special colloquial vocabulary

The special Colloquial vocabulary

Professionalisms

slang

jargonisms

dialectisms

vulgar words

colloquial coinages

Professionalisms

Professionalisms - are words used in a definite trade, profession or calling by people connected by common interests both at work and at home.

e.g. tin-fish (shipping) – submarine

block buster (military)– a bomb especially designed to destroy blocks of big buildings

piper (cooking) – a specialist who decorates pastry with the use of a cream pipe

a midder case (judiciary)- a midwifery case

outer (boxing) – a knockout blow

Professionalisms

Special words in the literary layer

That are easily decoded because their semantic structure is transparent, they often enter the neutral stratum

Special words in non-literary layer whose semantic structure is dim, generally they remain in circulation within a definite community

Slangs

The New Oxford English Dictionary defines slang as follows:”

a) the special vocabulary used by any set of persons of a low or disreputable character; language of a low and vulgar type;

b) the cant or jargon of a certain class or period;

c) language of a highly colloquial type considered below the level of standard educated speech and consisting either of new words or of current words employed in some special sense.”

As is seen from these quotations slang is represented both as a special vocabulary and a special language and as such it should be characterized not only by its peculiar use of words but also by phonetic, morphological and syntactical peculiarities

Jargon

Jargon – is a group of words with the aim to preserve secrecy within one or another social group, a code within a code, social in character :

jargon of thieves (cant); of jazz musicians, of the military men; of sportsmen grease – money; soap and flannel( naval jargon)– bread and cheese.

Slang, contrary to jargon, needs no translation. It is not a secret code. It is easily understood by native speakers. Some of jargonisms make their way into the literary language of the nation. They may be said to become dejargonized

Dialectal words

Dialectal words – those words which in the process of integration of the English national language remain beyond its literary boundaries and their usage is generally confined to a definite locality lass (Scottish)– beloved girl; lad – young man; daft – silly mind; fash – trouble; cutty – naughty girl; tittie – sister; hinny – honey; Australian: brekky – breakfast, mossie – mosquito, Oz – Australia, Pommie – a Britisher, postie – postman Southern dialect (Somersetshire) has a phonetic peculiarity: initial [s] and [f] are voiced as [z] and [v]: e.g. folk – volk, found – vound, see – zee, sinking – zinking