Slang lexicography and the problem of defining slang

Journal article

Although it is generally agreed that slang is an alternative register of the English language which negates all that is polite, pious and noble, that it is bawdy, crass, cruel, racist and sexist and yet brims with humor, color and vibrancy, within the practice of dictionary making, slang still poses a challenge. Slang items often tend to confound the category labels of lexicographers. For example, in his overview article "American Lexicology, 1942-1973", James B. McMillan identifies the fundamental problem of slang lexicology as the problem of definition: "Until slang can be objectively identified and segregated (so that dictionaries will not vary widely in labeling particular lexemes and idioms) or until more precise subcategories replace the catchall label SLANG, little can be done to analyze linguistically this kind of lexis, or to study its historical change, or to account for it in sociolinguistic and psycholinguistics contexts" (146). It must be added, however, that lexicographers are not solely responsible for the lack of an adequate definition of slang. After all, slang words and expressions are in large part short-lived, ephemeral, elusive, and simply characteristic of marginalized groups. Consequently, the sociolinguistic and psycholinguistic contexts in which slang is embedded cannot be readily captured by any system of discrete categories. However, one of the major obstacles is the assumption among many linguists that due to their elusive nature which is characteristic of marginalized groups, oral and ephemeral, slang items are peripheral to language. To these linguists and scholars, slang is a quirk, a curiosity, a deviant substituted for what is 'standard' which can not be easily identified by a system of discrete labels. However, as slang marches on, it continues to trample over linguistic prejudices and therefore may come to be regarded as a linguistic style.

Authors: Amari, (

• Alternative title: Presented at Slang Lexicography session
• Publication status: Not published
• Peer review status: Reviewed (other)
• Edition: Author's Original
• Language: English
• Keywords: slang
• Subjects: Lexicography