Blog #9: Slangs

Hello! I'm Nozomi.
Today I'll talk about slangs.

summary of the lacture
According to the lecture, slang is informal language which tends to be associated with particular groups of people and enables them to define their identity. Today many people use it because it gives their group a distinct identity from others in that it reflects the experiences, beliefs, and values of its speakers. In addition, using it brings them the personal benefits: it allows them to be desirable, master the situation, share social and emortional experiences, and have fun with it.

the examples of Japanese slang
1. 女子会 (joshi-kai)
     This means that women get together, eat and drink or exchange information. Therefore, only women use it. It is said that it starts in the meeting of only women which was held by the amateur models who won popularity in the Kansai(関西) district.

2. しまラー
     This means people who coordinate their clothes which they bought at "ファッションセンターしまむら." Today many young people use the shop and they use the word. It comes from "ユニクラー," which means people who coordinate their clothes which they bought at UNIQLO.

3. イクメン
     This is the word which was produced by the change in "イケメン," which means attractive men. This means men who are enjoying or applying themselves to child care. The word is used mainly by young people and media such as the Internet and TV. It came into existence from the initial letters of "イクジ（育児）　メンズ."

In my opinion, these slang words are short, so people prefer them to proper Japanese words in view of ease of use. In addition, "しまラー" and "イクメン" contain English. ("しまラー" contains the suffix "-er" which means human beings.) I think the fact is also one of the reasons they are used because containig English makes words stylish for the Japanese.