At first glance, a serious academic investigation of the slang used by any subcultural in-group seems like a bizarre endeavour. If such slang has any purpose at all, it is to keep those who are in that group in and those who are out out; it is, by most accounts, a system of cultural signalling to throw up a nice division between us and them.
In any such case, ‘them’ is certainly apt to be pointy-headed academic types setting their sights on the subculture in question. Having said that, proposing a course of study on an artificial subculture, such as that which of the characters from cult TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, seems like a plan several stripes more absurd. Nevertheless, Slayer Slang attempts just that-and hails from the hallowed Oxford University Press imprint no less.
Is it successful? Not quite. But it’s interesting all the same. This book’s serious tone belies the comic nature of its subject matter. BtVS was a clever, campy romp through pop culture and the anxieties of adolescence. The more bizarre linguistic configurations that the Buffyverse’s characters bandied about were as artificial as Sarah Michelle Geller’s little crooked nose. No deeper understanding of the back and forth between Buffy and her pals is necessary to enjoy the show.
Other times-for example, the use of the word ‘sitch’ as a truncated form of ‘situation’-the language that Buffy and the gang were using was already common enough in youth circles to be unsurprising to most. The fact that it raised an eyebrow for author Michael Adams might be the first indication that he’s somewhat off the mark. An admitted Buffyholic himself, Adams spends the greater portion of the book building momentum for his central thesis: The slang that developed over the course of Buffy’s seven-year run infiltrated popular culture and found its way back to the Buffyverse in hyperbolic form, only to repeat the process again.
Call it subcultural iteration if you like; Adams never does. What he does tell us is that Buffy represents a sort of linguistic playground that had far-reaching effects-a dubious corrollary if there ever was one. Buffy might have played with slang and pushed modern-day language to its limits, but to say much more is probably making mountains out of molehills. Regardless, the first half of the book is enough fun that you probably won’t be able to shake a stick at it. Excerpts from the show abound, and by all rights it’s pretty gosh-darn enjoyable. Über-hip quips and quotes abound:
“Damn love spell. I’ve tried every anti-love-spell spell I can find.”
“Even if you found the right one, guy would probably just do an anti-anti-love-spell-spell spell.”
“What?”
“Does any one feel like we’re being Keyser Sozed?”
“I’m suffering from the afterness of a bad night of badness.”
“I’ll go home and stock up on weapons, slip into something a little more break-and-enterish.”
“Mom has been totally different since [Ted] has been around.”
“Different like happy?”
“No, like Stepford.”
“So that’s why time went all David Lynch.”
“My ex-fiancé is getting married in two weeks. Now I realize I still love him. Should I tell him?”
“Meanwhile, My Best Friend’s Wedding/Friends much?”
“I’ve got to stop a crazy from pulling a Carrie at the prom.”
If the first half of the book is a bit of a madcap (if academic) romp through the circus of the Buffyverse, then the book’s second half is the sideshow. It’s made up of a glossary of Buffy-isms (entirely unecessary to Buffy fans, or persons under the age of 30), just in case you’re pop culture-illiterate. It also lends itself to that oddly inevitable curiosity that lavishes over a bad car wreck or made-for-television movie. The glossary meticulously breaks down (with what amounts to either absurd or excruciating detail, depending on your temperament) all the Buffy-isms that Adams has catalogued into their constituent parts like straight out of any dictionary:
buttonpalooza n Festival of buttons
“There are so many buttons, it’s, like, buttonpalooza.” [Buffy] [button n. + lollapalooza (most immediately from the rock concert Lollapalooza, organized annually, 1990-1998)]
rampagey adj Bent on mayhem
“Why are they here? Sacrifices, treasures, or are they just getting rampagey?” [Buffy] [rampage n. + -y suffix]
Slayerette n Person who assists Buffy in her role as the Slayer
“You’re the Slayer, and we’re, like, the Slayerettes.” [Willow]
For Buffy fans, or others inclined to linguistic or academic whimsy, this book is probably best approached in the same way the television show was-namely, with a sense of humour and oodles of suspended disbelief. More than anything, Slayer Slang is worth a look if only because some poor guy actually took the time to write it.
