Slang Words Not Necessarily Vulgar

出自香港新聞網 - 樹仁新傳系學生實習習作

Use of slang words in writing articles has long been banned. Especially in school assignments, Cantonese in written form somehow gives a less formal impression to teachers. But a columnist on the contrary urged newspaper writers for adopting slang in writing scripts.

Chi-Ming Pang, a famous columnist in Apple Daily and AM730, said yesterday in an assembly of Shue Yan University, “language, whether written or spoken, is for communication. The purpose of using slang is to create resonance between both writers and readers.” Some Hong Kong media used slang as headline to draw readers’ attention. Pang himself especially appreciated this kind of “word creation”. “This can be in fact understood by the readers immediately and so to fulfill the main function of media, information transmission,” he added.

But with social change, language is altering at the same time. Reporters also have to differentiate the choice of words in order to maintain the function of media. That is why he is so dedicated in noting the change of language, in particular Cantonese. For Pang, Cantonese is always powerful and aculeate. He explained, “Cantonese can simplify the sentence and describe the fact most accurately.”