“Survival of the fittest” – the evolution of slanguage

A puzzling feature of slang is its life cycle. As James Hardy Vaux’s early nineteenth-century glossary of convict slang reveals, most expressions are “the mayflies of language”–vibrant but short-lived (e.g. barnacles ‘spectacles’). The few that survive become part of the mainstream–time drains them of their vibrancy (e.g. patter ‘talk’). Yet, a puzzling few still manage to sound strikingly modern, even a little “disgraceful”, as Vaux described them (e.g. croak ‘to die’). This paper investigates examples of success within slanguage, particularly Australian slanguage. Drawing upon historical examples from Vaux’s collection, modern examples from Jack Grieve’s internet slang and from the findings of a 2021 survey, in which participants supplied their favourite Australian slang terms, the paper attempts to pinpoint factors that might account for why some expressions are more than just a fleeting fad. Tales of prosperous slang demonstrate how survivors participate in a complex network of interacting influences, only inadequate glimpses of which can be provided here. Slang histories epitomize disorderliness and multifaceted causation. This is not to say the changes are totally random, but (like biological evolution) they are hugely complex, with contingent internal and external factors, snowballing effects and elements of chance.