The dialect of the past definitely had its share of slang. Slang in my belief is a way a generation of children can communicate with one another as well as in a way rebel against what parents call acceptable language. In the late seventies one of the most common slang used would have to have been the word groovy. In present time one of the most common slang used is the word tight. Both positive in meaning and used widely during their generation. By analyzing the use of these words, their derivatives, and their meanings, the true similarities and differences will be evident.
The use of the word groovy was seen all throughout the seventies positive in meaning and catchy in phrase. In the movie Austin Powers, which setting takes place in the seventies the main character Austin Powers uses the word widely usually when he is happy. The word groovy could be used for instance when lets say someone asks how was your day? You could reply by saying groovy. The hippy culture of the seventies influenced the use of the word groovy by our parents.
Today our generation influenced by hip-hop culture uses the word tight. Like our parents generation, our generation is easily influenced by popular culture. The use of a word like tight is very similar to the use of the word groovy; again it is usually used as an adjective to describe a positive attribute in an event, person, or thing. In fact the popularity of hip-hop in today’s culture influences much of what we wear to what we say.
The derivatives of such slang usually come from their actual representation in the real world. For instance in many cases such slang could represent the grooves of a hit record usually considered a good thing, which makes the word groovy a good thing, comparable to the hit record. Now the word tight can be derived from several different circumstances. For instance usually a male would find tight pants on an attractive female appealing, thus making the word a meaning for being appealing. The uses of such slang words are actually representations of how certain situations make us feel in one word.
The two terms are both representations of how popular culture influences the clothes we wear to the things we say. The similarities are endless between the two terms the only main differences between the two are that they come from different generations and different people but all in all have the same meanings and uses as one and other. From the people who first used the phrase “that’s groovy” to those who use “that’s tight” the generation barrier had no effect on the main purpose of such terms, to bring a generation together in some way slang terms really are just a part of culture.
The ideas of the two generations are where the main differences lie in the seventies it was said that only the rebelled youth used slang phrases or only the hippies used such terms, it was seen as being bad. Today my generation has not had it as hard as past generations especially since we have not had any large confrontations with are older counterparts like the hippies had with their older generation on where they stood on war.
