When slang first came onto the scene, it seemed to many a language thatuneducated people used to communicate with their peers. As the yearswent on the new language known as slang came to be synonymous with AfricanAmerican teenagers and young adults. Slang is a language that hasheld its ground to prove that it is just a simpler way of speaking whentwo or more peers get together and communicate in an informal atmosphere.Slang has created some new words because of people being from differentplaces and having various accents. Also, slang has found somethingnew to broaden its horizons; and that is using everyday words and alteringtheir meanings. Slang is also a language that has expanded into classroomsin colleges all over the nation. This form of slang now has its ownslang term for a title; that title is Ebonics. All over the UnitedStates Ebonics as political people has affected the way the English vocabularyhas changed. Now since people are taking more sophisticated wordsand converting them into slang terms, the world feels a need now to acknowledgethe fact that they better learn this language. Slang is on the rise.
The word I chose as a slang term is sharp. The word sharp means alot of different things depending on how it is used in the context.Sharp to me in a general meaning, means to be the best, or look reallynice in articles of clothing, or it can just be a complementary word.Sharp is one of those slang terms that has to be used in the right placeat the right time. If someone makes a mistake in using the term itis painfully obvious, and your peers would probably look at you funny.The fact that sharp is self explanatory, using it at the wrong time hasthe same effect as someone using improper grammar when talking to a professor,or to someone of a higher intelligence.
The term entered my dialogue when I was about thirteen or fourteen.It was being used in the barbershops that I would go to when I needed ahaircut. When the barbers would finish cutting someone's hairthe person would say to the barber; "man you are sharp." The barbersinterpreted this that the customers meant that they were sharp like knives;because the outline that they gave their customers was so straight it lookedas if a knife was used. So in this content the word sharp was a complementto the barbers. So when people came to get a haircut they would askwho is the sharpest man in here, referring to who makes the straightesthairline. The word also could be used when someone who is really smartstart to show it off. This usage would be keen during an oral testin one of your classes or when a person seemingly had all the right answersto questions. This would cause someone to "you are mighty damn sharp withthose answers today.
The New Webster's Dictionary defines sharp as: Having keen, cutting edgeor fine point; abrupt; having ready perception; quick; an expert;to give a keen edge or fine point to; one who, or that which, sharpens.
I think that the word sharp came into being because it made the perfectword to refer to things that looked nice when people wanted to use a relaxeddialogue. Another way the word sharp gets used is when a male orfemale is getting dressed up for the day, and especially when they aregetting dressed for a formal event. For example, when a person isgoing on their prom, he/she gets all dressed in their tuxedo or gowns youmight here one of their peers say, "You look mighty sharp tonight."You would also say this to a person if they look presentable for no apparentreason, because you are so used to them looking one way that when theychange for the better you usually complement. For example, when a collegestudent goes to his/her morning class everyday in just jogging pants anda tee shirt you get used to that look, but if one morning they come innice attire you might say "you are looking mighty sharp there."
There is another way that we use sharp, and that is when describing somethingthat has to deal with sport. As stated in the slang meaning of the wordsharp also means to be the best at what you do. If that does not implicatethat it refers to sport then I do not know what it means. When yougo to a football game and the quarterback is having one of those gamesthat seem to be perfect you might catch yourself saying "He is mighty sharptoday." The reason I chose quarterback as an example is because sharpfavors quarterbacks more since they have to throw the ball almost perfectevery time to insure a complete pass. Sharp is also used in Baseball,when a Pitcher is having a good game and throwing a lot of strikes youwill use it complementing the game he/she is playing.
The term sharp was used by generation's way before ours. The earliest thatI know it was used is by my Grandparents generation. In their timethe word essentially had the same meaning as I have defined it, with aslight twist. When they used the term for the barbershop it justmeant that the barber's equipment used to cut them a lot. My parent'sgeneration also used it for the same reasons, but then they added the twiston it that has carried over to the generations of today.
My parent's generation started using the word sharp to describe the waya person looked when they dressed up for a formal event. As timewent on this way of describing the way someone looked started to spillover to casual dressing too. From what my Father told me, as teenagerswhen the word was used they always were referring to how a person lookedwhen they dressed casually. As his friends and him started to getolder the word expanded in meaning. That is when they started touse it more for formal events and less for casual events. My Mother saidthat the word sharp had a reference to formal wear to her and her friends.She also told me that they guys would try to discourage them from usingthe word. The guys would say that the word was a guy thing.My Mom said ninety percent of the time they would use sharp to refer tothe way a friend's hairstyle looked after she came from the salon.This in fact gave a lot of females another avenue to use the word, thusexpanding the meaning.
My parent's generation was also the generation that introduced sharp asa slang term that can be used for sports. They started using it at allthe local high school football games. Since in high school the athletesare not pro caliber yet, it was the highest of the complements to say thatsomeone was looking sharp today on the playing field. This once againchanged the meaning of the word but it made it a term that was universalfor everyone to use. Both the guys and the girls felt comfortable usingthe word at sporting events.
It seems to me that a lot of different kinds of people use the word sharpas a slang term. One of the reasons I believe this is true is theword is a term that has been in the English language for as long as mygrandparents can remember. The only thing is that the meaning hasbeen altered because of the different environments. If you referthe word back to the dictionary meaning the slang meaning makes sense comparedto it. So I think this makes people of all classes feel comfortable usingit as a slang term.
A term that I might use in place for sharp is on point. If you area frequent slang speaker, which most teenagers and young adults are, thenyou understand why. On point just flat out sounds like it is theperfect substitute for sharp. However, the only down fall in usingon point, it is not as versatile as sharp. On point can be used torefer to formal and/or casual wear, but not to be used to complement theoutfit like sharp does. If you see something that is really nicein a department store window you would say something like "that is on point."Now when the person has the outfit on then on point just does not havethe descriptive power of sharp.
When you talk about using the term on point as a substitute for sharp inthe situations regarding the barbershop's haircuts, or a hair salons hairdo's then ok. When a man leaves a barbershop, or women leaves thehairstylist or nail salon, you can say "Wow your hairstyle is on point,"or "Man your haircut is definitely on point." You would only substituteon point for sharp in situations that are repetitive. For example,if someone dresses nice everyday you start to get used to that one look,so you start saying, "That outfit is on point." Same thing goes forhaircuts, hairstyles, and nail designs.
The term has not changed too much over the years. From what I have seensharp has had the same meaning, but it just has been elaborated on.The only way I might say it has changed is the barbershop meaning. Insteadof it meaning that the barber had sharp equipment, it now means that thebarber makes a sharp hairline that looks like a knife was used to makeit that straight. The past ten years the word has kept a strong emphasison describing how people looked in formal wear. The only differencenow is that sharp has expanded over into the casual wear category.The reason being young people today do not want to use the same slang termsthat their parents have used before and are still using in some cases.So what do you do when young adults and teenagers are in a situation thatrequires them to use the same slang term that was used by their parents,alter the meaning or expand it. Over the last couple of years thatis exactly what happened. Young adults and teenagers started to use theword for casual wear so they could claim the word for their generation.If you think about it my parents did the same thing to my grandparentsgeneration when they got hold of the word.
A big reason I feel that certain slang terms do not have the longevityof others is dependent on there versatility. If a word is subjectedto just one group, class, or sex of people then it will not have a longlife in the language of the people. When the word can be changedor altered with essentially having the same meaning as before, then, thatwill be a plus for the slang language. Words that can be used bypeople of all classes and by both sexes give the word new life as timegoes on.
With luck you might be able to get the word into the English language;look at ain't. When you take a word that is already in the Englishlanguage and make it a slang term, then you definitely cannot subject itto one group or class of people. The reason why it cannot be subjectedto one group or class of people, they have already been using that word.So no matter what the meaning people will feel that they have the rightto use the term any way they want to. That also means, whatever wordyou take from the English language and convert to a slang term, it is notfor a certain class of people and neither can you say it is offensive toour class or group if you use it in any context.
Slang terms rely on so many different things for them to survive in therough English everyday dialogue. When you look at what words havemade it over the years, most of them were just words that have had a similarmeaning to the words original meaning. People look for a word thatis versatile and one that cannot possibly offend anyone when it is beingused. Sharp is just one of those terms. People of all kinds seemedto have been looking for a word that was hip and cool, but yet not soundincompetent. Sharp has stayed around for so long because, it wasnot a word just for black people or white people. It is a word that civilizedand uncivilized people use to have some type of slang usage in their vocabulary.
When you find a word that covers all of your communication needs, you tendto stick with it. Sharp has obviously made people of all generationsand of all sexes, races, and classes feel that way. There are manywords that have not made it this far, and I am pretty sure that there aremany more words that will not last as long as sharp has in the future.Sharp has every single quality that a slang term needs to be in a slangdictionary, everyday talk between peers, and even a little time to shinein the spotlight of Ebonics.
Omar Sistrunk
