Preface
Recently, I went to the movies with a French friend of mine named Pascale, who had been studying English for ten years. While we were waiting in line, Pascale's coworker, Steve, approached him and said, "Hey, Pascale! What's up?"
To me, this was a completely normal question and I was waiting to hear how he was going to reply. Instead, he looked confused, paused a moment, then cautiously stepped back and looked up. Amused, I rephrased the question for him to make things a little clearer. But Steve didn't stop there and kept right on firing away unmercifully:
"I couldn't get over how what's-'er-face got all bent outta shape yesterday and read me the riot act jus' 'cause I showed up a few minutes late ta work. Man, gimme a break! Betcha never saw anyone get so ticked off 'n freak out like that b'fore, huh?"
Pascale was obviously stunned and didn't know whether to answer "yes," "no," or to give Steve the correct time. After all his years of English study, there were two things he had never learned: how we speak colloquialisms, and what we speak--slang.
Colloquialisms covers the extensive array of contractions, pronunciation, and common usage characteristic of all native speakers of American-English. For example, any student of English would undoubtedly understand the following phrase:
"I am going to get upset if he does not quit what he is doing and stop bothering me!"
However, it is more likely to be pronounced like this: "I'm gonna ged upsed if 'e duz'n quit what 'e's doin' 'n stop botherin' me!"
Slang encompasses "secret" words and idioms that are consistently used in books, magazines, television, movies, songs, American homes, etc. and generally are reserved only for native speakers. The example above demonstrates how this phase would be spoken by a native; but a native speaker would most likely use slang words in place of the conventional words: "I am going to freak out if he does not knock it off and stop bugging me!"
And now, after adding the colloquial contractions, here is our final result:" I'm gonna freak oud if 'e duz'n knock id off 'n stop buggin' me!"
For the non-native speaker, learning the information in Street Talk-1 will equal years of living in America and eliminate the usual time it takes to absorb the intricacies of slang and colloquialisms.
For the American, you're in for a treat as we explore the evolution and variations of some of the most common hilarious expressions and slang terms handed down to us through the years.
Street Talk-1 is a self teaching guide divided into five parts:
Dialogue: Twenty to thirty new American expressions and terms (indicated in boldface) are presented as they may be heard in an actual conversation. A translation of the dialogue in standard English is always given on the opposite page followed by an important phonetic version of the dialogue as it would actually be spoken by an America. This page will prove vital to any non-native since, as previously demonstrated, Americans tend to rely heavily on contractions and shortcuts in pronunciation.
Vocabulary: This section spotlights all of the slang words and expressions that were used in the dialogue and offers more examples of usage, synonyms, antonyms, and special notes.
Practice the Vocabulary: These word games include all of the new terms and idioms previously learned and will help you to test yourself on your comprehension. (The pages providing the answers to all the drills are indicated at the beginning of this section.)
A Closer Look: This section offers the reader a unique look at common words used in slang expressions pertaining to a specific category such as Body Parts, Proper Names, Numbers, Colors, etc. A short drill is then presented in preparation for the final section.
Just for Fun: Here, the reader is offered an entertaining monologue containing many of the words for the same category as previously introduced. This section will surely prove to be hilarious for any native-speaker since it demonstrates the unlimited creativity of out own language.
If you have always prided yourself on being fluent in English, you will undoubtedly be surprised and amused to encounter a whole new world of phrases usually hidden away in the American-English language and usually reserved only for the native speaker...until now!
David Burke Author
Note: Slang falls into two very separate categories: suitable and proper as well as obscene and vulgar. In order to be truly fluent in any language, these two groups must be learned. Street Talk-1 focuses primarily on slang which is very acceptable and commonly used by everyone, and will only explore vulgarisms as far as translating some popular euphemisms created from vulgar expressions.
