Skydiving through the air, feeling the wind in my hair as I make the flight down towards the ground.  That is just one of the ways to use to word down.  The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) states that the word down originated from Celtic origin and is used in many different ways to describe many things.  Things, such as the direction towards the ground or slang terms, such as dancing on the dance floor, just to name a few ways the word down can be used.  The word down has always had the same idiomatic meaning; the slang meaning is developing and keeps changing over the past years.

        According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the word down used to be spelled as dune or duna by the Odutch.  Down was used as the directional term towards the ground even when it was spelled and dune or duna.  It was first used in West Germanic dialects for Batavia and lower saxony.  Historians do not know whether the word came with the saxons or whether it was here in existence before the saxons came here.  Down was first used by the saxons and is now being used in many parts of the world.  The year 971 was the earliest date shown that the word down was used, but it was still spelled as dune.  In 1297 the spelling was changed to downe, and in 1653 it came to be spelled as down, the way it is today (OED).

     There are many meanings for the word down.  According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, �the conventional definition of the word is the directional term meaning to be close to the ground.�  While riding in an airplane someone might look out of the window and think that the people are way down below, meaning the people are far away and closer to the ground than the people in the airplane are.  This definition of the word down has not changed since it came into being years and years ago.

     Down can be used as several different parts of speech.  As an adjective the word down can mean to be sad and depressed.  It can be used in a conversation as �I am feeling very down today.�  Down as a verb can mean to get down or to dance and have fun.  �I am going to the dance tonight and am going to get down on the dance floor,� is a way to define down as a slang term.  If someone is going to get off of something like a chair, one may say, �I need to get down from here.�  That is another example of down being used as a verb. Another way to use the word is to say, �I am down with that.�  That means that someone is agreeing with another person or that whatever one is talking about is cool and that the other person agrees with what is going on.

     These four uses of the word down are all definitions that have been added into our language or way of talking.  These words have all come into being within the past century; they may not always be used but are known to exist to almost all generations.  Not one of these four definitions is standard.  Many people, because of the various meanings the word possesses and what the different generations believe or choose to accept as the meanings, do not use them.  These definitions for the word down were first used by teens from older generations; they are still used by some of them to reminisce on how things used to be.  Basically those generations do not use the slang terms anymore but do not object to having them as words in the dictionary.

     I found out from my parents that they do not really use the slang definitions for the word down but they are aware that those meanings exist.  My parents said that they think younger generations will be more likely to use those definitions.  I also talked to some of my classmates about the slang meanings; my classmates stated that they do not use the word as a slang term.  Slang terms may be brought up but they are not used often, according to the family and friends that I questioned.

     People use the word down in everyday talk, but they usually use it as the direction or as in being sad and depressed. Those two definitions are the only ones accepted into Standard American English as of this day and age.  These are definitions that people use, but they are not proper or accepted into Standard American English.

     Down is a part of Standard American English.  Without the word down there is a loss of the sense of the descending direction.  It is not a made up slang word that has no actual meaning in the English language, like the word dilly.  Dilly itself has no meaning.  It is used in the phrase �what the dilly yo.�  Which means what is going on or what is new.  Down�s definition is in the dictionary, and there would have to be a very good reason to take it out or to change it drastically.

     Advances on the definition can be made to the word down.  More research should be done on whether or not any of the slang terms or phrases like �getting down,� or �I am down with that,� should be accepted into Standard American English.  People need to research to find out if the word is used enough and the importance of the slang meanings to the way of life.  If research is done it should state that the slang terms for down are accepted by many generations.  Although they may not be used in everyday conversations they are excepted by most and therefore should be accepted into Standard American English.

    Slang terms can be used to lighten the tone in certain situations.  This also makes the conversation or situation more informal.  When talking with friends sometimes seriousness is not wanted in the conversation so slang terms will be used to lighten the mood.  An example of this is if a group of people are talking about when one person in the group fell off their chair at lunch a couple of days ago.  They could say, �he really went down hard.�  Which would mean that he fell to the ground off his chair and it looked like the fall hurt.  These slang meanings of down have other words that can describe the meanings that already exist in Standard American English.  When it is used as �getting down on the dance floor� it can just be said that someone is dancing and enjoying him or herself very much.

     These are meanings that are already accepted into Standard American English just under different terms so the slang definition should just be another way of saying something that already exists.  In contrast though slang is often used in conversations and everyday experiences.  The point of a dictionary is to invent new and different terms, so these words and expressions should be the new excepted language.  So for these purposes it is a good idea to admit the different slang definitions of the word down into Standard American English.   Getting down from something like a chair is already dealing with the conventional definition of �towards the ground,� so the only other way it can be used is to say �get off of that chair.�  These two sayings are exactly the same, it is just that two words are changed around, so that definition is actually already accepted into Standard American English, but the slang way is a new way that people use and accept.  Saying, �I am down with that,� just means that someone will go along with anything.  A word that already exists in the dictionary with the same meaning would be agree, or concede.

     Although the slang definitions already exist under some other word, the slang words are different terms so they should be accepted into Standard American English.  If these slang definitions were new definitions that are not already accepted into Standard American English, then there is a reason to argue that they should be considered but these words and definitions for these words already exist.   That is an argument against putting the definitions into Standard American English but it is not a valid one.  It states that the words are already accepted, but they are actually accepted under other words so it should be acceptable to let the slang words of down be admitted into Standard American English.  Making the slang definitions part of Standard American English would not be a repeat of material that is in existence; therefore it would be a good investment of time for the writers and readers of this material.

     The majority of people who use slang are teenagers and young adults.  While walking through the halls of a high school or even a middle school, one may hear slang coming from many mouths of students.  At times, it may not even sound like audible English.  It can sometimes sound like gibberish, which may be considered an entire language on its own.

     Teens may use this way of speaking to associate with other social groups, just as larger groups in society that speak the same language associate with one another.  When forming social groups in school, students may feel the need to have their own way of speaking.  This creates a way to differentiate and set them apart from other groups.  Not only will it differentiate them from others, but it will also create a common link between all of the members of the group.

     The use of slang also makes speaking much more simple.  When talking to friends, it is not likely that one will speak grammatically correct during the conversation.    If someone is talking, it is not likely that they will say, �Yes, I must be going now.  I have to stop at the grocery store for milk.�  A more common way of handling this conversation would be, �Yeah, I�ve gotta go down to the store.�
 Education may also be a key issue in slang.  If people have not learned the proper way to speak, they improvise and make up what they don�t know, inserting words which may not seem logically correct to someone who speaks grammatically correct.  So, if a person is poorly educated they will probably not speak correct English and therefore use slang to replace correct words.

     Slang is not looked upon in a positive manner.  Adults may think it is a very disrespectful way of speaking.  Slang can give an image of being uneducated.  It hints that a person does not care whether they speak correctly or not.  In today�s society, speaking in the right way gives a sense of respect to the speaker.

     I feel slang is inappropriate when dealing with employment and workplaces.  Among friends and family there is a more casual setting and it is not necessary to speak correctly the entire time.  However, once a person begins to speak correctly in the workplace, it will not be such a habit to speak using slang outside of work.  Therefore, the use of the word down as a slang term would not be accepted in the workplace.  Down, as a slang term, can be used when talking about skydiving through the air and be appropriate.

Stephanie Suchar