"slang" and "informal" as dict labels [WAS: shirty?]

[Frank Abate]

A question for Michael Q -- and for the lists (I'm almost afraid to ask):

How do you folks understand the distinction between "slang" and
"informal" -- specifically when used as labels given with dictionary
definitions?

I have a problem with "informal" as a dictionary label, as it seems to me to
be not specific or clear enough.  Does it mean "colloquial"?
"conversational"?  I guess for Michael Q it does not mean "slang".

But the Concise Oxford Dict (UK), since the 10th edition, has dropped the
label "slang" and only uses "informal" (except for the label "vulgar
slang").  I believe the reason is that the editors felt that "slang" was a
widely misunderstood and overused term, so as a label can be misleading.

However, I like "slang" as a label, as long as it is understood to mean
'term/phrase that originated in speech, is never formal, and that serves as
a substitute for a formal or regular term for a thing'.

The "substitute" bit is the KEY.  Fred Cassidy once made a point at a DSNA
or ADS session about the distinction between "slang" and "regionalism".
They are hard to distinguish sometimes, but Fred -- who knew a thing or two
about regionalisms, and never met one he didn't like -- drew a sharp
distinction.  A "slang" term has general applicability (or potential for
such) and is NEVER formal.  A regionalism may actually be the formal or
regular (we used to say "standard") term for a thing, BUT is only used in a
limited area, city, or region of a country, etc., that has a dominant single
language.  A regionalism may also have informalness or colloquialness about
it, or may seem folksy or humorous or jocular, and so starts sometimes to
seem like slang.  But Fred Cassidy kept them clearly apart, in his mind.

Anyway, take it from there.  If this starts a thread that leads eventually
to a better system for labels in general dictionaries, that would be a fine
thing.

Frank Abate

PS: The slang word said, "I'm a substitute for another guy." (with apologies
to Pete Townsend)


> In todays SF Chronicle, in Tim Goodman's TV column:
>
> "Maybe we've been watching BBC America too much, but the whole idea
> of Anna Nicole makes us kind of shirty."
>
> Brit slang?  And what does it mean?

British informal, rather than slang, I'd say, as it has been around
since the 1840s and is well-established. It means bad-tempered or
annoyed. It may be linked with expressions like "get somebody's shirt
out" (meaning to annoy someone to the point where he strips off ready
for a fight) and "keep your shirt on" (though this is usually said to
be American in origin), even though these two are actually recorded a
little later.

--
Michael Quinion
Editor, World Wide Words
E-mail: <TheEditor at worldwidewords.org>
Web: <http://www.worldwidewords.org/>