Editing Slang (section)

=== Indexicality ===
Slang is usually associated with a particular social group and plays a role in constructing identity. While slang outlines social space, attitudes about slang partly construct group identity and identify individuals as members of groups. Therefore, using the slang of a particular group associates an individual with that group. [[Michael Silverstein]]'s orders of [[indexicality]] can be employed to assign a slang term as a second-order index to that particular group. Using a slang term, however, can also give an individual the qualities associated with the term's group of origin, whether or not the individual is trying to identify as a member of the group. This allocation of qualities based on abstract group association is known as third-order indexicality.

As outlined in Elisa Mattiello's book "An Introduction to English Slang",<ref name="Mattiello">{{cite book|last=Mattiello|first=Elisa|title=An Introduction to English Slang - A Description of its Morphology, Semantics and Sociology|year=2008|publisher=Polimetrica|location=Milano|isbn=978-8876991134}}</ref> a slang term can assume several levels of meaning and can be used for many reasons connected with identity. For example, male adolescents use the terms "foxy" and "shagadelic" to "show their belonging to a band, to stress their virility or their age, to reinforce connection with their peer group and to exclude outsiders, to show off, etc." These two examples use both traditional and nontraditional methods of word formation to create words with more meaning and expressiveness than the more direct and traditional words "sexy" and "beautiful": 
* The slang term "foxy" is arguably not even a case of word formation since this process, (denominal adjective with -y suffix from "fox") already occurred in the formation of this word with its standard English meanings of "foxlike, crafty, cunning". Instead, the traditional word's meaning is extended<ref>Mattiello: "From the semantic point of view, it instead acquires a novel sense which departs from the standard English meaning. It is frequently used among young men, who apply it to ‘attractive, desirable, pretty, sexy’ women."</ref> to "attractive, desirable, pretty, sexy" with the following added implications according to Mattiello: 
<blockquote>From the semantic point of view, slangy ''foxy'' is more loaded than neutral ''sexy'' in terms of information provided. That is, for young people ''foxy'' means having the quality of: (1) attracting interest, attention, affection, (2) causing desire, (3) excellent or admirable in appearance, and (4) sexually provocative, exciting, etc., whereas ''sexy'' only refers to the quality indicated in point (4).</blockquote>
* "shagadelic" is a combination of a slang term with a slang [[suffix]] and therefore is considered an "extra-grammatical" creation.

Matiello stresses that those [[Agency (sociology)|agents]] who identify themselves as "young men" have "genuinely coined" these terms and choose to use them over "canonical" terms —like beautiful or sexy—because of the indexicalized social identifications the former convey.

==== First and second order indexicality ====
In terms of first and second order indexicality, the usage of speaker-oriented terms  by male adolescents indicated their membership to their age group, to reinforce connection to their peer group, and to exclude outsiders.<ref name=Mattiello />

==== Higher-order indexicality ====
In terms of higher order indexicality, anyone using these terms may desire to appear fresher, undoubtedly more playful, faddish, and colourful than someone who employs the standard English term "beautiful". This appearance relies heavily on the hearer's third-order understanding of the term's associated social nuances and presupposed use-cases.<ref name=Mattiello />