ben aley blog 2

A facet of the novel that I find intriguing is the slang that is used. Slang is a lasting, definitive feature of a culture. People still associate "groovy" with the 1960's, "far out" with the 70's, and "radical" with the 80's. There is a lot of slang that was prevalent in recent generations that is in the modern zeitgeist, either by the term lasting through time or a renaissance of the word's use. I imagine that Gary Shteyngart had a fun time projecting 15-20 years into the future and determining what slang the characters would use. I enjoy how he strikes a balance between new terms and terms that are present in today's vernacular. Most of the new slang has to do with the technological advances that occur between now and the setting of his dystopian novel. Someone is "Media" if they are current and important in the technological community. In the super-superficial society, people are judged on their credit score as a main indicator of their life's worth, so there are High-Net Worth Individuals (HNWI's) and Low-Net Worth Individuals (LNWI's). However, there is still a lot of slang that is common in present times. Just as "dip" (to leave a place) and "aight" (alright) are 90's terms that are still used now, Shteyngart integrates modern slang into his character's speech. This ranges from spanish monikers like "amigo" and "cabrón" to more general terms like "cool" or "ace".