I 💓 Slanguage

This is when I go language-heavy on you, ha ha, hoping you will find it interesting. 

Slang is the most fascinating language phenomenon to me. Say what? Slang is informal speech they don't teach us at school, generally inclusive to particular social groups. Vivid, fun and often taboo. You probably already use it without realising it. Apparently, a slang word has to be in circulation for a decade before it appears in the dictionary. Its first recognised use dates back to the 18th century when it was considered the vocabulary of "disreputable" people. By 19th century, it was no longer associated with such people, although it continues to be the informal or "low-register" language (not to be confused with jargon or colloquialisms). 

As a living thing, language is forever changing. New words come in, old words die out. Music (often rap music), films, television, internet tend to be the key slang influencers. Is it worth trying to keep up with it? Depends who you communicate with, I suppose. If you want to know what the youngsters in your life are talking about, you might need to get clued up on it. 

Unsurprisingly, besides the usual factors, technology is also impacting language and communication. The need to communicate faster has never been greater. This has led to forming the so called "text talk," comprising acronyms e.g. LOL (laugh out loud), YOLO (you only live once), LMHO (laughing my head off). I'll spare you the rude examples LOL. 

"Text talk" is half of our problems, though. Eventually we'll work out what each letter stands for...What about the rest? Well, we might need a dictionary to begin with. So if you want to be down with the kids and impress Generation Z, here is a teaser of their slanguage. 

Don't be cool, be tope (yes, I mean tope - totally dope), be straight fire! 

ALA - great, very nice 
Big yikes - very embarrassing
Bop - excellent song, tune 
Bruh - brother 
Cap/No cap - lie/for real, true 
Dime - 10 out of 10; the best it can be 
Dope/Tope (totally dope) - awesome/totally awesome 
Extra - over the top, dramatic, trying too hard (He's so extra.)
Fam - family 
Famjam - family get-together 
Finna - going to (I'm finna get pizza.) 
Fire/Straight fire - hot, trendy, amazing 
Fleek - on point 
Glow up - an upgrade in appearance 
Gucci - good, cool
Hundo P - 100% certain 
Kick back - small party 
Lit - amazing, exciting, wild 
Peep - friends/your people 
Rager - big party 
Salty - bitter, angry, agitated 
Ship - relationship 
Shook - shaken, shocked (I'm shook.)
Sic/Sick - awesome 
Snatched - looks good/fashionable 
Swoop - pick someone up (I'll swoop you at 9.)
Thirsty - desperate for something or someone 
Whip - car 
Woke - knowledgeable, sympathetic, aware 
YAAAS - an exaggerated or overly excited way of saying yes 

I like "lit" and "salty." Put your picks in the comments if you dare. 

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