Using slang words and instant messaging abbreviations in conversation has become a common practice among teenagers. Expressions such as “Hey, what’s up?” and “cool” are used every day.
Such phrases are not new. Most slang words have been used in previous decades, but went out of style, or the meaning of the word changed.
Dude, for example, traditionally meant a dandy, a man who dresses flashily, according to Wikipedia.com. But about 1968, the new usage of dude (friend, buddy) entered the mainstream as California surfer slang, and was mentioned in the movie Easy Rider.
Other words that have been changed into slang and commonly used are chick (a girl or woman) and hunk (a good-looking guy).
Words that have fallen out of fashion include “groovy,” popular in the 1960s as a way of saying nice or cool. “Fab” is short for fabulous or fantastic. “Dibs” is almost always used with “got” and means possession, such as “I ‘got dibs’ on that magazine.”
If someone had “cooties,” it meant they weren’t cool, and the phrase “don’t have a cow” (calm down) would be said to someone acting like a “spaz.”
Slang is essential to communication. “Slang is always going to be in fashion,” said Bianca Rolon, a junior at West Boca Raton High. “It will always be used in the English language.”
The words might change, but such language will always be used in everyday speech.
“I always say ‘is the shizz’ because it’s cool,” said Amanda Singh, a junior at West Boca Raton High.
“I say that something is the ‘bomb diggity’ because I want to be unique,” said Nadia Siddiqui, a junior at West Boca Raton High. “I don’t care if it’s in style or not.”
