Vocabulary:

Formal (learned, official, literary, bookish), used in official documents, business correspondence, etc. (officialese, journalese, etc.).

E.g., feasible, commence, whereof, proceed, commodities, repudiate, etc.

Informal (colloquial), used in everyday, informal talk or writing, conversational.

E.g., That was a close shave; you nearly ran over the dog! (Barnhart)

I put down the receiver. The buck had been passed, I thought. (Francis. Dead…)

The intercom buzzed. “Miss Collins returning Mr. Marron’s call.” (Clark. I’ll Be…)

Neutral words form the bulk of the English vocabulary; they are independent of the register and can be used in both formal and informal communication.

Terminology, the system of terms used in a specific field of art, science, etc.

Special terminology: linguistic terminology, medical terminology, radio engineering terminology, etc.

Term, a word or word-group used to name a notion characteristic of some special field of knowledge, industry or culture.

E.g., Linguistic terms: word, syntax, phoneme, suffix, borrowing, polysemy, metaphor, hyponymy.

Scientific terms: proliferation, tractable, trapezium, bacillus, chemical laser, chaology.

Technical terms: quantum, tenon, transmission, ring gear.

Slang, a vastly developed subgroup of non-standard (sub-standard) colloquial words and phrases used in familiar discourse. Slang words are expressive, mostly ironical words serving to create fresh names for some things that are frequent topics of discourse. General slang includes words that are not specific for any social or professional group.

E.g., four-eyes – a person who wears eye-glasses; goosy – touchy, jumpy, sensitive; schmendrick – a stupid person, esp. an awkward and inert nonentity; ratted (Brit.) – drunk; duke it out (U.S.) – to fight with one’s fists.

Rhyming slang (London’s East End cockney slang) – substitutes a rhyme for the word in mind.

E.g., cod’s roe – dough (money)

custard and jelly – telly (television)

bacon and eggs – legs

In speech the actual rhyming word is often omitted.

E.g., I like me glass of pig’s. [Pig’s ear – beer]

That’s worth a lot o’ bees. [Bees and honey – money]

Slanguage (special slang, professional and/or social jargon) is peculiar for some social or professional group.

E.g., U.S. teenage slanguage: newbs – new boys; moon-man – a person not like us; butter – a student who fawns on others, especially on teachers; grungy – shabby, dirty.

College/University student slanguage: to ace – to do very well on a test; rack – female chest, a bed; to scope – to look over at a classmate’s exam paper; frat – a college fraternity.

Afro-American slanguage : a – yes, correct; to zap – to move quickly; a handkerchief head – an Uncle Tom; ripped – intoxicated.

Hauliers’ slanguage: anchor – a brake; Chinese dominoes – a load of bricks; pimple – a steep hill; pipe – a telephone.

Moving-picture slanguage: niggers – blackboards used to ‘kill’ unwanted reflections from the powerful lights; inkies (fr. incandescent) – lights; Gertrude – a giant steel crane with a camera at its head.

Underworld slanguage: to flag – to arrest; dime – a ten-year prison sentence; to make – to rob, steal; rod – a pistol.

Vulgar word (vulgarism), a phrase or word characterizing (used in) coarse, ignorant speech. Vulgar terms are to be used only when one is aware of and desires their strong effect.

E.g., □ shit-all □ – not any; none at all

□ to come □ – to have an orgasm

□ cock □ – the penis

Taboo words, forbidden, prohibited, banned. For the most part these are four-letter words, names or abusive terms. Taboo terms are never to be used.

E.g., ■ nigger ■ – a black person

■ slant-eye ■ – an Asian person

■ fuckhead ■ – a despicable person

REGIONAL VARIETIES OF THE ENGLISH VOCABULARY: American English and British English

American English, the variant or variety of English spoken in the USA. Americanism, a word or a set expression peculiar to the English language as spoken in the USA.

E.g., cookie – a biscuit; frame house – a house consisting of a skeleton of timber, with boards or shingles laid on; frame-up – a staged or preconcerted law case; guess – think; store – shop.

British English, the variant of English used in Great Britain.

Briticism, a word or a set expression peculiar to the English language as spoken in Great Britain, i.e. a word or phrase that is of distinctively (modern) British origin, particularly in contrast to a different American equivalent.

E.g., laddish – having the quality of macho uncouthness and aggression exhibited by male groups; dawn raid – a sudden unexpected attempt to buy a significant proportion of a company’s equity, typically at the start of a day’s trading.