American military slang: the influence of the war on terror

The article considers the development of American military slang in the course of the War on Terror, an ongoing large-scale armed conflict whose aim is to demolish Islamic terrorism organizations in the Middle East. Lexical units of American military slang of the time are examined and analyzed. The authors classify them thematically. Explanations of the means of their formation are given after each unit. It has been shown that they encompass the entire range of means of formation. Loanwords are an important component of any language and, indeed, the vast majority of languages are heavily influenced by loanwords. In the context of the War on Terror it has been shown that loanwords denoting new military technology had a significant impact on the development of American military slang during this period. Also, the new political and military realia led to the creation of many new slang terms. Finally, the location of the War on Terror (the Greater Middle East) gave rise to many slang terms. A conclusion is made on the significant influence of the War on Terror on the development of American military slang. It thus follows that linguists working in the sphere of military translation today ought to pay greater attention to the changes in English military vocabulary which took place during the War on Terror.

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