俚语(slang)
极不正式的、不标准的辞汇，一般而言并不限定在那个地区使用。俚语包括有新造的字词、简化的形式、或者是戏谑式地使用某些标准字词（当然是大出原意之外）。俚语通常来自某些团体常用的辞汇：切口，某些年龄阶层、族群、职业团体或是其他团体（例如大学生、爵士乐手）惯用或索性自己造出来的字词。行话，职业用语或某一行业的专门术语。暗语，盗贼或其他罪犯传递秘密信息时所使用的切口或行话。被大众所接受的、介於标准语及非正式语词之间的俚语，以及一些次级团体所惯用的特殊字词，经常为日後字汇的累积发挥了一种测试平台的作用。许多俚语已被证明为有用，而被接受为标准语或非正式语，至於另外一些就标准语而言，还是太过时髦了些。例如blizzard（大打击）、okay（没问题）、gas（胡扯）这几个字已经是标准字了，而conbobberation（骚动）、tomato（女孩）则被放弃。不过，有些字词则一直保持着俚语的身分，例如beat it（溜走）一词在16世纪时就已出现，可是它既没有成为英文的一个标准语，也没有消失。
English version：
slang
Nonstandard vocabulary of extreme informality, usually not limited to any region. It includes newly coined words, shortened forms, and standard words used playfully out of their usual context. Slang is drawn from the vocabularies of limited groups: cant, the words or expressions coined or adopted by an age, ethnic, occupational, or other group (e.g., college students, jazz musicians); jargon, the shoptalk or technical terminology specific to an occupation; and argot, the cant and jargon used as a secret language by thieves or other criminals. Occupying a middle ground between standard and informal words accepted by the general public and the special words or expressions of these subgroups, slang often serves as a testing ground for words in the latter category. Many prove either useful enough to become accepted as standard or informal words or too faddish for standard use. Blizzard, okay, and gas have become standard, while conbobberation (“disturbance”) and tomato (“girl”) have been discarded. Some words and expressions have a lasting place in slang; for instance, beat it (“go away”), first used in the 16th century, has neither become standard English nor vanished.