[tlhIngan Hol] Is idiom the same as slang ?

Lieven L. Litaer levinius at gmx.de
Mon Apr 8 08:42:21 PDT 2019


First, {Soj} is not slang, it's idiomatic.

> On Apr 8, 2019, at 06:40, mayqel qunen'oS wrote:
>> Is there a difference between an idiomatic  use of a word and a slang
>> word ?

Am 08.04.2019 um 14:34 schrieb Daniel Dadap:
> While both idiom and slang may use existing words to mean things other
> than their literal meanings, use of slang is generally restricted to a
> particular region and/or subculture, while idiom tends to be more
> generally used. Slang may also use newly invented words, while idiom
> must use words that already have a non-idiomatic meaning.

Daniel has explained this very well. I wanted to say the same, but give
some examples.

Idioms are phrases like "it's raining cats and dogs". That means, using
existing words in a phrase that conveys a different meaning. Usually
most people know such expressions, depending on their education (not
everyone knows all idioms of a language, but some are just known.)

Slang on the other hand, can be used by a limited group of people who
use incorrect words to refer to a thing, but anyone outside group will
not understand. Such a group can be young people, doctors, scientists
etc. (in surgery and hospitals, they use abbreviations all the time, and
have words to refer to patients without them understanding it.)

There are also slang terms that even everybody knows, but which are just
not the clean way to say, like in the US saying "ten bucks" instead of
"ten dollars" or "it's all fucked-up".

--
Lieven L. Litaer
aka the "Klingon Teacher from Germany"
http://www.klingonisch.de
http://www.klingonwiki.net/En/Slang



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