Military Jargon in Modern English

How military jargon and slang has impacted the modern English language.

This paper studies the origins of military jargon and measures the influence of military jargon and slang on the English language. It shows how the conquesting armies of the colonial British government adopted many phrases, words and slang which have made their way into everyday spoken English. It compares how British soldiers and American soldiers, when interacting in the World Wars, transferred military slang between each other.
“The English language has been going through the evolution process for hundreds of years. A number of words that were not recognized a few hundred years back are now commonly used. English has been continuously changing for centuries because of several reasons. Influence of other societies and cultures on English is the primary reason for this continuous change. Moreover, several military adventures conducted by the British Empire, which led to the expansion of the United Kingdom to almost one fourth of the earth’s surface, also significantly influenced the English language. During these military operations, several English soldiers were exposed to some new cultures and societies. As a result of the influence from other cultures, they started using jargons and slang in their conversation, which were primarily adopted from several foreign languages. Similarly, American soldiers also adopted some jargons and slang during the Wars fought by American Army. ”

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