Cambridge Dictionary defines slang as a very informal language that is usually spoken rather than written, used especially by particular groups of people. Slang normally refers to particular words and meanings but can include longer expressions and idioms. With the rise of different social media applications, the generation Z (Gen Z) has popularised slangs. Millennials find it quite hard to understand the Gen Z slang terms. Generation Z are people born between 1999 and 2015. If you are likely to find it tough to figure out what these slangs actually mean, here are some decoded common slang terms used by Gen Z today: • No cap Saying “no cap” means that you aren’t lying, or if you say someone is “capping”, then you are saying they are lying. • Drip This is a cool sense of style. It refers mostly to how people dress. • To flex Another way of saying someone is showing off. • Lit When something is very good, enjoyable or exciting, you can say it’s lit. • Extra When someone is “extra” it means they are unnecessarily dramatic, over the top. • Savage Someone who roasts people nonstop and does not care what others will say. • Bye, Felicia A fast way to tell someone to go away. This term comes from the 1995 movie “Friday”. • Low key If someone is “low key,” it means they don’t want anyone to know anything they do. • Squad This term describes a friend group, buddies or your closest team. • On fleek This is used to mean something that has been immaculately executed. • Slay Slay is to do something exceptionally well. Merriam-Webster defines it as “to kill violently”. Why do people use slang? Because slang terms are often only understood by people in a certain group, using slang is, above all, a way to show that you belong, according to Kit Kittelstad, an adjunct communications professor at Pace University. Kittelstad says that slangs show that you are one of the crowd by using terms that others don’t understand, and you can connect with like-minded people who understand just what you mean. Therefore, it is a way to use language to separate you from others. Yvonne Kelia Umutoni, 22, says young people like to move with a trending lifestyle to look cool because ‘society admires such people’. Effects of slang on society and learning According to Sun Sentinel, slang greatly influences today’s society both positively and negatively. Continuous use of slang may result in even using it in the workplace, which can prevent one from positively benefiting from numerous opportunities at work. Some slang has been added to the Oxford English Dictionary like “bling-bling” which describes a stylish jewelry. However, Umutoni says, when young people use too much slang, they are never taken serious in society. Alastair Arran, an English teacher, says that by the use of excessive slang messages on social media, students commit spelling and grammar mistakes. Excessive use of slang has resulted in poor verbal and writing skills. Students use slang in their assignments and they also show poor performance in reading as well. She adds that students find it difficult to learn and retain correct spelling. They don’t even realise while writing wrong spellings or incomplete words. Pros Umutoni says slang helps a group of friends to communicate easily, especially if they don’t want others to know what they are talking about. For Chris Ntaganda, it is the fact that slang promotes confidentiality among his age mates. “With slang, I can talk to my friend and my dad would never relate,” he says. Cons “Slang makes us forget the correct words so we use poor language. It may happen that a young person gets addicted to always using slang and when giving a speech, they sound ridiculous,” says Umutoni. However, The Voice, a high school newspaper, notes that an overuse of slang can negatively affect people once the terms become too prevalent in a person’s vocabulary. “It is increasingly brought to attention that our young generation does not always know how to speak properly at the appropriate times. Of course slang is not a problem when people know the appropriate place to use it, but many people do not and use slang because they have no other option,” the publication states.
