Content area
Full text
Abstract
Typically recognized as informal, inaccurate and haphazard, slang, a form of unstructured language that violates the standard rules of English language (Geertsema, Hyman, & Van Deventer, 2011) is gradually seeping into everyday language use. The present study investigates the impact of slangs in the Pakistani context, where students use English as a second language and the main language for their tertiary education. The study is informed by the works of Wardaugh, (2011) centring on the connection between language variation and society. The quantitative study uses an explanatory research design with a purposively selected sample of 70 English major undergraduate students from a government university. The data was collected from students survey questionnaire which was then analysed using descriptive statistics. The findings reveal that the formal language use is impacted due to constant variation in language caused by the society as language and society are interdependent.
Keywords: Slangs; Interdependent; Academic writing; Language variation; Damaging.
1.Introduction
This chapter provides the background of the study, in addition to the statement of the problem. Moreover, it highlights the research objectives and questions, purpose of the study, brief introduction of the theoretical framework, significance, scope and delimitation of the study.
1.1.Background of the Study
Language is always changing as its use varies with time its functions, grammar and style changes among different social groups (Gregory & Carroll, 2018). With the passing of time its pronunciations evolve, new words are taken from other language or developed, the significance of old terms transform, and the morphology expands or dwindles providing many ways of speaking one same thing (Bybee, 2010).
Variationists study the changes in language by closely examining and observing it. It can only be done by looking at the authentic data gathered. For instance, variation can be studied by observing social and linguistic environments, and then analyzing the data as the change appears. In research programs the variation should be malleable due to the language's nature itself because language is fluid in transition and cannot transfer from one to another state instantaneously (Fought, 2004 ).
Language contact is another thing that comes into notice when one talks about language variation. It happens when one speaker of a language communicates with other individual belonging to a different community, both the...