Eavesdrop on two teenagers having a conversation and you just might hear them say they are going to do their homework like a boss, even though they have taken arrows in knees, but can still check out the trolling on Twitter. FTW!
Confused? Your age is showing.
English as it is spoken – or deliberately mangled – by teens and young adults here these days is a hotch-potch of alien-sounding terms and abbreviations, cobbled from the worlds of gaming, social media, K-pop and other youth cultures.
Words and phrases such as “like a boss” (to do something with authority or pizzazz), “troll” (target a person with online jeers) and “FTW” (“for the win”, to indicate something awesome) have infiltrated the vocabulary of young or desperately-trying-to-be-hip people.
Many originate from the gaming fraternity.
“But then I took an arrow in the knee,” for example, comes from the popular role-playing videogame The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Uttered by a character who was relieved of his duties after he, well, took an arrow in the knee, the phrase has come to mean that someone is no longer able to do something.
Even the Internet abbreviations peppering millions of instant messages have undergone a bit of an overhaul.
If you are still LOL (laughing out loud) or saying IMHO (in my humble opinion), chances are, you are above 30.
More au courant web expressions include FML (F*** my life, an exclamation when something bad happens) and TTM (to the max, as in “that was gross TTM!”).
As with much of Internet slang, it is hard to ascertain when these new terms surfaced and gained traction in teen lingo. Some fall into obscurity or are dropped and forgotten as quickly as they pop up, according to the whims and fancies of young speakers.
Trying to articulate the appeal of these new terms, 14-year-old Jubilee Hines says:
“It just sounds good. Although some of these words don’t mean anything, they kind of best express how you feel ... especially if you are frustrated.”
Aircraft engineer Mohammed Nizam Elmi, 42, who has four children including two teenagers, has been baffled by some of the terms they use.
“If they want to use it in front of their friends, that’s okay. But I always tell them not to talk like that in front of their younger siblings and older relatives,” he says.
Perhaps, the idea is to create a sort of patchwork sub-language that creates a sense of solidarity among the like-minded, as much as it shuts out those who just do not get it.
Sociologist Paulin Straughan says that teenagers establish their own lingo to try and distinguish themselves from the “older” generation.
She adds: “They want to separate their identities from that of their parents. And what better way to do that than to speak your own ‘language'?”
Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University assistant professor Tan Ying Ying, from its division of Linguistics and Multilingual Studies, says that trendy Netspeak is a sign of creativity.
“They are pretty smart to be able to come up with such terms,” she adds. “Even though the use of some of the words is not even grammatically correct, you can still understand the meaning.
“When people stop inventing, that’s when language starts to die. I don’t see this as a decimation of the English language, rather, it’s an addition,” she adds.
For example, the word “bias,” used in a Kpop context, means a favourite band member. A K-pop fan might say of a band member: “That one is my bias.”
Rather than worry that the English language is going to the dogs, experts say it is more important that parents and educators help teenagers to learn to code-switch, that is, turn the slang on or off to suit the occasion.
Goh Eck Kheng, chairman of the Speak Good English Movement, says it is important to ensure that youth lingo, especially if it incorporates Singlish, does not get in the way of clear communication.
“When speaking English, we need to follow its structure and rules of grammar. By doing so, youths give themselves an advantage not only in school, but also in their careers,” he says.
“When the standard of English falls, we are not only affecting ourselves and our generation, but also future generations.”
Indeed, 10 teachers interviewed for this story said that they are strict about not allowing such slang in their classrooms.
Ritchell Choong, 24, an English language and literature teacher in a secondary school, says: “If I hear them using these words in class, I usually ask them to rephrase the sentence.”
And forget about sneaking these terms into essays – you probably would not feel much like a boss after your teacher marks you down for it.
Ho Wen Rui, 29, who teaches English in a secondary school, emphasises to his students that two-thirds of the marks in an essay go to language, to make sure they write properly.
Luckily, most students, say Ho and Choong, usually comply with the ban on informal, invented terms in their written work.
So, parents, chillax. You can still “be tight” (have a close relationship) with your kids – as long as you do not get totally “pwned” (seasoned gamers’ deliberate misspelling of “owned”, as in “be dominated”) by all this lingo. – The Straits Times, Singapore/Asia News Network
Teen terms
Like a boss
Definition: To complete an action with authority or finesse, or to make something sound cooler than it is. A popular catchphrase used on Twitter to indicate a successful action.
How to use it: “Yeah, I just did my homework, like a boss.”
Swag
Definition: The way you carry yourself. Swag is made up of your overall confidence, style and demeanour.
How to use it: “Justin Bieber has maximum swag!”
Epic Fail
Definition: Complete and total failure, when success should have been easy to attain.
How to use it: “Today, at the MRT station, I accidentally tapped my ATM card instead of my ez-link and held up a whole queue. Epic Fail.”
Facepalm
Definition: A reference to the physical gesture implying disbelief and/or incredulity.
How to use it: “I locked my keys in the car. Facepalm moment.”
Act yi ge smart
Definition: Literally translates to “behave like a....” Any adjective can be inserted at the end. Yi ge is Mandarin for “one.”
How to use it: “You said you know how to play this game, right? Then how come you can still lose? Act yi ge smart only.”
What only
Definition: Conveys a sense of frustration and incredulity, similar to “unbelievable.”
How to use it: “I just ran in the rain for 15 minutes to get French fries, but now I don’t feel like eating it anymore. What only.”
Don’t la
Definition: Means the opposite – do.
How to use it: “I heard this new cafe is really nice. Let’s go leh. Don’t la.”
Captain Obvious
Definition: A sarcastic reference to someone who states the obvious.
How to use it: Person A: “Coke has too much sugar, it’s bad for you.”
Person B: “Thanks, Captain Obvious!”
FTW (for the win)
Definition: To indicate something cool or good.
How to use it: “I just got a year’s supply of free burgers. Free fast food FTW!”
Sick
Definition: Excellent or awesome.
How to use it: “This car has a totally sick subwoofer!” – Source: http://www.urbandictionary.com
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