"Slang ... an attempt of common humanity to escape from bald literalism, and express itself illimitably ... the wholesome fermentation or eructation of those processes eternally active in language, by which froth and specks are thrown up, mostly to pass away, though occasionally to settle and permanently crystallize" –Walt Whitman, 1885 

My younger sister and I sat at our family dinner table on Easter Sunday, salivating over the aroma of my mother’s stuffed leg of lamb. Our father made his way from the bedroom to the table to join our pre-dinner chatter.

"BT Dubbs,"¹ said my sister, "your celly² was blowin' up³ like woah⁴ while you were at yoga in the am.^"5

"For realsies?"⁶ I asked.  I hadn’t checked my cell phone since that morning. "Did you answer?"  

"After the third call, yeah. It was Jay. He sweats you⁷ hardcore."8

 "Whatevs.⁹ I’ll call him later."

It was at this moment of polite conversation that our father abruptly slammed his fist on the table. "Speak English!" he cried.

"Oh Em Gee!"10 replied my sister, "Freak out why don't you, Dad?"

My father, attempting to curb his temper, lowered his voice and said, "I'm sick of this. I can't understand a single word you girls say to each other anymore. You sound uneducated. My daughter the writer sounds like she can't speak the language." He was referring to me. 

Of course, I can speak the language. In fact, I can speak it so well that I choose to finesse and manipulate it into a shorthand language, that is, slang. Merriam-Webster defines slang as:
"an informal nonstandard vocabulary composed typically of coinages, arbitrarily changed words, and extravagant, forced, or facetious figures of speech."
I pretty firmly believe that slang is not spoken for a lack of language comprehension. Rather, it demonstrates a hyper-awareness of the language, and an understanding of the culture surrounding it.

 When my sister says "BT Dubbs," it is her slang for "by the way." But by using her slang version, she refers to much more than the literal expression "by the way." By saying the letters "BT" she is referring to the common typing or texting shorthand, where that phrase is abbreviated to "BTW." However, my sister is so culturally enlightened that she goes one better, and changes the "W" in "BTW" to "Dubbs," as in "Dubbya," a nickname for the middle initial of our president, George "Dubbya" Bush. So what she has done in that one quick phrase "BT Dubbs" is made her explicit point clear (the literal "by the way"), and clued me in to the fact that she is savvy about online or text speak, and is aware of our current political climate.  That's how slang works. It makes a word or phrase do more than just a job of literal communication. It personalizes your language.

 Furthermore, the "informal" aspect of slang is what makes it inappropriate in so many contexts, such as on tests or when speaking with strangers. So, by using slang, you are assuming a comfort level with the person with whom you speak.  To speak slang to someone is to assume that they, too, understand the cultural currency and outside references of your unorthodox vocabulary. Slang speak then becomes a club, either you are in and understand the code, or you aren't.

Those who aren't in on the slang, usually view it as illegitimate or uneducated. James C. Fernal once referred to slang as the "advertisement of mental poverty." This is because they are missing part of the message. All they hear is the destruction of the literal phrase, but they cannot perceive the additional codes. So of course, it does sound like nonsense.  Or it sends a different message entirely.

A great mystery was solved in my family once my father got the ball rolling about our uneducated English. For months, my mother had been shouting very loudly when leaving voicemail messages on my sister's cell phone. "CAN. YOU. PICK. UP. SOME. MILK!! LOVE. YOU!" It was at this Easter dinner where we discovered the reason. My sister’s voicemail message requests that the caller leave their message in the form of a "shout out." Our hapless but well-meaning mother assumed there must be a problem with her voicemail that made it difficult to hear.

But what does all of this add up to? Our dad was still annoyed that he couldn't understand us, and no amount of explaining would undo that. Yet, my sister and I still relished our slang speak. It does appear to be a matter of time and place. Because of its informal nature, slang simply doesn't work in every context (So please don't add "OMG" to your history papers). Apparently one such inappropriate context is my family dinner table. Most slang comes and goes with the times, but some of it eventually makes a permanent place in mainstream language. After all, "hot" didn't always mean "cool," and "cool" didn’t always mean "good." These are slang terms that we've grown to accept. This is how language develops and changes. Eventually, everyone catches on. 

Our mother made her way over to the table with the succulent dish of lamb. She looked laughingly at our father,  "Lighten up, Sam. Srsly."

Our Slang, Decoded
1. See translation in text.
2. cell phone
3.<!--[endif]--> ringing
4. a lot
5. this morning
6.<!--[endif]--> Oh, really?
7. likes, has a crush
8.<!--[endif]--> a lot
9. whatever
10. This is the verbal pronunciation of “OMG,” which is online shorthand for “Oh my God,” but usually just refers to general shock.

What do you believe in? That's a question that gets asked a lot and has so many different answers. There's an organization called This I Believe that encourages all different types of people to write about their beliefs. Writing magazine published an article about This I Believe this past year. We asked students to support this effort and tell us what they believed in. Well, some fine 8th grade students answered our call. You can read about their beliefs here. Then go ahead, write your own. Or check out some more examples at the This I Believe website.

Memories

"I don't care how poor a man is; if he has family, he's rich." That is a quote from a television show called M*A*S*H. I believe in having family time with my sisters, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. It is important to spend time with your family. I have a very big family of about 30 cousins and I love spending time with all of them.

I see my entire family several times a year for birthdays, Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, and many other special events. On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, my whole family comes over to my Grandparent’s house to make homemade ravioli. Then at Christmas, my whole family goes over to my Grandparent’s house to have dinner. We gather around a huge table and eat the homemade ravioli. It is fun to eat the ravioli and think of the memories we had making them.

After dinner, all of the cousins make up a Christmas play of the Nativity of Jesus for all of our parents. At Easter, my family and I go to my Grandparent’s house and we have an

Easter egg hunt. The older half of the cousins hide the Easter eggs for the younger cousins. It is always fun to watch all of my little cousins to go and find the eggs. After the egg hunt, my family and I go fishing and we walk around my Grandparent’s neighborhood lake.

I grew up making fun memories with my family. I know that I am a lucky person to have these memories. I love my family. I truly do think that having a family and having memories with them is being rich.

—George Dowdy

Family

What does it mean to believe? To believe means to have an opinion or a firm conviction. My opinion is that your family is something you should hold close to your heart forever. Family is so important.

Where would we be without the love and support of those we care about? I believe it is very important to stay close to your family, no matter where or how old you are. They will always be there to back you up, no matter what. I am a part of a blended family that consists of my mother, my stepfather, and three stepsisters. Even though they are not my real siblings, I know they love me. I would not want my life any other way. I truly think that no matter how mad or upset or hurt you are at any members of your family, you should always try to patch it up, because they love you.

I believe in sharing holidays and important events with family. I can’t even picture Christmas without my Grammy or my birthday without my cousins. Family should be there to celebrate all the important times in our lives. I think that we should put our family as one of our top priorities. Everybody, no matter who you are, deserves to have a loving family that they can go home to at night and look forward to seeing. Family, next to God, should be our main goal. This I believe.

—Lauren Milton

Music

I believe in the power of music. I truly believe that music can change lives. Many songs have a powerful message in them. Most teenagers listen to radio stations that have good music, but the message in the music isn't very good. It's usually rap music, and rap music usually tells you what you SHOULDN'T be doing, but its message tells the teenagers that it's okay and "cool" to do it. An exception to that is Eminem's "Mockingbird." That song is written for his kids, and it says "Sorry that I'm gone, I wish I was there with you, but I need to keep working to keep the food on the table for you. Your mom and I are having problems, but we'll try to work through them."

A lot of music with good messages is rock or alternative music. I really like Good Charlotte's music. The band's music has a great message. Another rock song that has a good message is Nickleback's "If Everyone Cared."

I believe that inspirational lyrics could be mottos to live by, such as Hannah Montana's "Life What You Make It", which says that how you live your life is up to you. "Why be sad, broken hearted? There's so much to do. Life is hard, or it's a party. The choice is up to you."

— Jennifer Lane

Other People's Feelings

I believe that everyone is entitled to their own opinion if it does not hurt the feelings of someone else. I also think people should stick up for themselves and what they believe in.

This year many of my friends have been made fun of because of something they wear or something they do, say, or eat. I don't think they should be made fun of because of what they wear or do or say. If someone doesn't have something nice to say, they shouldn't say it at all. Although everyone is entitled to their own opinion they should not always express how they feel.

Many people don't take into consideration that what they say may affect others, so they say things without thinking. I am sure everyone has gotten their feelings hurt at some time. Many people don't tell others when their feelings are hurt because they don't want to be made fun even more. So they just let that person keep making fun of them.

I believe that if someone is being made fun of they need to stick up for themselves and what they believe in. I don't think people should be made fun of because of what they wear, what they do, or what they say. If you see people being made fun, of you should stick up for them as well. I don't think anyone should be made fun of at all.

—Katie Millman

It was announced last week that the final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be produced as not one but TWO blockbuster movies! That means that, including Book 6 we get three more Harry films! Yay!

Personally, I think this is a very smart idea. Deathly Hallows was one of the best books I have ever read and Hollywood's decision to make it a two-parter should give us a very clear, very detailed on-screen image to compliment our entire literary experience. I can't wait!

Film 6: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is set for theatrical release on November 21, 2008

Film 7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part One is set for theatrical release (hopefully) the following November (2009)

And, assuming all goes well and "You-Know-Who" doeesn't wreck everything...

Film 8: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, Part Two will come out in May, 2010.

Friends, I do believe this deserves a "Boo" and a "Yah".

BOO YAH!

Here is a phony bologna movie trailer someone put together on Youtube. It shows a bunch of old Harry Potter movie clips but is still a good way to get you amped.

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by Lauren Wrenn
age 12

The white blanket
melts away.
Hear the flowers
moaning.

Waking up
Spring sees
the birds come back.

Warm is here again.