As a teenager studying in France, David Burke scribbled down French slang on any surface he could find. He covered stacks of napkins, paper towels and even his arms with the terms he thought would help him bridge the language gap in the foreign country.
At the time, the napkins and notes acted as a means for survival. Now, Burke said he considers documenting and teaching slang his passion and career.
Burke, who is called “Slangman,” gave a special presentation on how to understand American slang to a class of UCLA Extension students on Thursday.
The students at the presentation are enrolled in the English as a Second Language class called “Street Talk: Slang & Idioms in American Culture.”
The presentation covered a wide variety of American slang, including grunts, voice inflection, contractions, gestures and idioms. Burke said that comprehending all these different ways of communication is key to successful integration into American culture, as for all cultures.
For example, Burke showed that depending on voice inflection for the phrase “Shut up,” an American may be offended.
During the presentation, Burke explained what the different accents of Americans are, including what he identified as a slow Southern drawl and a fast-talking New York chatter.
Burke said he wanted to teach students how to walk, talk, speak and act in an American style.
Jiu Huan Zhang, a UCLA Extension student from China, said she went to the event because she wanted to improve her conversational American English.
“I don’t want to just know the vocabulary, but the cool, relaxed, American tone,” Zhang said.
For instance, Burke told the foreign students that Americans often drop the g’s at the end of verbs and slur words together when greeting one another. For example, instead of saying the phrase “How are you doing,” many Americans will condense it to “Howya doin?”
He also discussed the linguistic complexities of the American dating scene. When talking about the different ways to say “Let’s hook up later” at the presentation, several students gave each other knowing looks and snickered under their breath.
“Just look at the person’s face and you’ll know which one he or she means,” Burke told the students with a grin.
Other parts of the discussion, however, were not so lighthearted. None of the students said they were comfortable with American slang.
Diajung Chung, a Taiwanese student who attended the event, said he sometimes struggles when he tries to keep up with fast-paced American dialogue.
“There’s a lot of slang that you just can’t understand, not to mention (you don’t know) the right time to use (the slang),” Chung said.
Burke has been writing about slang in different languages for the past 20 years. He said his passion for language and travel has taken him to countries all over the world.
Burke said he published his first French slang book while he was in junior high. When the book started selling, Burke began to write slang books for multiple languages, including Spanish, German and Italian.
Several years later, Burke said he saw the demand for books explaining American slang and started his own publishing company for them.
UCLA Extension has been using his books in its classes on and off for at least 15 years, said Dana Eusan, one of the instructors for the “Street Talk” course.
Eusan said she thinks English as a Second Language students need to know the proper time and place to use certain words, especially in a cosmopolitan city like Los Angeles.
Through his books, presentations and his interactions with students, Burke said he wants to make all foreign students comfortable enough with English that they can feel confident talking with native American speakers.
He said he doesn’t want any foreigner to feel like an “outsider” – just like he did in France decades ago.
“My goal is to make all foreign students become insiders,” Burke said.