Slang

For other uses, see Slang (disambiguation).

Slang is the use of highly informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's dialect or language. Slang is very often colloquial; the language and dialect tend to be specific to a particular territory.

Slang terms are frequently particular to a certain subculture, such as musicians, and members of a minority. All the same, slang expressions can spread outside their original arena and become commonly understood; recent examples include "cool". While some such words eventually lose their status as slang, others continue to be considered as such by most speakers. In spite of this, the process tends to lead to their replacement by other, less well-recognised, expressions by their original users.

Slang is to be distinguished from jargon, the technical vocabulary of a particular profession, as the association of informality is not present. Moreover, jargon may not be intended to exclude non-group members from the conversation, but rather deals with technical peculiarities of a given field which require a specialized vocabulary.

According to Bethany K. Dumas and Jonathan Lighter, an expression should be considered "true slang" if it meets at least two of the following criteria:

• It lowers, if temporarily, "the dignity of formal or serious speech or writing"; in other words, it is likely to be seen in such contexts as a "glaring misuse of register."
• Its use implies that the user is familiar with whatever is referred to, or with a group of people that are familiar with it and use the term.
• "It is a taboo term in ordinary discourse with people of a higher social status or greater responsibility."
• It replaces "a well known conventional synonym". This is especially to avoid "the discomfort caused by the conventional item [or by] further elaboration."

Functions and origins of slang

One use of slang is simply to circumvent social taboos, as mainstream language tends to shy away from explicitly evoking certain realities. For this reason, slang vocabularies are particularly rich in certain domains, such as sexuality, violence, crime, and drugs.

Alternatively, slang can grow out of mere familiarity with the things described. Among Californian wine connoisseurs, Cabernet Sauvignon might be known as "Cab", Chardonnay as "Chard" and so on; this means that naming the different wines expends less superfluous effort. It also serves as a shared code among connoisseurs.

Although slang is normally perceived as the creation of a social group rather than an individual, some famous figures are credited with creating slang: examples include popular rap figures such as "Snoop Dogg". Even in emerging social fields such as professional gaming, figures such as John Bentley or David Bordett have used words that were coined and accepted among their peers.

There is not just one slang, but very many varieties — or dialects — of it. Different social groups in different times have developed their own slang. The importance of encryption and identity, of having a secret code or language, varies between these instances. For slang to maintain its power as a means of encryption, it must constantly be renewed. Many slang words are replaced, as speakers get bored of them or they are co-opted by those outside the group. For this reason, the existence of slang dictionaries reduces the perceived usefulness of certain slang words to those who use them.

Numerous slang terms pass into informal mainstream speech, and thence sometimes into formal mainstream formal speech, though this may involve a change in meaning or usage.

Slang very often involves the creation of novel meanings for existing words. It is very common for such novel meanings to diverge significantly from the standard meaning. Thus, "cool" and "hot" can both mean "very good or impressive." In fact, one common process is for a slang word to take on exactly the opposite meaning of the standard definition. This process has given rise to the positive meaning of the word "bad," as in the Michael Jackson song of that title, for example.

Polari is an interesting example of slang that drew on various sources, including Cockney and Italian. Polari was used in London fish markets and the gay subculture in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s, becoming more widely known from its use by two camp characters, Julian and Sandy, in Round the Horne, a popular radio show.

Slang terms are often only known within the community of users. For example, Leet Speak (Leet or "1337") is a "language" that is popular among online video gamers. Another example of slang being derived from a specific element in popular culture is Nadsat, a form of slang used in the book A Clockwork Orange, which borrows words from the Russian language and from various forms of English slang.