Cykl artykułów został przygotowany przez Lang LTC - platynowe centrum egzaminacyjne Cambridge English, organizatora językowych wyjazdów zagranicznych oraz szkoleń językowych dla firm i klientów indywidualnych.

Jargon and Slang

Żargon i slang

We do not speak the same way all the time and without realising it, we all have at our command different verbal repertoires. For example, we do not speak to our partners at home in the same way in which we speak to our boss at work. Subconsciously, we change our speech according to who we are speaking to, where, under what circumstances, and so on. Jargon and slang are two linguistic phenomena, which represent this aspect of human language. They are both similar and that is why, it is not so easy to pinpoint the difference between them, but in fact they are significantly different and should not be confused. Let us start with the similarities. Both jargon and slang identify us as members of a particular group. By choosing to use a specific range of vocabulary we demonstrate our affiliation to other people who share our profession, interests, beliefs or philosophy of life. And this is where the difference between jargon and slang starts. Jargon is the variety of language that belongs to a specific profession or activity. Anyone who has worked on a film set will be familiar with the technical language of filming which to an outsider may sound like coded nonsense. For someone who works in the film industry words like: sparks, best boys, gaffers or grips seem normal technical language while to someone who knows nothing about the business this is jargon which cannot be easily understood.