Obscure slang

[ravenofroses]

First time posting, etc. etc. etc.

You lot have been wonderful at digging out odd bits of information, and I've got a question what has been giving me an awful lot of trouble as of late.

So I have a character who, for the sake of simplicity, will be called a vampire. This vampire has been around for ages and ages, and they have largely stopped

Comments

[lilacsigil]

I googled slang by decade and got lots of results. It might be a good starting point.

[ravenofroses]

ive tried this as well. there are so many results, in fact, that i really am better off asking if people have terms that they are fond of rather than wading through the massive databases.

[potatofiend]

What part of the UK has he lived in, and what social class is he? Terms of endearment for a female have always differed widely across Britain, and dependent upon class.

[ravenofroses]

england, likely london, and they are aristocratic, tho it wouldnt be above them to associate with the lower classes. still, for sake of simplicity, assume that the language that would stick would be the middle-to-upper-class stuff.

[potatofiend]

Okay - mid to late Victorian gentlemen-types, in London or elsewhere, would be unlikely to use any of the more fruity endearments, such as 'pet' or 'poppet' or 'duck' or 'hen'; likewise, since 'honey' and 'sweetie' are very rarely heard in the UK even today in the mouths of men, I'd suggest sticking to your plain old 'darling', 'dear', or - for a lick of glamour and exoticism - the very charming 'acushla', which is Irish, but is often found in late Victorian letters from various English gentlemen/rakes to their wives/sweethearts. (It just means 'darling' or 'dear heart'.) 'Sweetheart' might be a good one, too, on that note.

[ravenofroses]

*bows* thankee quite kindly.

[palmer_kun]

This vampire has been around for ages and ages, and they have largely stopped noticing things like language trends and changes in social norms. As a result, their speech is very structured and awkward to a "modern" listener/reader.

This is only logical if he's removed from society and verbal contact. One does not pay attention to changes and choose to adopt them. One simply integrates with them naturally and unconsciously over time.

If he's at all active in society, he will have his language and mannerisms adapt along with the rest of the world.

[ravenofroses]

they are removed from society and verbal contact. quite the recluse. likely hasnt talked to someone since the 50s and hasnt been watching people since 'nam.

[chvickers]

You really need to choose a specific time and place. You're looking at hundreds of dialects if not thousands, and each will have their own slang. There is no such thing as typical old-time language.

Language didn't change more gradually in the old days; if anything, mass media and the necessity to be understood worldwide has slowed the rate of change.

[ravenofroses]

i am aware of this. i likely should have said i was looking for obscure slang that posters here are fond of. i tried to narrow it down as much as i could, but i will think on this and try to be more specific.

[maroon_ed]

My personal favorite, from researching a character whose mother was a jazz singer--1920's slang:
http://home.earthlink.net/~dlarkins/slang-pg.htm

If he's consciously attempting to be less formal in an effort to fit in, however, IMHO he's likely to use current slang and just use it badly. I'm here in Korea, and little boys will sometimes tell me "I love you". They don't really know what that means; they just know it makes foreign women blush.

Next time you're watching a film, especially a romantic-comedy, imagine your vampire is watching it trying to learn how to pick up modern women. (Imagines a guy in formalwear on some girl's front lawn with a boom box in hand, playing something doomy by Bach and not understanding why she isn't smitten by this)

[ravenofroses]

*smile* that is a wonderful image. they arent trying to pick up women, tho. the female mentioned before is already there and is generally treated as a smallchild, despite the fact that she is a young adult. terms of endearment in this sense would be used as a sort of unintentional condescension toward her as well as an expression of affection.