by Michael Adams
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Product Description
In its seven years on television, Buffy the Vampire Slayer earned critical acclaim and a massive cult following among teen viewers. One of the most distinguishing features of the show is the innovative way its writers play with language--fabricating new words, morphing existing ones, and throwing usage on its head. The result has been a strikingly resonant lexicon that reflects the power of both youth culture and television in the evolution of American slang. Using the show to illustrate how new slang is formed, transformed, and transmitted, Slayer Slang is one of those rare books that combines a serious explanation of a pop culture phenomenon with an engrossing read for Buffy fans, language mavens, and pop culture critics. Noted linguist Michael Adams offers a synopsis of the program's history, an essay on the nature and evolution of the show's language, and a detailed glossary of slayer slang, annotated with actual dialogue. Introduced by Jane Espenson, one of the show's most inventive writers (and herself a linguist), Slayer Slang offers a quintessential example of contemporary youth culture serving as a vehicle for slang.
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Dry as dust and more disappointing, 2007-05-15
This is probably the only Buffy book which has bored me. I thought I was interested in Buffy-speak, and that's why I bought this book. But it only took about two paragraphs to put me to sleep, every time. It's very, very dry, and I think that people who don't have an academic background in linguistics would find it as impenetrable as I did. I'm sure that it's a very thorough piece of work - I just wasn't able to understand much of what Adams wrote. One other thing I didn't like was that much of the language referred to is used only on the fan discussion boards e.g. The Bronze. In my opinion, only Buffy-isms found in the show itself should have been included.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
 Uber-awesome, 2005-10-29
I love how the characters on Buffy speak. So distinctive and so funny and so clever. And now here's a book all about their use of language and "Slayer Slang!!!!" Sometimes I wish Buffy weren't so successful on TV, because other shows have tried to imitate this way of speaking and the results have been awful. Exhibit #1: Charmed. But as for Buffy, it's all good, and this book is great reading for fans, because the way that Buffy and her Scooby friends talk is a critical appeal of the show. I highly recommend this if you like the Buffyverse.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
nice reference, 2005-08-15
I enjoy the banter on BTVS, and I'm glad that someone thought to create an entire book full of character quotes. The book also has it's own history of vampyr and gives more background information about characters in case an episode was missed. A good book for any BTVS fan.
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
An intellectual, fun read, 2005-04-04
This is not your typical collection of academic essays on "Buffy" ( How long I've waited to use that phrase!). Adams' book is a foray into the linguistic and lexiconical depths of the show. This is not the first piece written about the peculiar dialect of "Slayer Slang," but is perhaps the deepest investigation thus far. This is due, at least in part, to Mr. Adams' considerable background in linguistics and associated fields. Overall, he treats the material with the necessary gravitas while still celebrating its levity.
Recommended for all true Buffyologists
0 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
 A tedious read, 2005-02-01
Although I am a fan of this series, I found Adams' writing style to be monotonous, convoluted, and dull. It's a shame that the disorganized style of the writer prevents readers from being able to truly enjoy the half way interesting concepts addressed in his book. I think this is a fascinating topic, but unfortunately Adams was not able to pull of this type of book due to his ostentatious writing style. I doubt I would read another Adams book again, but if someone else wrote on this subject I would be interested.
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