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Chav

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Chav (Template:PronEng) is a derogatory term applied to certain young people in the United Kingdom. The stereotypical "chav" is an aggressive teenager or young adult, who is usually, though not always, of working class background,[1] who often engages in anti-social behaviour,[1] and is often assumed to be unemployed or in a low paid job. It first appeared in English dictionaries in 2005.[2][3] The term Charver is more widely used in Yorkshire and North East England.

Caricature of a chav

Chavette is a term generally used for female chavs, similarly to lad and ladette.

Response to the term has ranged from amusement to criticism that it is a new manifestation of classism.[4] One BBC TV documentary suggested that "chav" culture is an evolution of previous working-class youth subcultures associated with particular commercial clothing styles, such as mods, skinheads and casuals.[5] The term has been associated with juvenile delinquency, the ASBO Generation and yob culture.

Etymology

The word may have its origins in Romani language.[6][7] One suggested etymology for "chav" is that it derives from the Romani word chavo, meaning boy (cf. "yob" - a reversal of boy).[7][8] This is similar to the colloquial Spanish word chaval and "Chavo", meaning "Kid" or "guy" which again is usually free from negative connotation. The Romani chavo appears to have transferred to the Nonantum, Massachusetts dialect as "chabby", though without the negative connotations of "chav". The Kentish dialect used to refer to children as "Chaveys". [9] An alternative etymology suggests that pupils at Cheltenham Ladies' College and Cheltenham College used the word to describe the younger men of the town ("Cheltenham Average").[8][10]

Many folk etymologies have sprung up around the word. These include backronyms such as "Council Housed And Violent".[11]

The term "chav" has regional variations, such as "charver" in the northeast of England.[11]

Popularisation in the media

By 2004 it was used in national newspapers and in common parlance in the UK. Susie Dent's Larpers and Shroomers: The Language Report, published by the Oxford University Press, designated it as the "word of the year"[12] in 2004.[13] A survey in 2005 found that in December 2004 alone 114 British newspaper articles used the word. The popularity of the word has led to the creation of sites devoted to cataloguing and mocking the "chav" lifestyle.

The chav "culture" has been portrayed in the British media:

  • The Welsh rap group, Goldie Lookin' Chain, have been described as both embodying and satirising the chav aesthetic, though the group themselves deny any such agenda, simply making a mockery of the subject.[14] The British car-tuning magazine Max Power once had a beige Mk3 Vauxhall Cavalier stickered to make it look like the Burberry check, named it the "Chavalier" and gave it to the band.
  • In the 2005 reality TV programme Bad Lads Army: Officer Class, a number of small time thieves and street brawlers underwent 1950s style National Service Army training to see which of them would be worthy of becoming a British Army officer. The motto of the show was to convert "chavs" into "chaps".[citation needed]

Commercial effect

Burberry is a clothing company whose products became associated with the "chav" stereotype. Burberry's appeal to "chav" fashion sense is a sociological example of prole drift, where an up-market product begins to be consumed en masse by a lower socio-economic group. Burberry has argued that the brand's popular association with "chav" fashion sense is linked to counterfeit versions of the clothing. "They’re yesterday's news", stated Stacey Cartwright, the CEO of Burberry. "It was mostly counterfeit, and Britain accounts for less than 10% of our sales anyway."[23] The company has taken a number of steps to distance itself from the stereotype. It ceased production of its own branded baseball cap in 2004 and has scaled back the use of its trademarked checkered/tartan design to such an extent that it now only appears on the inner linings and other very low-key positions of their clothing.[24][25] It has also taken legal action against high-profile infringements of the brand. In August 2006, a company introducing tuk-tuk vehicles into the south coast town of Brighton, England named one the "Chavrolet", which had it painted in the distinctive Burberry tartan. However, the company soon had to withdraw this vehicle when Burberry threatened proceedings for breach of copyright.[26]

The large supermarket chain Asda has attempted to trademark the word "chav" for a new line of confectionery. A spokeswoman said: "With slogans from characters in shows such as Little Britain and The Catherine Tate Show providing us with more and more contemporary slang, our Whatever sweets — now nicknamed chav hearts — have become very popular with kids and grown-ups alike. We thought we needed to give them some respect and have decided to trademark our sweets."[27]

Music

The average Chav will usually listen to music genres such as rave, trance, house, garage and drum and bass. They also listen to artists like Justin Timberlake, Dizzee Rascal, Basshunter, Cascada and many others.[citation needed]

Chavs will sometimes listen to mainstream bands that they think are 'indie' in order to fit in with the modern society. These bands include The Kooks, Kings of Leon, Oasis, UB40 and The Arctic Monkeys.[citation needed]

See also

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References

  1. ^ a b c Smith, Alison (2005-06-14). "Media student 'expert on chavs'". BBC News.
  2. ^ "'Asbo' and 'chav' make dictionary". BBC News. 2005-06-08. Retrieved 2006-09-02.
  3. ^ Tweedie, Neil (2005-08-10). "Don't be a plank. Read this and get really clueful". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2006-09-02.
  4. ^ John, Harris (2006-04-11). "Bottom of the Class" (HTML). The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-02-24.
  5. ^ "British Style Genius". Season 1. Episode 5. 2008-11-04. 59 minutes in. BBC. {{cite episode}}: Missing or empty |series= (help)
  6. ^ "Savvy Chavvy: social entrepreneurs engage gypsies". The Telegraph. 2008-07-24. Retrieved 2008-12-24.
  7. ^ a b Quinion, Michael. "Chav". Retrieved 2009-02-23.
  8. ^ a b http://www.oup.com/elt/catalogue/teachersites/oald7/wotm/wotm_archive/chav?cc=dk
  9. ^ In Newton, they still speak the language of the lake Erica Noonan. Boston Globe. September 13, 2001.
  10. ^ Tweedie, Neil (2004-12-13). "Cheltenham ladies and the chavs". Daily Telegraph. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ a b Anoop Nayak and Steve Drayton. "To charv or not to charver - that is the question". Inside Out - North East. BBC. Retrieved 2006-01-19. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ Noel-Tod, Jeremy (2005-04-03). "Colourful whitewash". The Times Literary Supplement. Retrieved 2007-05-30.
  13. ^ "AskOxford: Larpers and Shroomers: the Language Report". Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2006-03-04.
  14. ^ "Goldie Lookin' Chain: Chain reaction". The Independent. 2004-08-13.
  15. ^ Wheeler, Brian (2005-06-30). "Leave chavs alone, say MPs". BBC News.
  16. ^ Patrick, Guy (2005). "Chav a merry Xmas, Roo". The Sun.
  17. ^ Davis, Johnny (2006-04-15). "Lady Sovereign: The country's fourth biggest chav". The Independent.
  18. ^ Byrnes, Sholto (2005-09-11). "Say cheese! Camilla and the Queen of Chav enjoy two right royal". The Independent.
  19. ^ McVeigh, Karen (2004-10-19). "Doff your caps to the chavs ...they're THE word of 2004". The Scotsman.
  20. ^ The Chav Rich List | Mail Online
  21. ^ http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=503532&in_page_id=34
  22. ^ [1]
  23. ^ King, Ian (2005-01-12). "Burberry not chavin' it". The Sun.
  24. ^ "The £16m woman takes on Burberry". The Times.
  25. ^ "Check out the height of ferret fashion. Burberry has". The Telegraph.
  26. ^ Kwintner, Adrian (13 September 2006). ""Burberry drives tuk-tuk off road"". Brighton & Hove Argus. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  27. ^ "Asda tries to trade mark "chav"". AOL NEWS.

Further reading

  • Keith Hayward and Majid Yar (2006). "The "chav" phenomenon: Consumption, media and the construction of a new underclass". Crime, Media, Culture. 2 (1): 9–28. doi:10.1177/1741659006061708.

Articles

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