How social media affects teen language

student buyback

Young people have their own language – that's always been the case. But why can’t adults understand this language? we asked.

Malena Haller, Daniela Zumthor, Gina Blanca Masha, Tanem Danayan

“Digga,” “Bro,” “Talahon,” “Aura”: you hear new words on campus all the time. The language of teenagers is constantly changing, with new words being added all the time. These new words are often inspired by social media, music, or everyday life.

But when young people throw out new terms, adults often only know train stations—even if they themselves were once young. Which is why we have questions like: Will we eventually move beyond the language of young people? Or why is this language so often incomprehensible to adults?

The term “youth words” is very apt: many adults don't know the words, or don't know what they mean. “Smashed? I don't know what that means,” teacher Lena Oertig said during a survey at Waldberg School. Journalists Marie Fredericq and Mel Giese were also unable to specify the terms “Akh” and “no cap”.

The small survey revealed that many adults do not understand the language of young people – only a few can explain terms such as “Aura”, “Talahon”, “Akh”, “cringe” or “no cap”.

However, if you ask young people in Wald, it quickly becomes apparent: almost everyone knows the terms surveyed, uses them regularly, and can describe their meaning concretely. “Bro? Of course I know what that means,” student Lynn Ziegler said in an interview. Ward's students also know how to describe English terms clearly.

international influence

One reason for the knowledge gap among the adults surveyed may be the passage of time, as adolescent language continues to evolve. Christa Dürscheid, professor of German and especially contemporary languages ​​at the University of Zurich, explains: “It is normal for the language of teenagers to change over the years. The biggest change compared to before is the language itself.”

This is because today’s children and young people are growing up in a more cosmopolitan way. Foreign language classes start early and many people watch English series and movies. The survey also shows that foreign languages ​​are an important part of teenagers' language: words such as “bro”, “cringe” or “slay” all come from English.

But there are also very Swiss-German expressions. For example: “Albert Rosty”. Most people probably know him as a member of the Swiss Federal Council, rather than as a young man's lingo. Christa Dürscheid also admits this: “I don't know what Albert Rösti means as a youth word.” Well we'll help you: this exclamation comes from a video on TikTok. Currently, young people use this term when something is too expensive. TikTok user kaufmann48's video has been viewed 1.3 million times.

Youth Vocabulary of the Year 2008-2021

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Youth word of the year (and palm trees!)

Old Meat Party: The party is suitable for people over 30 years old, and the party is for people over 30 years old.

These: pixabay.com/thomaswhitaker

Outdated youth discourse

“Perle,” “swag,” “treat yourself,” “foodä,” “yolo,” all were among the words she used most often as a teenager, teachers and journalists reported. “The one I used the most as a kid was the gorilla blue butt,” teacher Claudia Hager said.

Terms used in the past are no longer politically correct today. «This is how time passes. So I think it's a good thing that discriminatory insults are no longer used in the vocabulary of today's youth, but rather as foreign words. ” said journalist Marie Fredericq.

The youthful discourse of that year also brought confusion to the adults at that time. “The 'old men' back then didn't understand our terminology either,” said journalist Reto Fehr. So it's understandable that they can't always classify today's terms. In a few years, the same thing will happen to today's young people.

The Oberalppass road between Andermatt UR and Sedrun GR will enter the winter holidays on November 18 at 12 noon. From then on, all five Uri Alpine passes will be closed for five to six months.