It wasn't long ago that I was part of the teenage generation that made words like whatever and fine into dangerous verbal daggers. Whenever I wielded one of these words my parents instinctively knew I meant business and adolescence was rearing its ugly head.
I remember getting my first e-mail address, along with most of my friends, in 1999 when I was in fourth grade. My friends and I quickly integrated computer slang into our own e-mails and instant messages, asking each other wu? and telling each other we'll brb or we've gtg. And who can forget being warned about instant messages from strangers requesting our A/S/L?
But computer language is one thing--verbal speech is another scenario entirely. Would you consider "teenage" to be a separate language? Any thoughts?
-Kristen
Well, I certainly wouldn't. As a linguist, I can say that each generation expands the lexicon with words coined, blended, or clipped from previous vocabulary; they also extend meanings beyond their original context. But to say that "teenage" is a language, with a separate phonology and grammar, is somewhat overstating the case. This book is really a "guide to talking to your kids," written by two psychologists. As that, a guide to communication, it seems well-formulated, but it doesn't suggest that teenagers speak a different language--just that they're often reluctant to talk with their parents.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with the above comment. "Teenage" is definitely not a language of its own... In order to understand responses like "fine" and "whatever," parents should not be learning how to speak "teenage," but how to read between the lines, understand irony and implicit meanings - and that applies to understanding all age groups, not just teenagers.
ReplyDeleteEach generation has its own slang -- but slang is not a separate language. What I find very odd, however, is that generations are becoming so very small. When slang is out of date in a few months and when seniors cannot understand freshmen, one's circle of friends becomes too small.
ReplyDeleteI understand the concerns of a "teenage language," especially now while observing in schools. But I definitely do not believe it to be a language so much as a slang. I think if we accept it as a language teens will forget the importance of formal language when talking to adults, or even scholarly language when writing. It is important that we not make excuses for teenagers to let those slang terms and abbreviations slip into their formal language.
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