The ubiquitous Twitter hashtag symbol has just earned a distinction. It is the ‘Children’s Word of the Year’ as declared by Oxford University Press and BBC Radio 2. Experts after analyzing 120,000 short stories written by children aged below 13 realised that youngsters are increasingly using the symbol to express feelings or add drama to sentences. The technology is changing fast and so is the contour of the English lexicon. Social media and mobile technology are the predominant themes of 2015 as far as new words vying for use are concerned. In tandem with the fast changing technology scenario and jargon, the pace with which English is coining and embracing new words is amazing. So while words like zoella and vlogger (video blogger), selfie, emoji, YouTube and youtuber besides hashtag have seen considerable rise in use, words like MP3, iPod, Nintendo, BlackBerry, and even TV have registered a decline in terms of usage. In fact, the children’s lexicon has always kept ahead and grown-ups have always found it difficult to keep pace with it. Even before the language of social media spread like wildfire, the children’s lingo was hard to fathom for those who brought them up. So what sounded dope (cool) to GenNext would be totally wack (weird/strange) for parents. Flipping through dictionaries would hardly help, but the words have found mention in books and magazines read across the English-speaking world. Here’s some dope (it also means info) about how the young are speaking the language. This weekend, your son or daughter may call their homeys or homies (close friends) home and may be raring to drive to a tight (fantastic, cool, interesting) spot for a day out in the grandpa’s hooptie (an old car that is in a bad shape). If that is so, pack the tool kit properly before allowing them to set out. And tell them to jet out (leave in a hurry) before it gets dark. Rents (parents) back home should give them a dressing down if children are of whatevs or whatev (adolescent equivalent of what will be will be) type and are not down (in agreement) with the elders’ suggestion. Well that’s all and peace out (goodbye) for now.
