c. Linguistics. In language: a variety or level of usage, esp.

as determined by social context and characterized by the range of vocabulary, pronunciation, syntax, etc., used by a speaker or writer in particular circumstances. M.A.K Halliday and R. Hasan (1976) interpret 'register' as "the linguistic features which are typically associated with a configuration of situational features with particular values of the field, mode and tenor..." Used to refer to language varieties associated with certain uses (Biber and Finegan 1994) Writers or teachers have used the term register to as a shorthand for informal or formal style. JARGON Merriam Webster: a : confused unintelligible language b : a strange, outlandish, or barbarous language or dialect "Should jargon be censored? Many people think it should. However, close examination of jargon shows that, although some of it is vacuous pretentiousness, and therefore dysphemistic, its proper use is both necessary and unobjectionable." (K. Allen and K. Burridge, Forbidden Words, Cambridge Univ. Press, 2006) "When per is used to mean 'for each,' 'by means,' 'through,' or 'on account of,' it is appropriate (per annum, per diem, per head). When used to mean 'according to' (per your request, per your order), the expression is jargon and should be avoided." (Gerald J. Alred, et al., Handbook of Technical Writing, 8th ed. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2006) Jargon, on the other hand, is technical vocabulary that is used among people in similar professions or fields. Medical jargon examples: STAT (meaning "immediately") vitals (meaning "vitals check") BID (meaning "twice a day") TID (meaning "thrice a day") BMP (meaning "basic metabolic panel") Business jargon examples: RFP (meaning "request for proposal") SME (meaning "subject matter expert") ROI (meaning "return on investment") EOD (meaning "end of day") on board (meaning "in agreement") SLANG S. I. Hayakawa (1941, pp. 194-95) has called slang "the poetry of everyday life" and said that it "vividly expresses people's feelings about life and about the things they encounter in life." "Slang, or indirection, [is] an attempt of common humanity to escape from bald literalism, and express itself illimitably, which in highest walks produces poets and poems, and doubtless in pre-historic times gave the start to, and perfected, the whole immense tangle of the old mythologies.... Slang, too, is the wholesome fermentation or eructation of those processes eternally active in language, by which

froth and specks are thrown up, mostly to pass away; though occasionally to settle and permanently chrystallize." Walt Whitman (1885, p. 573) "slang is the sluggard's way of avoiding the search for the exact, meaningful word." (Hodges 1967, p. 197) Foerster and J. M. Steadman, Jr. (1941, p. 290) sneered at slang as "a cheap substitute for good diction," which demonstrated "laziness in thought and poverty of vocabulary." They found it necessary to remark that "to confine one's critical adjectives to swell and lousy certainly does not indicate much critical ability." But to confine one's critical vocabulary to any two adjectives, no matter how sesquipedalian, does not indicate much critical ability either. John F. Genung led the way when he claimed in 1893 (p. 32) that "slang is to a people's language what an epidemic disease is to their bodily constitution; just as catching and just as inevitable in its run.... Like a disease, too, it is severest where the sanitary conditions are most neglected." As one might expect, Genung never actually defined slang, but he did give examples to be shunned, including "He was badly cut up by the news" and "I am two dollars shy." Slang ... saves the trouble-and the glory-of thinking. The same cheap word or phrase may be used for any one of a hundred ideas.... Slang is the advertisement of mental poverty (Fernald 1918: 253) In his widely reprinted preface to the Dictionary of American Slang, Stuart Berg Flexner has attempted what seems at first to be a more systematic approach: "American slang.., is the body of words and expressions frequently used by or intelligible to a rather large portion of the general American public, but not accepted as good, formal usage by the majority" (Wentworth and Flexner 1960, p. vi). Other writers have defined slang as a function of time. H. A. Gleason (1961, p. 6), for instance, regards it as merely "that portion of the vocabulary which changes most freely." This characterization overlooks the fact that novelty in a locution is apparent rather than real newness. An example is out of sight meaning 'excellent,' first recorded in Stephen Crane's Maggie in 1893. The OED defines SLANG(s b. 3, sense lc) as "language of a highly colloquial type, considered as below the level of standard educated speech, and consisting either of new words or of current words employed in some special sense." The special vocabulary used by any set of persons of a low or disreputable character; language of a low and vulgar type / The special vocabulary or phraseology of a particular calling or profession; the cant or jargon of a certain class or period. Arthur G. Kennedy's earlier Current English (1935, pp. 15-17). A technical term that is used solely to designate-regardless of its etymology or the social status of those who use the term-is jargon, not slang. Slang characterizes a referent; jargon and standard English only indicate it. Dumas and Lighter example of slang: Though their dissent was not always noisy or dramatic, many Americans felt the President was a jerk for continuing the war. What should we do with the prisoners, Lieutenant? Waste em. Id like this job, sir, because the one I have now is shit. Slang is ephemeral. Examples: toe (from torn) for drunk; bogel and hang for do nothing in particular; bumping and kegging for exhilarating; the five-year program for the time it takes to complete an undergraduate degree (Eble 1996).

Other ex.: These include words such as taxi, flapjack, hoax, bogus, skyscraper, and fan (from fanatic). Slang is totally informal, while jargon is more formal. People use slang to say bad things, to express their anger, dissagrement while jargon is used for more academic things.