By: Anonymous
Language and slang, mainly focusing in the world of adolescents and young adults is a constantly evolving system, which emerged in order to serve the function of fulfilling the communication of ever changing ideas. Through time several different forms of slang have emerged, such as “lowkirkenuinly”, “rizz”, “chat”, “fire” and “gang”.
Most of these colloquial vocatives are harmless, and act as comedic cultural icons. In fact, they tend to increase the diversity of information that can be shared, and serves as cultural identifiers. Having cultural identifiers in common is essential to form communities, and is one of the main ways to share humor between strangers of similar age, acting as a form of small talk.
When interviewing an anonymous student on his experience in slang and its impacts on his relations, he recounts one of his voyages to China. As he was walking on the scenic streets of Shanghai, two small Chinese children approached him and asked “English or Spanish”, a well known meme. The student says that this was one of the few times he truly felt the international community, stating that this truly changed his point of view on the world. “Its impressive how much we have in common, and being able to relate to them, made me truly question division”.
Even though slang tends to have a positive effect on community building, it can also lead to alienation and language barriers. People who are less frequently online are not aware of such linguistic changes, and can find the language of their peers foreign. This tends to create isolation, due to lack of shared experiences between people.
Slang can also lead to miscommunication between generations in corporate environments. For example, a student recounts his experience of interning in a Brazilian bank. He was having a chat with his coworkers when they started complaining about the internet, saying that she was going to head to the “Lan house”. For those who don’t know, this is old Brazilian slang for a place with internet. That slang led to confusion between the coworkers with the intern wasting time searching for what a “Lan house” would be.
Even though it is often satirical, slang can also be offensive due to it rarely mocking serious topics. The word “lowkirkenuenly” is a mixture of the words “low key”, “genuinely” and “Charlie Kirk”. Ignoring the political implications behind the person Charlie Kirk, his assasination had several real life impacts, leaving several in mourning. This means that the use of Kirk in this fashion, could be seen as offensive to others who were affected by the death, mainly as the Kirk in this fashion is used in a ridiculing fashion.
Ultimately, slang is not necessarily unethical or ethical, with it being like any instrument, dependent on the way that it is used. Even though some slang can be mocking, slang in general tends to be lighthearted and only meant for jokes, or as a way to process information. Furthermore even though it can lead to isolation, there can be other things people can use to create connections, with slang mostly facilitating connections instead of interfering in them.
