So much slang to decode, so little motivation.

by Michele Ranard
700 words

One of my teen son’s friends recently visited my blog (this one chock full of design obsessions and pretty photos) and declared it “eclectic and SICK.” It took me a second to realize he approved. “Sick” still immediately registers “freaky in a bad way” to this midlife brain.

When I was a teen, it was understood that by the time slang flowed from a parent’s conversation, the dialogue of a made-for-TV movie, or a novel it was DOA and without a doubt, uncool. Not so anymore.

Language Today

Implications of the net, Twitterature, and modern communication mean language on the street, in texts, and throughout pop culture reaches us immediately now. David Crystal, honorary professor of linguistics at the Bangor University and author of A Little Book of Language (2010) has great enthusiasm for the way language is changing as a result of the internet. As a lover of language, Crystal believes it’s important to be aware of how we shape language and how it shapes us.

Lately I’ve heard other parents express concern about whether texting is hurting our tweens and teens in terms of English skills. Crystal believes there is no need for parents to panic that texting is destroying our kids’ ability to spell. "We are rearing a generation of kids who are more equitable and more understanding about the existence of language variety and why it is there” he explained recently in an interview with The Independent (March 2010).

Breaking Their Code

Let’s face it, language is fun! Can you believe the average adult knows 40,000 words? If you have tweens or teens you may find their slang can sometimes magnify the generation gap. Which slang is still cool? When do we scrap over-saturated “over” terms? How to decode so many blessed acronyms?!?

Our teenagers are likely more successful at mastering slang because they have a little thing called “time.” Hopefully this sampling of current text/slang will give you a laugh and help you feel cooler.

20 Texts Decoded*

ES enough said

GPB gotta pee bad

H8 hate

HAHA having a heart attack

HHIS hanging head in shame

IK I know

JP just playing

KWIM know what I mean?

L8r see you later

PAW parents are watching

POS parents over shoulder

SCNR sorry could not resist

STBY sucks to be you

TSDMC tears streaming down my cheeks

TT2T too tired to talk

W8 wait

WAY who are you

WE whatever

WTMI way too much information

Y why?

Ten Terms Decoded**

1. COD diet: losing weight from missing meals because of playing Call of Duty (the video game, folks). “After Black Ops came out, I went back on the COD diet.”

2. Pwn (pone): video game smack talk, meaning to power own someone or something (your kids have probably used this for years).“Dude I totally pwn-ed him in Call of Duty.”

3. Facebook Buddha: a FaceBook friend who frequently posts motivational sayings. “Man, what a crappy day ahead... wonder what my Facebook Buddha friend will have to say today?”

4. Internest: the cocoon of duvets, pillows, and comfy things gathered around self to keep warm whilst spending large amounts of time on internet. “She knew eating pizza in her internest was a bad idea, but it was just too dang snuggly.”

5. Just sayin’: term used at the end of something offensive to take the heat off you when you say it. “She’s really askin’ for it wearing that skirt—just sayin’!”

6. Page clicker: an e-book that’s hard to put down. “The e-book was a real page clicker as I became so absorbed in the story.”

7. PHOBAR: acronym for “Photoshopped beyond all recognition.” “Of course she looks perfect in that profile pic, she was PHOBAR.”

8. Ridin’ qwerty: texting while driving where it’s illegal. “Sorry I couldn’t reply to your SMS, I was ridin’ qwerty.”

9. The sh*t: awesome (this article for example).

10. Strategic dipping: chip is dipped, bitten, then turned over and dipped. “I’m not double dipping! I’m strategic dipping!”

Of course, do not delude yourself into thinking that incorporating these into texts and conversations will raise your cool quotient! At best, they may increase your understanding of your teen’s secret world just a tad.

Michele Ranard has a sick blog at hellolovelyinc.blogspot.com, two teens who never ride qwerty, and a master’s in counseling—WE. Her guilty pleasure? Spending hours in a billowy internest!

Sources:

Crystal, David. A Little Book of Language. Yale University Press. 2010.
Dico, Joy Lo. “Watch what you're saying!: Linguist David Crystal on Twitter, texting and our native tongue.” The Independent. March 2010.
*Teen Chat Decoder. Teenchatdecoder.com
**Urban Dictionary. Urbandictionary.com