An initial 4A N2...?

[Dave Wilton]

> To confuse the issue, a word can be slang, jargon, and
> standard at the same time, depending on use and meaning.
> Example: "jazz", whose origins have been disucssed at
> length on this list.  With the meaning "a type of music"
> it is standard English.  With the meaning "to have sexual
> intercourse" it is slang. "To jazz up (a piece of music)"
> is a jargon term to musicians, as it has a specific
> technical meaning that one could write books about;
> however, this usage is so well known to the general public
> that arguably it is standard English.

"Slang" and "jargon" are not mutually exclusive categories, even for a
single group. Both jargon and slang are categories of nonstandard language,
but there the similarity in categorization ends. Slang is categorized by its
informality and while it is associated with a particular social grouping,
those groupings are often rather vaguely defined. "Jargon" on the other hand
is language specific to a profession or discipline. Jargon can be either
formal (ventricular tachycardia) or informal/slang (bumsickle). The
definitions do not use the same criteria for categorization and have wide
room for overlap.

But, a single sense of a word cannot be simultaneously standard and
jargon/slang. Both jargon and slang are categories of nonstandard language;
they can't also be standard. So if "jazz it up" is a standard English phrase
(I would agree that it is), then in becoming standard it has ceased to be
jargon or slang. You might designate it as "from musical jargon," but that
is distinctly in the past.