Slang as something other than language

[Laurence Horn]

At 9:26 AM -0800 12/5/08, Arnold Zwicky wrote:
>On Dec 5, 2008, at 8:28 AM, Larry Horn wrote:
>
>>At 9:41 AM -0500 12/5/08, Grant Barrett wrote:
>>>
>>>... 2008 MSNBC (Dec. 4) Andy Dehnart "'For the Record,' Britney
>>>reveals
>>>very little" <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27931958/>: Britney insists
>>>she is "a very private person" and later says, "I used to be a cool
>>>chick, you know? And I feel like the paparazzi has taken my whole
>>>cool
>>>slang away from me...
>>
>>Interesting too that she seems to use "paparazzi" as a mass term (I
>>assume it's not just one paparzzo she's disturbed by)...
>
>that would take "paparazzi" down the route that "media" followed some
>time ago.
>
>the most common treatment of "paparazzi" is not massification, but use
>as a singular count noun (as well as a plural): many many occurrences
>of "a/one paparazzi" as well as "this paparazzi" 'this paparazzo'.
>
Right, that lone paparazzi eating his panini sandwich.

LH

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