What is Slang?

At Slang they are linguistic phenomena used in an informal context, being widely used among young people.

They are unconventional words or phrases according to the cultured norm, which are used in some regions and cultures, by certain groups and/or social classes. For example, in the group at school, at work, among others.

They are created in order to replace formal terms in the language, that is, they cannot be interpreted literally but in their connotative (or figurative) sense.

Because they are created by a certain group, they are often misunderstood by others. This determines its importance and social function as it fosters and consolidates the sense of identity of these groups.

It is often invented by a marginalized group with the intention of not being understood by others, for example, the slang used by inmates in a prison or young people in a favela.

In other words, slang are specific popular terms that arise in certain contexts. social and that, little by little, becomes part of the communication process between people in a certain circle. Social.

It is important to highlight their use in the oral and informal context, since they should be excluded from written and formal language, for example, in an essay. Note that slang can be related to a specific time.

In such a way, slangs are generally temporary terms and that can be excluded from the popular language over time, being replaced by other words.

For example, the word “sprout” which was once often used to designate a handsome man, has now been replaced by the word “cat”.

When used for a long time, due to the acceptance and use of some society, they are included in dictionaries. With the expansion of the means of communication and the internet, many slangs were created, for example: pissing, typing, trolling, lol, etc.

Foreignism and Neologism

Some slang can come from foreign words, for example, "brother”, which means “brother” in English, being used by groups to indicate a great friend.

In this case, it is a language addiction called foreignism. O foreignism determines the use of foreign words and depending on their use, they are absorbed by the language and added to dictionaries, for example: show, hot-dog, mouse, among others.

In addition, neologisms are closely related to slang, as they mean the creation of new words which fill certain gaps in the language, for example, "internetes", that is, the language of Internet.

Jargon and Slang

O jargon or professional slang designates specific words or expressions used by a group, especially in the professional environment. For example, the jargon of doctors, engineers, filmmakers, among others.

These are, therefore, specific and technical terms already popularized by social actors that make up certain labor groups. Jargons facilitate communication between people in a professional group.

already the slang is a popular slang for vulgar words or expressions. That is, it is a form of slang with crude words or expressions. Often the profanity words have an obscene content.

Examples of Slang

Below are some examples of slang:

Words

  • Cannon: very ugly woman
  • Guy: vocative for friend or colleague
  • Horn: person who was betrayed
  • Crown: older woman
  • naked: soccer match
  • Deer: homosexual man
  • goró: spirit drink
  • milians: Long time
  • firmness: certainly
  • Peak: indication of interesting place

expressions

  • pay embarrassment: situation in which the person feels ashamed
  • Headstrong: very stubborn person
  • Cover the sun with the sieve: that demonstrates inefficiency or negligence
  • Nice people: nice and polite person
  • good blood: person you can trust
  • king in the belly: person who thinks they are important
  • to the pampa: fine, cool, fun
  • hat the coconut: became very changed with drug use
  • give the letter: tell the story, tell someone of something
  • two p: indicates the speed

Complete your research and read too:

  • Linguistic Variations
  • Language vices

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