| Summary: | The subject of the Master’s thesis is the origin, development and use of slang words which name persons and money.
The methods applied in the thesis are as follows: explanatory, etymological, and systematic.
In the thesis it is assumed that slang is a language sub-system comprising words and expressions which are not normative or emotionally-neutral, and which often have a negative connotation. These words and expressions have some formation-related, semantic and stylistic peculiarities; they are used by specific social groups and demonstrate the users’ belonging to a certain group.
The problems of origin, development and use of slang words have not been studied in depth by Lithuanian linguists. This is due both to historical circumstances and to the various attitudes to this peripheral sphere of language (which most of the time is viewed negatively and called language “waste”). By considering slang words and expressions as a distorted layer not subject to general language norms, we set the goal to define whether it is possible to systemise it.
Taking into consideration the origin, slang words are grouped into the following two categories: words of Lithuanian and non-Lithuanian origin. Characteristic features of slang words of Lithuanian origin are as follows: variety of meaning, acquisition of unusual meanings, formation of new words by consonance or certain allusions, as well as vulgar and idiomatic phrases.
Most slavisms came from the same language layers (drug-addicts... [to full text]
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