Thank you to one of our young people for taking time to write this blog. Enjoy!
This month’s blog is a “teen takeover”, in the past I have contributed to Cup-O-T’s monthly shared learning at “Team Brews”.
“Team Brews” are when the team at Cup-O-T get together to discuss what is happening through the course of the month. As part of the shared learning, I have helped the team become up to date with teen language and understand how teens communicate.
Teenagers communicate differently to sound “cool” and to confuse adults around them because it is funny, but we also understand that it can be unhelpful for those in professions such as occupational therapy because they have to talk to young people and attempt to understand the language we use.
Teenager’s language evolves all the time, changing rapidly so it’s hard for adults to keep up. The slang also often moves down age groups because younger siblings repeat the terms they hear their older siblings using, meaning some terminology is out of date for teenagers, but primary school kids will still be using it, for example “6-7”, which used to be widely used among older teens now is “outdated” and “boring” because younger children use it.
So is there any point in attempting to keep up with the ever-changing slang? Yes. Keeping up to date with slang can help you understand what your child is talking about, without having to stop them and ask what it means, so by all means keep up to date, but don’t use it because you will embarrass the child and they may feel awkward when you know what they are talking about. Learn it, don’t use it. Listen and don’t ask questions. Just let it happen because there is nothing that can be done to stop teens using their own terminology because it makes them feel unique.
Teen terminology also paves the way for future linguistic changes, some words may become the norm, others may become offensive terms. Teen language helps shape the future. For example, “delulu” and “skibidi” have been added to the dictionary because they were so commonly used. Colin McIntosh, lexical programme manager at the Cambridge Dictionary, states that these words and many more have been included because they have “staying power”. The power to exist without being lost over time.
In conclusion, teen language isn’t going anywhere. It’s here to stay, so adults should get used to it! So, if you’re reading this as an adult, be warned, teen slang is all around!
Thank you to this young person for taking time to write this blog
