Etymology
Helsinkians themselves never refer to their slang as Helsinki slang(i) but instead as stadin slangi or simply slangi. Stadi is a slang word, borrowed from the Swedish stad, "city". Literally, the name would mean "slang of the city", but stadi always means just the city of Helsinki in the slang – all other cities are unconditionally referred to by the common Finnish word for "city" ("kaupunki").
More importantly, Helsinki slang is not strictly speaking a slang in the word's modern definition, but rather a dialect and a sociolect. However, the term "slang" has stuck since long, especially as the language refers to itself as slangi.
Read more about this topic: Helsinki Slang
Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)
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