Word of the Week - SLANGUAGE

Today's word – SLANGUAGE

Pronunciation – SLAN-gwij

Word type - noun

Definition – language largely comprised of very informal usage in vocabulary and idiom; speech and writing characterised by the use of vulgar or socially taboo vocabulary; specialised language particular to a group.

Word origin-
The word 'slanguage' appeared early in the 20th century in English, however, it was not until recent years that it has been used in popular culture to describe a distinctive set of language. The word, 'slang', appeared during the 17th century, when slang was first employed by criminals seeking to keep their illegal habits a secret.

Quirky facts -

* Top five teen 'slanguage' terms - man, sad, wicked, mate, bloke
* Prison 'slanguage' terms - 'doing it all' - serving a life sentence; 'sweetheart' - a successful robbery; 'fish' - a newcomer to prison
* Australian 'slanguage' from World War 1 - all referring to death - 'hung on the wire', 'pushing up daisies', 'smudged'.

Check out www.slanguage.com where you can learn how to fit in with the locals by speaking their 'lingo' no matter where in the world you are visiting.

Sample sentence -

While some may perceive slanguage negatively, it is clear that this mode of expression can be most informative about a particular group in society.

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