Informal Speech / Slang

Casual, very informal speech, using expressive but informal words and expressions (slang words/expressions). For some people, slang is equivalent to colloquial speech but for others, it means “undesirable speech”. Usually, “colloquial speech” refers to a speech variety used in informal situations with colleagues, friends or relatives, and “slang” is used for a very informal speech variety which often serves as an “in-group” language for a particular set of people such as teenagers, army recruits, pop groups, etc. Most slang is rather unstable as its words and expressions can change quite rapidly, for example:

Beat it! Scram! Rack off! (for “leave”)

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