Slayer Slang: A Buffy the Vampire Slayer Lexicon.(Book Review)

Slayer Slang: A Buffy the Vampire Slayer Lexicon. Michael Adams. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.

The television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003) attracted critical acclaim, a devoted fan base, and much academic attention, including an international conference and numerous books and articles. Michael Adams joins the academy's engagement with Sunnydale's finest with this intriguing book, Slayer Slang: A Buffy the Vampire Slayer Lexicon.

As Adams notes, language in Buffy is an essential part of the show's appeal to a broad audience. Although the characters employ general American slang, they also engage in clever word play and use words in creative, humorous ways. Adams was hooked when he heard "Love makes you do the wacky" (71), but any regular viewer could provide favorite quotes, from "Undead American" as the politically correct form for a vampire to Buffy's mother referring to her support of her daughter's lifestyle as having "marched in the Slayer pride parade." The Sunnydale police were "taking witness arias" during the musical episode. Thus, Buffy is a rich source for contemporary language use and innovation, and a venue for spreading new forms. This is worth study because it provides a historical snapshot of ephemeral language--the living language, the real language used by real people--before the usage changes yet again and we lose the transformative stage. Adams believes that "knowing American culture of our time fully requires knowing about Buffy the Vampire Slayer and slayer slang" (124).

The first chapter delves into the language of vampire slaying, illustrating three orders of slayer jargon and discussing why some terms, like Chosen One, remain specific to the vocation of the Slayer, while others, like Slayer, take several variants (slayage, SlayerFest), and others are exported from the fictional Sunnydale to the fan community. The Bronze is both a gathering place for the ...