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<P><BR>I don't know where the origin for the "DL" began but I attend Arizona State University and the students use it as slang for "keep me on the Down Load" which is a computer term and the students use it to mean "keep me informed." I took Language in a Popular culture this past semester and one of our activies was to go around to different people on campus listening and writing down the different slang that was used. That was one word that came up alot and when I asked what the word meant the class was in agreement that it is "Down Load" or to be informed. I never have heard it used with African American slang. This is also the first that I am hearing "DL" to be "Down Low." </P></DIV>
<P>Best, </P></DIV>
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<P>Ray Villegas/Student at ASU</P>
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<DIV></DIV>>From: Michael Newman <MNEWMAN@QC.EDU>
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<DIV></DIV>>Reply-To: American Dialect Society <ADS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
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<DIV></DIV>>To: ADS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
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<DIV></DIV>>Date: Mon, 6 May 2002 08:25:12 -0400
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<DIV></DIV>>"On the d.l." is common New York (and other places too I'm sure).
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<DIV></DIV>>hip-hop slang. It may or may not have started in prisons. It is not
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<DIV></DIV>>really
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<DIV></DIV>>accurate to describe it as African American because it's kinda "post
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<DIV></DIV>>racial" (an interesting term in and of itself) in the sense that hip
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<DIV></DIV>>hop is. It's used by Latinos, Whites and Caribbeans 'who are down
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<DIV></DIV>>with hip-hop' much as by African Americans, and I think it is pretty
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<DIV></DIV>>much avoided by African Americans
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<DIV></DIV>>others who avoid identifying with that peer culture. I only heard it
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<DIV></DIV>>a
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<DIV></DIV>>few months ago for the first time, but I heard "On the down low" at
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<DIV></DIV>>least 6 years ago. It is not surprising that the slang would have
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<DIV></DIV>>moved on to the (pretty transparent) initials. I do a slang survey
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<DIV></DIV>>every year in my ling 101, and some of my Orthodox Jewish students
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<DIV></DIV>>mentioned "On the down low," an obvious indication that it has come
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<DIV></DIV>>to the end of its
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<DIV></DIV>>run. BTW, they're also saying "my bad." there are a number of
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<DIV></DIV>>hip-hop
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<DIV></DIV>>dictionaries. This one derives "on the down low" from "low profile"
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<DIV></DIV>>--
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<DIV></DIV>>http://www.rapdict.org
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<DIV></DIV>>(look under 'd' not 'o')
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<DIV></DIV>>--
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<DIV></DIV>>Michael Newman
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<DIV></DIV>>Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics
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<DIV></DIV>>Dept. of Linguistics and Communication Disorders
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<DIV></DIV>>Queens College/CUNY
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<DIV></DIV>>Flushing, NY 11367
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