system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
When does slang become a dialect?

When do phrases and conventions in common usage transition from being seen as slang to being part of a different dialect or a different language?
gpt
Never. *Slang* is a word used to describe a subset of words that are informal and usually temporary. By definition, slang cannot become a dialect because a dialect is a full system of communication, not simply a small part of vocabulary. Everybody grows up learning at least one dialect of their languages (with *dialect* serving as a broad cover term for regional, social, or ethnic varieties). Slang is going to be part of all these dialects, in the informal speech of the dialect.

Sometimes, slang can persist and even find its way into the standard form of a language if enough people use it in contexts where the standard is expected (e.g. *fan* as slang for *fanatic*). You might find David Crystal's summary of the slang specialist Eric Partridge's work in Crystal's *Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language* to be helpful in understanding the how and why of slang.