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Key learning points

• What is slang?
• Where did slang come from?
• When and where it’s okay to use slang
• What makes slang different from Standard English?

Slang a type of informal language that is more often used in speech than in writing. Slang varies between different groups of people, but some examples of slang that you might have heard include:

• ‘cool’ – something good
• a ‘quid’ – £1
• ‘gutted’ – devastated
• ‘not fussed’ – you don’t mind or don’t have a preference
• ‘chippy’ – a fish and chip takeaway

You might not recognise all of these words. This is because slang varies a lot between different groups of people, depending on many things including how old they are and where they live.

One of the reasons why slang is so popular is that it allows members of smaller groups to talk to each other about things that people outside of that group might not understand. You might have felt this if you have ever used slang with your friends, knowing that others who hear you might not understand what you mean.

The way we speak is a big part of our identity. People might speak in different ways for many different reasons, all linked to who they are. Some of these reasons include:

• where they live
• where their family come from
• where they go to school
• what they are interested in
• how old they are
• who they are friends with

You might notice that you use words that are different from the words that your parents or other adults might use for the same thing.

Slang is a type of informal language, so the definitions of words can change quite quickly. As long as people within the group using the word know what it means, it doesn’t matter if that meaning isn’t clear to people outside of the group.

Sometimes slang words become widely known and used, such as ‘cool’ but often slang stays very specific to a small group and isn’t widely used outside of that group.

The English language is changing all the time, and slang changes even faster than more standard or formal types of language.

It usually takes a while for the definitions of slang words to be included in a dictionary, and their meanings might change in this time so they might be out of date before the definitions are even printed!

Because slang is mostly a spoken form, it’s difficult to know exactly when people started using slang. It’s likely that there has always been a form of slang, but the first recorded examples of slang come from the 16th century, including some examples in Shakespeare’s work from the 1800s. The term ‘slang’ itself has been around since 1756.

Slang was originally used to describe words and language used by disreputable people. It has been used as a way for groups of people to talk about things that they might not want to be overheard and understood by people outside of their group. Because of this, slang often included words for things that are a bit rude or impolite.

A really famous type of slang is Cockney rhyming slang which originated in the East End of London in the early 19th century. It uses words and phrases that rhyme with what they mean eg ‘apples and pears’ means ‘stairs’, and ‘dog and bone’ means ‘telephone’.

It is useful to understand when different types of language are appropriate. Slang is perfectly fine to use when you’re talking to your friends and when you’re in informal situations with people who will understand the slang you use.

There are some situations where it wouldn’t be appropriate to use slang, for instance:

• when you are writing something for school
• when you need to be understood by a wide audience
• when you are speaking to someone who doesn’t understand the meaning of the slang you use

Some people have a negative opinion of slang. The negative opinion might come from the history of slang. Because slang was often used by groups of people who wanted to talk about things secretly, there is still a negative attitude towards slang.

As long as you use slang with others who understand you and in situations where it is appropriate, there is no problem with it.

Standard English is the name for a type of English that is widely understood. It is the type of English that you’re usually expected to use when you are writing at school.

This means that you should try to use words which could be looked up in the dictionary if someone didn’t understand them.

It’s really important that you are able to communicate clearly in your writing, and in some situations using slang might make your meaning less clear to your reader.

However, if you’re writing creatively, slang can sometimes help to show readers about the identity of characters or your own identity.

Find out more about formal and informal writing.