FastSaying

There's an old little jingle: 'The chief use of slang is to show that you're one of the gang.' What that means is that every social group has its own linguistic bonding mechanism. If there's a group of lawyers, they have their own slang. If there's a group of doctors, they have their own slang, and so on.

David Crystal

David Crystal

BondingChiefDoctorsEveryGangGroupLawyersLinguisticLittleMeansMechanismOldOwnShowSlangSocialSocial GroupUseYou

Related Quotes

You couldn't put me in a social group setting. I'm probably a terrible anarchist deep down.
— Maya Lin
AnarchistDeepDeep Down
Socialism's not a word that I use. I say 'social democracy' because I don't think the government needs to own all the means of production.
— David Cunliffe
BecauseDemocracyGovernment
Social psychology is especially interested in the effect which the social group has in the determination of the experience and conduct of the individual member.
— George Herbert Mead
ConductDeterminationEffect
Fashion has a political role insofar as following it can give you the impression to belonging to a certain social group or a private club.
— Carine Roitfeld
BelongingCertainClub
In high school, I made friends with people in every social group. Or at least that's how I perceived it. I thought they liked me. Maybe they didn't!
— Lucas Hedges
EveryFriendsGroup