English Gr9 Slang Guide PDF

# Slang According to Oxford, "slang" is "a type of language consisting of words and phrases that are regarded as very informal, are more common in speech than writing, and are typically restricted to a particular context or group of people". ## Examples: * **Lit** * When something is very goo...

# Slang According to Oxford, "slang" is "a type of language consisting of words and phrases that are regarded as very informal, are more common in speech than writing, and are typically restricted to a particular context or group of people". ## Examples: * **Lit** * When something is very good, enjoyable, or exciting, you can say it's "lit". * Dude, the party last night was lit! Where were you? * **Extra** * When someone is "extra", it means they are unnecessarily dramatic, excessive, over the top or a "drama queen". * She invited the entire school to her birthday. She's so extra! * **Salty** * You can say someone is salty when they get upset or angry over something minor. * Nick is so salty since his parents took away his car! * **To ghost someone** * When you cut off communication with someone you're no longer interested in. * OMG! Did you hear Cristina ghosted Matt? * **To flex** * Another way of saying someone is showing off. * Nowadays, teens have started using the slang phrase "weird flex but OK" as a snarky and mocking response to someone bragging about something considered questionable, bizarre or unusual. * Andrew's trying to flex with that new no-name smartphone of his. * Yeah. Like weird flex but OK. # Lowkey & highkey Lowkey is the opposite of highkey and it can be used as a way of saying that you liked or done something secretly, modestly or quietly. * I lowkey rooted for Daenerys to remain on the iron throne. * Paul is highkey trying to learn Spanish for Elena. # Shook When someone is shook it means they are shocked or incredibly surprised. * Did you see? The new season of Lucifer just landed on Netflix! * OMG I'm shook! I need to watch it ASAP! # Tea When someone is "spilling the tea", it means they are gossiping. * What happened at Jessica's birthday party? Come on, spill the tea! # Slay To do something very well. To impress someone very much or to be very good or impressive. * Pedro Pascal's performance in The Last of Us slayed. # Jargon Proper nouns have two distinct features: * They name specific one-of-a-kind items, and they begin with capital letters, no matter where they occur within a sentence. ## Examples: * The boy threw the ball to his dog, Wilson. * "Jumanji" was an awesome movie! * We are going to New Zealand for the next holiday. * My second grade teacher was Mrs. Gilbert. * We went to Smith's Furniture and bought a new couch to replace our old one. * Do you think "The Dolphins" will win the game? * James is flying first-class on Emirate Airlines. * "Dork Diaries" is my favourite book to read. * My best friend, Jenna, moved to Israel. * When "The Titanic" sank, many people lost their lives. # Gerund Gerunds are a flexible, useful type of word because they enable us to speak and write about actions in a more abstract way, positioning those actions as reasons for specific outcomes, hobbies, and receivers of subjects' actions. Gerunds don't describe action — they act as nouns. A gerund is a verb that's acting as a noun. By that, we mean that the verb – the word that describes the action that's happening, like "biking," "thinking," "running," or "speaking" — becomes a thing, a concept that can now be the sentence's subject, direct object, indirect object, or the object of a preposition. It doesn't stop being a verb, but the role it plays in a sentence shifts from describing the action to being a focal point. ## Examples: * They bonded over their shared love of hiking. * I hope to set a new record in swimming. * As a food blogger, eating is an involved production for Shoshanna. * Fazal turned off his phone and shut the door so he could focus on studying. * Apologizing to them is important to me. * My brother enjoys underground exploring with his friends. * I don't advise running with scissors at this time (or ever). # Complex Nouns A complex noun a compound noun that is formed when a noun is put together with another part of speech. ## Example: * hair (noun) + cut (verb) = haircut * sun (noun) + rise (verb) = sunrise # Stereotypes What is a stereotype in psychology? A stereotype is a preconceived idea or set of ideas that individuals apply to groups of people, places, or situations. ## Examples: * Girls are more docile and want to please others. * Boys are not as good at listening to instructions and are less attentive. * Girls will sometimes sulk too long over next to nothing. * Conflicts between boys are easier to resolve and less dramatic. * Girls only like role playing, dolls and taking care of young children. * Boys are only interested in playing with cars and trucks and building things. * Girls can do crafts and play at being a teacher all day. * Boys find it very hard to stay indoors all day when it rains. * Girls are quieter and more patient. * Boys take up more room and are constantly moving. # Prejudice Prejudice refers to a preconceived opinion or feeling toward a person before any facts are known. It can be based on their affiliation with a group or a preconceived idea about the person or thing. Prejudice is often negative and can cast an unfavorable light on someone simply because they're a member of some ethnic group, religion, or organization. ## Examples: * The report blames most crime in the town on teenagers, without any evidence, as the writer is prejudiced against young people. * Someone assumes that people who are low-income do not work as hard as people who are wealthy and don’t deserve any government “handouts.” * Someone assumes a black man in a hoody is more violent or potentially dangerous than an Asian man in a black suit and should therefore be stopped and frisked more often. * Someone assumes that anyone over the age of 60 does not have anything else to offer in the workplace and should retire. # Bias Bias is an inclination toward (or away from) one way of thinking, often based on inherent prejudices. For example, in one of the most high-profile trials of the 20th century, O.J. Simpson was acquitted of murder. Many people remain biased against him years later, treating him like a convicted killer anyway. ## Examples: * Abraham Lincoln accused newspapers in Border States of being biased against the South. He ordered many of them to be shut down. * In the years before World War II, Hitler accused newspapers of having a Marxist bias. * In the 1980s, the South African government accused newspapers of liberal bias and ordered censorship over them, shutting one down for a time. * During the Vietnam War, Spiro Agnew called anti-war protestors the “nattering nabobs of negativism.” He accused newspapers of being biased against America. * During the civil rights movement, production companies were accused of bias against mixed-race storylines. Some southern stations refused to air shows with mixed casts such as Star Trek and I Spy. * My aunt is biased towards dogs that are black, like her own, and she is always more friendly to them than to other dogs. # Emotive Language Emotive language is language that is used to stimulate or provoke emotions or feelings in the reader. Many novels use emotive language because they want the reader to feel the emotions that the characters are feeling. This helps the reader to become involved in the story and to know what is happening. The intention is to get a reaction from the audience. A writer might do this by using certain words and by writing descriptions of characters, to make their emotions seem real. Different words can be used to cause different reactions in the audience. Good writers show what a character is feeling through their thoughts and actions, rather than by just telling us. * Instead of saying: The boy was sad. * They will say: The boy's eyes filled with tears. # Put That In the Recycle Bin This sentence is not emotive. It is a command, but it does not cause an emotional reaction. * Instead: You should recycle because it saves the planet. This sentence is emotive. It suggests an action that elicits an emotional response. Don't you want to save the planet? How could you choose to not recycle since it saves the planet? The emotive response causes a reaction or a response. Emotive language is not reserved for literature either. It is used in everyday interactions as well. Often, news headlines use emotive language to hook the audience. ## Examples: * An innocent bystander was murdered in cold blood in Johannesburg. * The words "innocent" and "murdered" and the phrase "in cold blood" are the uses of emotive language in this sentence. * The defenceless victims were attacked at night. * The phrases "defenceless victims", "at night" and the word "attacked" are the uses of emotive language in this sentence. In each example the emotive words do not need to be used to communicate a fact. However, this diction creates an emotional response in the audience. Consequently, emotive language can cause an audience to take action or to argue with the speaker. Emotive language should not be overused. Furthermore, it should be used when there is a purpose the speaker wishes to achieve. Using emotive language effectively can be very beneficial to a speaker. ## Example of emotive language: **Nelson Mandela's Speech at the Rivonia Trial.** During what is now known as the Rivonia Trial in 1964, Nelson Mandela was faced with a possible death sentence for the number of crimes he had committed. He read a speech from a piece of paper until he got to this part below. He put his piece of paper down and looked straight into the eyes of the judge, Justice De Wet and said: > During my lifetime, I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against White domination and I have fought against Black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die. # Spelling Patterns, Abbreviations: Initialism, Acronyms, Clipped, Truncation, Aphesis, Portmanteau ## Acronyms An acronym is a shortened form of a phrase. It's formed by using the first letters of the words that make up the phrase. With acronyms, the shortened phrase creates a new word. In other words, the letters aren't pronounced individually but are pronounced as a whole. ## Examples: * NASA = National Aeronautics and Space Administration * Radar = Radio Detecting and Ranging * Scuba = Self-contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus * PIN = Personal Identification Number * Sonar = Sound Navigation and Ranging ## Clipped Abbreviations We use shortenings, also known as clipped abbreviations, as real words and pronounce them as one word. Similar to truncation, but here you use either the middle or the end of a term and remove complete syllables. ## Examples: * ad - advertisement * app - application * blog - weblog * demo - demonstration * phone - telephone * fridge - refrigerator * exam - examination ## Initialisms An initialism, also called alphabetism, is formed from the first letters of a group of words or phrase and each letter is pronounced separately. ## Examples: * FBI - Federal Bureau of Investigation * ASAP - as soon as possible * CD - compact disc * FAQ - frequently asked questions * VAT - value added tax * FYI - for your information ## Aphesis Aphesis is casually spoken versions of words. Examples are: 'cause or 'cos (because) and 'til (until). The portmanteau means the blending of two words such as Bollywood (Bombay and Hollywood) and the colloquial term chillax (chill and relax). Logograms are shortened forms and are unique, as the word becomes a sign symbol: % (percent) or @ (at). ## Spelling Patterns Which groups of letters function as a pattern to represent sounds. Examples of patterns would include: CVC (Consonant/Vowel/Consonant) pattern to form short vowels (e.g. like the word cat) or CVCe/CVVC patterns to form long vowels (e.g., like the words same or meat). Some examples of tricky spelling pattern choices are: * Plain, plane, steak, weight, pay (all these words have the long sound of 'a' /a/ but are written with different spelling patterns) * Meet, meat, mete, sea, piece, key (all these words have the long sound of 'e' /e/ but are written with different spelling patterns) * Light, tide, pie, type (all these words have the long sound of 'i' /i/ but are written with different spelling patterns) * Home, toad, crow, toe (all these words have the long sound of 'o' /o/ but are written with different spelling patterns) * Argue, new, mule, sleuth (all these words have the long sound of 'u' /u/ but are written with different spelling patterns) ## Abbreviation There are a few ways abbreviations can be made: you can use only the first few letters, and omit the rest, like in cont. instead of continued or Dec. instead of December. Sometimes the middle of the word is omitted instead, like when using Mr. in place of mister. What you may have noticed with these examples is that even though the word is shortened, there's no change in how it's pronounced. ## Examples: * Ave. (Avenue) * Etc. (Etcetera) * St. (Street) * Atty. (Attorney) * Govt. (Government) An abbreviation, such as the acronym IATE, means any contracted or shortened form of a word or a phrase. However, abbreviation is the blanket term, not a synonym, for all shortened words and these come in different varieties. The practice of abbreviating words became increasingly convenient when complicated concepts and terms entered the language. # Nouns A noun is a word that names a person, place, concept, or object. Basically, anything that names a "thing" is a noun, whether you're talking about a basketball court, San Francisco, Cleopatra, or self-preservation. Nouns fall into two categories: common nouns and proper nouns. Common nouns are general names for things, like planet and game show. Proper nouns are names or titles for specific things, like Jupiter and Jeopardy! # Explanation: Cause and Effect In the cause and effect relationship, one or more things happen as a result of something else. * A cause is a catalyst, a motive, or an action that brings about a reaction-or reactions. A cause instigates an effect. * An effect is a condition, occurrence, or result generated by one or more causes. Effects are outcomes. Cause and effect means that things happen because something prompted them to happen. A cause is why something happens. An effect is what happened. ## Example: For example, you have a picnic planned for Sunday afternoon. However, the weather becomes stormy and you have to cancel your outdoor plans. In this situation, the cause is the stormy weather and the effect of that stormy weather is the picnic cancellation. ## Examples: * Since I was up all night with my sick child, I'm exhausted this morning. * She never gave up on her writing, and now she's published a book! * They could finish the race because they had trained for it so diligently. * They gave the restaurant a critical review because their food was burnt to a crisp.