Abstract:Slang, a kind of colloquial speech of English, has been widely used in many informal occasions. In modern society, each social group has its special language. It seems like a dialect which has been used in social and cultural life. We can find that slang is one of the most active parts in English vocabularies. Nearly one tenth of English words are slangs which are widely used in Americans’ daily life, even both in the social daily life and literature works. So as for a foreign language learner, we need to know and master the expression and application of slang well, so as to master this language properly and easily.

American slang and British slang belong to the same language system. They have many similarities, but they still have some differences. In this thesis, American slang is the main subject of study. The thesis will study from the origin and development of slang, the characteristics, the use of slangs in social and cultural life and their impacts on it. Then we can know that slang has been used in every social life and is taking the role of promoter in the culture communication around the world. 

Key words: American slangs; characteristics; impact

摘要:俚语，是一种英语口语，它在非正式场合下使用非常广泛。当代社会，每个社会群体都有着它们自己独特的语言。俚语就像是一种方言一样，被运用到社会文化生活之中。研究发现，俚语是英语语言中最为活跃的部分。美国人日常使用的英语单词中，大约十分之一的单词是俚语，无论在日常交际还是通俗文学作品中都广泛使用。因此，对于外语学习者来说，要想准确生动地掌握这门语言，就必须熟悉并掌握俚语的表达及应用。

虽然美式俚语和英式俚语是属于同一语言系统，有很多相像的地方，但同时也存在一些不同之处。本论文主要以美式俚语为研究对象，从俚语的起源、发展、表现特征、社会生活与文化生活中的应用及其所带来的影响进行较为深入的探讨，最终得出：俚语已经渗透到社会生活的各个方面，并促进着文化的交流和融通。

关键词：美式俚语；特征；影响