A study of it reveals principles basic to all languages, including standard English. The fact that languages are constantly changing is particularly obvious when one considers slang. The slang of Spring 1965 is not the same as the slang of any other season of any other year. Also, the fact that there are regional variations in any language is made clear by a study of slang. H.H.S. slang is greatly influenced by surfers and surfing, a factor probably not as important in other parts of this country.
All languages are primarily oral, and slang is almost entirely so.
As a result of this, we had many problems with the spelling of entries. Since the words are so seldom written, we had no standard to go by. In compiling this dictionary, we followed a procedure similar to that used by contemporary professional dictionary makers. First of all, each of us kept his eyes and ears open to anything that would be the written and spoken slang of Hawthorne. Then we brought the words back to our classroom.