2. Flapper girls in the Roaring Twenties
During the 1920s women first began to rebel against their restricted roles
in society. Women began to smoke, drink, dance and vote! The term
‘flapper’ was coined to describe the types of women who would cut their
hair, wear make-up, go to parties and take risks. Often they would take
part in competitions which caused the first beauty queens to appear.
3. • They also began to indulge a lot more in their
appearances which caused the first beauticians
and beauty salons to appear.
• Fashion also developed and much like modern
day new words were coined to describe trends
and fashion items such as the ‘perm’.
• The zip was also created during this time which
reflects the attitudes displayed in this decade;
that there was no time to be wasted and
everything needed to be fast paced!
• Burlesque theatres were becoming more
acceptable as well as more open views regarding
sex due to the growing sexualisation of women.
• The concepts of heterosexuality or bisexual
began to appear as new words were coined,
such as ‘heterosexual’, however they were still
viewed negatively causing offensive slang words
like ‘queer’ to also appear.
4. Further social factors:
• Large companies like Ford Cars in the USA started to cut workers hours by an
hour an day and from six days a week to only five. This would have potentially
caused the coining of new words to do with leisure as there was now more time
to take part in pleasurable activities.
• This development of the ‘roaring twenties’ through extra leisure time and
attempts to recover from the War meant that the youthful population were
determined to enjoy themselves. This saw the coinage of words like ‘flapper’,
‘gold-digger’, ‘Charleston’ and ‘cocktail bars’ as well as a generation of new
dances, trends and the beginning of a changing outlook and lifestyle.
• Additionally, they were producing cheap cars
so many had access to personal transport,
causing for a new car based vocabulary.
5. Following the war:
• The introduction of Women’s magazines and Tabloid papers was introduced which
changed the use of advertising and the language used in it.
• Stars were hired to endorse products and Women’s magazines like McClure’s started
printing higher quality pictures and using clever slogans to entice the female
population.
• Tabloids focussed on reporting entertainment stories rather than news events or
‘serious’ articles. There was an emphasis on glorifying celebrities and exaggerating
frivolous stories and crimes.
• Often entertainment writing can accommodate new words,
and the 1920s saw a large trend for the blend word with
‘motel’ being a popular one. The tabloids loved creating
headlines using blend words so many were coined this way.
6. New inventions
•1920 – the introduction of the ‘pogo stick’.
•1923 – the ‘zipper’ largely replaced buttons on clothes.
•1926 – the first television was distributed.
7. Due to the first televisions being distributed:
• 1926 – Warner Brothers released their first film with a soundtrack “Don Juan”
• 1926 – the first publication of the children’s book Winnie-the-pooh.
• 1927 – the British Broadcasting Corporation was founded.
• 1927 – Walt Disney’s iconic Mickey Mouse makes his debut and the company’s
first cartoon “Steamboat Willie” subsequently premiered in 1928.
With these technical advances, new words are
being formed to describe the functions of new
objects and new ways of doing things.
(eg – ‘programme’ ‘broadcasting’ ‘news bulletin’,
‘soundtrack’ ‘commentary’ ‘news reading’)
8. Economic and Political factors
• 1923 – German putsch organised by Hitler fails.
• 1924 – First Labour government in Britain.
• 1929 – The Depression begins.
Changes in the economy and the arrival of
different international languages meant that
new words were loaned, borrowed and
invented in terms of Political speak/jargon.
9. Further Economical factors:
• There was a general strike throughout the UK in 1926 for the defence of
miners wages and hours.
• The great Wall Street stock market crash had devastating effects worldwide.
• The European economy had to give back large loans they had received from
America.
• In 1921 the King George V docks complex opened which increased the
volume of import and exports in the UK.
All of this may suggest that more loan words were coming into the English
language as if there were deals and contracts between countries they would
have to be understandable to both parties.
10. Further Political factors:
• In 1925 Winston Churchill returned to Britain to the ‘gold standard’/pound, however,
due to the strength of the British pound at the time exporting became harder and
interest rates rose which caused businesses to suffer. Furthermore, having just come out
of war, the Country wasn’t in the best financial shape, and words like ‘recession’ began
to appear for the first time.
• Women over 21 received the right to vote and were allowed to receive degrees from
Oxford University. This may have increased the use and formality of language, as women
were now allowed to be more educated and English would’ve continued to develop
because of this.
• Due to the Irish Civil War, less or potentially more words may have
entered the English language as news stories were reported and
discussions had to be held in a mutual tongue.
• In 1928 Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa became
recognised as Autonomous, which may have also encouraged more
loan words into out language.
11. Science
• Science was being offered as a way forward with additions to the lexicon
such as ‘proton’, ‘photon’, ‘insulin’ and ‘cosmic ray’.
• Additionally, space-travel jargon including ‘astronaut’, ‘rocket ship’ and
‘spacesuit’.
• Albert Einstein and his theory of ‘Relativity’.
• Alexander Fleming also discovered ‘Penicillin’ in 1928.
These inventions in medicine, science and technology
caused new words and phrases to be invented as part
of scientific progress.
12. New words and concepts
• The concepts of blending and shortening words came into use.
• Men were getting their first eyeful of ‘stripping’ and burlesque.
• ‘Organized crime’ and ‘Racketeering’ began, giving the need for ‘security’.
• Loan words such as ‘Mah-jongg’ came over from China.
As a result of these additions, mass communication could now be made easier
and quicker with the use of slang terms, shortenings and blends. As more
taboo language terms came into light, people started to be watched more
regularly causing them to alter their language (a la Observer’s Paradox).
