Keeping up with teen lingo

(ThIs Is ToTaLlY aWeSoMe.) I cannot help but wonder why teenagers find it extremely prominent to use double fonts when typing. Mixing capital letters with small ones confuses people and most times people miss the point because it’s annoying to read.As a teenager, I vividly remember being thoroughly punished for grammatical errors.The idea of mixing fonts was a taboo when I was in P.2 and it surprises me how it turned out to be stylish among teenagers today.Anyway, font mixing is not the only thing that is amazing about today’s teens.With the evolving vocabulary of teenagers, I find myself struggling to communicate with some of the young people I meet these days.Recently, I tried to have a chat with my 17 year old cousin on facebook and believe me when I tell you that after 30 minutes of chatting with her, I regretted the time wasted, because I did not understand half the things she said to me. When she signed out, she used some inexplicable words.The number of times teenagers use the word “like” and “innit” (isn’t it) is dreadfully preposterous and nerve-racking. They cease to make a point sometimes, which is totally distressing plus; I can only imagine how some parents go through dealing with their teenagers’ lingo every day.I asked my teenage cousin what it felt like to be in S.4 and she said “it’s sick”. Now the age difference made me assume that “sick” probably meant she was disgusted with it and as I was busy sympathising, she corrected me and said sick meant very good.Although much of the “slanguage” used by teenagers is humorous, a big portion of it is quite offensive. It is however, worth noting that this new language is mainly derived from hip hop songs.It is safe to say that hip hop artists are not only entertaining us with their music but they have also created a new language, and they do this for every new generation that comes up.I was recently surprised to learn that 40 year old men and women can also proudly sit there and use slang; it left me wondering what stage of growing up they might have missed. A 17-year old can be excused for using improper language but what excuse can a grown man give for using slang in the company of his peers?

Insight

Keeping up with teen lingo