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Slang
• vocabulary, idiom, etc, that is not appropriate to the
standard form of a language or to formal contexts, may be
restricted as to social status or distribution, and is
characteristically more metaphorical and transitory than
standard language.
• usually not limited to any region. It includes newly coined words, shortened

forms, and standard words used playfully out of their usual context.

• Its use implies that the user is familiar with whatever is referredto, or
with a group of people that are familiar with it and use theterm.

• It is a taboo term in ordinary discourse with people of a highersocial

status or greater responsibility.

• It replaces "a well known conventional synonym." This is done

primarily to avoid "the discomfort caused by the conventionalitem [or
by] further elaboration.

• Even within a single language community, slang tends to varywidely across s

ocial, ethnic, economic, and geographic strata.Slang may fall into disuse
over time; sometimes, however, it growsmore and more common until it

becomes the dominant way ofsaying something, at which time it usually

comes to be regarded as mainstream, acceptable language. Example OKAY.

• The following is a small sample of American

slang descriptive of a broad range of subjects:

of madness—loony, nuts, psycho;

of crime—heist, gat, hit, heat, grifter;

of men—dude, hombre, hunk;

of drunkenness—sloshed, plastered, stewed, looped, trashed, smashed;

of drugs—horse, high, stoned, tripping; ;

of states of mind—uptight, wired, mellow, laid back;

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the verb to go —scram, split, scoot, tip;miscellaneous phrases— get it together, ch

il, he does his thing, what's her story, I'm not into that.

Jargon
Jargon is terminology that relates to a specific activity, profession
or group. Much like slang it develops as a kind of shorthand, to quickly
express ideas that are frequently discussed betweenmembers of a group. In
many cases a standard term may be given amore precise or specialized
usage among practitioners of a field. Inmany cases this may cause a barrier
to communication as manymay not understand. In general, jargon is
distinguished from argot.
Uses of jargon
Jargon is used in several fields, among which some are:
• Sports: One can find Jargon just by watching a sports broadcast,
where
commentators will often use jargon specific to the gamewhich may hol
d little or no meaning to those not familiar with thesport. These often r
efer to
formations (i.e. the "nickel" defensivefootball formation), moves (such
as "juking" or " deking"), orpenalties (such as " spiking",
" icing" or " slashing")
• Religion: Jargon is widely used to refer to concepts within the
belief systems of organized religion.
• Medicine: Particularly in the operating room or under emergencyconditi
ons, particular jargons have developed that allow medical
professionals to communicate quickly and effectively where
common language would take
much longer. In the medical field itlargely involves the Latin (or Latinized)
terms for common wordsand phrases and also serves a euphemistic purpose
as the term,being unknown to the patient, is less forceful than words the
patient would understand.
• Critical
Theory: Each branch of critical theory tends to developits own highly-
formalized terminology, more commonly called acritical vocabulary.
• Information
Technology and the Internet: Computer andprogramming jargons used
by computer scientists, programmers,system architects, enthusiasts a
nd hackers
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• to communicate.(See the Jargon

File.) The proper usage of these words is asometimes considered
prerequisite for inclusion in these groups (leetspeak).
• Nautical Terms, an example of an ancient form of jargon.
• Politics: Jargon is used by ministers and commentators to referto politi
cal
strategies and tactics.

Colloquialism

Colloquialism - a word or phrase used in an easy, informal style of writing

or speaking. It is usually more appropriate in speech than formal writing.
Colloquialisms appear often in literature since they provide a sense of actual
conversation and use the pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary of
everyday speech.

The word is taken from the Latin colloqui, which is a joining of com, meaning
“with or together,” and loqui, meaning “to speak” and “conversation.”

Examples:

heavy lifting - difficult work; "the boss hoped the plan would succeed but he
wasn't willing to do the heavy lifting"
no-brainer - anything that requires little thought
fun - violent and excited activity; "she asked for money and then the fun
began"; "they began to fight like fun"
smoke - something with no concrete substance; "his dreams all turned to
smoke"; "it was just smoke and mirrors"
class - elegance in dress or behavior; "she has a lot of class"
setup - the way something is organized or arranged; "it takes time to learn
the setup around here"
guts - fortitude and determination; "he didn't have the guts to try it"
drag - something tedious and boring; "peeling potatoes is a drag"
peeper - an informal term referring to the eye
can of worms - a source of unpredictable trouble and complexity
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Terminology
Terminology is the study of terms and their use. Terms are
words and compound
words that are used in specific contexts. Notto be confused with "terms" in
colloquial usages, the shortened form of technical
terms (or terms of art ) which are defined within adiscipline or specialty
field. The discipline Terminology studiesamong other things how such terms
of art come to be and theirinterrelationships within a culture.
Terminology therefore denotes a more formal discipline which
systematically studies the labelling or designating of
concepts particular to one or more subject fields or domains of
human activity, through research and analysis of terms in context,
for the purpose of documenting and promoting correct usage. This
study can be limited to one language or can cover more than one
language at the same time ( multilingual terminology , bilingualterminology ,
and so forth) or may focus on studies of terms across fields.
Terminology is not connected to information
retrieval in any waybut focused on the meaning and conveyance of concepts.
"Terms"(i.e. index terms) used in an information retrieval context are not
the same as "terms" used in the context of terminology, as they are
not always technical terms of art.
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Comparison between colloquialism and

terminology

colloquialism Terminology
A colloquialism is a linguine
phrase that is characteristic of or Terminology is the study of terms
only appropriate for casual, ordinary, and their use. It denotes a more
familiar, and/or informal written or formal discipline
spoken conversation, rather than for
formal speech

Colloquialisms are often used It is the expressions and words, or a

primarily within a limited
geographical area, known by linguists
to spread through normal
conversational interaction of a
language
set of expressions and words, used
by people involved in a specialized
activity or field of work

Comparison between slang and jargon

slang
Slang is the use of
informal words and expressions that
are not considered standard in the
speaker's dialect or language
Jargon
The term covers the language used
by people who work in a particular
area or who have a common interest
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It is often used to identify with one's

peers and is used within small social In general, it has the function of
groups where it can help draw and allowing its users to talk precisely
keep the group together about technical issues in a given field

It is usually considered offensive It is usually not considered offensive