Unpopular opinions go here

[Reynard]

That one might be my fault.

We could make it more annoying, by using it in a discussion about jargon. F'rex:

Is a word jargon when it is used to express it's most basic meaning? "Dog" doesn't mean anything special when used by a dog trainer. And, "existing or occurring within the world of a narrative rather than as something external to that world," is the basic definition of the word "diegetic".

It is more about its sudden ubiquity. When I see it constantly peppered into posts by folks who have never used it before, I think, "Sus."

(slang is like the opposite of jargon, right?)

 

[Gradine]

It is more about its sudden ubiquity. When I see it constantly peppered into posts by folks who have never used it before, I think, "Sus."

(slang is like the opposite of jargon, right?)

Jargon is a subset of slang

 

[Gradine]

<this is a statement of opinion>
No one song can be "the most quintessentially <era> song," because the eras are defined (in peoples' heads) by the multitude within it. The closest I think you can get is "the most of-its'-era song" -- as in one which could not be mistaken for coming out in another decade. Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up would not have come out (sounding like it did) prior to the 80s and by '92-93 would have sounded dated. I don't know that any of the songs so-far mentioned for the 90s have that same quality (although I'm open to suggestions on that front).

The 90s also had Ska reach new heights, and revivals for jam bands (Phish, Dave Matthews Band, Widespread Panic, The Why Store), blues acts (Kid Johnny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, lots of Stevie Ray Vaughan remembrance), and New Orleans influenced bands (The Subdudes, Aaron Neville solo career). Grunge gets remembered because it came of age in the 90s, not because it was the only thing there.

A long time ago another forum I used to frequent ran too simultaneous threads: The Quintessential "90's" Song and The Quintessential "80's" Song. The 90's thread was, as you might imagine, all over the map (my answer, FWIW, was "Mr. Jones" by Counting Crows).

90% of the the answers in the 80's thread was "Billie Jean"

 

[Reynard]

Jargon is a subset of slang

This is not true based on the actual definitions of those words.

 

[Gradine]

This is not true based on the actual definitions of those words.

Merriam-Webster describes them as literal synonyms:

: language peculiar to a particular group: such as
a
: ARGOT
b
: JARGON sense 1

 

[Reynard]

Merriam-Webster describes them as literal synonyms:

: language peculiar to a particular group: such as
a
: ARGOT
b
: JARGON sense 1

From the Oxford:

Slang: a type of language that consists of words and phrases that are regarded as very informal, are more common in speech than writing, and are typically restricted to a particular context or group of people.

Jargon: special words or expressions that are used by a particular profession or group and are difficult for others to understand

The only overlap in the Venn diagram is them being used by specific groups.

Also, this is a silly argument based on a pretty mid joke I made.

 

[Umbran]

Is there a difference between "technical terms" and "jargon"?

Good question. I did a little looking around, and I think there might be a subtle distinction:

Technical terminology is the "official" language of a domain, and is generally not used outside that domain.

Jargon is language that is given special meaning within a technical domain, but may be used outside that domain.

A layman won't understand technical terms, but a layman will likely misunderstand jargon, if that distinction makes sense.

So, for gaming - "Hit Points" is probably a gaming technical term, as it doesn't get used outside of games. "Feats" would be jargon, as the word "feat" has meaning outside of gaming.

In physics - "Boson" is a technical term. "Relativity" would be jargon.

A lot of legal language is jargon, as it is composed of words that have colloquial meaning that does not match the technical use. "Malice" is legal jargon, for example.

 

[Umbran]

Also, this is a silly argument based on a pretty mid joke I made.

What else could you possibly expect when you make a joke about pedantism?

 

[Cadence]

Album wise, the 90s music in my head is Achtung Baby, Zooropa, Pop, and Jagged Little Pill.

Not nearly as much radio listening for me as in the 70s and 80s or as much MTV watching as late 88- to early 90 in the background in the dorm lounge. I guess Nothing Compares 2 U was on MTV a lot in the spring of 90.

 

[Gradine]

I can't believe how wrong I was upthread.





The quintessential 90's song is absolutely, without question, "Tubthumping" by Chumbawumba.