Throughout World War I, there were many words that came from
the time that was spent on the trenches, which then were coined when they
returned because of the huge impact that the war had on the world.
Many of the slang terms that we use in society still today
were first used within the World War I time. This means that these common
coinages and neologisms were frequently used within the society of World War I
and throughout the many years that have happened so this has meant that it has
stayed within the English Language.
As stated in one article by Sarah Sloat, however, words were
not necessarily created but they were popularised and helped them to become
more familiar in society as they exchanged the words between different social
classes and made language more widely available with all social classes using
“slang” words and low frequency. It seemed to bridge the gap with the language
used by different types of people.
New words/phrases
Lousy
World War I Definition: Infested with lice
Modern day Definition: Very poor or bad
This word seems to
have gone through pejoration diachronically. It has also undergone a broadening
effect as the word now has more meanings. This is due to the word becoming more
slang based as someone with negative connotations. Before studying into this, I
have only seen the word used through the modern day definition, which
identifies lexis that was created in the trenches that has lost its popularity
now.
World War I Definition: A quickly aimed and taken rifle shot
Modern day Definition: An informal picture often taken with a handheld
device.
A
brief look or summary
A
record of the contents of a storage location or data file
A
shot taken quickly in football with little backlift
This word has
broadened and has now got many more meaning than what it previously had. It
seems to show how technology has got more important within society and pictures
have now got this informal word to address that it is not the original picture
that you may have got. It has many more denotations to what it would have had
during the war.
Bloke
World War I Definition: A gentleman
Modern day Definition: A slang term for ‘man’
This word, I believe
has been in pejoration as the word is now used in slang terms and is not
represented with the high status ‘gentleman’ figure that it did within the war.
This means that it is a more common term and I believe that it has lost the
connotations that it once had within the war.
Blotto
World War I Definition: To get extremely drunk
I believe that this
word has lost its place in the English Language in modern day language. I
believe that it has become outdated in our language and because of the other
words that we have to describe this, it is not common.
Camouflage
Definition before the War: General Concealment
World War I Definition: The act of deceiving your opponent
This has remained with
the same definition from the war although through the change and broadening of
the definition was used from World War I to the current definition that we use
now.
Hush Hush
World War I Definition: Highly secret and confidential
This was a phrase that
was coined in World War I to keep things quiet as they don’t want the plans to
be heard and known by the enemy. This meant that it was kept secret and through
this new word it told the action of the phrase.
Bibliography
I've used 'blotto' but not in a decade or two so 'outdated' is probably right! I have certainly heard 'hush hush' recently and other phrases preserved from then like 'on the QT'.
ReplyDelete