Lexicon
Vol 5, No 1 (2018)

Slang in American and British Hip-Hop/Rap Song Lyrics

Tessa Zelyana Hidayat (English Department, Universitas Gadjah Mada)
Rio Rini Diah Moehkardi (English Department, Universitas Gadjah Mada)



Article Info

Publish Date
01 Apr 2018

Abstract

This research examines semantic changes and also the associative patterns of slang, focusing primarily on common topics, i.e., people and drugs. The data were slang terms taken from the lyrics of hip-hop/rap songs sung by four singers, two from the U.S.A and two from the U.K. A total of 105 slang terms were found, 45 of which belong to the people category and 16 to the drugs category in the American hip-hop/rap song lyrics, and in the British hip-hop/rap song lyrics, 26 of which belong to the people category and 18 to the drugs category. Bitch and nigga were found to be the most frequently used slang terms in the people category. In terms of semantic changes, broadening, amelioration, and narrowing were found, and in terms of associative patterns, effect, appearance, way of consuming, constituent, and container associative patterns were found. In addition, a new associative pattern was found, i.e., place of origin.

Copyrights © 2018






Journal Info

Abbrev

lexicon

Publisher

Subject

Humanities Languange, Linguistic, Communication & Media

Description

Lexicon, Journal of English Language and Literature, is an open access, peer reviewed, academic journal published by the English Department, Universitas Gadjah Mada in cooperation with the English Studies Association in Indonesia (ESAI). It is devoted primarily to the publication of studies on ...