Members of different generations explain how generational slang is created, what it’s used for and what is unique about Gen Z and Gen Alpha slang
There has not been a time in history where language has not been changing and evolving, Dr. Jeffrey Maloney, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Business & Social Work, explained. He referred to the example of romance languages, “At one time in history, [the romance languages] were viewed as just a dialect of Latin, and they eventually flourished and took on their own forms … [like] French and Spanish and Portuguese.”
Similarly, each generation has created their own dialects of language, which they use to indicate status over others or share solidarity with members of their generation, said Maloney. “Humans are social creatures,” he shared. “We like to express a connection with other people, different groups that we might want to be affiliated with.” He explained when we use a term associated with a certain social group, we are indicating that we are like the people in that group.
How many of these words have you heard? BYU-Hawaii students share their definitions of different slang words used by Generation Z and Generation Alpha. Special thanks to Nansi Heimuli, Kinsey Hippolite, Jackson Hawkins and Jesse Moncur for their help! Video by Camille Jovenes and Manhattan Ethington Prien.
Dr. Mark Wolfersberger, a professor in the Faculty of Education & Social Work, agreed, “There’s this identity that comes with being a young person … and you want to show your in-group identity as part of that.” An abundance of slang in language is a common characteristic amongst younger groups of people, he said.
Audrey Sant, a paraprofessional teacher who works at Laie Elementary with sixth graders and a senior from California majoring in intercultural peacebuilding, said she sees students use slang to gain status or show solidarity with each other. She shared most of the Gen Z slang happens during interactions on the playground between students and is not really directed at her or other teachers.
Sant said Gen Z words like “alpha” and “sigma” are mostly used by boys who “are definitely wanting to be top dog.” She explained she thinks the students use slang because “it sets them apart from the older adults. They don’t want to talk like boring adults do. They want to talk like their other peers.” Using a shared language also seems to help students connect with their peers while learning, Sant said.
Maloney explained how each generation has had their own unique coming-of-age experiences, resulting in a new shared culture that requires its own language and expression. New generational language is created at the perfect time for new generations, he said, “You’re trying out new stuff, you’re exploring the world, you’re learning about the world and [exploring] new things or things that may be new to you.”
Creating a new language
There are a whole host of factors that go into language creation, Maloney shared, including geographical, technological, social and political factors as well as ideas of ownership, language play and the transmission of language between generations.
Maloney agreed, “[We] have different cultures and groups that are interacting and intermingling that historically never would have.” Technology itself also drives the creation of new terms, he said, as we often need new names for new technologies and the experiences associated with new technologies.
As Gen Z gets older, they will likely leave behind some of the slang they are using now, just as previous generations did, Wolfersberger said. However, “everybody will maintain some aspects of slang,” he shared, so there will be certain words that will carry on throughout the lives of those in Gen Z.
Some words will stick around and influence more than just Gen Z as well, Maloney shared. “There’s going to be certain terms that last and maybe get spread beyond age and social groups,” he said. Words from his youth as a millennial are still being used today, like “ghosting,” “low-key” or “LOL,” he said, explaining there’s “no clear cut-off,” when it comes to generational language.
Maloney said there is a lot more to the topic of generational language than meets the eye and encouraged people to consider the impact of culture on generational language. “Gen Z slang in Japan is probably different from Gen Z slang in the United States versus the Philippines. Maybe there’s an opportunity there to learn some really interesting things,” he explained.
People get to explore these kinds of topics in linguistics and sociolinguistics, Maloney said. He encouraged anyone who is interested in learning more to “come talk to linguistics and TESOL professors because we love to have chats about this kind of stuff.”
Language as generational identity
In the 1980s, Wolfersberger said Generation X used words like “bad,” “rad” and “awesome.” He said he still uses the word “awesome” regularly, sharing, “[It’s] attached to my identity as someone who grew up in the 80s, and it projects who I am.”
For millennials in the 2000s, Maloney said words like “totes,” “salty,” “throw shade,” “chillax” and “FOMO” were all the rage, although he shared while laughing, “I will neither confirm nor deny whether or not I actually used these or whether I just heard them.”
Older members of Gen Z may remember words that spilled over from the millennial slang and became part of Gen Z dialect, like “low-key,” “haters,” “YOLO” and “on fleek,” Sant said. “[I was] trying to think of our equivalent [to current slang],” she shared, “and I remember my mom being like, ‘What does that mean? Brows on fleek? On fleek? Is it French?’”
Younger members of Gen Z and the upcoming members of Generation Alpha use a whole new set of slang, Sant said, including words like “alpha,” “sigma,” “cap” and “per,” which is short for “perfect.” Sant said many of her young Gen Z students cannot create a definition for the terms they use. Instead, they define the words by “the action surrounding the word, the vibe,” she shared.
Read below to learn more Gen Z and Gen Alpha slang!
All photos from Unsplash.
Credits:
Cover image by Armando Rosales. Images by Duy Pham, freestocks and Janosch Lino on Unsplash. Graphics by Moevai Tefan. Podcast by France Valerie Lucillo, Pim Suksuntiwijit, Bella Chimedbaatar and Jeffrey Maloney. Video by Camille Jovenes and Manhattan Ethington Prien.