Slang

[Elliott Hammer]

I think that slang is an important part of the language to learn, especially if you plan on going to the country in which they speak it. Of course, there is slang that is always changing, but there is also slang that stays pretty much the same. By slang I mean colloquial speech and sayings, as well as cursing.

When I was in Argentina one of my first priorities was learning slang. I didn't give much attention to the classes there but I practiced all the time because my family didn't speak english and neither did some of my friends. I found that through learning slang and curse words I picked up the rest of the language faster than other students. More importantly, I actually knew what was going on in conversations because people, especially young people, tend to speak with colloquial terms and use some cursing. Because I knew what was going on in the conversations I was able to contribute more, which means I was speaking more, all of which gave me an edge in learning the language.

Possibly the most important part of learning slang is that its fun and interesting. Its especially funny when you figure out the literal translation in english because it usually sounds really weird, but it helps you remember it.