Changes throughout the ages: Use of slang transforms conversations
Bae, your eyebrows are on fleek. HMU with where you got them done.” Translation: a really close friend’s eyebrows are shaped nicely. Tell them where they got it done. Throughout the years, the way people talk and the slang words they use have evolved into special words that get the message across with brevity. All of these words are unique to each generation. Slang is the language created by a specific era of people that includes words that are informal. The five most popular slang words in 2015 were “bae”, “on fleek”, “thirsty”, “basic” and “turn up”, according to the Huffington Post. Pertaining to the 21st century, informal words have gained popularity throughout the years to express feelings and thoughts. These words, which may appear as foreign to people of earlier generations, have gradually blended into ordinary speech.
According to BBC News, slang has been around longer than people might think. The phrase “hang out” has been used since the 1800s, along with many other words still used today such as “cool”. Author of the book “The Life of Slang” Julie Coleman said the use of these common words among this generation was created when people in a community from a lower class system found ways to make communicating easier.
Some informal words used in the 1980s are still present in people’s vocabularies today. Words such as “BFF,” “ace” and “the bomb diggity”, are used among teenagers today with the same meaning. Sometimes vernacular from the olden times resurfaces in the present and becomes popular. According to US News, 64 percent of students who participated in a study reported to have used forms of shortening words for texting or social networking purposes.
English teacher Barbara Dewitt, who has four children of different ages, expressed her thoughts on the slang spoken among teenagers today.
“When I was a child, some slang words were ‘that’s sick’, ‘let’s boogie’, ‘bogus’, ‘take a chill pill’ and others,” Dewitt said. “The slang words are similar today, along with words used when texting is changing fast.”
The use of slang is controversial. Some people consider it as an intelligent way of shortening words while getting the meaning across; others regard it as a sign of vulgarity and of a limited vocabulary. Such differences could lead to misunderstandings and confusion.
“Just like [how] the meaning of words change, slang changes with the generations,” Dewitt said. “[In today’s generation, slang allows people to bond with their peers, their region of the country and more.”
