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Slang and idioms are used in all aspects of communication and it’s something important to understand as part of learning any language. These expressions that fit into the situation and stick to the mouth make the conversation meaningful and more rich. Not only does it enhance conversation with native speakers, but it also shortens the cultural gap. As you study idioms and slang, you naturally learn about cultural, historical, and linguistic backgrounds. Conversely, if you don’t know anything about the cultural and historical background of English, your linguistic skills won’t grow as much. This is because the purpose of our language study is not just a textbook understanding of the language, but to be able to communicate and engage in casual conversation with native speakers. To really enjoy a foreign language, you have to reach a certain level of understanding. In this case, the background knowledge learned while studying idioms and slang phrases are very helpful. It is a stepping stone to enriching your cultural, historical, and linguistic comprehension. As you study idiomatic expressions, you find that certain words have idiomatic meanings in addition to dictionary meanings. Chicken, for example, has the secondary meaning of coward in addition to its textbook definition. If you come across a phrase using the word “chicken” and if you feel like the intention of the word was not the animal, then you can decipher what was meant in that situation was “a coward”. Missing the secondary meanings of words in these situations can completely change the context of a conversation. The American journalist and writer, Carl Sandburg, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1940 for his famous biography, Abraham Lincoln:The War Years (1939), defined slang as “A language that rolls up its sleeves, spits on its hands, and goes to work”. In the court proceedings, prosecutors and counsels use words like buck and cop. I strongly agree with Carl Sandburg’s definition of slang, and it translates it into a better understanding of real world communication. The word idiom comes from the Greek word, Idioma. Idioma is a combination of idiomatic and -ma, which means “to make it yourself”. In other words, an expression with figurative meaning, which has peculiarity on its own, out of the literal definition due to the conventional or more common usage. For example, “kick the bucket” literally means “to strike a specific bucket with a foot,” but the actual meaning is “ to die”. If you only know the textbook meaning of the words “kick” and “bucket”, it is hard to know the intended meaning of the expression. To illustrate, President John F Kennedy’s father, Joseph Kennedy said, “If you want to make money, go where the money is. Don’t get mad, get even”. Using cultural context and a better understanding of idioms, “Don’t get mad, get even.” would mean something that you say in order to tell someone not to be angry when someone has upset them, but to do something that will upset them as much. Former US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, who served briefly in Donducheon which is the city of South Korea in the late 1970s. Bronchiole in New York, the son of a Jamaican immigrant and raised in poverty, he is a symbol of the American dream. The second item in his motto also says something similar to “Don’t get mad, get even.” One of his mottos that I felt indelible was “Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it.” Slang and idioms are completely different language expressions and should be clearly distinguishable. Take Korea as an example, slang is a more collective language, so it is a bit of slang or abbreviation used by teenagers. I think the idiom can be understood as more of a humorous language or word play. Idioms and slang are so ingrained in all languages that having a better understanding of it will open up more doors in how to engage and navigate through conversations, writings and day to day communications. The more you know a language, the more difficult and mysterious it is and with how slang is constantly evolving, there is always more to learn.
