The study of social varieties of English with special emphasis on the Am. E. CB slang (ePub)

Master's Thesis from the year 2010 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: A, University of Rzeszów (Institute of Linguistics), course: Linguistics, language: English, abstract: People are surrounded with change and development in almost all spheres of life, however, out of all aspects of human existence, language is the only one which evolution is almost impossible to scrutinize in its full spectrum and beauty. Language requires no regulations , it simply flows, living its own life of unrestrained freedom, like a tiny, independent organism it develops, alters and adjusts to the surrounding reality. As an American lexicographer once perfectly put it, language [...] is an uncompromising mirror [...] an untouched record of thoughts, feelings, successes, failures, and intent of the people. While many linguists tried to analyze, document, as well as describe the intricate ways of language functioning, most of them were unsuccessful in their ventures. The vast majority of ordinary people use language every day, but few feel compelled enough to stop and wonder about the phenomenon of speech and why the human race is the only species on planet Earth that is privileged to be endowed with such aptitude.
The main thesis of this work is to touch upon the phenomenon of language, specifically, provide its definition, discuss the subject of language categorization, as well as enumerate and analyze the focal terms that make up the very foundations of most natural lingoes. It will also present a detailed insight in the world of colloquial speech, and related phenomena, focusing predominantly on the linguistic aspects and the analysis of CB slang. What must be mentioned is that this work's thesis is not merely to define the most common terms in language studies, but to express and illustrate the beauty, the complexity, and the unfathomability of language phenomenon. It is to prove the versatility, as well as the speed rate in which languages evolve, alter and shape accordingly in the ever-changing reality, making language studies an inexhaustible research field for generations to come.