Everyday speech wouldn’t be the same without it, even though it quickly confuses foreign visitors.

Slang is such a part of daily speech, we hardly notice its presence. A simple Internet search yields Web sites on every type of slang, from a truck driver to Silicon Valley computer-whiz slang.

Andy Lotz, a junior meteorology major, named the most common slang term used by him and his friends.

“That would be ‘dude,’ ” he said, admitting that females don’t escape this term. “Everybody’s a dude, even my pets.”

California State Polytechnic University’s College Slang Research project has gathered information from communication students since 1990. The project’s Web site, www.csupomona.edu/~jasanders/slang/, lists slang from universities around the country, and students can participate in the study, look at top 20 lists of slang from the past and look up definitions in slang dictionaries.

Cal Poly’s Web site defines slang as “more than a noun. Like communication, slang is a process. This means slang is also a verb. We slang as well as speak slang.”

Slang involves more than just the words used, according to the Web site.

“The process of slanging involves the creation and use of slang,” the site states. “It may entail both nonverbal and verbal cues. For example, the intonation with which a term is spoken can transport it from standard English to slang.”

English professor John Schaeffer said language norms depend on the situation, but there’s one word he would like to hear less in academic hallways.

“I think every English teacher would say it’s the constant repetition of the word ‘like,'” he said. “It’s as though they’re afraid to say ‘it is.'”

Schaeffer said writing and speaking rules are different, and as far as speech is concerned, “good English, bad English — it’s really part of social manners.

“The thing to remember about English is that it is controlled by people who never think about language,” he said. “We can put down rules for writing and try to enforce them, but there doesn’t seem to be any way to enforce the rules of speaking.”

Schaeffer said in work and social environments, correct use of language may be required, but in social situations, the same language “would get you laughed at.”

“The real trick is to know when to use what form of English,” he said.

Craig Abbott, director of undergraduate studies in English, agreed.

“A person who speaks exactly like they write probably doesn’t have very many friends,” he said.

Though slang can be funny and English professors agree it is useful in some instances, Abbott said students need to know when to speak maturely.

“One thing students do have difficulty with is making the transition from teen talk to adult talk,” he said. “And that might hurt them in a job interview.”

Abbott said though he doesn’t mind hearing slang around campus, he could do without one word.

“I do wish I didn’t hear the f-word as often as I do,” he said. “There has been a little loss of civility. But it’s a move toward informality.”