[Corpora-List] Corpora containing common English words including slang.

[John F. Sowa]

 > It would appear the editors at Merriam-Webster have given some
 > thought to this. The following is the Synonym paragraph from the
 > Third International Unabridged Dictionary for Jargon, Slang
 > (and several more related terms).

...

 > SLANG is likely to indicate a complex of words and constructions
 > preferred within a limited group, esp. an informal one, to the
 > standard language, and often more or less forceful or novel in
 > their suggestion.

The condition "preferred within a limited group" seems to be critical.

Slang is a dialect or sublanguage used by an "in group", and it may
include a fairly large body of words, syntactic patterns, and even
modified or stylized pronunciation.  The dialect may be associated
with modes of behavior and dress that also distinguish the in-group
from the larger society.

When a word that was coined by the in-group is adopted by speakers
from  the larger society, it begins to lose its status as slang,
and the in-group may even coin a different word to replace the one
that has been "tainted" by outsiders.

John Sowa




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