Abstract: This study explores the phenomenon of slang in the English language from a
lexicological and lexical-semantic perspective. Slang, as a dynamic and expressive component of
vocabulary, has historically developed through various social, cultural, and linguistic factors. The
research aims to investigate slang’s typological, stylistic, structural, and semantic features,
focusing on its classification, origins, and usage. Slang is broadly categorized into general slang,
used across all social groups, and specific slang, restricted to particular communities such as
teenagers, students, journalists, or military personnel. The study also highlights the linguistic
creativity involved in slang formation through metaphor, abbreviation, blending, and phonetic play.
English slang has been analyzed by linguists such as E. Partridge and I. Galperin, but it remains
underexplored in Azerbaijani linguistics. The novelty of the research lies in its systematic,
linguocultural analysis of slang terms from literary texts. Slang functions to convey emotional and
stylistic nuances, often serving communicative, nominative, cognitive, and ideological roles. The
etymology of “slang” is debated, but its usage has grown from marginal to mainstream. Overall,
slang reflects the evolution of language and society and enriches the expressive capacity of English,
making it a valuable resource for linguistic studies and language education.
Keywords: social groups, etymology, slang, linguocultural, English lexicon