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| - Slang is funny! The way to capitalize on this funny is to introduce a hip, streetwise character who speaks entirely in an urban dialect that is almost (or entirely) incomprehensible by the suburban honkeys at whom the show is aimed. Generally, any slang involved will be at least five years out of date (or more), because it takes about that long for it to bubble up (or sink down) to the TV writers. It will also be toned down to remove profanity and vulgarities. For extra comedy, the character who speaks in slang should be for some reason unable to stop speaking in slang, as if it were a foreign language. He'll insist on speaking only in impenetrable slang even in contexts where even the most streetwise punk would realize he'd get farther if he lightened up a bit. The lightest form of this will involve a character trying to high-five a "square" (or some other "hip" handshaking alternative), who is so unhip that he has no idea at all how to return the gesture. This at least is Truth in Television.
* Have a "square" try to speak slang, and have it sound comical, forced, and incorrect.
* Have an unlikely character be fluent in slang.
* Have the slang-speaker actually call the square a "Jive turkey". Generally, by the end of the episode, our hero will have gained a new respect for the slang-speaker, and the last line of the episode will be the hero using some line of slang correctly, demonstrating that he is now hip to their jive, homes. If hip streetwise folks ever spoke like that, they certainly don't now. Because the speakers are generally of a darker complexion than the regulars, this probably feeds the stereotype that persons of color are inarticulate (and that persons of non-color are tongue-tied and boring), even though street lingo can be quite elaborate. (Indeed, Muhammad Ali is universally recognized as one of the most eloquent athletes of his generation, inspiring a lot of modern-day Trash Talk.) Thankfully, this is now a Discredited Trope. Unfortunately, it proves to be quite the resilient Undead Horse Trope and is still actively used in sitcoms and kid shows. Compare Totally Radical. Often afflicts a Disco Dan. Not to be confused with Buffy-Speak. Examples of Jive Turkey include:
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