Did Dublin's Ben Lang Ever Die?: On the revival of rhyming slang in modern Dublinese

Abstract

While much has been written on the linguistic and sociolinguistic features of rhyming slang, the literature on the subject remains remarkably silent on its socio-geographical distribution in Ireland. Building on the findings of an article published by the author in 2004, this new study moves the analysis on to consider the recent growth of rhyming slang in the language of the young generation living on the Southside of Dublin. More generally, this article seeks to demonstrate that, far from having disappeared from Dublin usage, this kind of slang is in fact gaining substantial ground in the speech of the capital.

Expressive devices in the language of English- and Spanish-speaking youth

“…Notes 1. For a full discussion of rhyming slang, see Lillo (1998Lillo ( , 2008Lillo ( , 2010Lillo ( , 2012. 2.…”

Coronavirus rhyming slang

“…On the nature of coronavirus RS RS tends to be associated with Cockney and popular London English, but it is also relatively common in other urban dialects in Britain, Ireland and Australia (see Seal, 2009;Lillo, 2010Lillo, , 2012Lillo, , 2013. We all know how it works.…”

A bit o’ footy rabbit: Some notes on football rhyming slang

“…But even more noteworthy than the dictionary's constant accretion of RS is the sheer breadth of its spread, itself both a cause and a consequence of its rapid growth. Originally starting out as part of the private language of London's underworld and underclass (see Mayhew 1850;Hotten 1859: 133-137), RS can now be found in almost every corner of the anglophone world, from Glasgow to Hong Kong, from Sydney to Washington, and across a wide spectrum of social groups (see Franklyn 1960: 15-21;Lillo 2004Lillo a, 2010Lillo , 2012Lillo , 2013DoERS: x-xii).…”