language

One of the main purposes of using slang is to solidify one's identification with a group. Slang is most prevalent among the young and among such disfranchised groups as blacks, teen-agers, drug users, criminals, carnival workers, hobos and the uneducated. Often, slang is used as a code language to fortify the group and to exclude outsiders. Some criminal slang, called cant, is so highly developed that pickpockets, for example, can carry on a conversation in front of a victim without the person's realizing that they are discussing which pocket to pick.