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Chapter 6 - Functions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 August 2023

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Summary

Informal borrowings are used for several reasons. They are used to name things, providing alternative synonyms for things already named in English but also names for things yet to be named. More often, however, they are used instead of standard English to communicate additional information that is social, psychological, rhetorical, or cultural in nature. The social function involves group solidarity and social distancing. The psychological function includes expression of emotions via a repertoire of expressions for a variety of emotional states and emotive labels. The rhetorical function includes informality, conciseness, forcefulness, wordplay, and small talk. The cultural function involves expressing cultural identity and stylization; while expressing cultural identity is often the reason for using such expressions, stylization is another phenomenon accounting for their common use among larger segments of American society.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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  • Functions
  • Małgorzata Kowalczyk
  • Book: Borrowings in Informal American English
  • Online publication: 31 August 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009346917.007
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  • Functions
  • Małgorzata Kowalczyk
  • Book: Borrowings in Informal American English
  • Online publication: 31 August 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009346917.007
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Functions
  • Małgorzata Kowalczyk
  • Book: Borrowings in Informal American English
  • Online publication: 31 August 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009346917.007
Available formats
×