| Abstract: | American slang reflects diversity, imagination, self-confidence, and optimism of the American people. Its vitality is due in part to the guarantee of free speech and lack of a national academy of language or of any official attempt to purify American speech, in part to Americans' historic geographic mobility. Such "folksay" includes riddles and conundrums, puns and plays on words, various kinds of jokes, sayings, proverbs, and proverbial similes, folk vocabulary and all types of slang, children's rhymes and jingles, word games, tongue twisters, and more. Folk speech is powerful language that can be rude and violent, but more often is playful, humorous, creative, lively, and ever-changing. Activities effective in learning American language through folk speech include telling jokes, riddles, and stories or reading them aloud; activities using and discussing proverbs; active and passive vocabulary learning through question-and-answer dialogues; written exercises using new vocabulary; dictionary practice and writing exercises focusing on a word and the environment it's used in; comparison of non-standard grammar or pronunciation; and humor and proverbs memorized, recited, and explained. Using folk speech in teaching is feasible for any group size or level, requires little preparation, and is stimulating and entertaining. (MSE) |
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