What does "slang" mean?

[Yankee]

Hi

I've been wondering for a while now how the word "slang" (and also "slang idiom") is defined at english-test.net.

My question is intended primarily for Alan, Torsten and Linda because I don't understand the rhyme and reason for categorizing so many of the tests as English Slang Idioms. I mean, this collection of tests seems so haphazard and mixed that just "Sentences" or "Random Sentences" might be more appropriate labels. :?
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[Alan]

Hi,

The question is whether the title of individual tests is going to concern those who actually take the tests. I think the tests should be assessed on their content.

Alan
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[Torsten]

I agree. Most of our users will actually never see the titles of the tests so they are rather insignificant. What really counts is what a person can learn by taking the tests as well as by asking questions regarding the expressions contained in the tests. Also, any test whether it contains "random sentences" or not is better than no test at all.

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[Yankee]

[Alan]

Hi,

Yours wasn't really a question. It was a comment and I and Torsten have separately made our comments.

Alan
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[Yankee]

That's rather slippery of you, Alan. :wink:

The very first sentence I posted was this:

[Torsten]

Amy,

I'm always open for productive and useful suggestions which our users can benefit from. If you have a better solution for the test titles then I'll be more than happy to hear it. Calling our tests "random sentences" or "mixed sentences" won't help our users though.

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[Yankee]

Hi Torsten

I did not create those tests, so the fact that they're practically impossible to categorize is not my doing. However, whatever you might decide to call such a collection, "English Slang Idioms" sends the wrong message in very many instances. That is my opinion based on my own understanding of the expression used as a title/category.

I realize you don't like comments or questions that tend to rock the boat, but why on earth should things like this not be mentioned and discussed?
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"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." ~ Abraham Lincoln

[Torsten]

Amy, I don't like useless comments such as "name your tests 'random sentences'". I do like useful ideas that can be implemented so many people can benefit from them. If you do have a better solution for the titles of Linda's idioms tests then why don't you tell me? Instead of going round in circles and making assumptions as to what kind of comments I like or dislike you might have as well posted your solution at the very beginning of this thread.

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[Yankee]

Hi Torsten

I don't know what the "best" solution would be at this point, and I'm sorry that you find my input "useless". As I said, the tests I've looked at so far in that category seem to be an extremely mixed bag. I mean, there are tests of expressions even some native speakers have never heard mixed with age-old expressions mixed with ordinary vocabulary and so on.

What do you think might be more appropriate? Something such as "English Expressions and Vocabulary" maybe?
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"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." ~ Abraham Lincoln

[Ralf]

How about 'Tricky Situations'?

"Each person is unique, each situation needs individual attention and solutions. Tricky situations are preventing me to reach my goals. They bear unexpected difficulties, often confront me suddenly with barriers, attacks, negative feelings and result in the weakening of my position. The skills that are needed to master these awkward situations can be learned."
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[Yankee]

Hi Ralf

Yes, tricky indeed. Do you have any suggestions?
.
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"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." ~ Abraham Lincoln

[Torsten]

It goes without saying that the current title(s) of Linda's tests are far from ideal. First of all, it doesn't make much sense to give hundreds of test the same title. Second, the phrase "English slang idioms" sounds pretty odd since a phrase can either an idiom or a slang expression but seldom both. So, yes it would be great to rename all the tests. The question is how? It would be ideal if every single test had a unique title that described what exactly what the test is all about -- something like a summary of the ten test questions. Again, if you have any suggestions as how exactly we can solve this problem, I'll be more than happy to hear and implement them.

Many thanks,
Torsten

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[Yankee]

Hi Torsten

I imagine that an average ESL student would find the title "English Slang Idioms" to be interesting because they might expect to find something similar to "street slang" -- i.e. something new, non-standard, and/or hard to find in a dictionary, for example. To me, the word "slang" suggests sub-standard or at best non-standard, so categorizing all of these tests as "slang" basically tells an ESL student that "anything you find in these tests is not appropriate for standard or more formal use". However, that simply is not the case.

I mentioned "Random Sentences" earlier not as a solution, but rather to make the point that that is exactly what the collection seems to be: completely random. My opinion is that this collection of tests needs a more suitable and less misleading title.

Ideally, it would probably be "best" to rearrange/regroup the sentences and create several different categories -- e.g. so that sub-standard usage is together, brand-new idioms are together, traditional expressions are together, very informal usage is together, specialized jargon is together, everyday vocabulary is together, etc.

My assumption, however, is that such a regrouping would be much too time-consuming at this point. Thus, a compromise solution could be to find some sort of title that better describes what's actually included in these tests -- and that would have to be very general.

Here is another suggestion: What about just "Idiomatic Usage"?
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"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." ~ Abraham Lincoln

[Ralf]