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SLANG
I don’t think that using slang shows you are a lazy person overall, or at least it depends: if you use it in every kind of conversations you might give the impression that you have a narrow knowledge of your language and you are able to use only this kind of register, but also that you don’t feel like letting other people, above all foreign ones, understand you.
To use slang while speaking with non-native speakers, in my experience, shows lack of attention and understanding on how difficult can be for a non-native to communicate in a foreign language.
Besides you shouldn’t use slang in formal or academic contexts at all.
Actually it would be a great achievement for me to be able to use slang and to understand it, because it would mean that I got a proficient knowledge of the language. I think that the informal register is the hardest and last to be reached in a language learning process unless you’re learning the language in a country which has that language as mother tongue.
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1 Reply
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Couldn’t agree more @chiaramig . In fact, when I was little, if I used slang in the house my mum would tell me off and say that I sounded common! I agree, there is a time and place for it.
You also make a good point regarding the insensitivity of native speakers towards non-native speakers – I hadn’t really considered that.
I also agree with you about language acquisition – since I learned Italian in Italy, I picked up colloquial expressions fairly quickly, whereas I struggle with speaking the language correctly (because I didn’t study the foundations). For the majority of my students, as you point out, the reality is the opposite: first the learning takes place and second the acquisition of the informal register. Interesting stuff!
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