Slang Is Like Cool, I Guess

Walt Whitman is one of my favorite authors in American history. We have quite a few of the same beliefs and I think that I can genuinely relate to his poetry. Today in class we read Slang in America, an essay on... slang in America. Alright so I know that it sounds like an old boring white guy talking about cultural diversity... because that's fun. But it actually was pretty interesting to see what he thought of as slang and how it originated.

1. According to Walt Whitman, slang is particularly American because slang originates from diverse cultural and racial dialects from certain points in time. America as a country receives most of these dialects because we are a "melting pot". The slang from these people belong inherently to America because their culture mixes with our language. 
2. The opening paragraph is already an example of the English that Whitman is trying to explain. The English language is formed by the people who speak it, including himself.  
3. Whitman defines slang as "the lawless germinal element, below all words and sentences, and behind all poetry, and proves a certain perennial rankness and protestantism in speech." Slang is lawless because there is no set of rules or requirements to form slang or how slang should originate. Slang is germinal because it spreads like germs from one person to the next until eventually everyone has caught on to the slang at some point or another. Slang is below all words and sentences because it is seen as an informal manner of speech and should not be used in formal words or sentences, Slang is behind all poetry because it inspires poets and provides them with a speaker that is relatable among common everyday normal people. Slang proves a certain perennial rankness and protestantism in speech because slang is left for future generations and shows how that people left their mark on language by bending it to their own will. 
4. Whitman uses the metaphor of language as an inheritable gift to the United States and also language and slang as belching and releasing something built up inside. These both apply to slang because the language of the United States was given to it by the people who came before them. Slang is also the creation of one person that eventually creates an uprising in others that inspires them to use slang more. The belching metaphor is definitely easier to picture and it gives a quality to slang that many people do not normally think about. 
5. Whitman makes his perspective on slang plainer by giving a history abut how slang originated as words with different meanings and later went on to take on the meanings that the people gave them. This reinforces the idea that slang was the sole creation by people and for people. 
6. Slang and mythology are similar because they are both different according to the different nations in that they originated and people are unaware of that origin and do not pay attention to it. 
7. The point that Whitman is trying to make in his examples is that slang is native to a particular region because it was adapted by the people unique to that region. He gives examples of different communities in America but these areas are just a miniature version of America as a whole.  
8. Whitman does not find American humorists funny. I think that this fact does not strengthen or undercuts his essay. It merely is his opinion that the voice of the people who are spontaneous and original are more humorous than those trying to recreate that.  
9. The overall tone of this essay is insightful. I think Whitman is just trying to share his perspective with us and he uses the metaphors in the last paragraph to try and get the reader to dwell on and get them thinking of what language means to them. 
10. This essay reflects Whitman's style because it is about people. Whitman is a people person and loves to talk about people and how they relate to others and himself. He does this through poetry and more "formally" in this essay.  
11. The definition of slang as an illimitable expression of humanity inspiring poets and poems is really beautiful but I do not think I have seen examples of it in the real world. Slang like that is in poetry that is meant to be beautiful by expressing humanity's self-expressiveness. 
12. I support that slang is a lasting statement by a generation that cannot be controlled. I think that my own generation takes everything as a joke. We make memes and start hashtags and watch vine trends. I think that we are more apt to joke than adults now or even past generations at this age. I think that this is because the world is a scary place today and we need a good joke to see the light in people and that's something really beautiful and I'm glad we as a generation are able to do that.