The word 'SICK'

Independent Study for Half term: English Language: Usage of the word ‘sick’

Obviously, the act of being ‘sick’ is where one vomits, perhaps down to illness or several other biological reasons. However perhaps over the past decade, the usage of the word ‘sick’ has undergone amelioration and has been used to describe something as good or ‘cool’. Perhaps upon hearing the phrase, you would be led to believe that it may connote something negative, however the act of ‘being sick’ is now used as an empty adjective, such as ‘that’s sick’ or ‘how sick is that’. The phrase is used predominantly by millennial, those who have accessibility to digital technology and are frequent ‘texters’. It is said that the phrase first came from skateboarders in the US, who would describe certain tricks as ‘sick’ to define something as ill or absurd. It perhaps could be mentioned that even skaters have their own discourse, with phrases such as ‘gnarly’, ‘rad’ etc.. all being frequently utilized. Of course, this use of phrase may have spread due to social mobility and of course, the introduction of digital technology. An interpretation of this can be that others started to adopt this phrase into their language, perhaps to elevate their social status. Thereby meaning that more and more people started to use the phrase. It could also be said that the word ‘sick’ has not only gone through amelioration, but also through semantic conversion. Semantic conversion is the proposition that words change their actual word class over time, meaning the actual context in which we use the word may change.

 At first, the word ‘sick’ was purely a dynamic verb ‘being sick’, or the concrete noun ‘the sick’, but it has now shifted to an empty adjective. What makes the word ‘sick’ so interesting is how something which can be considered quite repellent, yet now carries connotations of something appealing. The same can be applied with the word ‘wicked’, which at first was an adjective to show something which was absurd and weird, however to call something ‘wicked’ it is now seen as pleasant. Now, a foremost contextual factor when considering the usage of these words is that it is mostly used by teenagers. For years there have been debates as to whether teenagers use certain language to ostracize themselves for their superiors. Perhaps implying that the usage of these words, which were once used in a negative context, are used by teenagers to diverge away from others.