| Summary: There are several online slang dictionaries. Using an online slang dictionary has advantages over a printed slang dictionary in that an online slang dictionary allows users to stay abreast of rapidly changing slang. |
Slang, the playful, often irreverent patterns of casual speech, permeates all languages, and further subdivisions of slang exist among users of those languages. In fact, some slang evolves to the point where it is considered to be its own micro-language, complete with usage rules and a distinctive name. Keeping up with slang can be a daunting task. Fortunately, multiple websites exist to help the hapless recipient of slang adjust to new terms and phrases. Chief among these is www.urbandictionary.com, a site devoted entirely to the enumeration of slang terms, updated by the people who use the slang themselves. A visitor to this website can search for any slang term and read dozens of submissions defining that term, some academic in nature and others more colloquial. If the visitor knows of a different meaning for the term, he can submit his own definition, complete with usage example, to benefit other readers.
Slang users in the United Kingdom have their own reference website, http://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/. Not content to let the inmates run the asylum, so to speak, the organizers of this site screen each piece of slang submitted for inclusion, making sure it is actually in common British use before adding it to their lexicon.
The drug and gang subculture in the United States has infused American English a wealth of slang terms, thousands of which are tracked via the Indiana Prevention Resource Center (IPRC) Street Drug Slang Dictionary (www.drugs.indiana.edu/slang/SearchSlang.aspx). Like the British site, this list is tightly controlled, with terms from the IPRC’s own files as well as many additions from the National Drug and Crime Clearinghouse slang term list. This list is an invaluable resource for parents who might suspect their children are using illicit drugs.
The rise of the Internet, chat rooms, and cell phone text messaging has created whole new classes of slang. Fortunately, for the 1337-impaired, the Internet Slang Dictionary (www.noslang.com/dictionary.php) is there. The ISD features an alphabetical list so users can quickly find the meanings to those cryptic abbreviations like “l8r” (later), “afk” (away from keyboard) and “1337″ (elite). This database seems to be international, featuring abbreviations like “aicmfp,” meaning “And I claim my five pounds.” This database is policed by the website administrators, so only Internet slang that is properly listed gets through.
Finally, Wiktionary (www.wiktionary.org) is an excellent source for slang information, and a good compromise between the unbridled anarchy of the Urban Dictionary and the suppressive rule of the Street Drug Slang Dictionary. Like the Urban Dictionary, Wiktionary is edited by users, but it is also policed by users. The level of professionalism in all of the Wikimedia (www.wikimedia.org) projects is very high, and statistics show that errors and vandalism are usually fixed by other users within minutes.
Keeping up with changes in slang may not be an easy task, but with online tools such as these available, the average person at least has a chance to stay current.
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