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57-677: G-man (short for " government man ", plural G-men ) is an American slang term for agents of the United States Government . It is especially used as a term for an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). G-man is also a term used for members of G Division , a Dublin Metropolitan Police unit operating out of Dublin Castle prior to Irish independence in 1922. Colonel Ned Broy uses

114-496: A semantic field . Slang can be either culture-wide or known only within a certain group or subculture. Argot is slang or jargon purposely used to obscure meaning to outsiders. Conversely, a lingua franca is used for the opposite effect, helping communicators to overcome unintelligibility, as are pidgins and creole languages . For example, the Chinook Jargon was a pidgin. Although technical jargon's primary purpose

171-494: A US Army librarian. Jargon The terms jargon , slang, and argot are not consistently differentiated in the literature; different authors interpret these concepts in varying ways. According to one definition, jargon differs from slang in being secretive in nature; according to another understanding, it is specifically associated with professional and technical circles. Some sources, however, treat these terms as synonymous. The use of jargon became more popular around

228-538: A broad, empirical window into the motivating forces behind slang. While many forms of lexicon may be considered low-register or "sub-standard", slang remains distinct from colloquial and jargon terms because of its specific social contexts . While viewed as inappropriate in formal usage, colloquial terms are typically considered acceptable in speech across a wide range of contexts, whereas slang tends to be perceived as inappropriate in many common communication situations. Jargon refers to language used by personnel in

285-423: A combination of plain language and images. The criticism against jargon can be found in certain fields where professionals communicate with individuals with no industry background. In a study done by analyzing 58 patients and 10 radiation therapists , professionals diagnosed and explained the treatment of a disease to a patient with the use of jargon. It was found that using jargon left patients confused about what

342-513: A convenient way within communities. A subject expert may wish to avoid jargon when explaining something to a layperson. Jargon may help communicate contextual information optimally. For example, a football coach talking to their team or a doctor working with nurses. With the rise of the self-advocacy within the Disability Rights Movement , "jargonized" language has started to face repeated rejection for being language that

399-418: A conversation about or within the context of a certain field or profession will go. For example, a conversation between two professionals in which one person has little previous interaction or knowledge of the other person could go one of at least two possible ways. One of the professionals (who the other professional does not know) does not use, or does not correctly use the jargon of their respective field, and

456-399: A language over time. The 1941 film, Ball of Fire , portrays a professor played by Gary Cooper who is researching and writing an encyclopedia article about slang. The 2006 film, Idiocracy , portrays a less intelligent society in the year 2505 that has people who use all various sorts of aggressive slang. These slangs sound very foreign and alienating to the protagonist of the movie,

513-524: A negative connotation with lacking coherent grammar, or gibberish as it was seen as a "broken" language of many different languages with no full community to call their own. In the 1980s, linguists began restricting this usage of jargon to keep the word to more commonly define a technical or specialized language use. In linguistics, it is used to mean "specialist language", with the term also seen as closely related to slang , argot and cant . Various kinds of language peculiar to ingroups can be named across

570-465: A particular field or to 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 non-group members from the conversation, slang tends to emphasize social and contextual understanding whereas the main purpose of jargon is to optimize communication using terms that imply technical understanding. While colloquialisms and jargon may seem like slang because they reference

627-425: A particular group, they do not necessarily fit the same definition because they do not represent a particular effort to replace the general lexicon of a standard language . Colloquialisms are considered more acceptable and more expected in standard usage than slang is, and jargon is often created to talk about aspects of a particular field that are not accounted for in the general lexicon. However, this differentiation

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684-403: A role in constructing identity. While slang outlines social space, attitudes about slang partly construct group identity and identify individuals as members of groups. Therefore, using the slang of a particular group associates an individual with that group. Michael Silverstein 's orders of indexicality can be employed to assign a slang term as a second-order index to that particular group. Using

741-477: A slang term removes its status as true slang because it is then accepted by the media and is thus no longer the special insider speech of a particular group. For example, Black American music frequently uses slang, and many of its frequently used terms have therefore become part of vernacular English. Some say that a general test for whether a word is slang or not is whether or not it would be acceptable in an academic or legal setting, but that would consider slang to be

798-573: A slang term, however, can also give an individual the qualities associated with the term's group of origin, whether or not the individual is trying to identify as a member of the group. This allocation of qualities based on abstract group association is known as third-order indexicality. As outlined in Elisa Mattiello's book "An Introduction to English Slang", a slang term can assume several levels of meaning and can be used for many reasons connected with identity. For example, male adolescents use

855-470: A special language because every science has its own ideas". As a rationalist member of the Enlightenment , he continued: "It seems that one ought to begin by composing this language, but people begin by speaking and writing, and the language remains to be composed." An industry word is a specialized kind of technical terminology used in a certain industry. Industry words and phrases are often used in

912-417: A specific area, and those in that field know and use the terminology. Precise technical terms and their definitions are formally recognized, documented, and taught by educators in the field. Other terms are more colloquial, coined and used by practitioners in the field, and are similar to slang . The boundaries between formal and slang jargon, as in general English, are quite fluid. This is especially true in

969-399: A specific industry. The primary driving forces in the creation of technical jargon are precision, efficiency of communication, and professionalism. Terms and phrases that are considered jargon have meaningful definitions, and through frequency of use, can become catchwords . While jargon allows greater efficiency in communication among those familiar with it, a side effect is that it raises

1026-571: Is a positive or negative attribute of a patient's experience has evidence to support both sides. On one hand, as mentioned before, these phrases can be overwhelming for some patients who may not understand the terminology. However, with the accessibility of the internet, it has been suggested that these terms can be used and easily researched for clarity. Jargon is commonly found in the field of law. These terms are often used in legal contexts such as legal documents, court proceedings, contracts, and more. Some common terms in this profession include: There

1083-455: Is especially awesome and "hype". Words and phrases from popular Hollywood films and television series frequently become slang. One early slang-like code, thieves' cant , was first used in England in around the year 1600 as a way of law-breakers to communicate without the authorities knowing of what they were saying. Slang is usually associated with a particular social group and plays

1140-576: Is little regarded or remembered beyond small talk or fairly insignificant in this conversation. Or, if the person does use particular jargon (showing their knowledge in the field to be legitimate, educated, or of particular significance) the other professional then opens the conversation up in an in-depth or professional manner. The use of jargon can create a divide in communication, or strengthen it. Outside of conversation, jargon can become confusing in writing. When used in text, readers can become confused if there are terms used that require outside knowledge on

1197-522: Is more specific than "person" and "people" in their everyday use. The French word is believed to have been derived from the Latin word gaggire , meaning "to chatter", which was used to describe speech that the listener did not understand. The word may also come from Old French jargon meaning "chatter of birds". Middle English also has the verb jargounen meaning "to chatter", or "twittering", deriving from Old French. The first known use of

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1254-581: Is not consistently applied by linguists; the terms "slang" and "jargon" are sometimes treated as synonymous, and the scope of "jargon" is at times extended to mean all forms of socially-restricted language. It is often difficult to differentiate slang from colloquialisms and even high-register lexicon because slang generally becomes accepted into common vocabulary over time. Words such as "spurious" and "strenuous" were once perceived as slang, but they are now considered general, even high-register words. Some literature on slang even says that mainstream acceptance of

1311-452: Is specialized terminology within the field of education. Educators and administrators use these terms to communicate ideas specific to the education system. Common terms and acronyms considered to be jargon that are used within this profession include: Jargon may serve the purpose of a "gatekeeper" in conversation, signaling who is allowed into certain forms of conversation. Jargon may serve this function by dictating to which direction or depth

1368-631: Is to aid technical communication , not to exclude outsiders by serving as an argot, it can have both effects at once and can provide a technical ingroup with shibboleths . For example, medieval guilds could use this as one means of informal protectionism . On the other hand, jargon that once was obscure outside a small ingroup can become generally known over time. For example, the terms bit , byte , and hexadecimal (which are terms from computing jargon ) are now recognized by many people outside computer science . The philosopher Étienne Bonnot de Condillac observed in 1782 that "every science requires

1425-401: Is widely inaccessible. However, jargon is largely present in everyday language such as in newspapers, financial statements, and instruction manuals. To combat this, several advocacy organizations are working on influencing public agents to offer accessible information in different formats. One accessible format that offers an alternative to jargonized language is " easy read ", which consists of

1482-784: The business world is a common occurrence. The use of jargon in business correspondence reached a high popularity between the late 1800s into the 1950s. In this context, jargon is most frequently used in modes of communication such as emails, reports, and other forms of documentation. Common phrases used in corporate jargon include: Medicine professionals make extensive use of scientific terminology. Most patients encounter medical jargon when referring to their diagnosis or when receiving or reading their medication. Some commonly used terms in medical jargon are: At first glance, many people do not understand what these terms mean and may panic when they see these scientific names being used in reference to their health. The argument as to whether medical jargon

1539-403: The early 2000s along with the rise in popularity of social networking services, including Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram . This has spawned new vocabularies associated with each new social media venue, such as the use of the term "friending" on Facebook, which is a verbification of "friend" used to describe the process of adding a new person to one's group of friends on the website, despite

1596-411: The early nineteenth century, it was no longer exclusively associated with disreputable people, but continued to be applied to usages below the level of standard educated speech. In Scots dialect it meant "talk, chat, gossip", as used by Aberdeen poet William Scott in 1832: "The slang gaed on aboot their war'ly care." In northern English dialect it meant "impertinence, abusive language". The origin of

1653-435: The effect of excluding those who are unfamiliar with the particular specialized language of the group. This can cause difficulties, for example, when a patient is unable to follow the discussions of medical practitioners, and thus cannot understand his own condition and treatment. Differences in jargon also cause difficulties where professionals in related fields use different terms for the same phenomena. The use of jargon in

1710-450: The existence of an analogous term "befriend". This term is much older than Facebook, but has only recently entered the popular lexicon. Other examples of slang in social media demonstrate a proclivity toward shortened words or acronyms. These are especially associated with services such as Twitter, which (as of November 2017 ) has a 280-character limit for each message and therefore requires a relatively brief mode of expression. This includes

1767-399: The first to report on the phenomenon of slang in a systematic and linguistic way, postulated that a term would likely be in circulation for a decade before it would be written down. Nevertheless, it seems that slang generally forms via deviation from a standard form. This "spawning" of slang occurs in much the same way that any general semantic change might occur. The difference here is that

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1824-422: The floor laughing"), which are widely used in instant messaging on the internet. As subcultures are often forms of counterculture, which is understood to oppose the norm, it follows that slang has come to be associated with counterculture. Slang is often adopted from social media as a sign of social awareness and shared knowledge of popular culture . This type known as internet slang has become prevalent since

1881-531: The hippie slang of the 1960s. The word "gig" is now a widely accepted synonym for a concert, recital, or performance of any type. Generally, slang terms undergo the same processes of semantic change that words in the regular lexicon do. Slang often forms from words with previously differing meanings, one example is the often used and popular slang word "lit", which was created by a generation labeled "Generation Z". The word itself used to be associated with something being on fire or being "lit" up until 1988 when it

1938-456: The indexicalized social identifications the former convey. In terms of first and second order indexicality, the usage of speaker-oriented terms by male adolescents indicated their membership to their age group, to reinforce connection to their peer group, and to exclude outsiders. In terms of higher order indexicality, anyone using these terms may desire to appear fresher, undoubtedly more playful, faddish, and colourful than someone who employs

1995-432: The lack of a clear definition, however, 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: 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." Slang dictionaries, collecting thousands of slang entries, offer

2052-413: The language exclusively used by the members of particular in-groups in order to establish group identity , exclude outsiders, or both. The word itself came about in the 18th century and has been defined in multiple ways since its conception, with no single technical usage in linguistics. In its earliest attested use (1756), the word slang referred to the vocabulary of "low" or "disreputable" people. By

2109-517: The possibility of a Scandinavian origin, suggesting the same root as that of sling , which means "to throw", and noting that slang is thrown language – a quick and honest way to make your point. Linguists have no simple and clear definition of slang but agree that it is a constantly changing linguistic phenomenon present in every subculture worldwide. Some argue that slang exists because we must come up with ways to define new experiences that have surfaced with time and modernity. Attempting to remedy

2166-432: The rapidly developing world of computers and networking. For instance, the term firewall (in the sense of a device used to filter network traffic) was at first technical slang. As these devices became more widespread and the term became widely understood, the word was adopted as formal terminology. Technical terminology evolves due to the need for experts in a field to communicate with precision and brevity but often has

2223-518: The same as normal, everyday, informal language. Others say that a general test is whether the word has been entered in the Oxford English Dictionary, which some scholars claim changes its status as slang. It is often difficult to collect etymologies for slang terms, largely because slang is a phenomenon of speech, rather than written language and etymologies which are typically traced via corpus . Eric Partridge , cited as

2280-588: The semantic point of view, slangy foxy is more loaded than neutral sexy in terms of information provided. That is, for young people foxy means having the quality of: (1) attracting interest, attention, affection, (2) causing desire, (3) excellent or admirable in appearance, and (4) sexually provocative, exciting, etc., whereas sexy only refers to the quality indicated in point (4). Matiello stresses that those agents who identify themselves as "young men" have "genuinely coined" these terms and choose to use them over "canonical" terms —like beautiful or sexy—because of

2337-429: The sixteenth century attracting persons from different career paths. This led to there being printed copies available on the various forms of jargon. Jargon, also referred to as "technical language", is "the technical terminology or characteristic idiom of a special activity or group". Most jargon is technical terminology ( technical terms ), involving terms of art or industry terms , with particular meaning within

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2394-458: The slang term's new meaning takes on a specific social significance having to do with the group the term indexes. Coleman also suggests that slang is differentiated within more general semantic change in that it typically has to do with a certain degree of "playfulness". The development of slang is considered to be a largely "spontaneous, lively, and creative" speech process. Still, while a great deal of slang takes off, even becoming accepted into

2451-492: The socially preferable or "correct" ways to speak, according to a language's normative grammar and syntactical words, descriptivists focus on studying language to further understand the subconscious rules of how individuals speak, which makes slang important in understanding such rules. Noam Chomsky , a founder of anthropological linguistic thought, challenged structural and prescriptive grammar and began to study sounds and morphemes functionally, as well as their changes within

2508-436: The standard English term "beautiful". This appearance relies heavily on the hearer's third-order understanding of the term's associated social nuances and presupposed use-cases. Often, distinct subcultures will create slang that members will use in order to associate themselves with the group, or to delineate outsiders. Slang terms are often known only within a clique or ingroup . For example, Leet ("Leetspeak" or "1337")

2565-401: The standard lexicon, much slang dies out, sometimes only referencing a group. An example of this is the term "groovy" which is a relic of 1960s and 70s American hippie slang. Nevertheless, for a slang term to become a slang term, people must use it, at some point in time, as a way to flout standard language. Additionally, slang terms may be borrowed between groups, such as the term "gig" which

2622-437: The subject. Ethos is used to create an appeal to authority. It is one of three pillars of persuasion created by Aristotle to create a logical argument. Ethos uses credibility to back up arguments. It can indicate to the audience that a speaker is an insider with using specialized terms in the field to make an argument based on authority and credibility. Jargon can be used to convey meaningful information and discourse in

2679-476: The technical terminology, and thus lose track of a speaker or writer's broader and more important arguments. Some words with both a technical and a non-technical meaning are referred to as semi-technical vocabulary: for example, Chinh Ngan Nguyen Le and Julia Miller refer to colon as an anatomical term and also a punctuation mark ; and Derek Matravers refers to person and its plural form persons as technical language used in philosophy , where their meaning

2736-739: The term in his official testimony for the Irish Army's Bureau of Military History in their archive of the Easter Rising (1916) and the Irish War of Independence (1919–1921). This United States -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This slang article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Slang A slang is a vocabulary (words, phrases , and linguistic usages ) of an informal register , common in everyday conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also often refers to

2793-412: The terms "foxy" and "shagadelic" to "show their belonging to a band, to stress their virility or their age, to reinforce connection with their peer group and to exclude outsiders, to show off, etc." These two examples use both traditional and nontraditional methods of word formation to create words with more meaning and expressiveness than the more direct and traditional words "sexy" and "beautiful": From

2850-404: The threshold of comprehensibility for outsiders. This is usually accepted as an unavoidable trade-off , but it may also be used as a means of social exclusion (reinforcing ingroup–outgroup barriers) or social aspiration (when introduced as a way of demonstrating expertise). Some academics promote the use of jargon-free language, or plain language, as an audience may be alienated or confused by

2907-449: The treatments and risks were, suggesting that jargon in the medical field is not the best in communicating the terminology and concepts. Many examples of jargon exist because of its use among specialists and subcultures alike. In the professional world, those who are in the business of filmmaking may use words like "vorkapich" to refer to a montage when talking to colleagues. In rhetoric , rhetoricians use words like "arete" to refer to

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2964-450: The use of hashtags which explicitly state the main content of a message or image, such as #food or #photography. Some critics believe that when slang becomes more commonplace it effectively eradicates the "proper" use of a certain language. However, academic (descriptive) linguists believe that language is not static but ever-changing and that slang terms are valid words within a language's lexicon. While prescriptivists study and promote

3021-568: The word "slang" is unclear. It was first used in print around 1800 to refer to the language of the disreputable and criminal classes in London, though its usage likely dates back further. A Scandinavian origin has been proposed (compare, for example, Norwegian slengenavn , which means "nickname"), but based on "date and early associations" is discounted by the Oxford English Dictionary . Jonathon Green , however, agrees with

3078-536: The word in English is found within The Canterbury Tales , written by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. Chaucer related "jargon" to the vocalizations of birds. In colonial history, jargon was seen as a device of communication to bridge the gap between two speakers who did not speak the same tongue. Jargon was synonymous with pidgin in naming specific language usages. Jargon then began to have

3135-410: Was first used in writing to indicate a person who was drunk in the book "Warbirds: Diary of an Unknown Aviator". Since this time "lit" has gained popularity through Rap songs such as ASAP Rocky's "Get Lit" in 2011. As the popularity of the word has increased so too has the number of different meanings associated with the word. Now "lit" describes a person who is drunk and/or high, as well as an event that

3192-445: Was originally coined by jazz musicians in the 1930s and then borrowed into the same hippie slang of the 1960s. 'The word "groovy" has remained a part of subculture lexicon since its popularization. It is still in common use today by a significant population. The word "gig" to refer to a performance very likely originated well before the 1930s, and remained a common term throughout the 1940s and 1950s before becoming vaguely associated with

3249-494: Was originally popular only among certain internet subcultures such as software crackers and online video gamers. During the 1990s, and into the early 21st century, however, Leet became increasingly commonplace on the internet, and it has spread outside internet-based communication and into spoken languages. Other types of slang include SMS language used on mobile phones, and "chatspeak", (e.g., " LOL ", an acronym meaning "laughing out loud" or "laugh out loud" or ROFL , "rolling on

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