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Colloquialism: History
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A colloquialism is a word, phrase, or expression associated with informal language use, particularly everyday conversation, and distinguished from forms conventionally preferred in more formal contexts [1]. Colloquialisms are defined primarily by their register and conditions of use rather than by a particular grammatical structure or regional origin; they may occur in speech and informal writing. The term is related to, but not synonymous with, slang: slang commonly refers to a more socially marked subset of informal vocabulary, whereas colloquial usage is a broader category [1][2].

  • informal language
  • linguistic register
  • colloquial expression
  • slang

References

  1. Andrew Radford. Colloquial English; Cambridge University Press (CUP): Cambridge, United Kingdom, 2018. [CrossRef]
  2. Jonathon Green. Slang: A Very Short Introduction; Oxford University Press (OUP): Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom, 2016. [CrossRef]
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