Slanguage: The First 5 Words You Won't Know When Talking to Teens
| Photo Credit Brit + Co |
Have you ever felt like you have no idea what people around you are saying? I seem to have too many stories about how I misunderstood or just completely misused a word I thought I knew. It's hard enough to keep up with all the words in the English language but when you add all the words being created every day it becomes impossible to keep up with.
In an attempt to educate myself and help out anyone else struggling to communicate with the innovation of our generation I've compiled a list of some of the most confusing slang words.
1. Loud
"Oh my God, the other day in English the kid behind me smelled so loud I couldn't believe it."
Normally the word "loud" is related to noise. Google defines it as "producing or capable of producing much noise; easily audible," and that was the only way I knew how to use the word when I heard a friend speak that sentence. I immediately responded, "Do you have synesthesia?" (synesthesia is a condition in which peoples senses get all mixed up so they can feel color or hear tastes etc.). After we exchanged puzzled looks she explained to me that "loud" meant it smelled like weed.
So the next time you want to inconspicuously comment about a certain smell you can just say "loud"
2. Shawty
"Hey shawty, it's yo birthday"
You've probably heard this one in a variety of songs on the radio. And for some reason, it's always her birthday. This was one that confused me for a long time. Does it refer specifically to a short person? A short woman? Are they wearing shorts? Where's the "r"?
According to the Urban Dictionary (an excellent source for all your slang needs, I consult it often), a shawty is "a fine a** woman, or your girl."
So the next time you'd like to pretend a woman can be owned, give "shawty" a try.
3. Bougie
"Whoa Kyra, those snacks are so bougie!"
This word had me dumbfounded for a few months because-- as with many of these words-- I was too afraid to ask and too busy to consult the all-knowledgeable Urban Dictionary so when I heard a good friend of mine use it at a forensics tournament of all places I was definitely surprised. After consulting a few people I found that "bougie" means "fancy." This actually makes a lot of sense if you think of the word bourgeois which is where bougie is derived from (and if you don't know the word bourgeois I suggest you consult a regular dictionary smh).
So the next time you'd like to express how upper-middle-class something is, just use "bougie."
4. Ship
"I totally ship Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber"
So you might be wondering how one could package two celebrities and send them somewhere and why. This is exactly what I thought when I first heard this word used.
It wasn't until I repeatedly asked my eighth-grade friends (in a very middle school type of way). After a whole recess, I finally wore them down until they informed me that when you ship two people it means that you want them to be a couple. Honestly, the whole idea seems kind of pointless but I guess if you're that invested in other people's lives you should have words to express it.
So if you ever have an intense desire for two random people to have a romantic relationship, just "ship" them.
5. GOAT
"Lebron James is the GOAT, man"
What? I'm pretty sure he's a human being...
So as you've probably inferred by now, GOAT does not refer to the animal which bleats. GOAT stands for Greatest Of All Time. You might also see it written out as G.O.A.T. But what teenager actually has the patience to type out all those periods? This slang word is more of a convenience thing. It's much too long to say the whole title and annoying to just say letters so... you put it together and you get GOAT!
Try using this one when talking about your favorite sports star or human, or maybe try calling your mom GOAT for a confusing compliment idea ;)
"Oh my God, the other day in English the kid behind me smelled so loud I couldn't believe it."
Normally the word "loud" is related to noise. Google defines it as "producing or capable of producing much noise; easily audible," and that was the only way I knew how to use the word when I heard a friend speak that sentence. I immediately responded, "Do you have synesthesia?" (synesthesia is a condition in which peoples senses get all mixed up so they can feel color or hear tastes etc.). After we exchanged puzzled looks she explained to me that "loud" meant it smelled like weed.
So the next time you want to inconspicuously comment about a certain smell you can just say "loud"
"Hey shawty, it's yo birthday"
You've probably heard this one in a variety of songs on the radio. And for some reason, it's always her birthday. This was one that confused me for a long time. Does it refer specifically to a short person? A short woman? Are they wearing shorts? Where's the "r"?
According to the Urban Dictionary (an excellent source for all your slang needs, I consult it often), a shawty is "a fine a** woman, or your girl."
So the next time you'd like to pretend a woman can be owned, give "shawty" a try.
"Whoa Kyra, those snacks are so bougie!"
This word had me dumbfounded for a few months because-- as with many of these words-- I was too afraid to ask and too busy to consult the all-knowledgeable Urban Dictionary so when I heard a good friend of mine use it at a forensics tournament of all places I was definitely surprised. After consulting a few people I found that "bougie" means "fancy." This actually makes a lot of sense if you think of the word bourgeois which is where bougie is derived from (and if you don't know the word bourgeois I suggest you consult a regular dictionary smh).
So the next time you'd like to express how upper-middle-class something is, just use "bougie."
"I totally ship Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber"
So you might be wondering how one could package two celebrities and send them somewhere and why. This is exactly what I thought when I first heard this word used.
It wasn't until I repeatedly asked my eighth-grade friends (in a very middle school type of way). After a whole recess, I finally wore them down until they informed me that when you ship two people it means that you want them to be a couple. Honestly, the whole idea seems kind of pointless but I guess if you're that invested in other people's lives you should have words to express it.
So if you ever have an intense desire for two random people to have a romantic relationship, just "ship" them.
5. GOAT
"Lebron James is the GOAT, man"
What? I'm pretty sure he's a human being...
So as you've probably inferred by now, GOAT does not refer to the animal which bleats. GOAT stands for Greatest Of All Time. You might also see it written out as G.O.A.T. But what teenager actually has the patience to type out all those periods? This slang word is more of a convenience thing. It's much too long to say the whole title and annoying to just say letters so... you put it together and you get GOAT!
Try using this one when talking about your favorite sports star or human, or maybe try calling your mom GOAT for a confusing compliment idea ;)
Now, as a final gift, I will use every single one of these five words in a sentence:
That bougie shawty was so loud she couldn't even remember her own name, but I still ship her and Kevin because Kevin's the GOAT.
How much of that did you understand? Let me know in the comments! And please tell me your funny stories involving slang so I can laugh at my computer screen.
I really enjoy your use of the words in the sentences when you try to show people how they are used, pretty entertaining considering I'm never up to date with the lingo.
ReplyDeleteThis post caught my eye because I thought I was up-to-date with all the slang a gal could use, but G.O.A.T caught me with my pants down. The video of goats kept my attention and made me laugh. However, I wish you would've placed more images throughout the piece because my attention span is nonexistent.
ReplyDeleteThe title of your piece was really eye catching for me because I never know what anybody is saying now days. I also really liked how you put some of your personality and opinions in there such as when you said, "So the next time you'd like to pretend a woman can be owned, give "shawty" a try." About Shawty, "the whole idea seems kind of pointless but I guess if you're that invested in other people's lives you should have words to express it." about shipping, and "what teenager actually has the patience to type out all those periods?" about G.O.A.T.. Overall, I really enjoyed your piece.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your piece, it kept me engaged throughout and I wanted to know if I knew everything on the list. Your sentence variation was really nice because I could focus and I didn't feel overwhelmed because of the organization. I know you had an image at the beginning and a video at the end, but I would've liked to see more images that relate to the words you talk about in your post.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely loved reading your piece, you always do such a nice job of keeping the readers attention. Your title was very eye catching considering I am not a big fan of slang. Your beginning lines instantly made me want to continue reading. In fact, your title and opening lines made me anxious to find out all of the slang words and what they mean. Maybe you could add more images to create more of a layout. Overall, I really enjoyed your piece.
ReplyDeleteYour title is spot on, and your piece flows easily and is enjoyable to read. The video in G.O.A.T is my favorite. One suggestion that I would make is to maybe add an image in the middle of your post for better structure, around step 3 or 4.
ReplyDeleteYour post was really interesting to me. I don't put effort into learning new slang but I guess I know what shawty means now. I also liked all of the examples included like shawty being used in songs and bougie being used at a forensics tournament.
ReplyDelete