Slang of the twentieth century on the basis of the novel “The Hot Rock” by Donald E. Westlake

Udmurt State University 

Votkinsk branch

Foreign languages department

Slang of the twentieth century on the basis of the novel “The Hot Rock” by Donald E. Westlake

Senior Project

Dmitrii Ponosov

            English language

G.R. Ibragimova

Votkinsk 2011

Contents

Introduction ………………………………………………………………………. 3

Part I. The author…………………………………………………………………...4

Part II. Slang……………………………………………………………………….8

2.1 Defining slang………………………………………………………………….8

2.2 History of slang………………………………………………………………...9

2.3 Why People Use Slang………………………………………………………10

Part III. Slang in the book ………………………………………………………...14

Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………..17

Appendix 1……………………………………………………………………….18

Appendix 2………………………………………………………………………..19

List of references …………………………………………………………………21
Introduction

              The process of learning English consists of many different aspects, including vocabulary, listening, writing, grammar and of course reading. If we want to speak English fluently we should have a large stock of words so that we are able to express our thoughts in a proper way. At school and university we study Standard English, which comprise basic knowledge. But ordinary people do not speak this kind of English. In their speech they often use different kinds of colloquial expressions and words, phrasal verbs, idioms and slang. Not only young people but also elder ones use it. It is used by people of all ages and social groups. Sometimes slang can cause great problems in communication between non-native and native speakers of English. You may not understand your companion which may be very embarrassing. But we can solve this problem by reading books and watching films in English. Donald Westlake’s novel “The Hot Rock” is a good example of such kind of books.

Donald Westlake was known for the great ingenuity of his plots and the audacity of his gimmicks. His writing and dialogue are lively. His main characters are fully rounded, believable, and clever. Westlake's most famous characters include the hard-boiled criminal Parker (appearing in fiction under the Richard Stark pseudonym) and Parker's comic flip-side John Dortmunder, the hard-luck criminal genius from the novel “The Hot Rock”. This book presents slang of the twentieth century. In spite of the fact that slang often goes out of fashion quickly, novel’s slang is still actual.

Most of Donald Westlake's novels are set in New York City. In each of the Dortmunder novels, there is typically a detailed foray somewhere through the city. He wrote just two non-fiction books: Under an English Heaven, regarding the unlikely 1967 Anguillan "revolution", and a biography of Elizabeth Taylor.[3]

Part I. The author

Donald Edwin Westlake (July 12, 1933 – December 31, 2008) was an American writer, with over a hundred novels and non-fiction books to his credit. He specialized in crime fiction, especially comic capers, with an occasional foray into science fiction or other genres. He was a three-time Edgar Award winner, one of only two writers (the other is Joe Gores) to win Edgars in three different categories (1968, Best Novel, “God Save the Mark”; 1990, Best Short Story, "Too Many Crooks"; 1991, Best Motion Picture Screenplay, “The Grifters”). In 1993, the Mystery Writers of America named Westlake a Grand Master, the highest honor bestowed by the society.

Personal life

Westlake was born in Brooklyn, New York, but raised upstate in Albany, New York. He began writing in 1953, selling to magazines his detective, fantasy and mystery stories. Westlake wrote constantly in his teens, and after 200 rejections, his first short story sale was in 1954. Sporadic short story sales followed over the next few years, while Westlake attended Champlain College and Harpur College in Binghamton, New York. He also spent two years in the United States Air Force.

Westlake moved to New York City in 1959, initially to work for a literary agency while writing on the side. But before moving to New York in 1959 (his favorite city and the place where most of his stories take place) and becoming a professional writer, Westlake played in the theater, worked as a literary agent, changed a few professions. After moving in 1959, Donald Westlake wrote 46 stories, 27 of which have been published. By 1960, he was writing full-time. His first novel under his own name, “The Mercenaries”, was published in 1960; over the next 48 years, Westlake published a variety of novels and short stories under his own name and a rainbow of pseudonyms. Since that time he published two books a year. At first the young author's prose felt the influence of such a master of the detective genre as Ed McBain and it is not surprising that two of his story became the basis for episodes of the TV series "87th Precinct», filmed in 1961 on the grounds of the famous series of Ed McBain. The most famous of his series, which he wrote mostly under the pseudonym Richard Stark, is a series of novels about a gangster Parker and actor-thief Grifeld. It is interesting to notice, that this nickname was "born" from Richard Widmark, and later he became the basis for a pseudonyms of another famous author - Stephen King, who sometimes wrote his novels under the name Richard Bachman. In July 1996 he was made an honorary doctor of literature at the University of New York at Binghamton. In the matter of fiction, we can include the novels "The strong curse" (1986) and "Transylvania Station" (1986), co-authored with his wife, and representing a detective with the elements of horror, mysticism, but with a fair amount of humor.

He was married three times, the final time to Abigail Westlake (also known as Abby Adams Westlake and Abby Adams), a writer of nonfiction (her two published books are “An Uncommon Scold” and “The Gardener's Gripe Book”). The couple moved out of New York City to Ancram in upstate New York in 1990. Abby Westlake is a well-regarded gardener, and the Westlake garden has frequently been opened for public viewing in the summer. Не had seven children.

Westlake died of a heart attack on December 31, 2008 while on the way to a New Year's Eve dinner, while he and his wife were on vacation in Mexico.

In 1997 he was given Award of Merit before the genre, presented by the committee " Bochercon [1]

Pseudonyms

              In addition to writing consistently under his own name, Westlake published under several pseudonyms. In the order they debuted:

•              Richard Stark: Westlake's best-known continuing pseudonym was that of Richard Stark. Stark debuted in 1959, with a story in “Mystery Digest”. Three other Stark short stories followed through 1961, including “The Curious Facts Preceding My Execution”

•              James Blue: One-shot pseudonym, used as a third name circa 1959 when both Westlake and Stark already had stories in a magazine issue. Actually, it is the name of Westlake's cat.

•              Ben Christopher: One-shot pseudonym for a 1960 story in 77 “Sunset Strip magazine”.

•              John Dexter: A house pseudonym used by Nightstand Books for the work of numerous authors. The very first novel credited to John Dexter is a collaborative work by Lawrence Block and Westlake called “No Longer a Virgin” (1960)

•              Andrew Shaw: Pseudonym used by Westlake and Lawrence Block for their 1961 collaborative novel “Sin Hellcat”. Like John Dexter (above), "Andrew Shaw" was a house pseudonym used by a wide variety of authors.

•              Edwin West: “Brother and Sister”, “Campus Doll”, “Young and Innocent”, all 1961; “Strange Affair”, 1962; “Campus Lovers”, 1963, one 1966 short story.

•              John B. Allan: “Elizabeth Taylor: A Fascinating Story of America's Most Talented Actress” and “the World's Most Beautiful Woman”, 1961, biography.

•              Don Holliday: Pseudonym used by Westlake for two collaborative novels (with various authors, including Hal Dresner and Lawrence Block) in 1963/64.

•              Curt Clark: Debuted in 1964 with the short story “Nackles”. Novel: “Anarchaos” 1967, science fiction.

•              Tucker Coe: 5 mystery novels featuring the character of Mitch Tobin: “Kinds of Love”, “Kinds of Death”, 1966; “Murder Among Children”, 1967; “Wax Apple and A Jade in Aries,” both 1970; “Don't Lie to Me”, 1972.

•              P.N. Castor: Pseudonym used for one 1966 short story co-authored with Dave Foley.

•              Timothy J. Culver: “Ex Officio”, 1970, thriller.

•              J. Morgan Cunningham: “Comfort Station”, 1971, humor. Cover features the blurb, "I wish I had written this book! – Donald E. Westlake."

•              Samuel Holt: 4 mystery novels featuring the character of Sam Holt, 1986-1989: “One of Us is Wrong” and “I Know a Trick Worth Two of That”, both 1986; “What I Tell You Three Times is False”, 1987; “The Fourth Dimension is Death”, 1989.

•              Judson Jack Carmichael: “The Scared Stiff” 2002, mystery; U.K. editions dropped the pseudonym.[2]

Part I I. Slang

Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo. It is often used to identify with one's peers and, although it may be common among young people, it is used by people of all ages and social groups.

2.1 Defining slang

Few linguists have endeavored to clearly define what constitutes slang. Attempting to remedy this, Bethany K. Dumas and Jonathan Lighter argue that an expression should be considered "true slang" if it meets at least two of the following criteria:

      It lowers, if temporarily, "the dignity of formal or serious speech or writing"; in other words, it is likely to be considered in those contexts a "glaring misuse of register."

      Its use implies that the user is familiar with whatever is referred to, or with a group of people who are familiar with it and use the term.

      It is a taboo term in ordinary discourse with people of a higher social status or greater responsibility.

      It replaces a well-known conventional synonym. This is done primarily to avoid the discomfort caused by the conventional item or by further elaboration.

Slang is different from jargon, which is the technical vocabulary of a particular profession, and which meets only the second of the criteria given above. Jargon, like many examples of slang, may be used to exclude non–group members from the conversation, but in general has the function of allowing its users to talk precisely about the technical issues in a given field.[5]

2.2 History of Slang

According to Winona Bullard’s suggestions slang was the main reason for the development of prescriptive language in an attempt to slow down the rate of change in both spoken and written language.   Latin and French were the only two languages that maintained the use of prescriptive language in the 14th century.   It was not until the early 15th century that scholars began pushing for a standard English language.

During the Middle Ages, certain writers such as Chaucer, William Caxton, and William of Malmesbury represented the regional differences in pronunciations and dialects.  The different dialects and the different pronunciations represented the first meaning for the term “slang.”

However, our present-day meaning for slang did not begin forming until the 16th or 17th century.  The English Criminal Cant developed in the 16th century.  The English Criminal Cant was a new kind of speech used by criminals and cheats, meaning it developed mostly in saloons and gambling houses. The English Criminal Cant was at first believed to be foreign, meaning scholars thought that it had either originated in Romania or had a relationship to French.  The English Criminal Cant was slow developing.  In fact, out of the four million people who spoke English, only about ten thousand spoke the English Criminal Cant.  By the end of the 16th century this new style of speaking was considered to be a language “without reason or order”.   During the 18th century schoolmasters taught pupils to believe that the English Criminal Cant (which by this time had developed into slang) was not the correct usage of English and slang was considered to be taboo.

However, slang was beginning to be presented in popular plays.  The first appearance of the slang was in a play by Richard Brome’s and later appeared in poems and songs by Copland.  By the 1700’s the cultural differences in America had begun to influence the English-speaking population, and slang began to expand.

Almost all of the slang words during this time were anatomical and well known all through Britain and in America due to the British colonists.   Furthermore, certain events happened in the 18th century that helped the development of slang such as, Westward expansion, the Civil War, and the abolitionist movement.  By this time scholars such as Walt Whitman, W. D. Whitney, and Brander Matthews all considered slang to be anything that sounded new, and that was not in the “glossaries of British dialects”.  Walt Whitman considers slang to be the life of the language.  Whitman wrote “that slang was a wholesome.....of common humanity to escape the form bald literalism, and express itself illimitably”.

This was a turning point for slang it was starting to escape the harsh criticism of being associated with criminals or foreigners.  It was not until the early 1920’s that slang had gained the interest of popular writers.  It was during the post-World War I era that society gained new attitudes about slang.  There was now a demand for entertainment, mass media, and slangy fiction.

Today modern American slang has been shaped and reshaped by the different cultures and the emergence of technology, which has left our society with varieties of slang from extremes like Street/Drug Slang to African-American Slang.

2.3 Why People Use Slang

Because most people are individuals who desire uniqueness, it stands to reason that slang has been in existence for as long as language has been in existence.  Even so, the question of why slang develops within a language has been hotly debated.  Most agree that the question is still unanswered, or perhaps it has many answers.  Regardless, there is no doubt that we can better explain slang's existence by analyzing how and why it exists.

Foreign words are a common resource for the development of slang, as are regional variations of standard words.  David Crystal, author of “The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language”, calls the introduction of foreign words into a language “borrowings.”  Likewise, slang may incorporate “elements of the jargons of special-interest groups (e.g., professional, sport, regional, criminal, and drug subcultures)."  The Historical Dictionary of American Slang says that “Slang is lexical innovation within a particular cultural context.”  Sometimes these foreign words and regional variations become part of the standard language.

The Historical Dictionary of American Slang points out that many groups “use slang largely because they lack political power.”  It is simply a safe and effective way that people rebel against the establishment.  Often, however, it appears that slang is ever present and exists even in complacent times.  It is created by individuals and perpetuated based upon its usefulness and applicability.

The Columbia Encyclopedia notes that slang is often “well developed in the speaking vocabularies of cultured, sophisticated, linguistically rich languages.”  Whereas slang was once considered as the lowest form of communication, many now consider slang to be an intelligent and insightful variation to the blandness of the standard language.  Gerald Parshall, in a 1994 article for U.S. News & World Report, describes this as “proletarian poetry.”  The Oxford English Dictionary points out that George Eliot's character in “Middle March”, written in 1871, says that “Correct English is the slang of prigs who write history and essays.”  For some, it is enough that Shakespeare often used slang.

Others, however, condemn the use of slang, believing that it undermines the standard language and reflects poorly upon its users.  Parshall notes that Ambrose Bierce, in his dictionary, called slang “the grunt of the human hog.”  Even The Oxford English Dictionary's 1989 edition defines slang as “the special vocabulary used by any set of persons of a low or disreputable character; language of a low and vulgar type.”  In fact, both Crystal and The Historical Dictionary of American Slang point out that Samuel Johnson and Jonathan Swift produced the very first dictionaries partly out of great concern for the corruption of the standard English language.

Whatever the reason(s), slang is here to stay, and its longevity demands attention and explication.  Below is an excerpt from David Crystal's book.  Crystal cites examples from Eric Partridge’s “Slang, Today and Yesterday” to illustrate the many uses of slang.  Partridge, according to The Historical Dictionary of American Slang, is “perhaps the century's best-known collector of unconventional English.”  Of Partridge's "fifteen important impulses behind the use of slang," Crystal notes that he considers numbers 13 and 14 to be the most significant:

According to the British lexicographer, Eric Partridge (1894-1979), people use slang for any of at least 15 reasons:

1.  In sheer high spirits, by the young in heart as well as by the young in years; 'just for the fun of the thing'; in playfulness.

2. As an exercise either in wit and ingenuity or in humour.  (The motive behind this is usually self-display or snobbishness, emulation or responsiveness, delight in virtuosity).

3. To be 'different', to be novel.

4.  To be picturesque (either positively or - as in the wish to avoid insipidity - negatively).

5. To be unmistakably arresting, even startling.

6. To escape from clichés, or to be brief and concise.  (Actuated by impatience with existing terms.)

7.  To enrich the language.  (This deliberateness is rare save among the well-educated, Cockneys forming the most notable exception; it is literary rather than spontaneous.)

8.  To lend an air of solidity, concreteness, to the abstract; of earthiness to the idealistic; of immediacy.  (In the cultured the effort is usually premeditated, while in the uncultured it is almost always unconscious when it is not rather subconscious.)

9a. To lesson the sting of, or on the other hand to give additional point to, a refusal, a rejection, a recantation;

9b. To reduce, perhaps also to disperse, the solemnity, the pomposity, the excessive seriousness of a conversation (or of a piece of writing);

9c. To soften the tragedy, to lighten or to 'prettify' the inevitability of death or madness, or to mask the ugliness or the pity of profound turpitude (e.g. treachery, ingratitude); and/or thus to enable the speaker or his auditor or both to endure, to 'carry on'.

10.  To speak or write down to an inferior, or to amuse a superior public; or merely to be on a colloquial level with either one's audience or one's subject matter.

11.  For ease of social intercourse.  (Not to be confused or merged with the preceding.)

12.  To induce either friendliness or intimacy of a deep or a durable kind.  (Same remark.)

13.  To show that one belongs to a certain school, trade, or profession, artistic or intellectual set, or social class; in brief, to be 'in the swim' or to establish contact.

14.  Hence, to show or prove that someone is not 'in the swim'.

15.  To be secret - not understood by those around one.  (Children, students, lovers, members of political secret societies, and criminals in or out of prison, innocent persons in prison, are the chief exponents.)[6]