Are teenagers following in the footsteps of
Shakespeare?
The younger generation, like many before it, have continued to create an influx of modern and exciting
words to add to the Oxford English Dictionary. Words such as ‘YOLO’, ‘gender-fluid’ and ‘selfie’ have
made their way into the bible of vocabulary with many more still floating around on social media.
Although to many it may seem like a completely different language, there’s really no need to get ‘salty’
over the use of the word ‘fleek’, ‘bæ’ or ‘fam’ when your teenager is chatting to their friends. I would,
however, question the usage of the term ‘Netflix and chill’… Trust me, it’s not as innocent as it
sounds. Most words have been developed from simple acronyms that make texting easier and quicker
such as ‘rofl’ meaning ‘rolling on [the] floor laughing’ or ‘lol’ meaning ‘laugh out loud’ not to be
confused with ‘lots of love’ as so many mothers insist on writing in their Facebook posts. As for the
others, they surface from places like ‘Vine’, ‘Instagram’ and ‘YouTube’ when a person with a
substantial popularity says a made up word and the followers copy and share it amongst their peers.
Due to the internet, it has become even more simple for this kind of talk to circulate so before you
know it ‘lit’ is popping up in your conversations to describe that ‘cheeky sesh last night’.
Despite the general impression being somewhat negative (prescriptivists - believe there’s only one
correct way to use language) many people don’t have a problem welcoming these words into modern
day vocabulary. Those people are the descriptivists. It has to be remembered that the English
Dictionary has constantly been evolving throughout history and has added new words that back in the
1960s seemed odd to numerous people like ‘ankle biters’, ’bozo’ or ‘gnarly’. That was the modern
jargon for kids of the 60s so why can’t teens be allowed the same freedom to create? This is how the
English language keeps moving forward. Without it, we’d just be stuck in a rut of using the same
boring words over and over again. English essays would be lined with the words ‘nice’, ‘big’ or ‘cold’
repeated in every sentence with no variation. How disgusting! How horrific! How nauseating!
We don’t criticise the Anglo-Saxons for coming over and forcing ‘Friday’ and ‘dumbledore’ upon us. I
must point out, by ‘dumbledore’ I mean the breed of bumblebee, not the long-bearded wizard that
resides at Hogwarts. As for Shakespeare, he was the master of wacky words and phrases. Today, no one
bats an eyelid when someone ‘wears their heart on their sleeve’ or goes on ‘a wild goose chase’.
‘Eyeball’, ‘ladybird’ and ‘swagger’ all derive from Shakespearian plays so is the creation of new words
really a problem? To quote Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 3, line 87, ‘No’.
It gives the youth a form of communication other than texting each other from opposite sides of the
room. It’s almost as if it has become a secret language for them to use when others are around making
their conversations more exclusive, especially when you don’t want your parents to know about that
party the other night. As times change and things evolve, you have to keep up to date and relevant
with the latest trends. This lexis happens to be the latest trend. I’m still learning these words, like
‘sus’ apparently meaning suspicious or suspect and ‘woke’ which allegedly means someone who is
knowledgeable on the latest drama. #veryconfused. Some of them make sense and some of them not
so much but I have handed over my trust to the youth of today to continue creating words so that in
years to come, the future generation will look back on us and study our tweets and our tumblr posts
being just as confused as we were with Shakespeare.
Emma Finnemore
Shakespeare?
The younger generation, like many before it, have continued to create an influx of modern and exciting
words to add to the Oxford English Dictionary. Words such as ‘YOLO’, ‘gender-fluid’ and ‘selfie’ have
made their way into the bible of vocabulary with many more still floating around on social media.
Although to many it may seem like a completely different language, there’s really no need to get ‘salty’
over the use of the word ‘fleek’, ‘bæ’ or ‘fam’ when your teenager is chatting to their friends. I would,
however, question the usage of the term ‘Netflix and chill’… Trust me, it’s not as innocent as it
sounds. Most words have been developed from simple acronyms that make texting easier and quicker
such as ‘rofl’ meaning ‘rolling on [the] floor laughing’ or ‘lol’ meaning ‘laugh out loud’ not to be
confused with ‘lots of love’ as so many mothers insist on writing in their Facebook posts. As for the
others, they surface from places like ‘Vine’, ‘Instagram’ and ‘YouTube’ when a person with a
substantial popularity says a made up word and the followers copy and share it amongst their peers.
Due to the internet, it has become even more simple for this kind of talk to circulate so before you
know it ‘lit’ is popping up in your conversations to describe that ‘cheeky sesh last night’.
Despite the general impression being somewhat negative (prescriptivists - believe there’s only one
correct way to use language) many people don’t have a problem welcoming these words into modern
day vocabulary. Those people are the descriptivists. It has to be remembered that the English
Dictionary has constantly been evolving throughout history and has added new words that back in the
1960s seemed odd to numerous people like ‘ankle biters’, ’bozo’ or ‘gnarly’. That was the modern
jargon for kids of the 60s so why can’t teens be allowed the same freedom to create? This is how the
English language keeps moving forward. Without it, we’d just be stuck in a rut of using the same
boring words over and over again. English essays would be lined with the words ‘nice’, ‘big’ or ‘cold’
repeated in every sentence with no variation. How disgusting! How horrific! How nauseating!
We don’t criticise the Anglo-Saxons for coming over and forcing ‘Friday’ and ‘dumbledore’ upon us. I
must point out, by ‘dumbledore’ I mean the breed of bumblebee, not the long-bearded wizard that
resides at Hogwarts. As for Shakespeare, he was the master of wacky words and phrases. Today, no one
bats an eyelid when someone ‘wears their heart on their sleeve’ or goes on ‘a wild goose chase’.
‘Eyeball’, ‘ladybird’ and ‘swagger’ all derive from Shakespearian plays so is the creation of new words
really a problem? To quote Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 3, line 87, ‘No’.
It gives the youth a form of communication other than texting each other from opposite sides of the
room. It’s almost as if it has become a secret language for them to use when others are around making
their conversations more exclusive, especially when you don’t want your parents to know about that
party the other night. As times change and things evolve, you have to keep up to date and relevant
with the latest trends. This lexis happens to be the latest trend. I’m still learning these words, like
‘sus’ apparently meaning suspicious or suspect and ‘woke’ which allegedly means someone who is
knowledgeable on the latest drama. #veryconfused. Some of them make sense and some of them not
so much but I have handed over my trust to the youth of today to continue creating words so that in
years to come, the future generation will look back on us and study our tweets and our tumblr posts
being just as confused as we were with Shakespeare.
Emma Finnemore
