摘 要
在美国英语中,最贴近人们生活和最能反映平民要求与社会生活的是俚语。俚语是美国英语中的重要组成部分,也是美国英语词汇的主要来源之一。历史上对俚语贬多褒少。但实际上，作为美国各阶层普遍运用的语言形式，其发展也是相当迅速。同时，美国俚语是一种特殊的文化—亚文化的载体，对于研究美国亚文化具有极高的价值。本文首先对美国俚语做出界定，并介绍了其生动，简洁，幽默等特点。然后运用社会语言学，从语言和文化的关系入手研究探讨“生产”美国俚语的亚文化群，使我们进一步了解美国多元文化。
关键词：俚语；美国俚语；亚文化；亚文化群；多元文化
Abstract
Slang, among American English, is the language that mostly close to the life and reflects which demands and social life of ordinary people. As an essential part of American English, slang also plays its part as one of the main resources of American English vocabulary. Historically slang has received more criticism than praise. In fact, however, American slang is the carrier of a special kind of culture--subculture, which is of absolutely high value to the study of American subculture. The essay firstly defines the terms of American slang, following an introduction of its features of vividness, brevity, humor and so on. Then it adopts the method of social linguistics and explore into the relationships between language and culture to study the subculture groups that generated American slang, so as to give us a better understanding of American multi-culture.
Keywords：slang; American slang; subculture; subgroup; multi-culture
Contents
Introduction 1
1 .The Definition of Slang 1
1.1 The Classification of Words 1
1.2 What Is Slang 2
2. The Origin And Development of American Slang 3
2.1 The History and Origin of American Slang 3
2.2 The Characteristics of American Slang 4
2.2.1 Vividness 4
2.2.2 Brevity 6
2.2.3 Humor 7
2.2.4 Plural Synonym 8
2.3 The Background of The Creation of American Slang 9
2.3.1 Sociocultural Condition 9
2.3.2 Individual Psychology 12
3. American Slang and American Subculture 15
3.1 The Relationship Between Language and Culture 15
3.2 Subculture and American Slang 16
3.2.1 The Definition of Subculture 17
3.2.2 American Slang as a Mirror of Subculture Groups 18
Conclusion 22
Bibliography 25
