 mainline (v)Considerations (orig. U.S.) To inject or a similar drug) intravenously, esp. illicitly. main man (n) (U.S.)Laura A favourite male friend; a man admired for his achievements. Fabio Baggio, Zanfrini main squeeze (n) (N. Amer.) (1) An important person; the person in charge. (2) A sweetheart, lover. Rights 1. Ethics andaHuman make it (v phr) To achieve sexual intercourse (with). in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 make out (v) To succeed in seducing, gain sexual satisfaction, have sexual intercourse Mario (with).Santillo make with (v) To bring into operation; to use; to concern oneself with. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 M. and V. (n) (Services’ slang) Meat and vegetable(s). man-eater (n) A sexually voracious woman. 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 map (n) A person’s face. 1.3 Some Reflections................................................................... 23 marble orchardFinal (n) (N. Amer.) Also marble town. A cemetery. marra (n) A companion, partner. From marrow. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 Mary (n) (1) (orig. U.S.) Used humorously as a form of address among male homosexuals. (2) (Austral.) A woman, esp. an Aboriginal woman. Mary Ann (n) Policies (1) An effeminate man, oneand whoSouth takes East a female role; a male 2. Migration and Ethics in or East Asia............ 27 homosexual. (2) (U.S.) Also Mary J (or Mary Jane/Warner). Marijuana; a Fabio Baggio marijuana cigarette. matlow (n) (Nautical slang) Also matlo. A sailor. 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 matman (n) (orig. U.S.) A wrestler. 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 mau-mau (v) (chiefly N. Amer.) To intimidate, harass; to terrorize. max (n) (U.S.) A maximum score or achievement, esp. in an examination. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 MCP (n) Male chauvinist pig. me-and-you (n) Menu. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 meat-head (n) (orig. U.S., derog.) A stupid person; a person (esp. a man) who has a large or muscular physiquestbut who is unintelligent or uncouth. 3. Immigration in the 21 esp. Century. meat-hook (n) An arm; a hand, one which is large and clumsy. The Need an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 meat-house (n) for A brothel. meat-market A meeting-place, nightclub, etc., popular among prostitutes or Christine (n) Baghdady, Richard bar, Vanderberg people in search of casual sexual partners. 3.1 World Increase meat-wagon (n)Population (orig. and chiefly U.S.)............................................................. (1) An ambulance. (2) A police car or van. 51 mech (n) (N. Amer. and Austral.) A person who cheats at gambling games, spec. cards. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 From mechanic.
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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meeja (n) (chiefly Brit.) The mass media. Table of Contents mega (adj) Huge, great, substantial; excellent. (adv) Chiefly as an intensifier, very, hugely. mellow yellow (n) (chiefly U.S.) Banana peel dried for smoking as a narcotic. melon (n) (1) (Austral. and U.S.) A person’s head. (2) pl. Large breasts. mensh (n) Also mench. Mention. mental (n) A person who is mentally ill; a mental patient. merc (n) A mercenary, a soldier paid to serve in a foreign army. Merc (n) A vehicle of the Mercedes-Benz make. merry hell (n) A disturbance, great trouble; severe pain. Mespot (n) (chiefly Military slang, now arch.) Mesopotamia. meth (n) Methamphetamine or Methedrine taken as a stimulant drug. meth head (n) A habitual user of methamphetamine. Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 metho (n) (Austral. and N.Z.) Methylated spirits, esp. as an alcoholic drink. Metho (n) (Austral.) A member of the Methodist Church. Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini Mex (n) (1) A Mexican. (2) (U.S., orig. Services’ slang) Mexican money. Mexican (n) TheRights putting of the gears of a vehicle, esp. a truck, into neutral 1. Ethicsoverdrive and Human while coasting downhill. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 middle leg (n) A man’s penis. Mario Santillo A medium-sized measure of beer or other liquor. middy (n) (Austral.) mike (n) A microgram of a drug, esp. LSD. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 milko (n) (orig. Austral. and N.Z.) A milkman. (int) (chiefly Brit. and Austral.) A milkman’s call indicating that milk available. Defence ............................. 21 1.2 International Instrument forisMigrants’ mince (n) From mince-pie, rhyming slang for ‘eye’. Usu. in pl. 1.3 Some (adj) FinalAstonishing, Reflections................................................................... 23 mind-blowing overwhelming; consciousness-altering (esp. as a result of drug use). Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 minder (n) A bodyguard, esp. one employed to protect a criminal. mingy (adj) Mean, stingy, niggardly; disappointingly or ungenerously small. Minnie (n) (Military slang)and AlsoEthics Minny. A trench mortar. 2. Migration Policies inGerman East and South East Asia............ 27 minstrel (n) A tablet containing amphetamine, coloured black or black and white. Fabio Baggio misper (n) (Brit., chiefly Police slang) Missing person. missus (n) (regional) (1)Migration A wife. (2)in Used a formand of address anyAsia.............. woman. 2.1 International EastasAsia South to East 27 mitt (n) A hand or fist. Usu. in pl. Migration in ESEA............................................................ 34 mitt2.2 camp (n) (U.S.)Policies A palmist’s or fortune-teller’s booth, tent, etc. mixer (n) (Brit.) A troublemaker. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 mix in (v) To start or join in a fight. mixBibliography it (v) To quarrel, fight; to start fighting; to cause trouble. ......................................................................................... 47 mo (n) (1) (Brit.) A moment, a very short time. (2) (Austral. and N.Z.) A moustache. m.o. (n) Modus operandi. st Century. 3. Immigration in people, the 21the mob (n) The common populace. From mobile. The Need for(Brit.) an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 mob-handed (adj) That forms a large body; present in considerable numbers. mobster (n) A Baghdady, member of aRichard gang of criminals; spec. a member of the Mafia. Christine Vanderberg moffie (n) (S. Afr.) A male transvestite; a man perceived to be effeminate; a male 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 homosexual. mog (n) (Brit.) A cat. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 mojo (n) (U.S.) Any narcotic drug, esp. (formerly) morphine.
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molly (n) Also molley, mollie. An effeminate man or boy; a male homosexual. Table of Contents mong (n) (Austral., derog.) (1) A person of low or indeterminate status. (2) A mongrel; any dog. monkey (n) (1) (Criminals’ slang) An associate. (2) (U.S.) A chorus girl. (3) (Brit. and Austral.) 500 pounds sterling; (Austral.) 500 dollars. (4) (chiefly U.S.) The male or female sexual organs. (5) Addiction to, or habitual use of, a drug. monkey-hurdler (n) (U.S.) An organist. monkey-man (n) (U.S.) A weak or gullible man, esp. one subservient to his wife or lover, or to women generally. monkey meat (n) (U.S., Army slang) Tinned meat. monkey parade (n) (dated) An evening promenade of young people, esp. for the purpose of meeting members of the opposite sex. monkey suit (n) (orig. U.S., freq. deprec.) A uniform, esp. a formal, decorative, or Opening Considerations Executive showy one, as a baseball orand military uniform. Summary .............................. 11 Montezuma’s revenge (n) (jocular) Fabio Baggio, Laura ZanfriniDiarrhoea suffered by travellers, esp. in Mexico. moocher (n) A beggar, a scrounger. mooching (regional) Begging, 1. Ethics(n) and Human Rightsscrounging; loafing, loitering. moody (n) (Brit., orig. Criminals’ slang) Flattery or lies intended to persuade or elicit incompliance; the Southnonsense, American Migration Processes .................................... 15 rubbish. Mario Santillo moon (n) (1) (U.S.) Illicitly distilled liquor. From moonshine. (2) The buttocks. moon-eyed (adj) (orig. and chiefly U.S.) Drunk. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 moonlight (v) (orig. U.S.) To do paid work in addition to one’s regular employment. moonlighter (n) A person who makesfor a hasty departure by night. 1.2 International Instrument Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 moonshine (n) Illicitly distilled liquor, esp. whisky. 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... Moreton Bay (n) (chiefly Austral.) From Moreton Bay fig, rhyming slang for fizgig,23 an informer. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 morph (n) (U.S.) Morphine. mossback (n) A slow, rustic, or old-fashioned person. mossie (n) (orig.Policies and chiefly Austral.) Also A mosquito. 2. Migration and Ethics in mozzie. East and South East Asia............ 27 mossy (adj) (U.S.) Extremely conservative or reactionary; old-fashioned, out-of-date. Fabio Baggio mother (n) (orig. and chiefly U.S.) An obnoxious, despicable, or contemptible person. From coarse motherfucker. 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 motherless (adj) (1) (Austral.) Very poor, having no money. (2) (S. Afr.) Drunk; 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 intoxicated. mother’s ruin (n) Gin. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 motormouth (n) (orig. U.S.) A person who talks fast and incessantly, usually to little purpose. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 mouseburger (n) (chefly U.S., humorous) A person who does not have a particularly good-looking appearance st or high I.Q., but can nevertheless achieve professional 3. Immigration in thethrough 21 Century. and personal success determination. The Need for anorEthical Approach. mousetrap (n) Inferior unpalatable cheese. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 mouthful (n) (orig. and chiefly U.S.) An utterance of notable truth or relevance. Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg mouthpiece (n) (chiefly Criminals’ slang) A lawyer, esp. one appearing as counsel for 3.1 ............................................................. 51 theWorld defencePopulation in a criminal Increase case. Mozart and Liszt (adj) Rhyming slang for pissed, drunk, intoxicated. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 mucker (n) A heavy fall, a cropper.
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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mud (n) Opium; also, heroin. Table mud-hook (n)of (1) Contents A foot (esp. one which is large or clumsy); (similarly) a hand. (2) An anchor. mug (n) (1) A face, esp. an unattractive one. (2) A grotesque or exaggerated facial expression. (3) A photograph of a person’s face, esp. in police records. (4) The mouth. muggins (n) A fool, a simpleton. muggler (n) A person who smokes marijuana. munchie (n) Food; esp. snack food. murder one (n) (U.S.) (A charge of) first-degree murder. muscle man (n) A man with highly developed muscles; esp. a wrestler, a bodybuilder. muscle Mary (n) (chiefly Brit.) A muscular homosexual man regarded as being obsessed with fitness. Opening Executive Summary .............................. 11 mush (n) (1)Considerations An umbrella. Fromand mushroom. (2) (orig. U.S.) The face; the mouth. mush-head (n) (U.S.)Laura A person who is weak, ineffectual, or easily influenced. Fabio Baggio, Zanfrini muso (n) (1) (Austral.) A musician; esp. a classical one. (2) (Brit.) A musician or music enthusiast. 1. Ethics and Human Rights mutt (n) (1) An incompetent, a fool. (2) (derog.) An unattractive woman. (3) A inracehorse, the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 esp. a slow one. Mario Santillo Mutt and Jeff (adj) Rhyming slang for ‘deaf’. mutton-head (n) (orig. U.S.) A dull or stupid person. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 mutton-headed (adj) (orig. U.S.) Dull, stupid; silly, foolish. nabe (U.S.) A neighbourhood. 1.2(n)International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 Naffy (n) A variant of NAAFI: Navy, Army, and Air Force Institutes. Some Final 23 nah1.3 (adv) (1) No. (2) Reflections................................................................... (Brit.) Now. nailer (n) (1) A police officer, detective. (2) A very efficient or effective person or Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 thing. Nam (n) Vietnam. nana (n) A foolish or silly and person; an idiot. 2. Migration Policies Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 nancy (n) (1) The buttocks. (2) (derog.) An effeminate man or boy; a male homosexual. Fabio Baggio (adj) (derog.) Characteristic of, or involving homosexual men; affected, effeminate. nancy (n) An effeminate man orinboy; 2.1boy International Migration Easta male Asiahomosexual. and South East Asia.............. 27 narco (n) (1) (U.S.) A drug addict. (2) Also narc. A police agent or investigator 2.2 Migration concerned with Policies narcotics.in ESEA............................................................ 34 Nasho (n) A person doing national service. Also: national service itself. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 natch (n) (U.S.) In on the natch: not on drugs; without taking narcotics. From natural. natural (n) Natural......................................................................................... life. Bibliography 47 naughty (n) (orig. and chiefly Austral. and N.Z.) An act of sexual intercourse. (v) (Austral. and N.Z., rare) To have sexual intercourse with (someone). 3. in the 21st Century. navImmigration (n) From navigator, rhyming slang for tater, a potato. The (n) Need for N. anAmer.) Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 neatnik (chiefly A person who is (excessively) neat in personal habits. neato (adj, int)Baghdady, (chiefly N. Amer.) (That is) excellent, desirable; wonderful, fantastic. Christine Richard Vanderberg neck-oil (n) An alcoholic drink, esp. beer. 3.1 World Increase ............................................................. 51 necktie party (n)Population (U.S.) A lynching or hanging. needle (n) (1) A hypodermic injection, esp. of an illegal drug. (2) A measure of a drug 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 for injecting. (3) The penis.
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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needle beer (n) (U.S.) Near-beer mixed with ethyl alcohol or an alcoholic drink. Table of(U.S.) Contents needle man (n) A drug addict who takes drugs by injection. nellie (n) Also nelly. (1) (derog.) An effeminate or homosexual man. (2) A silly, ineffectual, or fussy person. (3) (Austral.) A cheap wine. nembie (n) (orig. and chiefly U.S.) A Nembutal capsule. nerd (n) (orig. U.S., derog.) An insignificant, foolish, or socially inept person. nerk (n) (Brit., deprec.) A foolish, objectionable, or insignificant person. From nerd and berk (or jerk). nerts (adj) (orig. and chiefly U.S.) ‘Nuts’, crazy. never-never (n) (orig. Austral.) The hire-purchase system. neves (n) (Brit., orig. London, Criminals’ slang) Back-slang for seven, a prison sentence of seven years. nick (v) (1) To steal (a thing); to defraud. (2) (Of the police) to arrest, take into custody. Opening Considerations and Executive .............................. 11 nickel (n) (U.S.) (1) Five dollars’ worth of a drug Summary (originally marijuana). (2) A five-year prison Baggio, sentence.Laura Zanfrini Fabio niff (v) (chiefly Brit.) To smell or sniff out (esp. something unpleasant). nigEthics (n) (derog. offens.) Rights A dark-skinned person. From nigger. 1. andand Human Niggerville (n) (U.S.) A neighbourhood with predominantly black residents. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 nightery (n) (orig. U.S.) Also nighterie, niterie, nitery. A nightclub. Mario nig-nog (n)Santillo (1) (derog. and offens.) A black or dark-skinned person. (2) (mildly derog.) A new or unskilled recruit; a novice; a foolish or naive person. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 nigra (n) (Southern U.S.) A Black person. (adj) Dark-skinned. Nimby (n) Also NIMBY. Used asfor a Migrants’ slogan objecting to the siting of something 1.2 International Instrument Defence ............................. 21 considered unpleasant, such as nuclear waste, in one’s locality. From not in my 1.3 Some back yard. Final Reflections................................................................... 23 nineteenth hole (n) (orig. U.S., humorous) The bar room in a golf clubhouse, as reached Bibliography 25 at the end of a ......................................................................................... standard round of eighteen holes. ninety-day wonder (n) (U.S., Services’ slang, humorous) A graduate of a ninety-day officers’ training course. 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 ning-nong (n) (Austral. and N.Z.) A fool, a stupid person. Cf. nig-nog (sense 2). Fabio Baggio ninny (adj) A simpleton; a fool. Nip2.1 (n)International (orig. Military, Migration offens.) A Japanese (adj)South Japanese. in Eastperson. Asia and East Asia.............. 27 nitro (n) Nitroglycerine. 2.2(v)Migration ESEA............................................................ 34 nitto (Criminals’Policies slang) Toinkeep still or quiet; to stop. nitty-gritty (n) (U.S.) The realities or practical details of a matter. (adj) Basic, 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 fundamental; down-to-earth, practical. nitwit (n) (orig. U.S.) A stupid, silly, or foolish person. (adj) Stupid, foolish, idiotic. 47 Bibliography ......................................................................................... nix (n) Nothing; nobody. nobbler (n) (chiefly Austral. and A small quantity of alcoholic drink. st N.Z.) 3. Immigration in the 21 Century. no-hoper (n) (orig. Austral.) A racehorse with no prospect of winning. The(n) Need for U.S.) an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 no-no (orig. Something which is forbidden, unwise, impossible, or unacceptable. (adj) Forbidden, Christine Baghdady, Richardunacceptable. Vanderberg noov (n) (Brit.) Also noove. Nouveau riche. 3.1(adv) World Population nope (orig. U.S.) No. Increase ............................................................. 51 nose candy (n) (N. Amer.) A drug that is inhaled through the nose; spec. cocaine. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 noshable (adj) Suitable for noshing; tasty, delicious.
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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noshery (n) A restaurant; a snack bar. Table of Contents nosh-up (n) (Brit.) A hearty or lavish meal. notch house (n) Also notch-house. A brothel. nuddy (n) (orig. Austral.) Also nuddie. Only in in the nuddy, in the nude, naked, unclothed. nuff (adj, adv, pron) (orig. U.S.) Enough. nuke (n) (orig. and chiefly U.S.) Also nuc. A nuclear bomb, weapon, or warhead. From nuclear. nully (n) (rare) A fool, a stupid person; a nobody. nurd (n) (orig. U.S., derog.) An insignificant, foolish, or socially inept person. nut (n) (1) The head. As in out of one’s nut, out of one’s mind; insane. (2) (orig. U.S., coarse) Usu. in pl. The testicles. (3) pl. A source of pleasure or delight. (4) (orig. and chiefly U.S.) pl. As the nuts, an excellent or first-rate person or thing. (5) Opening and Executive Summary .............................. 11 (chieflyConsiderations U.S.) A person. (6) (Brit.) A fashionable or showy young man. (7) (orig. U.S.) A mad orLaura crazyZanfrini person; an eccentric, a crank. (8) (U.S.) The amount of Fabio Baggio, money required for a venture. (9) (U.S.) Any sum of money; a bribe or payoff. nutcase (n) and A crazy, mad, or mentally disturbed person; an eccentric. 1. Ethics Human Rights nut-house (n) (orig. U.S.) A home or hospital for people with mental illnesses. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 nuts (adj) (1) (chiefly Brit.) In to be (dead) nuts (up)on, to be infatuated with or fond of Mario Santillo (a person); to be enthusiastic about (a person or thing). (2) (orig. U.S.) Mad (in various senses); esp. crazy, deranged. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 nutso (n) A mad or crazy person. (adj) Mad, crazy. nutsy Also nutty. Mad, insane; crazy, eccentric. Defence ............................. 21 1.2(adj) International Instrument for Migrants’ nutter (n) An insane person; a deranged or unstable person; an eccentric person. 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 nuttery (n) (U.S.) A mental hospital. oafo (n) (Brit.) A lout, a hooligan. Bibliography 25 OAO (n) (Military ......................................................................................... slang) One and only. obbo (n) (Military slang) Also obo. An observation balloon. obitMigration (n) (orig. Journalistic An obituary, esp.and in a newspaper. 2. Policies slang) and Ethics in East South East Asia............ 27 obsFabio (n) (chiefly Military slang) Observation. Baggio O.D. (n) (orig. U.S.) Also OD. An overdose of a drug, esp. when fatal. (v) To take an overdose of a drug.Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 2.1 International O.D.’d (adj) Having taken an overdose; dead of an overdose. 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 oddball (n) (orig. U.S.) An eccentric or odd person; a person of unconventional views or habits. (adj) Eccentric, strange; bizarre, peculiar. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 odds and sods (n) (Brit., orig. Services’ slang) Miscellaneous people or articles. O.D.V. (n) (humorous) Brandy. From eau-de-vie. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 off (v) (1) (U.S.) To turn off, shut down. (2) (chiefly U.S.) To kill. office hours (n) (U.S., Militarystslang) A disciplinary session. 3. Immigration in off-licence the 21 Century. offie (n) Also offy. An shop. The(n)Need for slang) an Ethical oggin (Nautical The sea.Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 oil Christine (n) (1) (U.S. and Ir.) Alcohol, esp. whisky. (2) (U.S.) Money; spec. money given in Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg order to bribe or corrupt. (3) (Austral. and N.Z.) Information, news, the true facts. 3.1 Population Increase ............................................................. 51 (v) World To bribe.
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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oil-burner (n) (1) A vehicle which uses an excessive amount of lubricating oil, usually Table ofofContents on account its poor condition. (2) (U.S.) A serious addiction to a drug, esp. heroin. oil can (n) (Military slang) A German trench mortar shell of the First World War. oiled (adj) Drunk; mildly drunk, tipsy, usu. well oiled. oink (n) Also OINK. A couple with no children, living on a single (esp. large) salary. From one income, no kids. O.K. (adj) Also OK, ok. All right, fashionable, modish. From oll (or orl) correct. okay (adj) Also oke, okey, okey-dokey, or reversed as kayo. ‘O.K.’. old bean (n) Also old fruit. A familiar form of address. old boot (n) A woman; a wife. old lady (n) (U.S., chiefly Prison slang) A passive or unwilling (usually male) partner in a homosexual relationship. Opening Executive Summary .............................. 11 old ship (n)Considerations A jocular address toand a sailor. oldFabio sweat (n) An experienced soldier or military pilot. Baggio, Laura Zanfrini olive oil (int) A humorous mispronunciation of au revoir. omee (n) (Polari AlsoRights omie. A landlord, a master; a man. 1. Ethics and slang) Human on (adv) Under the influence of drink or (orig. U.S.) drugs. (prep) (orig. U.S.) As in on inthethe South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 stuff, addicted to drugs. Mario Santillo oncer (n) (Brit.) A one-pound note; (occas.) one pound sterling. one-arm bandit (n) (orig. U.S.) A slot machine or similar gaming machine operated by 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 pulling down an arm-like handle. one-arm joint (n) (U.S.)Instrument A cheap restaurant where the seats have one arm wide enough 1.2 International for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 to hold a plate of food, etc. 1.3 Some Reflections................................................................... one-lunger (n)Final An engine with a single cylinder; a vehicle or boat driven by such 23 an engine. Bibliography 25 one-night stand (n)......................................................................................... A casual sexual liaison or encounter lasting only one night. one-pipper (n) (Military slang) A second lieutenant (so called from this officer’s entitlement to wear oneand pip Ethics on the shoulder his orSouth her uniform). 2. Migration Policies in Eastofand East Asia............ 27 onion (n) The head. Esp. in off one’s onion, mad, crazy. Fabio Baggio O.O. (n) (U.S.) Once-over. op 2.1 (n) International (1) (U.S.) A detective; esp. private A Asia.............. radio or telegraph Migration in aEast Asiainvestigator. and South(2) East 27 operator. From operative or operator. 2.2(n)Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 O.P. (chiefly U.S.) Also O.P.’s. From other people’s (cigarettes or alcoholic drink). OPM (n) (U.S.) Other people’s money. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 oppo (n) (orig. Services’ slang) A partner, a counterpart. orkBibliography (n) (orig. and chiefly U.S.) An orchestra; spec. a jazz or dance band. ......................................................................................... 47 orthopod (n) (Medicine slang) An orthopaedic surgeon. oscar (n) (Austral. and N.Z.) From Oscar Asche, rhyming slang for ‘cash’. 3. in the 21storig. Century. O Immigration sign (n) (Medicine slang, and chiefly U.S.). The persistently gaping, open The Need anwho Ethical Canadian Experience ..... 51 mouth of a for patient is in aApproach. coma, dying, The or dead. OTT (adj) AlsoBaghdady, O.T.T. OverRichard the top, outrageous. Christine Vanderberg out (n) pl. An outpatient department in a hospital. Population ............................................................. out3.1 (v) World (1) (Boxing slang) ToIncrease knock out or defeat (an opponent). (2) To kill, esp. by51a blow. (3) (orig. U.S.) To expose the undeclared homosexuality of (esp. a prominent 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 or public figure).
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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outer (n) (Austral.) The uncovered area of a racecourse or sports ground. Table of Contents out-of-sight (adv) (orig. U.S.) (1) Extremely well; beyond all comparison. (2) To a great degree; to the limit of endurance. outside (n) The world existing beyond a prison or other institution. outside job (n) A crime committed by a person not connected or associated with the building, organization, etc., in which it took place. outside man (n) (U.S.) A person involved in any of various special roles in a confidence trick or robbery. owner (n) (Nautical slang) The captain of a ship, boat, etc. ozoner (n) (U.S.) A drive-in cinema. Paki (n) (orig. and chiefly Brit., usu. derog.) A person of Pakistani; (also more gen., South Asian) birth or descent, esp. one living in Britain. paleface (n) (orig. N. Amer., Black E., chiefly derog.) A white person. Also as a form Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 of address. panhandler (n) (U.S.) A street beggar. Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini pansified (adj) Excessively stylized or adorned; affected; effeminate. pansy (n) (freq. derog.) Also pansy boy. A male homosexual; an effeminate man; a 1. Ethics and Human Rights weakling. (v) To clothe or adorn in an affected or effeminate manner. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 panther juice (n) (U.S.) Strong, esp. bootleg, liquor. Mario Santillo Pape (n) (Sc. and Ir., usu. derog.) A Roman Catholic. paralysed (adj) (chiefly U.S.) Intoxicated; incapacitated through drink. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 parlour-house (n) (U.S.) An expensive type of brothel. pash Passion, amorous feeling. for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 1.2(n)International Instrument passer (n) (1) A person who puts base or forged money into circulation. (2) A drug 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 dealer. passman (n) A male prisoner who is allowed to leave his cell as a special privilege, esp. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 in order to perform certain duties. Pat (n) (freq. derog.) An Irish person. PatMigration (pron, adj) (chiefly Austral.) From Pat rhyming slang forAsia............ ‘own’, ‘alone’.27 2. Policies and Ethics inMalone, East and South East patootie (n) (chiefly U.S.) A girlfriend, a sweetheart; an attractive woman. Fabio Baggio patsy (n) (orig. U.S.) Someone who is the object of ridicule. pavement princess (n) (U.S.) A prostitute who seeks business the streets. 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and SouthonEast Asia.............. 27 pay (n) (Navy slang) An officer responsible for keeping a ship’s accounts and for 2.2 Migration Policies ESEA............................................................ 34 overseeing the supply andindistribution of provisions and stores. pay-off (n) (Criminals’ slang) The proceeds of a fraud, robbery, or other criminal 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 operation. Also in pay-off man. P.B.I. (n) Also p.b.i. Poor Bloody Infantry(man). Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 P.D.Q. (adv) Also p.d.q. Petty damn(ed) quick. pea-brain (n) (derog.) A stupidstor empty-headed person; a fool. 3. Immigration in theStupid, 21 Century. pea-brained (adj) (derog.) dull-witted, foolish. The(n)Need for an young Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 peach An attractive woman. peacheroo (n)Baghdady, (chiefly U.S.) A particularly fine or desirable person or thing, esp. an Christine Richard Vanderberg attractive woman. 3.1 World Population 51 peachy (adj) (orig. U.S.) (Of Increase a woman) ............................................................. attractive, desirable. peanut (n) (orig. U.S.) A small, unintelligent, or unimportant person. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 peanut gallery (n) (freq. deprec.) The top gallery in a theatre or cinema.
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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pearlies (n) pl. A person’s teeth. From pearly whites. Table Contents pea-soup (n)of (N. Amer., derog.) A French Canadian. peb (n) (Austral., now rare) A tough or indomitable person or animal. From pebble. pec (n) (Bodybuilders’ slang) A pectoral muscle. Usu. in pl. peck (n) (U.S., Black E., deprec.) A white person regarded as poor, rustic, or unsophisticated. pecker (n) (chiefly U.S.) The penis. ped (n) (orig. and chiefly U.S.) A pedestrian; a walker. pee (v) To urinate in or on (something). pee-wee (n) (Children’s slang) An act of urination. peg (n) A tooth; esp. a child’s tooth. pego (n) The penis. pen (n) (N. Amer.) A penitentiary. Opening Considerations and Executive pencil (n) (1) The penis. (2) (Journalistic slang) ASummary reporter. .............................. 11 penguin (n) (humorous) A man’s formal evening wear. Fabiosuit Baggio, Laura Zanfrini pen-mate (n) (Austral. and N.Z.) Each of two or more shearers who shear sheep from the same pen.Human Rights 1. Ethics and pep (n) (orig. U.S.) Energy; liveliness, vigour, power. From pepper. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 pep-pill (n) (orig. U.S.) A pill containing a stimulant drug, taken to increase or restore a Mario Santillo person’s alertness, energy, or enthusiasm. perp (n) (U.S.) The perpetrator of a crime. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 perv (n) (orig. Austral.) Also perve. A sexual pervert. From perversion or pervert. (adj) Of International or relating to pornography. perverted. Defence ............................. 21 1.2 InstrumentFrom for Migrants’ peter (n) (1) (orig. cant) Portmanteau, trunk, or other piece of baggage. (2) (Criminals’ 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 slang) A safe or cash box. (3) (orig. Austral.) A cell in a prison, police station, etc. (4) (chiefly U.S.) The penis. (5) (U.S.) A hypnotic drug, esp. chloral hydrate. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 PFC (n) (U.S., chiefly Military) Also Pfc. Poor foolish (or forlorn, etc.) civilian. phat (adj) (orig. U.S., esp. in African-American usage) (1) Of a woman: sexy, attractive. (2)Policies Of music: excellent, fashionable. 2. Migration and Ethicsadmirable; in East and South East Asia............ 27 phenom (n) (orig. and chiefly U.S.) A phenomenon. Fabio Baggio Phillie (n) (U.S.) Also Philly. The city of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania. phishing (n) (Computing) Fraud perpetrated on theand Internet. 2.1 International Migration in East Asia South East Asia.............. 27 phiz (n) (now arch.) A face or facial expression; countenance. From physiognomy. Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 phy2.2 (n) Migration (chiefly Brit.) Physeptone, the drug methadone. physical torture (n) (humorous) Physical training. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 pi (adj) (now arch.) Pious, devout. P.I.Bibliography (n) (U.S.) Pimp. ......................................................................................... 47 pie-card (n) (U.S., dated) Also pie card. A card entitling the holder to free meals or lodging; a meal ticket. st 3. Immigration in theof21 Century. piece (n) (1) A quantity a drug (esp. morphine, heroin, or cocaine) approximately The an Ethical TheACanadian Experience ..... 51 equalNeed to anfor ounce in weight.Approach. (2) (orig. U.S.) spray-painted graffiti mural. (3) (derog.) ABaghdady, woman or girl. Christine Richard Vanderberg pie-faced (adj) (orig. U.S., chiefly derog.) Having a round, flat face or a blank 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 expression; stupid. pig (n) (1) (derog.) A police officer. (2) (chiefly U.S.) An informer. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 pigboat (n) (N. Amer., Navy slang) A submarine.
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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pigeon-drop (n) (orig. U.S., Criminals’ slang) A confidence trick. Table Contents pig-jump (v)of (chiefly Austral. and N.Z.) Of a horse, mule, etc.: to jump from all four legs without bringing them together, esp. in an attempt to unseat the rider. pig-out (n) (orig. U.S.) A bout of excessive eating; a feast. pig out (v) (orig. N. Amer.) To over-indulge esp. by overeating; to gorge oneself on food. pig’s ear (n) Rhyming slang for ‘beer’. pike (n) (chiefly N. Amer.) A road on which a toll is collected at a toll gate. Piker (n) (U.S., derog.) In California and other Pacific states of the U.S.: a member of a perceived class of poor white migrants from the southern states of the U.S. pikey (n) (chiefly regional, offens.) Also piky. A vagrant, a tramp; a traveller, a gypsy. pill (n) (1) A pill or tablet of a recreational or non-medicinal drug, spec. a barbiturate or amphetamine. (2) pl. The testicles. (3) A bullet; a shell, grenade, or bomb. (4) A Opening Considerations and .............................. 11 ball used in a sport or game. (5) Executive (orig. U.S.) ASummary cigarette. (6) (chiefly Military slang) A doctor, a surgeon. Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini pill-head (n) A person addicted to pills. pillock (n) (chiefly Brit., mildly derog.) A stupid person; a fool, an idiot. 1. Ethics and Human Rights pin (n) A leg. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 pinch (v) To steal (a thing). Mario (n) Santillo pineapple A bomb; a hand-grenade, a light trench mortar. From pineapple bomb. pine drape (n) (U.S.) A coffin. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 pine-top (n) (U.S.) Cheap or illicit whisky, formerly flavoured with the new shoots of a pineInternational tree. 1.2 Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 pink button (n) (Stock Market) A jobber’s clerk. 1.3 Some Final 23 pinkers (n) (Brit., orig.Reflections................................................................... and chiefly Navy slang) Pink gin. pink-eye (n) (chiefly Austral.) Cheap or home-made alcoholic drink. Bibliography 25 pink lady (n) (1) A......................................................................................... barbiturate. (2) A cocktail usually consisting of gin, egg white, and grenadine. pinko (n) (chieflyPolicies N. Amer., freq. derog.)inAEast personand withSouth (somewhat) or liberal 2. Migration and Ethics East left-wing Asia............ 27 views; a socialist. Fabio Baggio pink toe (n) (U.S., Black E.) A white woman, or a light-skinned black woman. pipped (adj) (now chiefly Austral. and N.Z.)Asia Annoyed, depressed. 2.1 International Migration in East and irritated; South East Asia.............. 27 pipperoo (n) (U.S.) A particularly remarkable or pleasing person or thing. 2.2 (n) Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 pippin (orig. U.S.) An excellent, pleasing, or beautiful person or thing. pip-pip (int) Goodbye. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 piss artist (n) (chiefly Brit.) A drunkard; a person who fools about. pissed (adj) (1) (chiefly Brit.) Drunk, intoxicated. Also with up. (2) (orig. U.S.) Angry, Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 irritated; depressed. Freq. (esp. in Brit. use) as pissed off. pisser (n) (1) A person whosturinates. (2) (coarse) The penis. (3) (orig. U.S.) A 3. Immigration in the 21 Century. particularly fine or impressive person or thing; something remarkable or The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 formidable. piss-head (n) (chiefly Brit. Richard and N.Z.)Vanderberg A drunkard. Christine Baghdady, pizzazz (n) (orig. U.S.) Zest, vitality, or liveliness; showiness. 3.1 (n) World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 placer (1) (Austral. and N.Z.) A sheep which remains in one place. (2) An organizer of criminal practices, esp. a dealer in stolen goods. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 plastered (adj) Very drunk. Chiefly in predicative use.
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plate of meat (n) (1) Rhyming slang for ‘a street’. (2) pl. Also elliptically, as plates. Table Contents Rhymingof slang for ‘feet’. pleb (n) (U.S.) A new cadet at a military or naval academy. plonked (adj) (chiefly Austral. and N.Z.) Intoxicated, drunk; also with up. plonko (n) (Austral.) An alcoholic. plotzed (adj) (U.S.) Intoxicated; drunk. plug-ugly (n) (orig. and chiefly U.S.) (1) A member of a gang of ruffians in Baltimore and some other American cities. (2) A very ugly person or (occas.) animal. plurry (adv) (chiefly Austral. and N.Z.) As an intensifier, very, extremely, damnably. From bloody. plute (n) (chiefly U.S.) A plutocrat; a very wealthy person, esp. an industrialist. pocketbook (n) (U.S.) The external female genitals. pod (n) Marijuana. Opening andAExecutive Summary .............................. 11 pointy-headConsiderations (n) (orig. U.S., derog.) stupid person. poison (n) Baggio, (orig. U.S.) Alcoholic liquor; an alcoholic drink. Fabio Laura Zanfrini poisoner (n) (Austral. and N.Z.) A cook, esp. for large numbers. poke-out (U.S.) A parcelRights of food given to a tramp, etc.; a lunch. 1. Ethics(n)and Human poker-faced (adj) Also po-faced. Having a solemn or humourless expression. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 pol (n) (orig. and chiefly N. Amer.) A politician. Mario Santilloand N.Z.) A scrounger, a sponger; a shirker. poler (n) (Austral. polis (n) (Sc. and Ir.) The police; a police officer. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 polly (n) (orig. U.S., now chiefly Austral. and N.Z.) A politician. Polly Apollinaris mineral water; afor bottle or glass of this. ............................. 21 1.2(n) International Instrument Migrants’ Defence Pom (n) (Austral. and N.Z., usu. derog.) Also Pommie, Pommy. An immigrant (usually 1.3 Someone) Final Reflections................................................................... 23 a recent to Australia or New Zealand from Britain; a British (esp. an English) person. Bibliography 25 Pompey (n) (1) A ......................................................................................... nickname for the town and dockyard of Portsmouth, in Hampshire. (2) Portsmouth Football Club. poncy (adj) (chiefly Brit., and derog.) Also in poncey. pretentious, self-consciously 2. Migration Policies Ethics EastAffected, and South East Asia............ 27 refined or superior; effeminate, homosexual. Fabio Baggio poofteroo (n) (derog.) A homosexual man; an effeminate or affected man. From poofter. 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 pooh pooh (n) Also poo poo. Faeces, excrement. 2.2(v)Migration Policies in esp. ESEA............................................................ 34 poon (Austral.) To dress up, flashily. poopy (adj) (chiefly U.S.) Foolish, dull-witted; ineffectual, weak. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 pop (n) An injection of a narcotic drug. (v) To take (a drug or pill); spec. to swallow or inject (a narcotic drug). Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 pop off (v) To die. poppa stoppa (n) (U.S., Black st E.) A person, esp. a man. 3. Immigration in the 21takes Century. popper (n) (1) A person who pills (esp. of stimulant drugs) freely or excessively; The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 any drug-taker. poppy (n) Opium. Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg pop shop (n) A pawnshop. 3.1 World Increaseharsh, ............................................................. 51 popskull (n) (N.Population Amer.) A powerful, or low quality (esp. home-made) alcoholic drink; inferior whisky. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 pork (v) (orig. U.S.) To engage in sex.
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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pork chop (n) (U.S., derog.) A black person who is subservient to whites. Table pork-chopperof (n) Contents (U.S.) A full-time union official. porky (n) From pork pie, rhyming slang for ‘a lie’. pornie (n) A pornographic film. porny (adj) Pornographic. post (n) (1) (Medicine slang, chiefly U.S.) An autopsy, a post-mortem. (2) (U.S.) Postgraduate. post office (n) Esp. in espionage: a person who receives information and either transmits it or holds it for collection. pot (n) Cannabis. potato (n) (1) As the potato, the (very, real, or proper) thing. (2) pl. Money; spec. dollars. (3) (Austral.) From potato peeler, rhyming slang for sheila, a girl or woman. Opening and Executive Summary .............................. 11 pothead (n)Considerations A habitual user of cannabis. potted (adj)Baggio, (1) (orig. and chiefly N. Amer.) Under the influence of alcohol; drunk. (2) Fabio Laura Zanfrini (N. Amer.) Under the influence of cannabis. potzer (n) (Chess slang) Also patzer. A poor player, a novice. 1. Ethics and Human Rights pound-noteish (adj) (Brit.) Also pound-notish. Affected, pompous. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 pox-doctor (n) A doctor specializing in the treatment of venereal disease. Mario Santillo prad (n) (now chiefly Austral.) A horse. pratfall (n) A fall on to the buttocks. (v) To fall on to the buttocks. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 prat leather (n) A wallet or purse kept in the hip pocket. preem (orig. and chiefly U.S.) Afor première; a firstDefence showing or performance, esp. of 1.2 (n) International Instrument Migrants’ ............................. 21a film. 1.3(adj) Some 23 preg (orig.Final U.S.)Reflections................................................................... Of a woman: pregnant. preggers (adj) (orig. Brit.) Also preggie, preggy or preggo. Of a woman: pregnant. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 prep (v) (orig. U.S.) To train (a sportsman, team, etc.) in preparation for any sporting event. prepper (n) (U.S., School and A student at a prepEast school, esp. one who27 is 2. Migration Policies andCollege Ethicsslang) in East and South Asia............ a member of a sports team. Fabio Baggio preppy (adj) (orig. and chiefly U.S.) Of or relating to a student at a prep school. pretty-boy (n) A man who is attractive in a Asia feminine an effeminate or narcissistic 2.1 International Migration in East andway; South East Asia.............. 27 man; (also) a male homosexual. 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 previous (n) (Brit., Criminals’ slang) A criminal record; previous convictions. prex (n) (U.S., now rare) (A title for) the president of a college. Hence: any president, as 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 of America, a society, etc. prick (n) (coarse) (1) The penis. (2) A term of contempt or abuse for a man; a fool. 47 Bibliography ......................................................................................... private business (n) (Eton College slang) Extra tuition. pro (n) A prostitute. st Century. 3. Immigration inIr.the Prod (n, adj) (chiefly and21 Sc., derog.) Also Proddie, Proddy. (A) protestant. The (n) Need for an Ethical The Canadian Experience ..... 51 profesh A profession, esp. the Approach. theatrical profession. prog (n) (1) (Oxford or Cambridge University slang) An officer elected periodically Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg and having mainly disciplinary and administrative duties. From proggins or earlier 3.1 World Increase ............................................................. 51 proctor. (2)Population A programme. (adj) Of music: experimental, innovative; avant-garde, modern. From progressive. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 pronk (n) (Brit., derog.) A fool, an idiot; (also) an ineffectual or effeminate person.
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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prop (n) (1) (orig. Theatrical slang) A property in a theatre, film set, or similar location; Table of Contents a stage property. (2) (chiefly Criminals’ slang) A diamond; a valuable piece of jewellery. propellerhead (n) (orig. U.S.) A person who is extremely knowledgeable about or devoted to a subject, esp. a technological subject. propho (n) (orig. U.S., Military) Prophylaxis of venereal disease; (also) a prophylactic device, spec. a condom. pross (n) (N. Amer.) Also prossie, prossy, prostie, prosty. A prostitute. Prot (n) (chiefly Ir.) A protestant. provo (n) Also Provo. A member of the Provisional I.R.A. psych (v) To psychoanalyse. psycho (n) (orig. U.S.) A psychopath; (more generally) any person exhibiting odd or deranged behaviour. (adj) Of a person: psychopathic. Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 pud (n) (coarse) The penis. puffFabio (n) (1)Baggio, (U.S., Criminals’ slang) Dynamite or other explosive material. (2) (Brit.) Laura Zanfrini Marijuana. (3) (usu. deprec.) Also poof. A male homosexual; an effeminate man. pugEthics (n) A pugilist. 1. and Human Rights puke (v) To eject by vomiting; to vomit (something). Freq. with up. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 pump (v) (coarse) To copulate. Mario Santillo punk-ass (adj) (U.S.) Of a person: worthless, good-for-nothing. puppy-hole (n) (Eton College) A pupil-room. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 purler (n) (orig. and chiefly Austral. and N.Z.) Something of surpassing excellence or quality; a beauty. Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 1.2 International purple (n) Also purple haze. LSD, used as a recreational drug. 1.3 heart Some(n)Final 23 purple (Brit.)Reflections................................................................... A tablet of the drug Drinamyl. pusher (n) (1) (chiefly Services’ slang) A girl or young woman. (2) (orig. U.S.) One Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 who peddles drugs illegally. pussy (n) (1) (coarse) The vulva; the external female sexual organs. (2) (chiefly N. Amer.) Effeminate boyand or man; a homosexual. 2. Migration Policies Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 putFabio out (v) Baggio (orig. U.S.) Chiefly of a woman: to offer oneself for sexual intercourse. Q.B.I. (adj) (R.A.F. slang) (Of flying conditions): quite bloody impossible. q.t.2.1 (n)International Also Q.T. Quiet. Chiefly in in East on the (strict) q.t., onEast the quiet, in secret,27 in Migration Asia and South Asia.............. confidence. 2.2 Migration Policies in Queen’s ESEA............................................................ 34 Quaggers (n) (University slang) College. qualified (adj) Used as a euphemism for ‘bloody’, ‘damned’, etc. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 queen (n) (1) Also quean. A male homosexual, esp. the effeminate partner in a homosexual relationship. (2) An attractive woman; a girl-friend. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 queenie (n) An effeminate male, a homosexual. queeny (adj) (Of a man): effeminate, esp. ostentatiously so; camp. st 3. Immigration in theA21 queer (n) (freq. derog.) (usu.Century. male) homosexual; one who is soft, effeminate, or The Need for anHomosexual. Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 homosexual. (adj) queerie (n) (usu. derog.) A Richard (usu. male) homosexual; an effeminate man. Christine Baghdady, Vanderberg quid (n) (chiefly Brit., Austral. and N.Z.) A sovereign; one pound sterling. 3.1 (n) World Increase ............................................................. rabbit (1) APopulation poor performer at any game; a novice. (2) (Austral.) Liquor; a bottle51 of beer. (3) (Austral. and Nautical slang) A smuggled or stolen article. (4) (also v) 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 From rabbit-and-pork, rhyming slang for ‘a talk’, ‘to talk’.
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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rabbit-o (n) (Austral.) Also rabbit-oh. An itinerant seller of rabbits as food. Table Contents race off (v) of (Austral.) To seduce (a woman); to hurry (a woman) away in order to seduce her. rad (adj) (N. Amer., orig. Surfers’ slang) At or exceeding the limits of control and safety; hence remarkable; amazing. rag-bag (n) A sloppily-dressed woman, a slattern. rager (n) (Austral. and N.Z.) A person who enjoys having a good time; a dedicated party-goer. ragga (n) An up-tempo style of popular music derived from dancehall reggae. Also: a performer or fan of this music. raggedy-assed (adj) (orig. Military slang) Of a person: raw; new and inexperienced. rah rah (n) (orig. U.S.) A shout of support or encouragement, as for a college team. Also used attrib. Opening andcontaining Executive 11 rainbow (n)Considerations (orig. U.S.) A capsule theSummary barbiturates .............................. Amytal and Seconal, one end of Baggio, which is Laura red andZanfrini the other blue. Fabio raise Cain (v) (orig. U.S.) To create trouble, uproar, or confusion. ralph (v) (orig. chiefly Rights U.S.) To vomit or gag. Freq. with up. 1. Ethics andand Human rammies (n) (Austral. and S. Afr.) pl. From round-the-houses, rhyming slang for in‘trousers’. the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 Mario Santillo ram-raiding (n) A form of smash-and-grab robbery in which premises are broken into by ramming a vehicle through a window or wall. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 ram-sammy (n) (orig. dial.) A family quarrel; a noisy gathering. Randlord (n) The owner or managerfor of aMigrants’ gold-mine on the Rand............................. in South Africa. 1.2 International Instrument Defence 21 ranking (vbl n) (U.S., Black E.) Intra-group repartee. Finalaccusation, Reflections................................................................... rap1.3 (n)Some A criminal charge. (v) To charge, prosecute; to apprehend with23a view to prosecution. Bibliography ......................................................................................... rapper (n) (U.S.) (1) A talker; a chatterer. (2) A complainant, plaintiff; a prosecutor. 25 raspberry (n) From raspberry tart, rhyming slang for ‘the heart’ or ‘a ‘fart’’. rassMigration (n) (Jamaican, coarse)and The buttocks, arse.and South East Asia............ 27 2. Policies Ethics intheEast rat-arsed (adj) Also ratted. Drunk. Fabio Baggio rat-bag (n) (Austral. and N.Z.) A stupid or eccentric person, a fool; an unpleasant person, a trouble-maker. (adj) Stupid, 2.1 International Migration in Eastidiotic, Asia uncouth. and South East Asia.............. 27 rat house (n) (Austral. and N.Z.) A mental hospital. 2.2 Migration ESEA............................................................ 34 raunchy (adj) (orig. Policies U.S.) Alsoinrancy. Inept, incompetent; dirty, grubby. raver (n) A passionate enthusiast for a particular thing, idea, or cause; a fanatic. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 ravers (pred adj) Raving mad, delirious. Also, in weakened sense, furious, angry. rave-up (n) A lively......................................................................................... party; a rowdy gathering. Bibliography 47 razoo (n) (N. Amer.) Ridicule; the arousing of indignation or the like. razz (n) (orig. U.S.) A refusal; st a reprimand. 3. Immigration in the 21 Century. razzle-dazzle (n) Bewilderment or confusion; also, deception, fraud; extravagant The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 publicity. razzmatazz (n)Baghdady, (orig. U.S.) Richard A type of Vanderberg rag-time or early jazz music. Christine ready (n) Also reddy. Ready money, cash. Usu. with the. 3.1 World Population Increaseor............................................................. ready-up (n) (Austral.) A conspiracy swindle; a case of fraudulent manipulation;51a fake. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 ready up (v) To prepare or manipulate in an improper way for some end.
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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rec (n) Recreation. Table of Military Contents recon (n) (U.S., slang) Also recce, recco. A reconnaissance unit. (v) (Military slang) To reconnoitre. red (n) Also red bird, red devil. The drug secobarbital (Seconal); also, a tablet of this drug (coloured red). red biddy (n) A drink consisting of methylated spirits and cheap red wine; also, inferior red wine. red-cap (n) (Brit., Military slang) A military policeman. red-eye (n) (1) (U.S.) Used attrib. to designate an aeroplane flight on which the traveller is unable to get adequate sleep because of the hour of arrival or because of differences in time zones. (2) (U.S.) Coarse fiery whisky. (3) (U.S.) Tomato ketchup. red-hat (n) (Military slang) A staff officer. Opening andpassionate. Executive(2)Summary .............................. red-hot (adj)Considerations (1) Uninhibited, sexy, (Austral.) Unfair, unreasonable. 11 redFabio ink (n)Baggio, (chiefly U.S.) red wine; also applied to some other inferior alcoholic LauraCheap Zanfrini drinks. Redland (n)and The Human Soviet Union. (adj) Russian. 1. Ethics Rights red lead (n) (Naval slang) Tomato ketchup; tinned tomatoes. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 red legs (n) (U.S., Military slang) An artilleryman. Mario(n)Santillo red-neck (U.S.) Also red neck, redneck. A reactionary. Red Ned (n) Inferior red wine or other similar drink. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 reefer (n) (orig. U.S.) (1) Marijuana. (2) One who smokes marijuana. reffo (Austral.) A European refugee. 1.2(n)International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 rego (n) (Austral.) Also reggo. Motor-vehicle registration. 1.3(n) Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 rehab Rehabilitation. renter (n) A male prostitute. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 repple depple (n) (U.S., Military slang) Replacement depot. re-up (n) (U.S. Services’ slang) One who re-enlists. (v) To re-enlist. revusical (n) (orig. and chiefly A theatrical entertainment that combines elements 2. Migration Policies and U.S.) Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 of the revue and musical. Fabio Baggio Richard (n) From Richard the Third, rhyming slang for bird, a girl or woman. ricky-ticky (adj) (chiefly U.S.) Of musical or tempo: even, repetitive, 2.1 International Migration in East Asiarhythm and South East Asia.............. 27 monotonous. Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 ride2.2 (n)Migration An act of sexual intercourse. ride-out (n) (Jazz slang) Also rideout. A final chorus. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 ridgy-didge (adj) (Austral.) Good, all right, genuine. rigmo (n) Rigor mortis. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 ring (v) (Austral.) To beat (a shedful of men) at sheep-shearing. ringer (n) (Austral. and N.Z.) The fastest shearer in a shed. 3. Immigration 21st Century. ring-in (n) (Austral.)inAthe fraudulent substitution. The Need for an Ethicalwho Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 ring-worm (n) (U.S.) Someone regularly attends boxing-matches. ripper (n) (1) Baghdady, (chiefly Austral.) An Vanderberg attractive young woman. (2) (Criminals’ slang) A Christine Richard tool for opening safes. 3.1apples World ............................................................. 51 road (n)Population (N. Amer.) pl.Increase Horse droppings. roader (n) (Taxi-drivers’ slang) A long-distance taxi fare or journey. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 roadie (n) Also roady. Someone who organizes and supervises a touring pop group.
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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roadwork (n) (Criminals’ slang) The work of an itinerant thief. Table of Contents robbo (n) (Austral.) A horse or trap, or its driver; a poor horse. rock (n) (1) (U.S.) A piece of money, spec. a dollar. (2) (orig. U.S.) A precious stone, spec. a diamond. (3) pl. The testicles. (4) (U.S. Baseball slang) An error. (5) (orig. U.S. West Coast) A crystallized form of cocaine which is smoked for its stimulating effect. rocker (n) Head, esp. in off one’s rocker, mad, crazy. rocket (n) (orig. Military slang) A severe reprimand. (v) To reprimand severely. rock of ages (n) Rhyming slang for ‘wages’. rodman (n) One who handles a gun; a gunman. roller (n) (1) (chiefly N. Amer.) A thief; one who steals from drunken persons; a prostitute who robs her customers. (2) (U.S.) A policeman. roll-up (n) (orig. Prisoners’ slang) A hand-rolled cigarette. Opening Considerations and Executive .............................. 11 Roman Candle (n) (1) A Roman Catholic. (2) AnSummary unsatisfactory landing by an aircraft. From Roman landing. Fabio Baggio,candle Laura Zanfrini rookie (n) A raw recruit. rope (n) (1)and Marijuana. (2) Rights (U.S.) A cigar. 1. Ethics Human ropeable (adj) (Austral. and N.Z.) Requiring to be roped; intractable, wild; violently inangry. the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 Mario SantilloA trick; a fraud or dishonest practice. (v) To shout, complain loudly; rort (n) (Austral.) to shout abuse. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 rorty (adj) (orig. Londoners’ slang, coarse) Fine, splendid, jolly, etc.; (of persons and things) boisterous,Instrument rowdy, noisy; drinks) intoxicating; (of behaviour, speech, 1.2 International for(of Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 etc.) coarse, earthy, of dubious propriety. 1.3(n)Some Reflections................................................................... 23 Rory From Final Rory O’More, rhyming slang for ‘the floor’ or ‘a door’. roscoe (n) (U.S.) A gun, usu. a pistol or revolver. Bibliography 25 rosiner (n) (Ir. and ......................................................................................... Austral.) A drink of spirits; a stiff drink. rosy (adj) Drunk, tipsy. Rosy Lee (n) Also Rosie (Lee). slang forand ‘tea’.South East Asia............ 27 2. Migration Policies andRhyming Ethics in East roufFabio (n) Back-slang for four, four shillings, four pounds; a four-year prison sentence. Baggio roughie (n) Also roughy. A rough or rowdy; a brawler; a hooligan. roughneck (n) (orig. U.S.) A personin ofEast roughAsia habitsand or quarrelsome 2.1 International Migration South Eastdisposition. Asia.............. 27 rough-up (n) (1) An informal encounter or contest. (2) A trial race. (3) A fight; a brawl. 2.2 Migration ESEA............................................................ 34 rounder (n) (U.S.) APolicies transientin railway worker. roundeye (n) A European. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 row in (v) To conspire. rozBibliography (n) A policeman, a detective. From rozzer. ......................................................................................... 47 rubbedy (n) (Austral.) Also rubberdy, rubbidy. From rub-a-dub, rhyming slang for ‘a pub’. 3. Immigration in therubout. 21st Century. rub-out (n) (U.S.) Also A murder, an assassination, esp. of one gangster by The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 another. rudders (n) Rudiments of divinity. Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg ruddy (adj) Damnable, blasted, confounded. 3.1 World Population ............................................................. 51 rugger (n) (University slang)Increase Rugby football. rumble (v) (chiefly U.S.) To have a gang fight. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 rummy (n) (1) (chiefly U.S.) A habitual drunkard. (2) (U.S.) A stupid person.
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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rumpy-pumpy (n) (orig. Brit.) Sexual intercourse. Table of Contents run-in (n) (Criminals’ slang) A hiding place for stolen goods. S.A. (n) Also s.a. Sex appeal. sack time (n) (orig. U.S., Forces’ slang) Time spent in bed. sad-ass (adj) (N. Amer.) Poor, contemptible. saddo (n) (Brit., deprec.) A person perceived as socially inadequate, unfashionable, or otherwise contemptible. sailor’s blessing (n) (Nautical slang) Also sailor’s farewell. A (parting) curse. salt away (v) To put by, store away (money, stock). salt horse (n) (Nautical slang, jocular) A naval officer with general duties. salty (adj) (U.S., Nautical slang) Of a sailor: tough; hard-bitten; aggressive. Salvo (n) (Austral.) A member of the Salvation Army. Sam Hill (int) (N. Amer.) A euphemism for hell. Opening andsarnie. Executive Summary .............................. 11 sammie (n) Considerations Also sammo or sarney, A sandwich. Sammy (n)Baggio, (Brit.) Also Sammie. An American soldier in the war of 1914-18. Fabio Laura Zanfrini sandbag (v) To underperform in a race or competition in order to gain an unfair handicap or other advantage. 1. Ethics and Human Rights san fairy ann (int) An expression of indifference or resigned acceptance. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 sauce (n) Alcoholic liquor; occas., a narcotic drug. Mario Santillo Sauerkraut (n) (U.S.) Also Kraut. A German, esp. a German soldier. sausage (n) A German. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 sawbones (n) A surgeon. sawn (Austral.) A simpleton, fool.for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 1.2(n) International Instrument scag (n) (U.S.) Also skag. (1) A cigarette (stub). (2) Heroin. (3) (U.S., orig. in African1.3 Some Final 23 American usage, Reflections................................................................... derog.) An unattractive woman. (4) (Brit.) A poor, scruffy person. scally (n) (chiefly Lancashire and Liverpool) A roguish, self-assured male (esp. from Bibliography Liverpool). ......................................................................................... 25 scalper (n) (U.S.) Someone who sells tickets, etc., esp. below the official rates. scammer (n) (orig. U.S.) Also A criminal, a pettyEast crook or swindler; one 2. Migration Policies andskammer. Ethics in East andesp. South Asia............ 27 who lives outside the law by his or her wits. Fabio Baggio scarf (n) (U.S.) Food; also a meal. scarper (v) To depart quickly. 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 scat (n) (1) (U.S.) Whisky. (2) Heroin. 2.2(n) Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 schiz Also schizo. A schizophrenic person; spec. one who experiences a druginduced hallucination. (adj) Schizophrenic. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 schmaltzy (adj) Sentimentalized, over-emotional. schmeck (n) A drug, esp. heroin. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 schmecker (n) A drug-addict, esp. one who takes heroin. schmooze (n) (U.S.) A chat or st gossip. 3. Immigration in the 21or objectionable Century. person, an idiot. schmuck (n) A contemptible The Need fordirt. an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 schmutz (n) Filth, schoolie (n) (Naval slang) A classroom instructor. Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg scoot (n) A fast vehicle, esp. a train or car. 3.1out World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 scope (v) (U.S.) To investigate or assess (a person or a state of affairs); to examine; to check out. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 scorp (n) (Military slang) A civil inhabitant of Gibraltar. From scorpion.
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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Scouse (n) Also Scouser. A native or inhabitant of Liverpool. Table of Contents scram (v) (orig.U.S.) To depart quickly. From scramble. scrap iron (n) (U.S.) An alcoholic drink of poor quality. screw (v) (1) (U.S., College slang) To examine rigorously. (2) (chiefly N. Amer.) To defraud (a person, esp. of money), to cheat; to deceive. (3) (coarse) To copulate, have sexual intercourse with. screwball (n) (chiefly U.S.) An eccentric; a madman; a fool. (adj) Eccentric; mad, crazy. screwy (adj) (orig. U.S.) Mad, crazy; eccentric; foolish. script (n) (orig. U.S.) Prescription, esp. one for narcotic drugs. scroungy (adj) (orig. and chiefly U.S.) Shabby or dirty in appearance; more gen., of poor quality, inferior. scrubber (n) A prostitute, a tart; an untidy, slatternly girl or woman. Opening Considerations and Executive Summary scruffo (n) A scruffy person; a contemptible or inferior person............................... 11 scuttlebutt (n) (U.S.,Laura orig. Navy slang) Rumour, idle gossip, unfounded report. Fabio Baggio, Zanfrini scuzz (n) A contemptible or despicable person. From scum and fuzz. scuzzy (adj)and (orig.Human and chiefly N. Amer.) Disgusting in appearance, behaviour, etc. 1. Ethics Rights secko (n) (Austral.) A sexual pervert; a sex offender. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 second banana (n) (orig. U.S., Theatrical slang) A supporting comedian. Mario Santillo Section Eight (n) (U.S., Military slang) Discharge from the Army under section eight of Army Regulations 615-360 on the grounds of insanity or inability to adjust to Army 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 life. seg1.2 (n) International (1) (chiefly U.S.) Segregation.for (2)Migrants’ (U.S.) Segregationist. Instrument Defence ............................. 21 send down (v) (orig. U.S.) To dispatch or commit to prison by sentence. 1.3 Some Final sender (n) (orig. andReflections................................................................... chiefly U.S.) One who or that which moves or enthrals, esp.23a popular musician. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 sensagger (n) Sensation. seriously (adv) (orig. U.S.) Esp. as seriously rich, really, extraordinarily rich. sesh (n) (orig. Services’ sessionin or East bout, esp. drinking. 2. Migration Policiesslang) andAEthics andofSouth East Asia............ 27 set Fabio over (v)Baggio (U.S., Criminals’ slang) To kill or murder. set up (v) To lead on in order to fool, cheat, or incriminate (a person). sexational (adj) (orig. U.S.) Sexually 2.1 International Migration insensational. East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 sexboat (n) Also sex-bomb, sexpot. A sexually exciting person, esp. a woman. 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 sexcapade (n) A sexual escapade. sexed-up (adj) Sexually aroused. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 sex kitten (n) A young woman who exploits her sex appeal. sexpert (n) (orig. U.S.) An expert on sexual matters. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 sez (v) Jocular spelling of says. S.F.A. (n) Also F.A. Nothing atstall. From Sweet Fanny Adams. 3. Immigration in the 21 Century. shaddup (int) An alteration of Shut up. The forAan Ethical Approach. shaft (n) Need (1) (U.S.) human leg. (2) The penis. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 shag (v) (coarse) To copulate (with).Vanderberg Christine Baghdady, Richard shagadelic (adj) Sexy, esp. in a psychedelic or ‘retro’ way. Also as a general term of 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 approval. shampoo (n) Arbitrary alteration of champagne. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 shant (n) A quart, a pot; a pot of drink.
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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sharpie (n) (N. Amer.) That which is smart or in good condition, esp. of cars. Table sheen (n) (1)of BaseContents coin. (2) (U.S.) A car; an automobile. shelf (n) (Austral.) A police informer. (v) To inform upon. shellacking (vbl n) (chiefly U.S.) A beating or thrashing; a defeat. shell out (v) To pay up, hand over. she-male (n) A passive male homosexual or transvestite. shiner (n) (1) Coin, money. (2) A mirror. (3) Usu. pl. Diamonds or other jewels. (4) A black eye. shirtlifter (n) (Austral.) A male homosexual. shit (n) (coarse) Also shite. (1) An intoxicating or euphoriant drug, spec. cannabis, heroin, or marijuana. (2) A contemptuous epithet applied to a person. shit a brick (int) Expressing surprise or amazement. shithead (n) A despicable person. Opening Considerations and enthusiastic, Executive very Summary .............................. 11 shit-hot (adj) (coarse) Unpleasantly skilful, cunning, knowledgeable. shit-house (n) (coarse) A term of disgust or contempt. (adj) Disgusting, despicable. Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini shitless (adj) (coarse) Alluding to a state of extreme fear or physical distress. shits (n) Asand the shits, diarrhoea. 1. Ethics Human Rights shit-scared (adj) (coarse) Extremely frightened. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 shoe (adj) (U.S.) Conforming to the dress, behaviour, or attitudes of students at Mario Santillo exclusive educational establishments. shonk (n) (1) An offensive name for a Jew. (2) (Austral.) One engaged in irregular or 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 illegal business activities. shonky (adj) Unreliable,Instrument dishonest. for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 1.2 International shoo-fly (n) (U.S.) A policeman, usu. in plain clothes, whose duty is to watch and report 1.3 Final Reflections................................................................... 23 on Some other policemen. shoot (int) (U.S.) An arbitrary alteration of shit, a coarse exclamation of annoyance or Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 disgust. shoot (v) (orig. U.S.) To inject esp. oneself with (a drug); often followed by up. shooter (n) (1) Policies (U.S.) Aand measure or in drink of and spirit,South esp. whisky. (2) A shooting 2. Migration Ethics East East Asia............ 27 instrument, a gun or pistol. Fabio Baggio shoppy (n) Also shoppie. A shop assistant. short (n) A brief visit to a prostitute; a brief in a hotel sexual purposes. 2.1time International Migration in East Asiasojourn and South EastforAsia.............. 27 short-timer (n) (1) (U.S., Military slang) One nearing the end of his period of military 2.2 Migration in ESEA............................................................ 34 service. (2) OnePolicies who makes a brief sojourn in a hotel for sexual purposes; one who visits a prostitute. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 shorty (n) Also shortie. (1) A person of short stature. (2) (orig. U.S.) A short drink. shouse (n) (Austral.) A privy. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 shover (n) (1) Also shovver. Jocular alteration of chauffeur. (2) One who passes base coin. 3. Immigration 21storCentury. showboat (v) (U.S.)in Tothe perform behave ostentatiously; to show off. The Need(n)for an Ethical Approach. Canadian Experience ..... 51 shrewd-head (Austral. and N.Z.) A cunning The person. shrink (n) (orig. U.S.) A psychiatrist. Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg sick (adj) (1) (now esp. Skateboarding and Surfing) Excellent, impressive; risky. (2) 3.1 World ............................................................. 51 (orig. U.S.)Population Of a drugIncrease addict: craving for a dose of a drug, suffering from withdrawal symptoms. (3) Disgusted, mortified, chagrined. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 sickie (n) (N. Amer.) Also sicky or sicko. One who is mentally ill or perverted.
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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sidy (adj) Also sidey. Inclined to ‘put on side’; conceited. Table Contents silly billy (n)of (Brit.) A foolish or feeble-minded person. simoleon (n) (U.S.) A dollar. simp (n) (U.S.) A fool, a simpleton. sin-bin (n) (chiefly N. Amer.) An area set aside for players temporarily withdrawn from a game as a penalty and for match officials. (v) (orig. Austral., Sport) To send (a player) off the field. sin city (n) (often jocular) A city of licentiousness and vice. singer (n) (Criminals’ slang) An informer. single (n) (U.S.) A one-dollar bill. single-o (n) (U.S., chiefly Criminals’ slang) (1) A crime perpetrated without an assistant. (2) A criminal who works alone. sin-shifter (n) A clergyman. Opening andAExecutive Summary sippers (n) Considerations (Brit., Nautical slang) sip (of rum), esp. taken.............................. from another’s tot, as11a rewardBaggio, for someLaura serviceZanfrini or in celebration. Fabio sissified (adj) Effeminate. sister (n) (orig. Used Rights by homosexual men to denote a fellow homosexual, esp. one 1. Ethics andU.S.) Human who is a friend rather than a lover; a male homosexual. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 sit-down (n) (N. Amer., Tramps’ slang) A free sit-down meal. Mario Santillo sitter (n) (U.S.) Someone employed to sit in a bar and encourage other patrons to buy drinks. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 six by six (n) Six wheel truck with six-wheel drive. skedaddle (v) To go away, leave, or depart hurriedly.Defence ............................. 21 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ skeeter (n) (chiefly U.S. and Austral.) Mosquito. 1.3 Some Finaldated) Reflections................................................................... 23 skeezicks (n) (U.S., A good-for-nothing. skell (n) (U.S.) In New York, a homeless person or derelict. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 skidoo (v) (N. Amer.) To go away, leave, or depart hurriedly. skimmer (n) (U.S.) One who conceals or diverts some of his earnings or takings in order to avoid paying tax onand them.Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 2. Migration Policies skinFabio (n) (1)Baggio A tyre. (2) A horse or mule. (3) (U.S.) A dollar. (4) (U.S.) An avaricious; a miser. (5) (Brit.) A youth (often one of a gang), a skinhead. (6) (orig. U.S.) A condom. (7) (orig. Migration U.S.) A paper rolling (esp.East in smoking marijuana). 2.1 International in for East Asiacigarettes and South Asia.............. 27 (8) A purse, a money bag, a wallet. (9) (Jazz) Usu. pl. A drum. (10) (U.S., Black E.) 2.2 in hand, ESEA............................................................ 34 TheMigration skin of the Policies palm of the as making contact in slapping hands in friendship or solidarity. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 skinful (n) As much as the skin can hold: as much as any one can drink. skinned out (ppl adj) Having no money left, broke. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 skin-pop (v) (orig. U.S.) To inject a drug subcutaneously. skirt-chaser (n) One who pursues women with amorous attentions. 3. Immigration inMilitary the 21stslang) Century. skunk (n) (1) (U.S., An unidentified surface craft. (2) A variety of The Needhaving for ana Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 marijuana pungent smell. skyman (n) (Journalistic slang) A paratrooper. Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg sky pilot (n) A priest or clergyman, esp. a military or naval chaplain. 3.1 ............................................................. 51 slag (n)World (1) AnPopulation objectionableIncrease or contemptible person. (2) A prostitute or promiscuous woman. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 slammer (n) (orig. U.S.) Prison.
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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slant-eye (n) (orig. U.S.) A slant-eyed person, esp. an Asian. Table of(n)Contents slap and tickle Light amorous play. slap-happy (adj) (orig. U.S.) Also slaphappy. Dazed, punch-drunk; dizzy (with happiness). slaphead (n) (orig. and chiefly Brit., humorous or deprec.) A bald or shaven head. slaughter-house (n) (1) A shop where goods are bought from small makers at very low prices. (2) A cheap brothel. sleaze (n) Squalor; sordidness, sleaziness; dilapidation; (something of) inferior quality or low moral standards. sleazo (n) (U.S.) Something ‘sleazy’, pornographic. sleazy (adj) Dilapidated, filthy; sordid, disreputable, worthless. sledging (vbl n) (Austral., Cricket slang) Unsportsmanlike attempts by fielders to upset a batsman’s concentration by abuse, needling, etc. Opening Considerations and and Executive Summary .............................. Sloane Ranger (n) An upper class fashionable but conventional young woman11 in London. From Laura Sloan (Square) Fabio Baggio, Zanfrini and Lone Ranger, a hero of western stories and films. slobEthics (n) A fool; person ofRights little account. 1. andaHuman slomo (n) (Cinematography, chiefly U.S.) Slow motion. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 slop (n) (U.S. and Austral.) Beer. Usu. pl. Mario Santillo slope (n) Also slopey, slopy or slopehead. An oriental; spec. a Vietnamese. sloshed (ppl adj) Drunk, tipsy. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 slot (v) (Army slang) To kill or injure (a person) by shooting. slows As the slows,Instrument an imaginaryfor disease or ailment accounting for slowness. 1.2(n) International Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 slug-fest (n) (U.S.) A hard-hitting contest, spec. in boxing and baseball. 1.3 Some 23 slug-nutty (adj)Final (U.S.)Reflections................................................................... Punch-drunk. slumgullion (n) (chiefly U.S.) Muddy deposit in a mining sluice. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 slushie (n) Also slushey, slushy. A ship’s cook. slut (n) A promiscuous girl or woman; a prostitute. slyboots (n) (mainly jocular) Also sly-boots. A sly,and cunning, or crafty 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East South East person. Asia............ 27 smack (n) (orig. U.S.) A drug, esp. heroin. Fabio Baggio smacker (n) Also smackeroo. (1) (orig. and chiefly U.S.) A coin or note of money; spec. a dollar; a pound. (2) A kiss; a blow. 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 small potatoes (n) (orig. U.S.) A person or thing considered unimportant, insignificant, 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 or worthless. smart (n) (U.S.) Usu. pl. Intelligence, cleverness; wits. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 smart-arse (n) Amer. -ass. Also wise-ass. A would-be clever person; a ‘know-all’; occas., a man ......................................................................................... who is ostentatiously smart in dress or manner. (adj) Ostentatiously Bibliography 47 or smugly clever. smart mouth (n) (U.S.) One who is good at repartee, one who gives cheek. 3. Immigration 21stto,Century. smart-mouth (v) Toin bethe cheeky to be witty at the expense of. The Need for(orig. an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience smashed (ppl adj) U.S.) Intoxicated, drunk; under the influence of drugs. ..... 51 smasher (n) (1)Baghdady, Anything uncommon, extraordinary, or unusual, esp. unusually large or Christine Richard Vanderberg excellent. (2) A very pretty or attractive woman; an attractive man. 3.1 World Population Increase 51 smasheroo (n) (orig. and chiefly U.S.) A............................................................. great success. smelly (adj) Suspicious.
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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smoke (n) (1) (U.S.) An abusive and offensive term for a Black. (2) (N. Amer.) Cheap Table Contents whisky. of (3) Opium, marijuana. smoke-up (n) (U.S.) An official notice that a student’s work is not up to the required standard. smoothie (n) (orig. U.S.) A person who is stylish, suave, chic. snafu (n) (chiefly U.S., orig. Military slang) Also SNAFU. A confusion or mix-up. (adj) Confused, chaotic. (v) To mess up, to play havoc with. From situation normal: all fouled (or fucked) up. snake (n) (1) (coarse) The penis (recorded earliest in one-eyed trouser snake). (2) (Austral., Military slang) A sergeant. snake eyes (n) (1) (U.S.) Tapioca. (2) (N. Amer.) A throw of two ones with a pair of dice. snake-headed (adj) (Austral. and N.Z.) Angry, irritable. Opening and Executive Summary .............................. 11 snake juice Considerations (n) Whisky; any alcoholic drink. snake poison (n) (U.S. and Austral.) Fabio Baggio, Laura ZanfriniWhisky. snapper (n) pl. Teeth; a set of false teeth. Sneaky Peteand (n) Human (orig. andRights chiefly U.S.) Also sneaky pete. A name given to any of 1. Ethics various illicit or cheap intoxicating beverages. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 sniffer (n) (1) (orig. U.S.) One who sniffs a drug or toxic substance. (2) The nose. Mario Santillo snifter (n) (U.S.) (1) A cocaine addict. (2) A small quantity of cocaine inhaled through the nose. (3) A portable radio direction-finder. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 snitty (adj) (orig. and chiefly U.S.) Ill-tempered, sulky. snoot The nose, esp.Instrument when large or shaped. Defence ............................. 21 1.2(n) International forbadly Migrants’ snorer (n) The nose. 1.3(n) Some snort (orig.Final U.S.)Reflections................................................................... (1) A dose or measure of cocaine or heroin which is taken 23 by inhalation. (2) An alcoholic drink; a measure of spirits. Bibliography 25 snow (n) (1) (orig. ......................................................................................... U.S.) Cocaine; occas. heroin or morphine. (2) (Silver) money. snow-bird (n) (U.S.) One who sniffs cocaine; gen. a drug addict. snuff it (v) To die. 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 snuff out (v) To kill, to murder. Fabio Baggio snuggle-pup (n) (U.S., obs.) Also snuggle-puppy, snuggle-pupper. An attractive young girl.International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 2.1 sob (n) A pound. 2.2 (n) Migration Policies ESEA............................................................ 34 S.O.B. (chiefly U.S.) Also in s.o.b. Son of a bitch; also silly old bastard, etc. soccer (n) Also socker. The game of football as played under Association rules. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 sockeroo (n) (orig. U.S.) Something with an overwhelming impact. socko (n) (orig. and chiefly U.S.) A success. (adj) Stunningly effective or successful. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 (int) An interjection imitative of the sound of a violent blow. sod (n) (1) (coarse) One whostpractises or commits sodomy; a male homosexual. (2) 3. Immigration in the 21 nuisance. Century. Something difficult; a great The Need anBlack Ethical The Canadian sometimey (adj)for (U.S., and Approach. Prison slang) Variable, unstable.Experience ..... 51 soogee-moogee (n) (Nautical slang) A mixture containing caustic soda used for Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg cleaning paintwork and woodwork on ships and boats. 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 sooner (n) (1) (U.S.) One who acts prematurely. (2) (chiefly Austral.) An idler, shirker. sore-head (n) (1) (U.S., Political slang) A dissatisfied or disappointed politician. (2) 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 (chiefly N. Amer.) A discontented, dissatisfied person.
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sort-out (n) A fight or dispute. Table soup-and-fishof (n) Contents Men’s evening dress, a dinner suit. soupy (n) (U.S., Military slang) Also soupie. (A summons to) a meal. souvenir (v) (orig. Military slang) To take as a ‘souvenir’; to appropriate; to steal. sov (n) A sovereign. sozzle (v) To imbibe intoxicating drink. sozzled (ppl adj) Intoxicated, drunk. spag bol (n) Spaghetti Bolognese. spaggers (n) Also spadgers. Spaghetti. spaghetti (n) An Italian: usu. contemptuous. Spanish tummy (n) A stomach upset of a type freq. experienced by visitors to Spain. spark out (pred adj) Forgotten; (completely) unconscious. sparrow-brain (n) A person with a tiny brain. Opening Considerations Executive or Summary .............................. 11 spaz (n) Also spas. One who and is uncoordinated incompetent; a fool. From spastic. (adj) Uncoordinated, Fabio Baggio, Lauraincompetent; Zanfrini foolish, stupid. speak (n) (orig. and chiefly U.S.) Also speako. A shop or bar where alcoholic liquor is sold illegally. From speakeasy 1. Ethics and Human Rightsor speak-easy. spec (n) (1) (orig. U.S.) A commercial speculation or venture. (2) (U.S.) In a circus: the inopening the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 spectacle. (3) (U.S.) A specialist. (4) A detailed working description. From Mario Santillo specification. (adj) Of or pertaining to the practice of building houses without prior guarantee of sale, esp. in estate developments. From speculative. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 special (v) (1) To work as a special correspondent for a newspaper. (2) To attend continuously to (a single patient).for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 1.2 International Instrument specky (adj) Bespectacled. 1.3(n) Some 23 specs Also Final specks.Reflections................................................................... Spectacles for the eyes. speed (n) An amphetamine drug, esp. methamphetamine, freq. taken intravenously. (v) Bibliography 25 To be under the......................................................................................... influence of an amphetamine drug. speedball (n) (1) (orig. U.S.) A dose of a drug, esp. a mixture of cocaine and morphine or of cocaine and heroin. (U.S.)inAEast glass and of wine, spec.East when strengthened 27 by 2. Migration Policies and(2) Ethics South Asia............ additional alcohol or spirits. Fabio Baggio speed freak (n) (orig. U.S.) A person addicted to an amphetamine drug. speedo (n) A speedometer. 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 spew (v) To vomit. 2.2(n) Migration in ESEA............................................................ spike (1) (orig. Policies U.S.) A hypodermic needle or syringe used for the injection of34 an intoxicating drug; hence, the drug itself or an injection of this. (2) (U.S.) A quantity 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 of alcohol, esp. spirits, added to a drink. (3) The workhouse. (4) An Anglican who advocates or practises Anglo-Catholic ritual and observances. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 spiky (adj) Of a particularly ritualistic or High-Church Anglican character. spit blood (v) Of a spy: to fear st exposure. 3. in the(1) 21To Century. spitImmigration chips (v) (Austral.) feel extreme thirst. (2) To manifest acute anger or The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 vexation. spliced (ppl adj) Married. Richard Vanderberg Christine Baghdady, split-arse (adj) (Forces’ slang) Amer. -ass. Classy, showy. 3.1 World Increase ............................................................. 51 spondulicks (n) Population (orig. U.S.) Money, cash.
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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spooky (adj) (1) (Surfing slang) Of a wave: dangerous or frightening. (2) (N. Amer.) Of Table a personof (or Contents animal): nervous; easily frightened; superstitious. (3) (U.S.) Of or pertaining to spies or espionage. spot (n) A drop of liquor. Spud Islander (n) (Canad.) A native or inhabitant of Prince Edward Island, which is noted for its fine potatoes. squaddie (n) (Services’ slang) Also squaddy. A member of a squad; a private soldier; a recruit. squadrol (n) (U.S.) A small police van. From squad and patrol. squarehead (n) Also square-head. (1) An honest person. (2) (Army slang) A foreigner of Germanic extraction, esp. a German or Scandinavian. squeaky clean (adj) Above criticism, beyond reproach. squiffy (adj) Intoxicated; drunk. Opening and Executive squillion (n)Considerations Also zillion. A very large number of Summary millions. .............................. 11 squillionaire (n) AlsoLaura zillionaire. One who is extraordinarily wealthy; a multimillionaire. Fabio Baggio, Zanfrini squiz (n) (Austral. and N.Z.) A look or glance. From squint and quiz. stakey (adj)and (chiefly Canad.)Rights Also staky. Well provided with money. 1. Ethics Human star-back (n) An expensive, reserved seat at a circus. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 starkers (adj) Also starko. Of a person: absolutely without clothing. From stark naked. Mario starrer (n) Santillo A play or film which provides an impressive leading role for an actor or actress. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 statie (n) (U.S.) A state trooper. steaming (vbl n) The action, by a gang, of passing Defence rapidly through a public place 21 (or 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ ............................. train, etc.) robbing bystanders (or passengers). 1.3(n)Some stem pl. TheFinal legs. Reflections................................................................... 23 stew (n) (U.S.) A stewardess. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 stick (n) (1) A pistol. (2) (Thieves’ slang) A jemmy or crowbar. (3) A cigarette made with marijuana. sticky-fingered Apt toand steal,Ethics light-fingered. 2. Migration(adj) Policies in East and South East Asia............ 27 stiff-arsed (adj) Amer. -assed. Reserved, supercilious, stand-offish. Fabio Baggio stiffener (n) A fortifying or reviving drink, spec. an alcoholic one. sting (Austral.) (1) Strong drink.in(2)East A drug, administered to a racehorse27 in 2.1(n)International Migration Asiaspec. andone South East Asia.............. the form of an injection. 2.2 (n) Migration stingo Strong alePolicies or beer. in ESEA............................................................ 34 stinkeroo (n) (orig. U.S.) Also stinkaroo. Something of a very low standard; a very bad 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 performance. stinko (pred adj) (orig. U.S.) (1) Of a very low standard; very bad. (2) Intoxicated; blind Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 drunk. stink-pot (n) A term of abuse for a person or (rarely) a thing. 3. Immigration the 21st magistrate. Century. stipe (n) Also stip. Ainstipendiary The Need an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience .....long 51 stir-crazy (adj) for (chiefly U.S., Criminals’ slang) Mentally deranged (as if) from imprisonment. Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg stone-broke (adj) Also stony-broke. Ruined. 3.1 (adj) World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 stoned (orig. U.S.) (1) Drunk, extremely intoxicated. (2) In a state of drug-induced euphoria. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 stop one (phr) (Austral.) To take a drink.
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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stoppo (n) (1) A rest from work. (2) (Criminals’ slang) An escape, a get-away. Table of Contents stormer (n) (Brit.) Something of surpassing size, vigour, or excellence. storming (ppl adj) (chiefly in Sport) Displaying outstanding vigour, speed, or skill. stove-up (adj) (N. Amer.) Run-down, exhausted; worn out. stragger (n) Stranger. street cred (n) (Apparent) familiarity with contemporary trends, fashions, social issues, etc. From street credibility. streetman (n) (U.S.) A petty criminal who works ‘on the street’, esp. as a pickpocket or drug pedlar. stride (n) pl. Trousers. Also occas. jeans. string out (v) (U.S.) To be under the influence of a drug. stripey (n) (Naval slang) A long-service able seaman; one with good-conduct stripes. strongers (n) (1) A mixture containing caustic soda used for cleaning paintwork and Opening Considerations and(2) Executive .............................. 11 woodwork on ships and boats. IntoxicatingSummary liquor. strong it (v)Baggio, To behave excessively, Fabio Laura Zanfrinito exaggerate. strung out (adj) (orig. and chiefly U.S.) Weak or ill, esp. as a result of drug addiction; hence, addicted to drugs. 1. Ethics and Human Rights stubby (n) (1) (Austral.) A short, squat beer-bottle. (2) pl. Shorts. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 stuff (n) (1) (orig. U.S.) Narcotics, esp. in on the stuff, addicted to drugs, on drugs. (2) Mario Santillo Chiefly as the stuff, money, cash. (3) Stolen goods. (4) Forbidden goods smuggled into a gaol. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 stupe (n) A stupid person, a fool. sub1.2 (n) International An advance of money. Fromfor subsistence money. Instrument Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 submarine (v) (U.S.) To put out of action in an underhand or covert way; to sabotage. 1.3(v)Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 suck (coarse) To perform cunnilingus or, esp., fellatio. suds (n) (orig. and chiefly U.S.) Beer. ......................................................................................... 25 sugBibliography (v) (Brit.) To (attempt to) sell (someone) a product under the guise of conducting market research. From sell under guise. sugar (n) (1) Money. (2) and A narcotic esp. heroin. (3) LSD (taken on a lump27 of 2. Migration Policies Ethicsdrug, in East and South East Asia............ sugar). Fabio Baggio suicide blonde (n) (jocular) A woman with hair dyed blonde (esp. rather amateurishly). super-cool (adj) (orig. and chiefly U.S.) VeryAsia ‘cool’, relaxed, 2.1 International Migration in East and Southfine. East Asia.............. 27 superfly (n) One who sells illegal drugs, a ‘pusher’. (adj) (U.S.) (1) Very good, 2.2 Migration Policies ESEA............................................................ 34 excellent, the best (esp. ininthe context of drugs). (2) Typical of the film character Super Fly. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 surfie (n) (chiefly Austral.) A surfer or surfboarding enthusiast. susBibliography (n) Also suss. ......................................................................................... Suspicion of having committed a crime; suspicious behaviour, esp. 47 loitering. (adj) Suspect, suspicious; of questionable provenance or condition. (v) To suspect (a person) of a crime. 3. Immigration in theState 21stgovernment Century. relief paid to the unemployed. susso (n) (Austral., dated) The Need for ansuspect, Ethicalsuspected. Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 sussy (adj) Suspicious, SWA(L)K (phr)Baghdady, Sealed withRichard a (loving) kiss. Christine Vanderberg swamp (v) (Austral.) To make (one’s way) by obtaining a lift from a traveller. 3.1 World Population ............................................................. 51 swamper (n) (Austral.) One Increase who travels on foot but has his swag carried on a wagon; hence, one who obtains a lift.
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Sweeney (n) From Sweeney Todd, rhyming slang for ‘Flying Squad’, a member of the Table of Contents Flying Squad. sweetie-pie (n) (orig. U.S.) A lovable person; also as a term of endearment. sweetmouth (v) (chiefly U.S., Black E.) To flatter. swiftie (n) Also swifty. A fast-moving person: a rapid runner, a quick thinker. swinging (ppl adj) Of or pertaining to one who engages in promiscuous sexual activity. swingle (n) (N. Amer.) A ‘swinging’ single or unaccompanied person; spec. one in search of a sexual partner. switched-on (ppl adj) Aware of all that is considered fashionable and up-to-date. switcheroo (n) (U.S.) A change of position or an exchange, esp. one intended to surprise or deceive. Also attrib., reversible, reversed. swizz (n) (chiefly Schoolchildren’s slang) A disappointment. swy (n) (Austral.) Two, spec. a two-shilling coin or a two-year prison sentence. Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 syph (n) Also siff. Syphilis. sysop (n) (orig. U.S.,Laura Computing slang) System operator. Fabio Baggio, Zanfrini tab (n) (1) A tablet or pill, spec. one containing LSD or another illicit drug. (2) A cigarette. (3)Human An ear. (4)Rights (Austral.) An (attractive) young woman or girl. 1. Ethics and Tab (n) (University slang) A member of the University of Cambridge. From Cantab. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 tab show (n) (U.S.) A short version of a musical, esp. one performed by a travelling Mario Santillo company. From tabloid show. tache (n) Also tash. Moustache. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 Taffy (n) A familiar nickname for a Welshman. talk1.2 turkey (v) (orig. N.Instrument Amer.) To speak frankly and Defence without reserve; to talk hard facts. International for Migrants’ ............................. 21 tank (n) (1) A drink (usu. of beer). (2) (U.S.) A cell in a police station, spec. one in 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 which several prisoners (esp. drunks) are held. tarantula-juice (n) (U.S.) Inferior whisky. Bibliography ......................................................................................... tarnation (n) (chiefly U.S.) Damnation, used as an imprecation, or exclamation 25 of emphatic objurgation. tartMigration (n) (1) A female immoral character; prostitute. (Austral. and N.Z., 2. Policiesofand Ethics in Eastaand South (2) East Asia............ 27 Liverpool dial.) As the tart, his tart, a wife or girl-friend. (3) The young Fabio Baggio homosexual companion of an older man. Tassie (Austral.) Also Tassey, Tassy. (1) Asia Tasmania. (2) A Tasmanian. 2.1 (n) International Migration in East and South East Asia.............. 27 taste (n) (U.S.) An alcoholic drink; alcohol. 2.2(adj) Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 tasty Attractive, esp. sexually; pleasant. tato (n) Also tatie, tattie. Potato. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 T.B. (n) (U.S.) Also t.b. A confidence trickster. From tubercolosis. TCB (phr) (U.S., Black E.) To take care of business. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 tea (n) (1) (orig. U.S.) Marijuana; spec. marijuana brewed in hot water to make a drink. (2) Spirituous or intoxicating st liquor. 3. Immigration teach (n) A teacher.in the 21 Century. The Need forU.S.) an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 tea-head (n) (orig. A habitual user of marijuana. teaman (n) (U.S., Criminals’ slang) One who smokes or sells marijuana. Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg tear-arse (n) A very active busy person. (v) Amer. -ass. To drive recklessly. World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 tec3.1 (n) Detective. techno (n) A type of popular music having a fast, insistent dance beat.
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ten-four (int) Also 10-4. The radio code phr for ‘message received’; used loosely as an Table ofofContents expression affirmation. ten per center (n) (U.S., Theatrical slang) A theatrical agent. terr (n) (Rhodesian slang) A terrorist. Tewt (n) (Army slang) Also TEWT. An exercise used in the training of junior officers. From tactical exercise without troops. thang (n) Representing a Southern U.S. pronunciation of thing. thickie (n) One who is dull of intellect. thirty (n) (chiefly Journalistic slang) The last sheet, word, or line of copy or of a despatch. thou (n) Thousand. throw (v) To vomit. Usu. with up. tick (n) Credit; trust; reputation of solvency and probity. From ticket. Opening and (2) Executive .............................. 11 ticker (n) (1)Considerations (orig. U.S.) The heart. (U.S. and Summary Austral.) Courage, spirit. tick-tack AppliedLaura to a system of ‘telegraphy’ or signalling used by bookmakers at Fabio(n) Baggio, Zanfrini race-meetings. Used attrib. tiddly (n) From rhyming slang for ‘a drink’. 1. Ethics andtiddlywink, Human Rights tight-arsed (adj) Amer. -assed. Full of inhibition, unable to relax and enjoy oneself. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 tin-arsed (adj) (Austral. and N.Z.) Very lucky. Mario tincture (n)Santillo An alcoholic drink. tinned dog (n) (Austral.) Canned meat. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 tinnie (n) (Austral.) Also tinny. A can of beer. tip 1.2 (n) A piece of useful private or special information communicated by an expert. 21 (v) International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. (orig. U.S.) To furnish (a person) with private information as to the chances of 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 some event; to warn, alert, or inform (a person). Freq. with off. tired and emotional (adj) (jocular) Drunk. Bibliography tit (n) (orig. U.S.) ......................................................................................... pl. A woman’s breasts. Also in to get on one’s tits (or occas. tit),25 to irritate intensely, get on the nerves of. titfer (n) Also titfa, titfor. From for tat,in rhyming slangSouth for ‘a hat’. 2. Migration Policies and tit Ethics East and East Asia............ 27 toc Fabio emma (n) (Military slang) A trench mortar. Baggio tod (pron) From Tod Sloan, rhyming slang for ‘own’ in on one’s tod, alone, on one’s own. 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 toffee-nosed (adj) Snobbish, supercilious. 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 Togger (n) (University slang) A boat rowing in the Oxford college races called ‘Torpids’. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 tom (n) From tomfoolery, rhyming slang for ‘jewellery’. tomato (n) (orig. U.S.) An attractive girl. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 tool (n) (1) The male generative organ. (2) (Criminals’ slang) Any weapon. toot (n) (U.S.) Also tout. Cocaine; a ‘snort’ of cocaine. (v) To inhale cocaine. 3. Immigration in thetootsey-wootsey, 21st Century.tootsie-wootsie, tootsy-wootsy. (1) (chiefly tootsy (n) Also tootsie, The for an Ethical Approach. Canadian Experience 51 U.S.)Need A woman, a girl; a sweetheart. (2) AThe playful or endearing name for a ..... child’s or a woman’s small foot. Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg topper (n) (U.S., Military slang) A first sergeant. 3.1 World Increase ............................................................. 51 topping (ppl adj)Population Of high quality; excellent; first-rate. torpedo juice (n) Also torp. Intoxicating liquor extracted from torpedo fuel; any strong 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 home-made alcoholic liquor.
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tosher (n) (Undergraduates’ slang) An ‘unattached’ or non-collegiate student at a Table ofhaving Contents university residential colleges. total (v) (chiefly N. Amer.) To damage beyond repair (esp. a motor vehicle, in an accident). toup (n) Toupee. town clown (n) (U.S.) A policeman working in a village or small town. toy boy (n) The younger partner of an older woman. trannie (n) A transvestite. tranq (n) Also trank. Tranquillizer. trap (n) The mouth. trat (n) Also tratt. Trattoria. trey (n) The number three; a set of three; a threepenny piece; spec. in the U.S., a threedollar packet of a narcotic. Opening and Executive Summary .............................. 11 trick cyclistConsiderations (n) (humorous) A psychiatrist. trickeration (n) (U.S., BlackZanfrini E.) A trick or stratagem. Fabio Baggio, Laura trip (v) (orig. U.S.) To experience hallucinations induced by a drug, esp. LSD. Also with out. 1. Ethics and Human Rights tripper (n) (orig. U.S.) One who experiences hallucinations induced by a drug, esp. inLSD. the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 Santillo trogMario (n) A lout, a boor, a hooligan, an obnoxious person. trolley (n) In off one’s trolley, crazy. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 troppo (adj) (Austral.) Mentally ill through spending too much time (orig. on war service) in the tropics. 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 trouble and strife (n) Rhyming slang for ‘wife’ or ‘life’ (rare). 1.3 Some(n) Final Reflections................................................................... Trustafarian (chiefly Brit.) A wealthy young (white) person who adopts aspects23 of the appearance and culture of Rastafarians. From trust and Rastafarian. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 tube (n) (1) A cigarette. (2) The penis. (3) (Austral.) A bottle or can of beer. turf (n) (1) The road or street as the milieu of prostitutes, tramps, etc. (2) (orig. and chiefly U.S.)Policies The streets controlled juvenile and Asia............ regarded by them 2. Migration and Ethics by in aEast andstreet-gang South East 27 as their territory. Fabio Baggio turkey (n) (U.S.) (1) A stupid, slow, inept, or otherwise worthless person. (2) An inferior or unsuccessful cinematographic or and theatrical a flop; hence, 2.1 International Migration in East Asia Southproduction, East Asia.............. 27 anything disappointing or of little value. 2.2(n)Migration Policies inliquor, ESEA............................................................ 34 turps (Austral.) Intoxicating esp. beer. turtle (n) From turtle-dove, rhyming slang for ‘a glove’. Usu. in pl. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 TV (n) (orig. and chiefly N. Amer.) A transvestite. twat (n) (low slang)......................................................................................... (1) The female genitals. (2) A fool; a stupid or ineffectual person.47 Bibliography twenty (n) (orig. and chiefly U.S., Citizens’ Band Radio slang) One’s location or position. From 10-20. 3. Immigration 21st Century. twicer (n) A crook, in liar,the cheat; a deceitful or cunning individual. The (n) Need an Ethical Approach.anThe Canadian 51 twinkie Alsofor twinky. A male homosexual, effeminate man; Experience also, a child or..... youth regarded asBaghdady, an object ofRichard homosexual desire. Christine Vanderberg twist (n) (chiefly U.S., freq. deprec.) From twist-and-twirl, rhyming slang for ‘a girl’. 3.1(n)World Increase 51 twoc (Brit., Population orig. Police slang) Also............................................................. Twoc, TWOC. A car theft. From taking without owner’s consent. (v) To steal (a car), esp. for the purpose of joy-riding.
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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twocer (n) (Brit., orig. Police slang) Also twocker, TWOCer. A car thief, esp. one who Table Contents steals forof the purpose of joy-riding. two-time (v) (orig. U.S.) To deceive (esp. a person to whom one owes loyalty); to be unfaithful to (a spouse or lover). U-ey (n) (Austral.) Also youee. A U-turn. uglies (n) As the uglies, depression, bad temper. ump (n) (chiefly U.S.) Umpire, spec. in baseball. uncool (adj) Unrelaxed; unpleasant. undercover (n) An undercover agent. underfug (n) (Brit., Schoolboys’ slang) An undervest; also, underpants. underground mutton (n) (Austral.) A rabbit; rabbit meat. under the table (phr) As (to put) under the table, (to make) drunk to the point of insensibility. Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 unfuckingtouchable (adj) A more emphatic version of untouchable. UniFabio (n) (chiefly Austral. andZanfrini N.Z.) Also Univ. University. Baggio, Laura unreal (adj) (chiefly N. Amer. and Austral.) So good or impressive as to seem incredible; amazing. 1. Ethics andremarkable, Human Rights untogether (adj) Poorly coordinated; not in full control of one’s faculties. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 up (n) (1) A drug (esp. an amphetamine), often in the form of a pill, which has a Mario Santillo stimulant or euphoric effect. (2) (U.S.) A prospective customer. up-and-downer (n) Also upper and downer. An up-and-down fight or argument; a 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 violent quarrel. upper (1) A drug (esp. an amphetamine). (2) (Public School slang) A pupil of 21 the 1.2 (n) International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. upper school. 1.3(pred Some Reflections................................................................... 23 upter adj)Final (Austral.) Bad or worthless; no good. use (v) To take drugs. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 U.S. of A. (n) United States of America. ute (n) (chiefly Austral. and N.Z.) A utility vehicle. vagMigration (n) (Austral.Policies and N. Amer.) (1) Vagrant. (2) Vagrancy. 2. and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 vamoose (v) (orig. and chiefly U.S.) To depart. Fabio Baggio veejay (n) (chiefly U.S.) One who presents a programme of (popular music) videos, esp. on International television. FromMigration V.J., video jockey. 2.1 in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 veep (n) A vice-president. Policies intime ESEA............................................................ 34 veg2.2 (v) Migration (orig. U.S.) To pass the in mindless or vacuous inactivity, esp. by watching television. Often with out. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 vent (n) (Theatrical slang) A ventriloquist. verbal (n) Insult or......................................................................................... abuse. Bibliography 47 vet (n) A doctor of medicine. From veterinarian. Victor Charlie (n) (U.S., Services’ slang) A Vietcong soldier. 3. Immigration in the 21stU.S., Century. vidiot (n) (orig. and chiefly derog.) A habitual, undiscriminating viewer of The Needorfor an Ethical Approach. Theand Canadian Experience ..... 51 television player of video games. From video idiot. viff Christine (n) An aircraft that changes direction abruptly as a result of a change in the direction Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg of thrust of its engine(s). From vectoring in forward flight. 3.1(n)World Increase 51 Ville As the Population Ville, Pentonville Prison............................................................. in London. vis (n) (orig. Military slang) Visibility. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 W (n) A lavatory or water-closet.
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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wacko (n) (orig. and chiefly U.S.) An eccentric or crazy person. (adj) Crazy, mad; Table eccentric.of Contents wacky (adj) (orig. U.S.) Crazy, mad; odd, peculiar. wacky baccy (n) (orig. and chiefly U.S.) Also wacky tobaccy or wacky weed. Marijuana. wagger (n) (orig. Oxford University) A waste-paper basket. wakey-wakey (n) (orig. Services’ slang) Reveille. wallop (n) Alcohol, esp. beer; alcoholic drink. wank (n) An act of (male) masturbation. (v) Of a male: to masturbate. Freq. with off. washed up (ppl adj) (orig. and chiefly U.S.) Defeated, exhausted, finished. wassock (n) (Brit., orig. northern dial.) Also wazzock. A stupid or annoying person; an idiot. wasted (ppl adj) Intoxicated (from drink or drug). Wavy Navy (n) (Brit.) The Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. Opening and Executive Summary .............................. 11 way-in (adj)Considerations Conventional; fashionable, sophisticated. way-out Far removed reality or from convention; extreme; progressive. Fabio(adj) Baggio, Laura from Zanfrini weakie (n) (chiefly Austral.) Also weaky. A person who is weak in constitution, character, or Human ability. Rights 1. Ethics and weapon (n) (coarse) The penis. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 weed (n) (orig. U.S.) Marijuana; a marijuana cigarette. Mario (n) Santillo weedhead (chiefly U.S.) One who is addicted to marijuana; a marijuana smoker. weekender (n) (orig. U.S.) A person who indulges in occasional drug-taking, esp. at 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 weekends. weeny (n) (U.S.) AlsoInstrument weenie. (1) for A girl; an effeminate man. (2) An objectionable 1.2 International Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 person. 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 weight (n) A measure of an illegal drug; hence, the drug. weirdie (n) Also weirdy or weirdo. An odd or unconventional person. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 wellie (n) Also welly. A kick, acceleration. Welshie (n) Also Welshy. A Welshman or Welshwoman. wetMigration (n) (1) Liquor, drink. (2) (rare) Urination, the act of South urinating; urine. 2. Policies and Ethics in East and East Asia............ 27 Whacko (int) Also Wacko. An exclamation of delight or excitement: Splendid! Fabio Baggio Excellent! Hurrah! whaler (n) (Austral.) AMigration tramp, orig.in oneEast whose route followed course of a river. 27 2.1 International Asia and South the East Asia.............. Whammo (int) Also Whamo. An exclamation suggesting a sudden violent blow or 2.2 Migration surprising event.Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 whang-doodle (n) (N. Amer.) Something unspecified. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 what-the-hell (adj phr) Casual, careless, devil-may-care. wheel (n) (1) (U.S.) A dollar. (2) (U.S., orig. Criminals’ slang) Chiefly in pl. The legs. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 (3) pl. A car. wheelie (n) (Austral.) Also wheely. A person in or confined to a wheelchair. st Century. 3. Immigration in slang) the 21An whifflow (n) (Nautical unnamed gadget. The(n) Need an Ethical The Experience ..... 51 whistle Fromfor whistle and flute,Approach. rhyming slang for Canadian ‘suit’. white (n) (1) Morphine. (2)Richard An amphetamine tablet. Christine Baghdady, Vanderberg white-arsed (adj) Contemptible, despicable. 3.1lady World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 white (n) (Austral.) A drink of methylated spirits, sometimes mixed with another ingredient.
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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white lightning (n) (orig. U.S.) (1) Inferior or illicitly distilled whisky. (2) A kind of Table LSD. of Contents white line (n) (U.S.) Alcohol as a drink; also, one who drinks alcohol. white mule (n) (U.S.) A potent colourless alcoholic drink; spec. illicitly distilled whisky. white-shoe (adj) (chiefly U.S.) Effeminate, immature. white stuff (n) (chiefly U.S.) Morphine, heroin, or cocaine. whitie (n) (Black E.) Also whitey, whity. A white person. whizzo (n) Also whizz. Something very remarkable. (adj) Excellent, wonderful. (int) An exclamation expressing delight. whore-shop (n) A brothel. wicked (adj) (orig. U.S.) Excellent, splendid; remarkable. wife (n) The passive member of a homosexual partnership. wiggy (adj) (U.S.) Mad, crazy. Opening and(aExecutive Summary .............................. 11 wind up (v)Considerations (Racing slang) To put race-horse) into fit condition for running. windy (adj)Baggio, Apt to get into aZanfrini state of alarm; nervous, frightened. Fabio Laura wing (n) An arm. Wingco (n) and (R.A.F. slang) Wing Commander. 1. Ethics Human Rights wingding (n) (U.S.) (1) A fit or spasm, esp. as simulated by a drug addict. (2) A wild inparty; the aSouth American Migration Processes .................................... 15 celebration or social gathering. Mario Santillo wingy (n) A one-armed man. wino (n) (orig. U.S.) A habitual drinker of cheap wine; an alcoholic or drunkard. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 wiped (ppl adj) (orig. U.S.) Chiefly with out. (1) Reduced to a state of physical incapacity; exhausted, tired out. Intoxicated or incapacitated by drugs 21 or 1.2 International Instrument for(2) Migrants’ Defence ............................. alcohol. 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 wipe-out (n) (1) (Surfing slang) A fall from one’s surfboard as a result of a collision with another surfer or a wave. (2) (orig. U.S.) Destruction; a killing; a crushing Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 defeat; an overwhelming experience. wipe out (v) (1) To be knocked from one’s surfboard. (2) (orig. U.S.) Of drink, etc.: to render intoxicated or senseless; to overwhelm. (3) To kill (aEast person). 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South Asia............ 27 wiseFabio guy (n) (orig. U.S.) A know-all, a wiseacre; someone who makes sarcastic or Baggio annoying remarks. wish (n) (N. Amer.) A mail-order catalogue. 2.1book International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 witch-doctor (n) (Military slang) A psychiatrist. 2.2 (adj) Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 with-it Fashionable, up-to-date. wizard (adj) Excellent, marvellous, very good. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 wood-and-water joey (n) (Austral.) An odd job man. Woodbine (n) An......................................................................................... Englishman, esp. a soldier, considered as a habitual smoker 47 of Bibliography Woodbine cigarettes. wooden cross (n) (Military slang) st A wooden cross on a serviceman’s grave; hence, 3. Immigration death in action. in the 21 Century. The(n) Need for an Ethical Experience ..... 51 woody (1) (orig. Surfing slang,Approach. chiefly U.S.)The Also Canadian woodie. An estate car with timberframed sides. (2) An erection of the penis. Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg woopie (n) (orig. N. Amer.) Also woopy. A well-off older person. 3.1Woop World Woop (n)Population (Austral. andIncrease N.Z.) The............................................................. name of an imaginary place in a remote area.51
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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wop (n) (1) (R.A.F. slang) A radio operator. From wireless operator. (2) (orig. U.S., Table Contents offens.) of An Italian or other southern European, esp. as an immigrant or foreign visitor. (adj) Italian. word (v) (Austral.) To speak to, accost; to tell, pass word to. wotcher (int) A corruption of What cheer?, a familiar greeting. wow (n) (orig. U.S.) A sensational success. (adj) Exciting or expressing admiration and delight. W.P.B. (n) Also w.p.b. Waste-paper basket. Wrac (n) Also WRAC. The Women’s Royal Army Corps. Wraf (n) Also WRAF. The Women’s Royal Air Force. Wren (n) A member of the Women’s Royal Naval Service. Wrennery (n) (Services’ slang, jocular) A building used to accommodate Wrens. wrinkly (n) Also wrinklie. An old or middle-aged person. Opening Executive Summary .............................. wrongo (n) Considerations (chiefly U.S.) Also and wronggo. A bad, dishonest, or untrustworthy person. 11 Y (n) (chiefly U.S.) Young Christian Association. Fabio Baggio, Laura Men’s Zanfrini yack (n) Incessant talk of a trivial or boring nature. yacker (n) (1) (derog.) A chatterbox 1. Ethics and Human Rights or gossip. (2) (Austral.) Talk, conversation, chatter. yackety-yackety (n) Incessant talk. (int) Expressing the sound of incessant chatter. in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 Yank (n) A Yankee. yapMario (n) (1)Santillo (U.S.) The mouth. (2) Idle or loquacious talk; a chat. (v) To talk idly or loquaciously; to chatter. 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 yardie (n) (orig. West Indies) A Jamaican. yatter (orig. Sc. dial.) To talk idly incessantly; to chatter. From yammer and 1.2 (v) International Instrument for and Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 chatter. 1.3 belly Some(n)Final 23 yellow (orig.Reflections................................................................... U.S.) A coward. yellow jacket (n) A pentobarbitone capsule. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 yen-yen (n) (U.S.) A craving for opium, opium addiction. Yid (n) (usu. offens.) A name for a Jew. yobMigration (n) Back-slang for boy.and Orig.Ethics simply,ina boy, youth;South in mod. use, Asia............ a lout, a hooligan. 2. Policies Easta and East 27 yobbery (n) (Brit.) Hooliganism. Fabio Baggio yobbish (adj) Characteristic of a ‘yob’. yobbo Also yobo. AMigration lout, a hooligan. Extended fromSouth yob. East Asia.............. 27 2.1 (n) International in East Asia and yobby (adj) Loutish. Policies Jewish in ESEA............................................................ yok2.2 (n) Migration (derog.) A pejorative term for a non-Jew, a Gentile. From Yiddish goy.34 yonks (n) A long time, chiefly in for yonks. 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 yo-yo (n) (U.S.) A stupid person, a fool. yucky (adj) Also yukky. Nasty, unpleasant; sickly sentimental. Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 yumpie (n) (orig. U.S.) Young upwardly mobile people. yum-yum (n) An action providing a pleasurable or delicious sensation; love-making. 3. Immigration in the 21sturban Century. yuppie (n) Also yuppy. Young professional, now also freq. interpreted as young The Needmobile for anprofessional. Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 upwardly yuppification (orig. U.S.) The action or process by which an area, building, clothing, Christine (n) Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg etc., becomes or is rendered suitable for ‘yuppies’. 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 yuppify (v) (orig. U.S.) To subject to ‘yuppification’. za (n) (U.S.) Pizza. 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 zac (n) (Austral.) Also zack, zak. A sixpence.
3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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zapper (n) (orig. U.S.) The remote-control unit for a piece of electronic equipment, esp. Table oforContents a television video recorder. zappy (adj) Lively, amusing, energetic; striking. zig-zag (adj) (chiefly U.S., Military slang) Drunk. zipless (adj) (coarse) Denoting a brief and passionate sexual encounter. zizzy (adj) Showy, spectacular; lively, uninhibited. zonk (v) (1) To hit, strike, or knock. (2) To fail; to lose consciousness, to die. zonking (ppl adj, adv) Impressively (large or great). zoot suit (n) (orig. U.S.) A type of man’s suit of exaggerated style popular in the 1940s. zooty (adj) (U.S.) (Strikingly) fashionable.
Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
1. Ethics and Human Rights in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 Mario Santillo
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia............ 27 Fabio Baggio
2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54 Elisa Mattiello An Introduction to English Slang. A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology ©2008 Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher Monza/Italy
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The electronic edition of this book is not sold and is made available in free access. Every contribution is published according to the terms of “Polimetrica License B”. “Polimetrica License B” gives anyone the possibility to distribute the contents of the work, provided that the authors of the work and the publisher are always recognised and mentioned. It does not allow use of the contents of the work for commercial purposes or for profit. Polimetrica Publisher has the exclusive right to publish and sell the contents of the work in paper and electronic format and by any other means of publication. Additional rights on the contents of the work are the author’s property.
Table of Contents
English Library: the Linguistics Bookshelf Printed Edition – ISSN 1974-0603 Electronic Edition – ISSN 1974-0670
General Editor Giovanni Iamartino (Milano) Scientific Committee
Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 Joan C. Beal (Sheffield) Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
John Considine (Edmonton) Giuseppina Cortese (Torino) 1. Ethics and Human Rights Gabriella Del Lungo (Firenze) in the South American Migration Robert Processes .................................... 15 DeMaria Jr (Poughkeepsie) Mario Santillo Marina Dossena (Bergamo) Roberta Facchinetti (Verona) 1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 Giuliana Garzone (Milano) 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 Maurizio Gotti (Bergamo) Lavinia Merlini (Pisa) 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 Carmela Nocera Avila (Catania) Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 Stefania Nuccorini (Roma3) Jane Roberts (London) 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East andGabriele South East Asia ............ 27 Stein (Heidelberg) Fabio Baggio
2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34
The series the Linguistics Bookshelf” is meant43 to 2.3book Ethics and “English MigrationLibrary: Management................................................. be a forum for scientific discussion and debate over any topic of English Bibliography 47 linguistics, in ......................................................................................... a theoretical, descriptive or applied perspective, both synchronically and diachronically. It aims to provide new insights into st Century. 3. Immigration in and the 21 English phonetics phonology, morphology, syntax, lexis, semantics Need for an Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 andThe pragmatics, andEthical the interface between different levels of linguistic Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg analysis. New and recent research methodologies, critical approaches, and3.1specialized fields ofIncrease knowledge – such as corpus linguistics, critical World Population ............................................................. 51 discourse analysis, translation studies, the varieties of English and ESP – 3.2beUrbanization, will dealt with in International the series. Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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The electronic edition of this book is not sold and is made available in free access. Every contribution is published according to the terms of “Polimetrica License B”. “Polimetrica License B” gives anyone the possibility to distribute the contents of the work, provided that the authors of the work and the publisher are always recognised and mentioned. It does not allow use of the contents of the work for commercial purposes or for profit. Polimetrica Publisher has the exclusive right to publish and sell the contents of the work in paper and electronic format and by any other means of publication. Additional rights on the contents of the work are the author’s property.
“English Library: the Linguistics Bookshelf” addresses a readership composed of of academics and students interested in the nature, history and Table Contents usage of the English language. The book series will publish monographs, collections of essays and conference proceedings. All the books in the series will be peerreviewed by an international advisory board co-ordinated by the scientific committee. It is hoped that the online open-access publication of the “English Library: the Linguistics Bookshelf” series will encourage scientific dialogue among researchers in Italy and worldwide.
Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11 Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini
1. Ethics and Human Rights in the South American Migration Processes .................................... 15 Mario Santillo
1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17 1.2 International Instrument for Migrants’ Defence ............................. 21 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in East and South East Asia ............ 27 Fabio Baggio
2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27
Publications:
2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43
Aurelia Martelli and Virginia Pulcini, eds (2008), Investigating English Bibliography 47 with Corpora. ......................................................................................... Studies in Honour of Maria Teresa Prat, Polimetrica Publisher, Italy. ISBN 978-88-7699-103-5
3. Immigration in the 21st Century. TheMattiello Need for(2008), an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Elisa An Introduction to English Slang. A Description Baghdady,Semantics Richard Vanderberg of Christine its Morphology, and Sociology, Polimetrica Publisher, Italy. ISBN 978-88-7699-113-4 3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51
3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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Related series: Table of Contents Lexicography worldwide: theoretical, descriptive and applied perspectives series editor Giovanni Iamartino
Félix San Vicente, ed. (2006), Lessicografia bilingue e traduzione. Metodi, strumenti, approcci attuali, Polimetrica Publisher, Italy. Fabio Baggio, Laura Zanfrini ISBN 978-88-7699-048-9
Opening Considerations and Executive Summary .............................. 11
1. Ethics and Human Rights Félix San Vicente, ed. (2007), Perfiles para .................................... la historia y crítica 15 de in the South American Migration Processes
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1.1 Migrants’ Rights ............................................................................. 17
Maria Colombo etInstrument Monica Barsi, textes réunis par............................. (2008), Lexicogra1.2 International for Migrants’ Defence 21 phie et lexicologie historiques du français - Bilan et perspectives, 1.3 Some Final Reflections................................................................... 23 Polimetrica Publisher, Italy. ISBN 978-88-7699-084-7 Bibliography ......................................................................................... 25
Giovanni Iamartino and Nicholas Brownlees, eds (2008), Insights into 2. Migration Policies and Ethics in and Eastlexicography: and South East Asia ............ 27 English and Germanic lexicology past and present Fabio BaggioPolimetrica Publisher, Italy. ISBN 978-88-7699-082-3 perspectives, (forthcoming) 2.1 International Migration in East Asia and South East Asia.............. 27 2.2 Migration Policies in ESEA............................................................ 34 2.3 Ethics and Migration Management................................................. 43 Bibliography ......................................................................................... 47 3. Immigration in the 21st Century. The Need for an Ethical Approach. The Canadian Experience ..... 51 Christine Baghdady, Richard Vanderberg
3.1 World Population Increase ............................................................. 51 3.2 Urbanization, International Migration and Governance ................. 53 3.3 International Migration in Canada: An Ethical Assessment ........... 54
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