My two younger children (twins, a girl and a boy) were born in 1999. I used to call them dot.com kids because that was the period of the dot.com bubble. Being digital natives, they started handling computer keyboards before touching a pen. Now kids of that vintage are called the Generation Z. I had to rejig a lot of my ideas and acceptances to be in line with the changing mores of that generation. So, sleepovers were all too frequent; being glued to mobile phones was normal; best gifts one could give them ranged from game consoles to ipods, and so on.
Much of the time, our house has been full of their friends, other gen Z kids. Slowly, I realised that they speak in tongues. It’s English but nothing like what we know as the English language. When I first heard my son’s friend say, “I’m bouncing,” I was aghast. Talking of weird behaviour of some anatomical parts? Or about some game? Or was it acrobatics on the trampoline? Later I learnt that he meant he was leaving. Then there were the one-letter words, acronyms and shortened phrases. That’s a big W meant that’s a big win. L meant Loss. IRL meant In Real Life. Delulu meant Delusional or ungrounded in reality.
I thought I knew the term ‘drip.’ For us, it meant a weak, ineffectual person. Now, it’s almost the reverse – it actually means stylish look. For us, ‘thirsty’ meant grabbing a glass of water. Now it describes a person desperate for attention or validation. ‘Ate’ meant filled one’s belly, now it means doing something with style or impressively.
Mercifully, some words haven’t changed much. ‘Vibe’ still means overall mood or atmosphere. ‘Low-key’ means understated. We also used ‘slay’ to mean perform exceedingly well. Something ‘hit different,’ when it had a unique and powerful impact. ‘Cringe’ was something embarrassing or awkward. It remains so.
From time to time, I’m dropping some of the new lingo on my kids’ unsuspecting friends, to the acute ‘cringe’ of my kids. I no longer dress Low-key; I’ve graduated to High-key, with floral prints dominating my wardrobe. My socks are lurid shades of red, electric blue, bottle green and so on. Ditto, my T-shirts; I hardly wear shirts any more, even when I’m teaching a class because quite a few of my students are Gen Z. I wonder if I ‘slay’ them with my ‘drip’ look. Probably I’m being perpetually ‘thirsty,’ (requiring validation all the time).
Sometime back, I wanted to simp glow-up but IRL, that kinda thing becomes a big L if you can’t vibe with your age. It can look sus to fam. So, while you think you’re lit or slaying with your drip, no fam member thinks you’re snatched. They think you’re being cheugy and delulu. Positively cray. Periodt.
The above passage, roughly translated to our (old) generation lingo:
Sometime back, I wanted simply (simp) a positive transformation (glow-up) but in real life (IRL), that kind of thing becomes a big loss (L) if you can’t be in sync with the overall mood (vibe) of your age. It can look suspicious (sus) to family (fam). So, while you think you’re exciting or amazing (lit) or doing exceptionally well (slaying) with your stylish clothes and fashion accessories (drip), no family member thinks you’re looking amazing (snatched). They think you’re being outdated and uncool (cheugy) and delusional (delulu). Positively crazy (cray). Period, emphasis added (Periodt)!
No cap (to tell the truth), it’ll feel salty (bitter).
Linguistic philosophy is at Alisa to decipher the precise meaning of slangs in contemporary times . The orient enunciated context gives out the precise meaning of words . But slangs defy all this . Wittgenstein must be turning in his grave. The sages who talked of “aapta vachan” are confused. No discourse on Philology has dared to precisely describe the meaning of post modern slangs . Ulysses stream of consciousness got sedated . Good issue broached. Thanks
ReplyDeleteThanks for having explained it, sir else I'd have felt salty 😁 that I was cheugy😭
ReplyDeleteNo cap, you’re lit, snatched and amped. And slay on the writing front. Bet!
Delete