From the unceremonious manner in which we greet our intimate friends, to the vaguely vulgar way which we gossip about our relatively new yet demoralising education system in, slang has always been ingrained in Britain’s richly diverse language – especially amongst youngsters. Our traditionally sardonic, mocking, and quite frankly, somewhat cutting sense of humour at times is almost inevitably laced with an effortless yet arguably incomprehensible string of dialect which has been tailored to specifically suit our younger generation and the way in which they communicate with one another.
Despite the truly harmless effect of youngsters adopting to the constantly evolving “slanguage” which surrounds them, and even inventing some of their own interesting lexis, fad words often have a different trajectory in today’s social-network-connected, meme-ified world. Despite influential platforms like Facebook and Twitter having largely contributed to spreading and standardizing terms which may otherwise have remained regional, the internet has certainly shortened the lifespan of some slang; especially when it’s been co-opted by brands attempting to cringily adopt teenage dialect.
As language evolves, and new terms enter the mainstream, teenagers are often blamed and shamed for violating linguistic standards and conventions. Just about anyone could successfully observe upon reading articles on apparent ‘disadvantages’ of the use of slang, essays, or even just the prominently disapproving grimaces on their grandparents’ faces immediately after verbalising their ‘hip’ younger-generation aimed idiolect. It’s scrutinised and discriminated against for supposedly failing to promote ‘proper’ language skills, yet what these narrow-minded individuals fail to inform you of, is the fact that they actually lack adequate, genuine education regarding the subject. In fact, the use of slang among teenagers has been proven in multiple studies to have extensive benefits on the individuals, as well as their relationships with the rest of the society.
Use of teen slang, and the younger generation’s quirky idiolect can actually serve to promote more effective communication amongst them. Adults need to comprehend that linguistic standards have significantly evolved since their adolescent years, and from a linguistic perspective, this is extremely exciting and possibly even revolutionary; the constantly flowing, new vocabulary of our young people shows that our language is still alive, thriving and progressing. It’s continuously developing and becoming what it needs to be for the generation who are engaging in it. It demonstrates to society that they’re innovative and possess the creative capacity to cause language progression at a rapid pace which is truly linguistically revolutionary. The older generation need to grasp that as long as there are people who are living and breathing and speaking, new words – formal or not – are going to be introduced, and older ways of speaking are going to be challenged. And this cannot be stopped.
Use of slang may actually serve to enforce cohesion within communities. Language is an integral part of culture, and slang helps to identify those who are native to particular regions. When strangers use language effortlessly, you identify with them, given that you probably had a similar upbringing or experience of culture to them. Isn’t this one of the most important things which we ought to improve on, in our society today? Connecting with others; wholeheartedly conversing with them beyond the dry mutter of ‘hello’, and the almost robotically churning out of agonising small talk. What I’m attempting to get at here, is the fact that over the years, we have undeniably grown apart from each other as a human race; whether that be due to contrasts in political beliefs, cultural disagreements, or simply being unable to find a common ground with other individuals in our society. But, language has the potential to allow us to reignite this spark for conversation, communication, and connection, and encourage or communities to interact with each other more.
One of the many reasons of disapproval of teenagers engaging in slang – perhaps the principal reason – is that it “discourages” proficiency in academic writing and limits the formal aspect of our younger generation’s vocabulary in regards to essay writing. However, recent research has proven that frequent use of text speak doesn’t necessarily correlate with poor essay writing skills; children are still able to distinguish between formal and informal speech. In fact, the reality of the effect of text slang on academia is quite the contrary to this utter myth, with some studies suggesting that slang speak is as advantageous to your brain as being bilingual is. This is heavily backed up by experts who claim that the extra stimulation can cause an increase in cognitive performance, boost alertness and also boost memory. These clear pros to adopting slang are understandably particularly beneficial to our younger generation; with the ever increasing demands of education, and stress levels being at an all time high, it is no wonder that boosted alertness would benefit them considerably in terms of their studies.
So, next time you scold your son when he refers to his night as being lit, or scoff at a Gen Z on the bus, who when playfully arguing back and forth with friends, labels one of said friends as savage, perhaps reconsider your scoffs and scolds. And consider the facts.
Caitlin Andrews 