Unit I Title: World Englishes and Global Communication

Lesson 3: Varieties and Registers of Spoken and

Written Language (Slang, Cliche,
Sexist language and Jargon)
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“Language is the dress of thought”
-Samuel Johnson

Language register is the level of formality with which you speak. Different situations
and people call for different registers.

Examples of Varieties and Registers of Spoken and Written Language

1. Standard / Polite / Formal 7. Creole
2. Colloquial / Informal 8. Vernacular
3. Regional Dialect 9. Patois
4. Social Dialect 10. Lingo
5. Lingua Franca 11. Jargon
6. Pidgin 12. Slang

SLANG
Slang is an innovative language occurring mostly in casual and playful speech. It
consists of short-lived coinages, extravagant figures of speech and existing words in new
meanings. Slang is an extremely informal style of language.

Language specialists describe slang as –

1. An informal nonstandard vocabulary composed typically of invented words, arbitrary
changed words, and extravagant figures of speech
2. A language that is markedly lower in prestige than Standard English
3. A language that is not universal throughout society that people in different social
standing may give a common word with different meanings
4. A language that is often academically taboo and unlikely to be used by educated people
5. An extreme form of colloquialism that is sometimes known as “street talk”

Styles of Slang
1. Backslang
Examples: yob (boy), ecilop (police), werpa (power)
2. Rap Slang
Examples: yo! (greetings), nuts (crazy), gig (job)
3. Short-lived Coinages
Examples: batitude (bad attitude), fatso (a fat person), edress (e-mail address)
4. Existing Words with New Meaning
Examples: bread (money), broke (without money), nuts (crazy)
5. Emoticons or Smileys
Examples: (smile), (sad), (excited)
Other examples: okeydoke (all right, correct, approved)
hypebeast (A person who follows a trend to be cool or in style)
no sweat (no problem)
crib (house)
yukky (dirty, tastes bad)
x-rated (pornographic)
chill (calm down, relax)

CLICHÉ
Cliché refers to overused and worn-out expressions. It consists of once well-loved
idioms and phrases but because they have been used so often and so carelessly that
they have become meaningless. Cliches suggest mental laziness, uncertainty, and lack
of originality.
Examples: apple of my eyes
by hook or by crook
once upon a time
last but not the least
better late than never, etc.

SEXIST LANGUAGE
Sexist language is language that unnecessarily identifies gender. In other
references, it refers to the use of masculine noun or pronoun to be generic, meaning it
applies to both masculine and feminine genders.

Sexist language includes the following:

• Use of exclusive pronoun “he” to refer to male and female genders
Example: Each student must have his notebook with him in class.
(Use: All students must have notebooks with them in class.)

• Use of gender specific job titles

Example: sex-linked titles: fireman/firewoman Congressman/Congresswoman
policeman/policewoman stewardess/steward
neutral titles: firefighter Representative
police officer flight attendant

• Use of “man” to refer to all people

Example: for 'man', substitute 'person'/'people', 'individual(s)', 'human(s)', 'human
being(s)'

for 'mankind', substitute 'humankind', 'humanity', 'the human race'

for 'manhood', substitute 'adulthood', 'maturity'
Below are some suggestions on how to use non-sexist language.

1. Eliminate the generic use of HE, HIS, or HIM unless the antecedent is obviously male
by:

a. Using plural nouns

Traditional: The lawyer uses his brief to guide him.

Suggested: The lawyers use their briefs to guide them,

b. Deleting he, his, and him altogether, rewording if necessary

Traditional: The architect uses his blueprint to guide him.

Suggested: The architect uses the blueprint as a guide.

c. Substituting articles (a, an, the) for his; using who instead of he

Traditional: The writer should know his readers well.

Suggested: The writer should know the readers well.

d. Using One, We or You

e. Using the passive voice

Traditional: The manager must submit his proposal today.

Suggested: The proposal must be submitted by the manager today.

Traditional: As one grows older, he becomes more effective.

Suggested: As one grows older, one becomes more effective.

2. Eliminate the generic use of Man, instead use People, Person(s), Human(s), Human
Being(s), Humankind, Humanity, The Human Race

Traditional: ordinary man, mankind, the brotherhood of man

Suggested: ordinary people, humanity, the human family

3. Eliminate sexism in symbolic representations of gender in words, sentences, and text

by:
a. Taking the context of the word, analyzing its meaning, and eliminating sexism in the
concept:

Traditional: feelings of brotherhood, feelings of fraternity

Suggested: feelings of kinship, solidarity

Traditional: the founding father

Suggested: the founders, the founding leaders

Traditional: the Father of relativity theory

Suggested: the founder of relativity theory, the initiator of relativity theory

b. Finding precise words to delineate the thing itself from supposedly sex-linked
characteristics:

Traditional: Titanic was a great ship, but she rests at the bottom of the sea.

Suggested: Titanic was a great ship, but it now rests at the bottom of the sea.

Traditional: “Don’t let Mother Nature rip you off! She’s out to kill your car’s new finish. Stop
her . . .”

Suggested: “Don’t let nature rip you off! It’s out to kill your car’s new finish. Stop it . . .”

4. Eliminate Sexual Stereotyping of Roles by:

a. Using the same term for both genders when it comes to profession or employment:

Traditional: Salesman, Stewardess

Suggested: Sales agent, Flight attendant

b. Using gender fair terms in lexical terms

Traditional: Sportsmanship

Suggested: Highest ideals of fair play

c. Treating men and women in a parallel manner

Traditional: I now pronounce you man and wife.

Suggested: I now pronounce you husband and wife.

d. Avoiding language that reinforces stereotyping images

Traditional: a man’s job, the director’s girl Friday

Suggested: a big job, the director’s assistant

e. Avoiding language that catches attention to the sex role of men and women

Traditional: working mothers, spinsters or old maids

Suggested: wage-earning mothers, unmarried women

Traditional: busboys, chauvinist pigs

Suggested: waiter’s assistants, male chauvinists

5. Eliminate sexism when addressing persons formally by:

a. Using Ms. instead of Mrs.

Traditional: Mrs. Dela Cruz

Suggested: Ms. dela Cruz

b. Using a married woman’s first name instead of her husband’s

Traditional: Mrs. Juan dela Cruz

Suggested: Ms. Maria Santos-dela Cruz

c. Using the corresponding titles for females:

Traditional: Dra. Concepcion Reyes

Suggested: Dr. Concepcion Reyes

d. Using the title of the job or group in letters to unknown persons

Traditional: Dear Sir

Suggested: Dear Editor, Dear Credit Manager, Dear Colleagues

JARGON
Jargon (also called Gobbledygook) is a language used by groups that have similar
interests like professions, trades, and sports. The use of jargon saves time and space,
but the use of it in appropriate situation and with the wrong audience who are unfamiliar
with it causes failure to achieve shared meaning because of its conceptual shorthand and
technical vocabulary (O’hair, Friedrix, and Dixon, 2005).

Jargon may be described in the following features:

1. TECHNICAL JARGON - This refers to official terms for particular applied science or
and should not be used in other workplaces.
2. ACRONYMS – This refers to abbreviations formed from the initial letters of other words
and pronounced as a word. (BulSU - Bulacan State University, MOA – Memorandum of
Agreement)
3. INITIALISMS –This refers to abbreviations formed from the initial letters of other words
and pronounced separately. (CEO – Chief Executive Officer, ICU – Intensive Care Unit,
PCM – Purposive Comm.)

Example of jargons used in different kinds of workplaces

a. Legal Jargon – LEGALESE is a formal and technical language used by lawyers,
judges, legislators and others in legal profession. It is filled with terminologies that often
confuse than explain. Many educated people speak and write in legalese because they
have high regards to lawyers as authority figures and law makers.
Example: Herewith – attached with this letter
To wit –namely, or which is
Whereof – of what or which
Henceforth – from this time on
b. Political Jargon - is the shared language of catch phrases spoken by those in politics.
Example: Left-Wing: a politician or citizen who is more liberal than the average person.
Partisan: Something that only works toward the goals of one political party, and
often works against the goals of the other.

Public Servant: Political jargon for an elected official.

Lame duck: A politician who is considered ineffective, either because he or
she was recently elected out of office or announced retirement.
c. Medical Jargon - The medical field is filled with cryptic jargon, including innumerable
scientific terms and medical abbreviations. Standardized communication between
professionals – standard terms helps healthcare professionals understand patients'
conditions and issues, help them decipher complex information to provide a more
accurate diagnosis.
Example: BP - Medical shorthand for blood pressure.
CBC -Medical shorthand for Complete Blood Count.
q2h –every 2 hours. As in drinking medicine every two hours.
Mobile dentition – loose teeth
d. Banking Jargon – commonly used terminologies in banks
Example: Billing Cycle - The time interval between the dates on which regular periodic
statements are issued.

Debit - A debit may be an account entry representing money you owe a lender
or money

Principal Balance - The outstanding balance on a loan, excluding

interest and fees.

Withdrawal - the act of taking out money or other capital.

e. Computer Jargon - words to do with computers and surrounding topics. Most people
use these words to discuss computer ideas, but some people use these words to impress
others (also known as buzzwords).
Example:
Disk - a place to store data.
Data - information stored on a computer.
Upload - to put data on somewhere. For example, on the internet or a website, "I
uploaded my pictures to Facebook."
Download - to copy data from somewhere. For example, "I downloaded a song from
iTunes."
RAM – Random Access Memory
Hardware - the solid parts of a computer, like monitors, fans, CPU, etc.
WWW – World Wide Web
Hacker - people who search flaws in the way computers work.
f. Psychology Jargon - Terms commonly used in a psychology class or related field
Example:
Cognition - the psychological result of perception and reasoning
Phobia - an anxiety disorder characterized by irrational fear
Deception - a misleading falsehood
Psychological - mental or emotional as opposed to physical in nature
Behaviorism - an approach to psychology that emphasizes observable measurable
behavior
Reinforcement - a stimulus that strengthens the behavior that produced it
Altruism - the quality of unselfish concern for the welfare of others
Memory - the cognitive study of how past experience is remembered
g. Travel and Tourism Jargons
Assets - The attractions, hotels and restaurants within a given region. Assets are what
that area has to offer guests who visit.
Front-line staff - People who interact with and give service to customers, guests and
visitors. For example, front desk staff at a hotel or a cashier at an attraction.
Itinerary - The planned route for a trip.
Scheduled Flight - means that tickets to this flight are sold via various sales channels
around the world.
Charter flights- on the other hand, are bought from the airline by a tour operator.
ETA – Estimated Time of Arrival
PAX- stands for Passengers. This is a term used in Airline industry.
h. Police Jargons
SWAT - Special Weapons and Tactics Team
10-4 - Okay, affirmative
Berries and cherries - The lights on top of a police car
Bird – Helicopter
Ambo – Ambulance
Over - Used in Radio transmission to indicate you have finished speaking
(i. Internet Jargons/Slang)
lol — laughing out loud
brb — be right back
btw — by the way
g2g — got to go
meme – a humorous image video, piece of text, etc., that is copied (often with slight
variations) and spread rapidly by internet users.
(j). Electronics Communications
signal - information which has been converted into a digital format
communication channel - A communication channel is the medium by which a
signal is transmitted from the sender to the receiver. It may be a simple copper wire, or it
may even be a satellite system
transducer - is mainly a device that converts one form of physical variables such as
temperature, pressure and force
modulation - refers to the act of adding information to an electronic or optical
waveform
bandwidth - The range of frequencies over which a system generates or uses
significant signal power.
(k.) Public Administration
access – the ability to gain the attention and to influence the decisions
of key political agents

accountability - a political principle according to which agencies or organizations,

such as those in government, are subject to some form of external
control, causing them to give a general accounting of and for their
actions; an essential concept in democratic public administration

administrative law - that branch of law concerned with the procedures by which
administrative agencies make rules and adjudicate cases; the
conditions under which these act can be reviewed by courts

bureaucracy - a formal organizational arrangement characterized by division of

labor, job specialization with no functional overlap, exercise of
authority through a vertical hierarchy (chain of command) and a
system of internal rules, regulations, and record keeping; the
administrative branch of government (national, state, local)
 charter - local government's equivalent of a constitution

(l.) Nursing Jargons

Celestial Discharge - When a patient is celestially discharged, it means that the patient
has died.

“Code brown” - Large poop. Call backup.

“Vampire” - A hospital vampire is a phlebotomist

“Trainwreck” - A patient who is not doing well, with multiple acute problems at one time

“Happy juice” - IV or Intravenous pain medication.

“Nurslings” - Student Nurses