Slang: It's use and meaning

Few linguists have endeavored to clearly define what constitutes slang. Attempting to remedy this, Bethany K. Dumas and Jonathan Lighter argue that 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 considered in those contexts a "glaring misuse of register." Its use implies that the user is familiar with whatever is referred to, or with a group of people who are familiar with it and use the term. "It's 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 done primarily to avoid discomfort caused by the conventional synonym or discomfort or annoyance caused by having to elaborate further.

Michael Adams remarks that "[slang] is liminal language... it is often impossible to tell, even in context, which interests and motives it serves... Slang is on the edge."And while efforts like Adams' open slang up for discussion, introductory definitions like his and Partridge's "Slang To-Day and Yesterday" offer "little more than a sketch" of what slang is. Slang dictionaries, collecting thousands of slang entries, offer a broad, empirical window into the motivating forces behind slang.

While many forms of language may be considered "sub-standard", slang remains distinct from colloquial and jargon terms because of its specific social contexts. While considered inappropriate in formal writing, colloquial terms are typically considered acceptable in speech across a wide range of contexts, while slang tends to be considered unacceptable in many contexts. Jargon refers to language used by personnel in a particular field, or language used to represent specific terms within a field to those with a particular interest. Although jargon and slang can both be used to exclude