Colloquialism (also called colloquial language, colloquial speech, everyday language, or general parlance) is the linguistic style used for casual and informal communication. It is the most common form of speech in conversation among persons in friendship, familial, intimate, and other informal contexts. Colloquialism is characterized by the usage of figurative language, contractions, filler words, interjections, and other informalities such as slang.
In contrast to formal and professional communications, colloquial speech does not adhere to grammar and syntax rules and thus may be considered inappropriate and impolite in situations and settings where etiquette is expected or required. It has a rapidly changing lexicon and can also be distinguished by its usage of formulations with incomplete logical and syntactic ordering.
Explanation
Colloquialism or general parlance is distinct from formal speech or formal writing. It is the form of language that speakers typically use when they are relaxed and not especially self-conscious. An expression is labeled colloq. for "colloquial" in dictionaries when a different expression is preferred in formal usage, but this does not mean that the colloquial expression is necessarily slang or non-standard.
Some colloquial language contains a great deal of slang, but some contains no slang at all. Slang is often used in colloquial speech, but this particular register is restricted to particular in-groups, and it is not a necessary element of colloquialism. Other examples of colloquial usage in English include contractions or profanity.
"Colloquial" should also be distinguished from "non-standard". The difference between standard and non-standard is not necessarily connected to the difference between formal and colloquial. Formal, colloquial, and vulgar language are more a matter of stylistic variation and diction, rather than of the standard and non-standard dichotomy. The term "colloquial" is also equated with "non-standard" at times, in certain contexts and terminological conventions.
A colloquial name or familiar name is a name or term commonly used to identify a person or thing in non-specialist language, in place of another usually more formal or technical name.
In the philosophy of language, "colloquial language" is ordinary natural language, as distinct from specialized forms used in logic or other areas of philosophy. In the field of logical atomism, meaning is evaluated in a different way than with more formal propositions.
Distinction from other styles
Colloquialisms are distinct from slang or jargon. Slang refers to words used only by specific social groups, such as demographics based on region, age, or socio-economic identity. In contrast, jargon is most commonly used within specific occupations, industries, activities, or areas of interest. Colloquial language includes slang, along with abbreviations, contractions, idioms, turns-of-phrase, and other informal words and phrases known to most native speakers of a language or dialect.
Jargon is terminology that is explicitly defined in relationship to a specific activity, profession, or group. The term refers to the language used by people who work in a particular area or who have a common interest. Similar to slang, it is shorthand used to express ideas, people, and things that are frequently discussed between members of a group. Unlike slang, it is often developed deliberately. While a standard term may be given a more precise or unique usage amongst practitioners of relevant disciplines, it is often reported that jargon is a barrier to communication for those people unfamiliar with the respective field.
See also
- Eye dialect
- Oral history
- Vernacular
References
- Bańko, Mirosław (2006). Polszczyzna na co dzień (in Polish). Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN. p. 84. ISBN 8301147938. OCLC 123970553.
- Kwiek-Osiowska, Janina (1992). ABC... polskiej gramatyki: leksykon szkolny (in Polish). Kraków: Towarzystwo Miłośników Języka Polskiego. pp. 101–103. ISBN 8370640486. OCLC 76290254.
- Buttler, Danuta (1982). "Miejsce języka potocznego w wśród odmian współczesnego języka polskiego". In Urbańczyk, Stanisław (ed.). Język literacki i jego warianty (in Polish). Wrocław.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Furdal, Antoni (1977). Urbańczyk, Stanisław (ed.). Językoznawstwo otwarte (in Polish). Opole: Opolskie Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Nauk. Wydział Języka i Literatury.
- Buttler, Danuta (1977). "Polskie słownictwo potoczne". Poradnik Językowy (in Polish).
- colloquial. (n.d.) Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved September 10, 2008, from Dictionary.com
- Trask, Robert (1999). Key Concepts in Language and Linguistics. Psychology Press. pp. 27–28. ISBN 978-0-415-15742-1.
- Trudgill, Peter (2000). Sociolinguistics: An Introduction to Language and Society. Penguin UK. p. 17. ISBN 9780141926308.
- "NGS". German Department, Hull University. 1992. pp. 208–233.
- Trudgill, Peter (1999). "Standard English: what it isn't". In Bex, T.; Watts, R.J. (eds.). Standard English: The Widening Debate. London: Routledge. pp. 117–128. Archived from the original on 21 March 2009.
- Roger D. Hawkins; Richard Towell (2010). French Grammar and Usage. Routledge. p. x. ISBN 9780340991244.
- Šipka, Danko (December 2016). "Exclusion Labels in Slavic Monolingual Dictionaries: Lexicographic Construal of Non-Standardness". Colloquium: New Philologies. 1 (1): 4. doi:10.23963/cnp.2016.1.1. ISSN 2520-3355.
- "familiar, n., adj., and adv.". OED Online. Oxford University Press. 2014. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
- Davidson, Donald (1997). "Truth and meaning". In Peter Ludlow (ed.). Readings in the Philosophy of Language. MIT Press. pp. 89–107. ISBN 978-0-262-62114-4.
- Zuckermann, Ghil'ad (2003). Language Contact and Lexical Enrichment in Israeli Hebrew. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1403917232.
- Lundin, Leigh (2009-12-31). "Buzzwords– bang * splat !". Don Martin School of Software. Criminal Brief.
- Fiset, J., Bhave, D. P., & Jha, N. (2024). The Effects of Language-Related Misunderstanding at Work. Journal of Management, 50(1), 347-379. https://doi.org/10.1177/01492063231181651
External links
- Colloquial Spanish – Dictionary of Colloquial Spanish.
- Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, Ludwig Wittgenstein (archived 17 May 1997)
Colloquialism also called colloquial language colloquial speech everyday language or general parlance is the linguistic style used for casual and informal communication It is the most common form of speech in conversation among persons in friendship familial intimate and other informal contexts Colloquialism is characterized by the usage of figurative language contractions filler words interjections and other informalities such as slang In contrast to formal and professional communications colloquial speech does not adhere to grammar and syntax rules and thus may be considered inappropriate and impolite in situations and settings where etiquette is expected or required It has a rapidly changing lexicon and can also be distinguished by its usage of formulations with incomplete logical and syntactic ordering ExplanationColloquialism or general parlance is distinct from formal speech or formal writing It is the form of language that speakers typically use when they are relaxed and not especially self conscious An expression is labeled colloq for colloquial in dictionaries when a different expression is preferred in formal usage but this does not mean that the colloquial expression is necessarily slang or non standard Some colloquial language contains a great deal of slang but some contains no slang at all Slang is often used in colloquial speech but this particular register is restricted to particular in groups and it is not a necessary element of colloquialism Other examples of colloquial usage in English include contractions or profanity Colloquial should also be distinguished from non standard The difference between standard and non standard is not necessarily connected to the difference between formal and colloquial Formal colloquial and vulgar language are more a matter of stylistic variation and diction rather than of the standard and non standard dichotomy The term colloquial is also equated with non standard at times in certain contexts and terminological conventions A colloquial name or familiar name is a name or term commonly used to identify a person or thing in non specialist language in place of another usually more formal or technical name In the philosophy of language colloquial language is ordinary natural language as distinct from specialized forms used in logic or other areas of philosophy In the field of logical atomism meaning is evaluated in a different way than with more formal propositions Distinction from other stylesColloquialisms are distinct from slang or jargon Slang refers to words used only by specific social groups such as demographics based on region age or socio economic identity In contrast jargon is most commonly used within specific occupations industries activities or areas of interest Colloquial language includes slang along with abbreviations contractions idioms turns of phrase and other informal words and phrases known to most native speakers of a language or dialect Jargon is terminology that is explicitly defined in relationship to a specific activity profession or group The term refers to the language used by people who work in a particular area or who have a common interest Similar to slang it is shorthand used to express ideas people and things that are frequently discussed between members of a group Unlike slang it is often developed deliberately While a standard term may be given a more precise or unique usage amongst practitioners of relevant disciplines it is often reported that jargon is a barrier to communication for those people unfamiliar with the respective field See alsoEye dialect Oral history VernacularReferencesBanko Miroslaw 2006 Polszczyzna na co dzien in Polish Warsaw Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN p 84 ISBN 8301147938 OCLC 123970553 Kwiek Osiowska Janina 1992 ABC polskiej gramatyki leksykon szkolny in Polish Krakow Towarzystwo Milosnikow Jezyka Polskiego pp 101 103 ISBN 8370640486 OCLC 76290254 Buttler Danuta 1982 Miejsce jezyka potocznego w wsrod odmian wspolczesnego jezyka polskiego In Urbanczyk Stanislaw ed Jezyk literacki i jego warianty in Polish Wroclaw a href wiki Template Cite book title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Furdal Antoni 1977 Urbanczyk Stanislaw ed Jezykoznawstwo otwarte in Polish Opole Opolskie Towarzystwo Przyjaciol Nauk Wydzial Jezyka i Literatury Buttler Danuta 1977 Polskie slownictwo potoczne Poradnik Jezykowy in Polish colloquial n d Dictionary com Unabridged v 1 1 Retrieved September 10 2008 from Dictionary com Trask Robert 1999 Key Concepts in Language and Linguistics Psychology Press pp 27 28 ISBN 978 0 415 15742 1 Trudgill Peter 2000 Sociolinguistics An Introduction to Language and Society Penguin UK p 17 ISBN 9780141926308 NGS German Department Hull University 1992 pp 208 233 Trudgill Peter 1999 Standard English what it isn t In Bex T Watts R J eds Standard English The Widening Debate London Routledge pp 117 128 Archived from the original on 21 March 2009 Roger D Hawkins Richard Towell 2010 French Grammar and Usage Routledge p x ISBN 9780340991244 Sipka Danko December 2016 Exclusion Labels in Slavic Monolingual Dictionaries Lexicographic Construal of Non Standardness Colloquium New Philologies 1 1 4 doi 10 23963 cnp 2016 1 1 ISSN 2520 3355 familiar n adj and adv OED Online Oxford University Press 2014 Retrieved 2014 04 01 Davidson Donald 1997 Truth and meaning In Peter Ludlow ed Readings in the Philosophy of Language MIT Press pp 89 107 ISBN 978 0 262 62114 4 Zuckermann Ghil ad 2003 Language Contact and Lexical Enrichment in Israeli Hebrew Palgrave Macmillan ISBN 978 1403917232 Lundin Leigh 2009 12 31 Buzzwords bang splat Don Martin School of Software Criminal Brief Fiset J Bhave D P amp Jha N 2024 The Effects of Language Related Misunderstanding at Work Journal of Management 50 1 347 379 https doi org 10 1177 01492063231181651External linksLook up colloquialism or colloquial in Wiktionary the free dictionary Colloquial Spanish Dictionary of Colloquial Spanish Tractatus Logico Philosophicus Ludwig Wittgenstein archived 17 May 1997
