10 words I heard while listening to conversing teenagers

That word is so ‘CRINGY’ I don’t say that.

On Tik Tok Charlie Deamilio has the ‘HYPE’.

Those shoes are so ‘SICK.’

My friend commented on my Instagram, ‘SMH’ she stole my

caption.
Teenagers using these
Did you see that girl dancing? ‘POV’ she fell at the end of the

words in a sentence video.

Check it out that rapper has got some new ‘DRIP.’

Spill the ‘TEA’ sis.

Did you see that girl in the instagram photo she has a Chanel bag
and the Balenciagas the ones that look like socks, she’s so
‘BOUGEE.’

Did you see that girl ‘THROWING SHADE’ at her friend. That’s
so un cool.

I know we had some beef but it's all ‘GUCCI’ now.

Those two don’t talk they have a lot of ‘BEEF.’

You look so ‘SNAZZY’ in your prom tux.

Describing what each
word means
Retrieved from:
https://www.urbandictionary.com/
Cringy- Someone or something that makes you
embarrassed to be a part of the human race. Usually
classified by seeing something and feeling extremely
embarrassed, throwing your head back and closing your
eyes to block your view of the cringy media, and biting
your lip to keep in your scream of utter disgust.
Hype- when someone gets excited about something
Describing what each
Sick- Slang for cool or hot or fabulous.
word means
SMH- meaning, "shaking my head", smh is typically
used when something is obvious, plain old stupid, or
Retrieved from: disappointment.

Drip- when your bling is iced out but that stuff melting
https://www.urbandictionary.com/
from all your hot bars, you got the drip. Just another
word for immense swag.

Tea- the best kind of gossip, typically shared between

friends. it’s a bonding tool for people of all ages. tea is
usually about someone you know, but can also extend to
celebrities random internet scandals, etc.
 Bougee- Fake Rich - derived the term Bourgeois. It is
mostly used to describe people who would be considered
Describing what each middle class using brands like Becca, or wearing fake
Gucci. It's almost like calling out those trying to act
word means above their station. Can be used as an insult but is most
often used as something to hype up one's

Retrieved from: friends/partner

Throwing Shade- To diss someone without actually

https://www.urbandictionary.com/ saying their name but making it obvious that that's who
u are talking about

Gucci- A versatile slang term based on the luxury

fashion brand meaning
okay/good/great/awesome/fresh/etc. Originally used in
the streets but now popularized by the masses.
Sometimes abbreviated "gooch" if you're an expert in
its use.

Snazzy- to be well dressed, have really stylish clothes on

and generally look good

What struck you about the language being used by the
teenagers whom you observed?
What did you expect going in?
How did your expectations live up to the results?
I absorbed the language being used by teenagers and
what struck me is the humour and entertainments I
felt. It was entertaining because they use words in
concepts that don’t make sense. It sounds silly to me.
Moreover they use words like ‘raw’ that sound
inappropriate in a context where ‘raw’ means ‘cool.’
I expected the teenagers to talk with abbreviation and
initialism words like ‘OMG’ that is so ‘LOL.’ Moreover
I knew most words would not make sense to me until
they explained how they use them in context.
My expectations lived up to the result because the
teenagers did use a lot of abbreviated words. Moreover
most of the words did not make sense in the context they
are using. Moreover the words are shortened.
 Why do teenagers have their own set of vocabulary?
What is being accomplished intra- and inter-personally,
by creating a shared language.
Reference
www.dictionary.com
I asked my fourteen year old sister what she feels when
she speaks to her friends in their own set of vocabulary,
she replies saying ‘I feel a sense of belonging’ ‘I can fit
in with the other kids’ ‘It sounds fun and it’s cool.’
Interpersonal communication includes; verbal,
listening, written and nonverbal communication.
Teenagers have their own set of vocabulary because
they are trying to find their way in the adult world and
feel more comfortable with their peers. They use their
own language to bond with one another and build
confidence in themselves.
Intrapersonal is the existing or occuring within the self
or within one’s mind. www.dictionary.com
Teenagers use their own vocabulary to express the
emotions they feel with their peers that can relate.
Moreover, they use that vocabulary to simply vent to
each other. Many of the current teenage words are
interconnected to physical image. I find they use these
words to develop their image and personal identities.
 The Developmental stages of adolescence 1. Early adolescents (10-14)

Reference The beginning stages of puberty

http://www.amchp.org/programsandtopics/AdolescentHealth/pr Both sexes have significant physical growth and

ojects/Pages/AdolescentDevelopment.aspx increased sexual interest.

Intellectual interests become more important

while cognitively they have a limited capacity for
abstract thought
 2. Middle adolescents (15-17)

The Developmental stages of adolescence Puberty in males and females is completed

Reference Physical growth continues for males

Develope a growing capacity for abstract thought

http://www.amchp.org/programsandtopics/AdolescentHealth/pr
ojects/Pages/AdolescentDevelopment.aspx Adolescence become to set long term goals

Develop moral reasoning and are interested in

the meaning of life.

They experience social and emotional

involvement.

Develop an increase drive for independence and

involvement.
 The Developmental stages of adolescence

3. Late Adolescence/Young Adulthood (18-24)

Reference
Adolescence develop cognitive development.
http://www.amchp.org/programsandtopics/AdolescentHealth/pr
ojects/Pages/AdolescentDevelopment.aspx
They develop rational thinking, delay
gratification, plan for a future

They Specialize a stringer identity for themselves

They experience increased emotional stability

and independence.

What comparisons/connections can you make to your
own adolescent linguistic practices?
Did you engage in similar language creation when you were
that age?
Do you see similarities between your development and the
development of the teens whom you observed?
I remember being very worried about what to wear to
school. It has to be something from Hollister or
Abercrombie and Fitch. Just like my teenager sister and
her friends, they all dress in the same brands and the
same fashion to fit in.
I engaged in similar language creation when I was going
through adolescence.
My word choices included; girly, besty, my ride, that’s
dope.
I found many similarities between your development and
the development of the teens whom I observed.
They are dressed alike and wearing the same
brands. They have conversations about their clothes and
other teens in school. They try to act like they are mature
and participate in discussing issues on the news. I did all
the same things growing up. It’s funny my sister talks to me
in private and tells me don’t say this in front of this friend
it’s embarrassing, just like I used to tell my mom when my
friends came over to our home.

How do you connect this activity (morphology/semantics in
practical application) to your readings about
morphology/semantics from a theoretical perspective?
What principles of morphology/semantics did you observe?
Include citations/references when citing outside sources.
Reference
Yule, G. ( 2017). The Study of Language. Sixth Edition.
Cambridge: United Kingdom. Published by Cambridge
University Press.
Theoretical principles of Morphology:
Morphology is the study of all basic elements used in
language.
The word renew has two morphemes ‘Re’ (means ‘again’)
‘new’ (means ‘recently made’). The students will
understand that words that start with ‘re’ generally mean
repeating something again.
Teenagers use morphemes like ‘re’ and ‘ed’ to make the
new vocabulary.
Morphology in a practical approach I absorbed is when:
Teenagers use the word ‘po’ed’ meaning that person got
angry. The ‘ed at the end of the word suggests that the
person is already angry, not getting angry or about to
get angry but already angry because ‘ed’ is past tense.

How do you connect this activity (morphology/semantics in
practical application) to your readings about
morphology/semantics from a theoretical perspective?
What principles of morphology/semantics did you observe?
Include citations/references when citing outside sources.
Reference
Yule, G. ( 2017). The Study of Language. Sixth Edition.
Cambridge: United Kingdom. Published by Cambridge
University Press.
Theoretical principles of Semantics
Semantics is the study of the meaning of words, phrases
and sentences.
We must focus on what the word actually means rather
than what the speaker thinks the word means when
everyone shares the knowledge of the true meaning of
the word, phrase or sentence in a language.
Semantics in a practical approach I absorbed
Practical approaches I absorbed are when teenagers
say this person is ‘hot’ they either mean the person’s
body temperature is high which is the knowledge the
entire word knows about the word ‘hot’ or the teenager
means this person is very good looking. Therefore they
incorporate two meanings to one word.
 Language changes in real-life

-Social differentiation and natural processes in

uses.

-Migration to different areas

What conclusions can you draw about how language changes

-Conquest
in real-life?
-Trade
Reference
All bring people of different languages together
https://www.ling.upenn.edu/courses/Fall_2003/ling001/langua creating a change in real-life language.
ge_change.html
Teenagers are using social media and connecting
with teenagers in other countries. That is causing
a universal slang language found in the Urban
Dictionary.

What conclusions can you draw about how language changes
real-time?
Reference
http://www.ello.uos.de/field.php/Sociolinguistics/Apparenttimea
ndrealtimestudiesoflanguagechange
Language changes in real-time
Real--time studies track linguistic variables. In a
given period researchers collect data from a
speech community at multiple points. The
distribution of the linguistic variables across age
groups build a theoretical model of language
change in apparent time.
I conclude that as the speech of different age
groups is compared at different moments in time
we detect historical changes in a community.
Teenagers want change therefore real-time
language change usually occurs in every new
generation of teenagers. With addition to social
media, change is happening more rapidly and
across continents of the world all at once. I find
my teenage sister saying the word ‘trending’ alot.
Every week a new word is trending (means it’s
what everyone is saying right now) . The Urban
dictionary is being built yet again by a new
generation of teenagers.
 Does this learning change the way that I will approach students
from a linguistic perspective?

Yes
I plan on using charts and exercises to clearly implement morphological principles
into my classroom. I will start with teaching them basic morphemes like

The word renew has two morphemes ‘Re’ (means ‘again’) ‘new’ (means ‘recently
made’). The students will understand that words that start with ‘re’ generally mean
repeating something again. When the last two letters of a word ends in ‘ed’ this
generally means something that is past tense, therefore the students will
automatically know that although they may be unfamiliar with the word itself they
know it’s a big chance that it’s something past tense because it ended with ‘ed.’