Dialect,slang,jargon,register

[Т А Кузнецова]

Dialect, slang, jargon, register

If you are a great fan of vocabulary as I am this blog will enrich your vocabulary and interest in using vocabulary with your students.

http://vocablog-plc.blogspot.com

Developing word consciousness in intermediate and secondary grades includes learning about dialect, slang, jargon, and register. Students need to become increasingly metacognitive with respect to these concepts. In this post, I juxtapose the four terms, speaking broadly. For more depth, follow the links.

 

Dialect: The Oxford Concise Dictionary defines dialect as, “a form of a language which is peculiar to a specific region or social group." Dialects are noted by variations in phonology, phonetics, morphology, syntax and vocabulary. Linguists Odell, Vacca, and Hobbs (2007, p. 939) make a vital point:

"Everyone uses a dialect, and no dialect

is better or worse than another."

In the US, many dialects or varieties of English are heard: Southern English, Appalachian English, African American English, New York City English, Chicano English, California Surfer Dude and Valley Girl English, Boston English, etc. Overseas, more varieties of English are spoken, including Australian English, Cockney English, Jamaican English, and so forth. To hear varieties of English from all over the world visit The International Dialects of English Archives. Click the links in the sidebar and listen to the audio clips. Let your students listen, too. It is fascinating -- and free. Also, scholars at the University of Wisconsin created the Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE). This outstanding resource defines regional words and displays maps showing where specific words are spoken in America. Visit the DARE website. View the educational resources. Take the synonym quiz. (I DAREsay, "It ain't gonna be easy!")

Slang: Carl Sandburg poetically but not comprehensively wrote, "Slang is language which takes off its coat, spits on its hands and goes to work" (1959). Slang words and phrases are highly colloquial and informal in type, occurring more often in speech than in print. Slang consists either of newly crafted words or of existing words employed in a special sense. Slang often manages to make the abstract concrete and memorable, by employing imagery. For example, the phrase chill out brings to mind a hothead on ice--far more picturesque than compose yourself. For more slang, visit Alphadictionary: Historic Dictionary of American Slang. Also visit SlangSite.com. (Beware! Some words are not suitable for school. There is also the Urban Dictionary, even more liberally stocked with unmentionables.)