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Q&A Is 'temping' a culture-specific term?

All slang is culturally specific. The meaning of most of it can be figured out by context though. Certainly "temping" falls into that category. But vocabulary recognition simply does not happen o...

posted 8y ago by Mark Baker‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2020-01-03T20:41:52Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/26673
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T06:06:15Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/26673
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T06:06:15Z (almost 5 years ago)
All slang is culturally specific. The meaning of most of it can be figured out by context though. Certainly "temping" falls into that category.

But vocabulary recognition simply does not happen on a word by word basis. It happens in the context of the story being told. As kids, we pick up new words all the time, not from having them defined for us, but from hearing them used in context and seeing what they mean and how they are used. (This is why learning to speak a second language idiomatically from a book or in a classroom is so difficult. We don't get to see use in context.)

You can make up entirely new slang and just use it in context and if you set the context right, the reader will pick up its meaning.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2017-02-11T13:06:13Z (almost 8 years ago)
Original score: 7