Talk:Slang
"Colloquialism" should not redirect to "slang." There are many colloquialisms that are not slang at all. It's possible to use colloquialisms without using hardly any slang at all.
See this definition of "slang" and this definition of "colloquialism". --Larry Sanger
Well, a colloquialism is a term used chiefly in speech, as opposed to writing. A slang term is used in informal speech or writing... Well... What do we all think? Two articles or one? --Dante Alighieri 12:58 Dec 5, 2002 (UTC)
Two articles, definitely. Please see the definitions I linked to above. Here's a good definition of "slang":
- 1. A kind of language occurring chiefly in casual and playful speech, made up typically of short-lived coinages and figures of speech that are deliberately used in place of standard terms for added raciness, humor, irreverence, or other effect.
Now "colloquialism":
- A colloquial expression, not employed in formal discourse or writing.
In short, colloquialisms are simply informal expressions. All slang expressions are colloquialisms (because they're informal) but not all colloquialisms are slang (because not all informal expressions are casual, playful speech. "Yo, bro!" is slang (and therefore a colloquialism). "Dead as a doornail" is a colloquialism that is not slang.
The people writing encyclopedia articles on these concepts should at least understand what the words mean! --Larry Sanger
How accurate is it to describe slang as "non-standard usage". Using "cool" as a slang term is probably nearly as common, if not more common, than using it to mean its literal definition. Maybe we need to define precisely what "standard usage" is? Does it mean using it as the dictionary defines it? Perhaps we should say that slang is a "usage other than the dictionary definition(s)"... more elegantly worded, of course. ;) --Dante Alighieri 12:43 Dec 5, 2002 (UTC)
- Yeah this has made me think. The British use of fag is more colloquial than slang. Everybody uses the term.