The Change In The Usage Of Slang Terms Over Time; With Special Reference To Sinhalese Slang Terms Used For Women

Abstract

Slang is a type of language consisting of words and phrases that are regarded as very informal. They often convey humour, discrimination, offense and mostly negative meanings. Over time, they either die out from lack of use as groups move on to new terminology, or they may become so popular that they are added to the common language. The objective of this research is to explore the change in the slang terms used for women in the Sri Lankan context. It investigates how these slang terms semantically change over time. Here, the main focus was given on collecting slang terms used for ‘women’ in the Sri Lankan context from year 1970 to present. Different literatures were referred, and questionnaires were carried out using randomly selected individuals from different age groups, professions, culture, social status, users of social media, males and females in both rural and urban settings of Sri Lanka. Through the research it was revealed that a collection of slang words that were once fashionable are no longer in use. Further, the attitudes of males and females on slangs were explored. According to the analysis, the final outcome is, with the change of time slang words used for women change and new words come into use.