Remember that terminology may vary and be very different in different languages. You are right that "dialect," as a matter of fact, is used loosely. The reason is that it is very difficult to differentiate between languages and dialects, dialects and other subdivisions... That is why, I think, it is more "politically correct" to use the term "lect" in many cases. In Russian linguistic tradition, you can't apply "dialect" to argots and jargons. Actually, argots and jargons even tend to be separate phenomena, and thus we have three different but "loosely" understood "speaks". I must say that there is no agreed standard as to what one might call "dialect. Period" when studying variations of the Russian language. Govori and narechiya are more understandable somehow. And, last but not least, jargons and argots are not included in them because they have specific usage within language.Originally Posted by Trzeci_Wymiar