Youth slang in London
A Before you read
1. Look at the words and phrases below. Which do you use? Which have you never heard? Which
are outdated?
Jugendslang
geil
Standardsprache
swag
yolo
lol
Yallah!
Streberburg
Jugendslang
Ey Alder, es ist voll
leer hier!
ischwör!
Was gugsch, hä?
Gönn dir!
Läuft bei dir!
Lassma Kino gehn,
Lan.
Standardsprache
2. Talk to a partner. Which words do you and your friends use which your parents or your grandparents don’t use or don’t understand?
B A different language?
At the end of 2014 several young people were arrested after they had driven around East London
shooting air guns at people’s homes. In December they went to court to deny the charges. They
said they didn’t have any guns and hadn’t fired anything at people’s houses. Text messages sent
from their mobile phones told a different story. Or did they? Unfortunately the judge and others
in court could not understand the text messages which included words like a strap (for a gun)
and bare (meaning “very” or “lots of”). These are all fairly standard words in London youth slang,
but they needed to be translated into Standard English for the older judge and lawyers.
What is slang?
Slang is often defined as a language spoken by a group of people who share a common social
background. People with similar experiences in life introduce new words or change words to suit
themselves. The bonus is that individuals in that group can understand each other but outsiders
often cannot. It isn’t the same as a dialect or an accent. Slangs tend to change relatively quickly.
Why is London the place for slang?
London is a multicultural metropolis. Only 56% of London’s residents have a white cultural
background. In Newham, a part of East London, 45% of the residents have an Asian background
and only 29% of the residents have a white cultural background, one that includes people from
all other European countries too. Many Londoners speak more than one language. However, the
inhabitants still share a common social background; for instance, they may go to school together
in the same area. Young people tend to create and share their slang because of this. East London is one of the main areas where popular slang comes into existence (in Britain). This means
that words from other languages often creep into London’s slang, also known as Multicultural
London English. Because London is the political and economic capital of the country, there is
a continual movement of people into and out of the city. This is why the slang there changes so
rapidly.
© Ernst Klett Verlag GmbH, Stuttgart 2015 | www.klett.de Von dieser Druckvorlage ist die Vervielfältigung für den eigenen
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Autorin: Pauline Ashworth, Stuttgart
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Youth slang in London
C Slang for outsiders
1. Sarah
a) Listen to the dialogue. What do you think they’re saying?
Sam: Look! There’s Sarah. Look at her ’air. She’s bu’ers, innit?
Hafiz: Shut up. She’s peng.
Sam: You like her, innit?
Hafiz: Shut up.
b) Which letters are missing from ’air and from bu’ers?
c) Rewrite the dialogue in standard, polite English.
Some clues: Hafiz likes Sarah and thinks she’s beautiful. Sam doesn’t share his opinion.
2. Imran and Essah
a) Listen to the dialogue. Where do you think this dialogue is occurring?
Mr Elliot: What are you doing, Imran? Come on! Get on with your work now, please.
Imran: But somebody’s pinched my pen, Sir. Hey, Essah, is that my pen?
Essah: No, man, I swear down. I nicked this one off Jennings last lesson.
Imran: But that’s my calculator!
Essah: Er. Is it? But Jennings lent it to me that last lesson.
b) Who is Mr Elliot?
c) Find two words which mean “steal”.
d) Explain what’s happening.
3. Joe
a) Listen to the dialogue. Where do you think this dialogue is occurring?
Mr Patel: Joe, seeing as you haven’t done your homework – again – you can stay behind
after school and do it then.
Joe: Allow it, Sir, I can’t stay behind tonight. I’ve got bare homework to do!
Mr Patel: OK, make sure you bring it next lesson.
Joe: Safe, Sir!
b) Choose the best meanings of these words and phrases.
Allow it!
i) That’s not true.
ii) Leave it alone.
iii) But this is OK!
bare
i) no ii) important
iii) lots of
safe
i) Yes, of course.
ii) You’re great.
iii) That isn’t dangerous.
© Ernst Klett Verlag GmbH, Stuttgart 2015 | www.klett.de Von dieser Druckvorlage ist die Vervielfältigung für den eigenen
Unterrichtsgebrauch gestattet. Die Kopiergebühren sind abgegolten.
Autorin: Pauline Ashworth, Stuttgart
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Youth slang in London
4. Homework?
a) Listen to the dialogue. Where do you think
this dialogue is occurring?
Henry: You’re going to get square eyes. You’re on
that tablet so much.
John: I’m trying to do my homework, but it’s so
slow. This tablet’s crap.
Henry: Go and use the computer upstairs then.
John: But that’s long! I can’t get any games
upstairs ’cause there’s no wifi.
b) Read the dialogue and find words or phrases which mean:
i) But that’s a lot of effort.
ii) Terrible.
iii) You are going to damage your eyesight.
5. Wagwaan?
a) Listen to the dialogue. What do Imran and Essah agree to do?
Imran: Wagwaan?
Essah: There’s a bare sick film that’s at the cinema right now.
Imran: Is it?
Essah: Yeah, it’s got loads of action and shit. It’s called Fast and Furious 7, you wanna go?
Imran: Yeah. Can you lend me eight quid?
b) Read the dialogue and work out what these words mean.
i) Wagwaan ii) bare sick iii) loads of iv) quid
6. You’re a wimp!
a) Listen to the dialogue and put it in the right order.
Rachel: For God’s sake, you’re such a wimp!
Rachel: Come on, let’s go down this alleyway.
Rachel: Shut up. You’re a sideman.
Nadia: Nah man, dat’s creepy
Nadia: At least I’m not fat like you!
b) Match these words from the dialogue to the meanings below: a sideman; creepy; fat; a wimp
i) scary
ii) a person who gets scared easily
iii) overweight
iv) a person who tries too hard to be popular
© Ernst Klett Verlag GmbH, Stuttgart 2015 | www.klett.de Von dieser Druckvorlage ist die Vervielfältigung für den eigenen
Unterrichtsgebrauch gestattet. Die Kopiergebühren sind abgegolten.
Autorin: Pauline Ashworth, Stuttgart
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Youth slang in London
D Only in London?
Next time you’re in the peng capital of England, keep your ears open and you’ll have bare chances
to hear some MLE. But not only in London! People move in and out of London and take the slang
with them. Today you can hear it on TV or the radio as the language spreads. English is a living
language and the people who use it determine the language. When words have been printed in
newspapers and used in other media a certain number of times, they are then taken up into the
dictionaries. Slang becomes standard. Grammar changes, too. In ten or twenty years foreign
learners of English will not need to study the complicated rules of question tags, innit?
1. Translate the three question tags (innit) used in this newsletter into Standard English.
E Now it’s your turn
1. Writing
Write a short explanation of what slang is. Explain why London is the main place where slang in
Britain originates.
2. Speaking
Choose one or two of the dialogues and practise it with a partner.
© Ernst Klett Verlag GmbH, Stuttgart 2015 | www.klett.de Von dieser Druckvorlage ist die Vervielfältigung für den eigenen
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Autorin: Pauline Ashworth, Stuttgart
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Teacher’s page: Youth slang in London
The concept of slang seems to be often misunderstood by students, especially because the word
“slang” is often used in German as a synonym for “dialect” or “accent”, as in “Man versteht sie
kaum, sie spricht mit einem total breiten Slang!” Linguists are still divided on the issue, but most
would agree that regional dialects and even the quickly changing slang used by certain groups are
legitimate linguistic variations worth studying. Professor Heike Wiese is studying Kiezdeutsch, the
slang used by young people in multicultural parts of big cities in Germany. These two links provide a good introduction to the phenomenon of youth slang in Germany, which might be used as
a basis for comparison with Multicultural London English.
• http://www.kiezdeutsch.de/aufeinenblick.html
• http://www.spiegel.de/schulspiegel/leben/jugendsprache-lass-ma-lesen-yallah-a-811877.html
The idea of the first section of this newsletter is for the students to think about their own spoken
language and what might be slang or what might be just normal dialect words. Yolo (you only live
once) and lol (laughing out loud) are just a couple of the English text message abbreviations that
seem to be making their way into the written and spoken language (interestingly, in that order) in
Germany.
A Before you read
Jugendslang
geil
Standardsprache
gut
swag
charismatisch-positive
Aura
you only live once (die
Aufforderung, eine
Chance zu nutzen)
laughing out loud (das
war lustig)
Gehen wir!
(aus dem Arabischen)
Bibliothek
yolo
lol
Yallah!
Streberburg
Jugendslang
Ey Alder, es ist voll
leer hier!
ischwör!
Was gugsch, hä?
Standardsprache
Mensch, ist es hier sehr
leer!
ich schwöre! (betont ein
ernstgemeinter Absicht)
(irritiert) Warum schaust
du mich/uns an?
Gönn dir!
Viel Spaß dabei!
Läuft bei dir!
Du hast es drauf!
Lassma Kino gehn,
Lan.
Lasst uns mal ins Kino
gehen, Mann.
C Slang for outsiders!
1. Sarah
a) see c)
b) ’air = hair; bu’ers = butters
c) Sam: Look! There’s Sarah. Look at her hair. She’s ugly, isn’t she?
Hafiz: Shut up. She’s beautiful.
Sam: You like her, don’t you?
Hafiz: Shut up.
2. Imran and Essah
a) The dialogue is taking place in a lesson at school.
b) Mr Elliot is the teacher.
c) Both “nick” and “pinch” mean “steal”.
© Ernst Klett Verlag GmbH, Stuttgart 2015 | www.klett.de Von dieser Druckvorlage ist die Vervielfältigung für den eigenen
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Autorin: Pauline Ashworth, Stuttgart
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Teacher’s page: Youth slang in London
d) The teacher asks Imran to do some work but he says he hasn’t got his pen and thinks that
Essah has got it. Essah denies having his pen and says that another pupil had lent him Imran’s
calculator.
3. Joe
a) In a classroom at school.
b) “Allow it!” means “Leave it alone” or “Give me a break”.
“Bare” means “lots” or “lots of”.
“Safe” means “Yes, of course” or “Definitely”.
4. Homework?
a) It’s occurring at home. The father thinks his son is playing on his tablet too much.
b) i) But that’s a lot of effort. – “That’s long”
ii) Terrible. – “crap”
iii) You are going to damage your eyesight. – “You’re going to get square eyes.”
5. Wagwaan?
a) Imran and Essah agree to go to the cinema.
b) i) Wagwaan – “What’s up?”
ii) bare sick – “really great”
iii) loads of – “lots of”
iv) quid – “pounds”
6. You’re a wimp!
a) Listen to the dialogue and put it in the right order.
Rachel: Come on, let’s go down this alleyway.
Nadia: Nah man, dat’s creepy.
Rachel: For God’s sake, you’re such a wimp!
Nadia: At least I’m not fat like you!
Rachel: Shut up. You’re a sideman.
b) i) scary – “creepy”
ii) a person who gets scared easily – “a wimp”
iii) overweight – “fat”
iv) a person who tries too hard to be popular – “a sideman”
D Only in London?
1. She’s bu’ers, innit? – isn’t she?
2. You like her, innit? – don’t you?
3. … learners … will not need to study the complicated rules of question tags, innit? – will they?
© Ernst Klett Verlag GmbH, Stuttgart 2015 | www.klett.de Von dieser Druckvorlage ist die Vervielfältigung für den eigenen
Unterrichtsgebrauch gestattet. Die Kopiergebühren sind abgegolten.
Autorin: Pauline Ashworth, Stuttgart
Bildquellen: Thinkstock -Getty Images Deutschland GmbH
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