I
f you’ve ever felt like you’re trying to decipher a secret code when listening to a conversation between GenZers, you’re not alone. GenZ has crafted a linguistic landscape entirely on its own, leaving millennials lost in translation. But do not stress, because their language is not as sus as it seems.
Colloquialisms or slang have been around since the last century. Vernacular speech has been a common element of all languages. Because let’s just bet, no one wants to use those egalitarian, bougie words. As market researchers, we also take it upon ourselves to analyse the trends of language because it is a reflection of society.
Using informal language to portray emotions was popularised on a global level by millennials. They were the first to break ‘grammar etiquette’ and chat with their friends using acronyms, shortened words, and emojis. Yes, it was this somewhat annoying millennial invention that gave baby boomers the ick and a peak approval to GenZ to make up their own slang.
GenZ has changed the game of internet vernacular. While millennials stick to their basic WTFs and OMGs to describe pizza, GenZ gets more creative with ‘shook’ and ‘bussin’. As dramatic as these may sound, we assure you it’s not. Slang doesn’t have to make sense, and that’s why, it lives in your mind rent-free.
Now, we also have to give credit where it’s due. You see, lots of popular terms today have been brought back from the annals of time. ‘Gaslight’ and ‘gatekeep’ were used for the first time in the 1940s. We guess GenZ didn’t let boomers gaslight it to gatekeep these terms! On the contrary, some words don’t follow spelling rules and they hit differently. There was a reason why ‘Rizz’ (short for charisma) was Oxford Dictionary’s Word of The Year in 2023. The word just had too much rizz!
The crux of the matter is that GenZ is inventive with its words, despite the older folks calling it the ‘L’ generation. So, the next time they say that your drip is giving Gucci, and they stan you, do not panic because they just mean your outfit is great and they idolise you. And if you had been paying attention, you just learnt 17 GenZ slang words. Congrats if you understood the assignment (18!).
