THE FEATURE OF ENGLISH SLANG USAGE THAT DENOMINATES MONEY IN AMERICAN RAP LYRICS

Abstract

As a result of the powerful expansion of international collaboration, globalization and Internet culture, the spread of slang does not stop but also grows among a wide range of people. The modern life of society, in particular young people, is also characterized by the rapid penetration of rap culture. In this connection, linguistic studies of this style are still very promising and relevant because the vocabulary of hip-hop culture is considered one of the best ways of updating the vocabulary of the English language. Although many intelligent people consider slang to be of lower acceptability in society, the trend is more obvious that the use of slang expressions is noticeably increasing. We can see American slang is becoming more and more widely used and plays an increasingly influential role in the everyday discourse of American English. This article is devoted to the study of the concept and functioning of slang words and expressions for the designation of currency units in the latest American rap discourse. The practical part of this research contains an analysis of the reasons and features of the use of slang lexical units in the lyrics of modern American rap artists, such as Kanye West, Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, The Notorious B.I.G., Wiz Khalifa, Headie One, Trinidad James etc. The authors of this study have grouped the finding slang by semantic meaning and have clarified the regularity of its use. The work has found that slang terms for money are often associated with the appearance and characteristics of banknotes or coins, their value, historical associations or relevant currencies. It is also worth noting that some of them have become the dominant way of denoting currency and have even become common words, as evidenced by modern dictionaries. Scientific research has proved that slang primarily reflects reality and has been used as one of the methods of indirect communication. The understanding of the statement includes the content itself, which is not contained in it but requires additional interpretive effort on the part of the recipient. Within one language community, some slang terms differ depending on social, ethnic, economic, and geographical backgrounds. Prospects for further study of the typology of these slang expressions is due to their prevalence in modern American rap discourse, which will be the subject of research in future scientific papers.