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The Diverse World of Drunkonyms in the English Language
The English language is renowned for its vast array of colorful and humorous words that describe being drunk. These playful terms, known as drunkonyms, include popular choices like “pissed,” “hammered,” and “wasted.” Comedian Michael McIntyre even humorously suggests that in English, posh individuals can use any word to convey the state of being drunk, such as saying “I was utterly gazeboed” or “I’m gonna get totally carparked.” With such a plethora of options available, one may wonder how people can decipher and understand new drunkonyms that come their way.
Investigating the Use of Drunkonyms
Two German linguists, Prof. Dr. Christina Sanchez-Stockhammer from Chemnitz University of Technology and Prof. Dr. Peter Uhrig from FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg & ScaDS.AI Dresden/Leipzig, decided to delve deeper into the validity of Michael McIntyre’s claim regarding the versatility of English in expressing drunkenness. Their linguistic study aimed to explore if the synonyms for “drunk” are utilized in similar contexts, which could potentially allow new word formations to automatically adopt the meaning of “drunk” based on context.
Their findings, recently published in the Yearbook of the German Cognitive Linguistics Association, revealed interesting insights. While the term “drunk” predominantly appears in combinations like “too/so/very drunk,” the drunkonyms ending in -ed, such as “blasted” or “loaded,” are often paired with intensifiers like “completely” or “totally” (e.g., “completely loaded”). Although the structure of “be” + intensifying adverb + word ending in -ed is commonly used to reference drunkenness, it is not frequent enough to fully explain how new drunkonyms are comprehended by language users.
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The Influence of Context and Experience
Sanchez-Stockhammer and Uhrig proposed an additional explanation based on English speakers’ exposure to a multitude of words ending in -ed that signify being “drunk” by the time they reach adulthood. This familiarity with various -ed endings allows individuals to interpret unfamiliar words ending in -ed, such as “pyjamaed,” as indicating drunkenness in many instances. The researchers compiled a list of 546 English synonyms for “drunk,” underscoring the extensive range of playful language used to discuss intoxication in English.
Furthermore, the researchers highlighted that while excessive alcohol consumption can have negative repercussions, the topic of drunkenness is often approached with light-hearted linguistic creativity in English. Sanchez-Stockhammer noted that the comedic effect of drunkonyms is often achieved through indirectness, as seen in examples like “gazeboed” or “carparked,” where the connection between the base word and the meaning of being drunk is not immediately apparent.
Drunkonyms and English Linguistic Traditions
The use of drunkonyms in English aligns with the language’s rich tradition of playful and indirect expressions. Similar to Cockney rhyming slang, which inspired English drunkonyms like “Brahms” or “Schindler’s,” these terms often involve a level of wordplay and association that adds to their humor. Additionally, English has a tendency to express drunkenness indirectly by shortening phrases like “blind drunk” to simply “blind,” further emphasizing the language’s penchant for creative and humorous linguistic constructions.
The world of drunkonyms in the English language showcases the creativity and flexibility of linguistic expression. From traditional terms like “pissed” to more inventive creations like “gazeboed,” the English language continues to evolve with new ways to convey the concept of being drunk, all while maintaining a sense of humor and indirectness that is characteristic of its linguistic heritage.
Links to additional Resources:
1. www.etymonline.com/word/drunk 2. www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drunk 3. www.dictionary.com/browse/drunk.Related Wikipedia Articles
Topics: English language, Linguistics, DrunkonymsEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, whose speakers, called Anglophones, originated in early medieval England. The namesake of the language is the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the island of Great Britain. English is the most spoken language in the...
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Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of language. Linguistics is based on a theoretical as well as a descriptive study of language and is also interlinked with the applied fields of language studies and language learning, which entails the study of specific languages. Before the 20th century, linguistics evolved in conjunction...
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Maya Richardson is a software engineer with a fascination for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). She has developed several AI applications and enjoys exploring the ethical implications and future possibilities of these technologies. Always on the lookout for articles about cutting-edge developments and breakthroughs in AI and ML, Maya seeks to keep herself updated and to gain an in-depth understanding of these fields.
