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This type of communication frequently leaves the 'g' off the end of words. "Talking" becomes "talkin'".

Also, it combines certain small phrases into one. "What's that?" becomes "Wuzzat?"

The best example I can think of would be the comic book characters Nick Fury and Howard the Duck who speak like this in the comics.

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Probably AAVE but there isn't much to go on in the question. – Andrew Leach Sep 28 '12 at 14:01
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What's wrong with just "street" or "street-talk". I've heard them said before. – Urbycoz Sep 28 '12 at 14:58
There's slang, there are street, colloquial, teen lingo, ... and there's even the beautiful rustic. No one-size-fits term would be nice here. – Kris Sep 28 '12 at 14:58
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I don't agree with calling this unintelligent in any sense at all. – Kris Sep 28 '12 at 14:59
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In support of Kris's comment, here's what the leading British linguist David Crystal has said on this subject: ‘There is of course no correlation whatever between the sound of a language or dialect and the level of intelligence or sociability of its speakers. The only reason we might think otherwise is because for generations people were told so by their – for want of a better word – "betters".’ – Barrie England Sep 28 '12 at 16:04
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5 Answers

up vote 10 down vote

I think I would put this in the category of colloquial speech:

colloquial:

  1. Characteristic of or appropriate to the spoken language or to writing that seeks the effect of speech; informal.
  2. Relating to conversation; conversational.

Individual instances of this, "Whazzup?" for example, would be called colloquialisms.

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up vote 5 down vote

Depending on whether you want to be disparaging, neutral, or approving, you could refer to this as sloppy/slurred, casual/colloquial/familiar/informal , or natural/formal/careful speech.

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up vote 4 down vote

The term vernacular might fit here. Merriam-Webster's entry says:

a: using a language or dialect native to a region or country rather than a literary, cultured, or foreign language

b: of, relating to, or being a nonstandard language or dialect of a place, region, or country

It is elsewhere defined as:

a. The everyday language spoken by a people as distinguished from the literary language. See Synonyms at dialect.

b. A variety of such everyday language specific to a social group or region: the vernaculars of New York City.

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up vote 0 down vote

'Basilect' might be what you are looking for. From OED:

basilect, n.

Pronunciation: /ˈbæsɪlɛkt/

In a post-creole community, the social dialect that is most closely related to the creole and furthest removed from the standard language; also, the least prestigious or ‘lowest’ variety of any language.

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up vote -1 down vote

"Ghetto" also comes to mind. (@FumbleFingers)

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If you're an awful person. – Evan Harper Sep 30 '12 at 15:20

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