: Re: Methods for creating slang I am interested in creating slang or a vernacular for a particular group in my story. I want it to be distinctive and a definite marker for in-group/out-group, but

Just look how real life slangs form, there are some common patterns.
To name a few:

Portmanteaus and clipping: fan fiction -> fanfic -> fic, software -> warez.

Abbreviations and acronyms made into words: Product End of Life -> "they EOLed the product, we have to upgrade now".

Complex concepts replaced with references: "if you get caught, they will 94 you" (where 94 is the number of a paragraph in e.g. a legal act).

Also, as a reader, I would like the invented slang to fit the characters who use it. People like spaceship pilots or magicians are unlikely to develop a slang just to look distinct and detect outsiders, since it's skill (or ability) that defines whether one is a member of the group or not, but they are likely to have slang words for common objects and concepts they encounter in their daily life, especially if "correct" names for those concepts are lenghty.
To the contrary, school kids are more likely to invent just a few words for common concepts and some words to hide the meaning of their conversations from adults (cigarette -> cancer etc.).

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: Re: Methods for creating slang I am interested in creating slang or a vernacular for a particular group in my story. I want it to be distinctive and a definite marker for in-group/out-group, but

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: Writing a scientific name in an italized phrase? If I use a scientific name (Python regius) in a phrase that is already in italics, should the scientific name then be written normally or underlined?

: Which one is the correct dialogue punctuation format? I am writing my first novel and this the very first confusion I would like to clarify. As I am not a native English speaker, I find it

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