mindmap root((方言)) dialect applies commonly to a language found regionally or among the uneducated: the ~ of Cajuns in Louisiana. (Cajuns:卡津人，法国后裔) vernacular applies to the everyday speech of the people in contrast to that of the learned: the doctor used the ~ in describing the disease. lingo is a mildly contemptuous term for any language or form of language not readily understood: foreign tourists speaking some strange ~. patois designates the speech used in a bilingual section or country, especially the mixed English and French spoken in some parts of Canada: children chattering happily in the local ~. jargon applies to a technical or esoteric language used by a profession, trade, or cult: educationese is the ~ of educational theorists. cant is applied derogatorily to language that is both peculiar to a group or class and marked by hackneyed or unclear expression: the ~ of TV sportscaster. argot is applied to a peculiar, often almost secret, language of a clique or other closely knit group: the ~ of narcotics smugglers. slang designates a class of mostly recently coined and frequently short-lived terms of usages informally preferred to standard language as being forceful, novel, or voguish: the ever changing ~ of college students.