Saturday, September 27, 2014

Dying Languages/The world of slang

http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/enduring-voices.com

For tonight's blog, I've selected the aboriginal languages located in Northern Australia, often referred to as the "island continent." Besides the fact that it's flashy red color(due to it's severe degree in threat levels) immediately attracted my attention on the website's map, I chose the area's linguistic history because of its large size and infamous isolation from the rest of the world. 

2) As it's thoroughly explained on its profile, the aboriginal tongues of Northern Australia are known for being one of the world's most critically endangered languages. This is primarily due to the fact that aboriginal languages are small and scattered, as a result of a long history of conflicts with withe settlers. 
Many struggled to maintain their identity, languages and cultures, while others hadn't even survived the contact all together. According to The Enduring Voices Team's recordings, their are only 3 speakers left of the Magati Ke language left, along with the only remaining speaker of the Amurdag tongue, a language which had officially been reported instinct 25 years ago. 
3) It would be nice to think that the remaining speakers of Magati Ke could dedicate the rest of their lives trying to keep their language alive, or that the Australian government could study and officially record every aspect of these various, complex languages in order to teach to generations to come, but the truth of of the matter is The Enduring Voices Team's recordings are likely the last that will be made of these languages, as some of the speakers wouldn't even be considered fluent. 
The last remaining speaker of Amurdag, for instance, had not used this specific language in over 50 years, remembering the words with great difficulty. Another women from Sunday Island was declared the last speaker of a language called Djawi. As heart breaking as it may be, due to its ridiculously low percentage of speakers, there isn't a lot of suggestions or realistic actions that can be taken to help save these dying languages. 

4) Slang words from my generation? Lmfao kk, dis should be #fun. 


 I can't even
Expressing a severe degree of annoyance towards something, similar to the "I am so done right now" slang phrase. You see, as us teenagers love to be dramatic, a hyperbolic expression like this is absolutely perf.
"Omg guys, I have to study for like 2 tests this week. I can't even." 


Doe
Well, it's basically a common abbreviation for the word "though", expect it's like, 10 times cooler.
"Yo that test doe!" "He hasn't texted me back doe..." "Yeah, but that girl is hot doeeeeee" 


Turn Up 

An infamous term that seems to have recently surfaced social media, it is generally used to describe the validation of an upcoming event. This can also be used ironically.
"Ashely's throwing a party for spring break! TURN UP DOE" "Ew, summer school tomorrow? Lol turn up." 


Can I get an Amen? 
In the religious world of being a teenager, getting extra praise for something that has happened in our continuously dramatic little lives is part of our Gospel, which is why we declare this phrase whenever we think we've said something #awesome."OMG guys Bob just texted me. Can I get an amen?" "I finally got that guy Dexter to do my math homework for me. Can I get an amen!"

Killin' it 
Since teenagers think that we're constantly doing incredibly awesome things, whether you're twerking your pride away on the dance floor or playing beer pong every weekend, a certain phrase needed to be invented:
"Ooooo girl be killin' it with dat ass doe" "Screw mid terms, let's get drunk today! #killin'it" 


YAAAAS 
My personal favorite slang word, you're bound to have heard this one before. Strictly put in capital letters, teenagers have successfully reinvented the word "yes" by radically emphasizing the excitement of a situation or general approval towards something in particular.
"Alex asked me out to the Prom...YAAAS!" "Should I buy this dress? YAAAS."Spring break finally started, YAAS"

#Hashtag  
Technological term used in a sarcastic way to embellish a point being made.
"Kyrsten's dating that hot brazilian exchange student? #WHATEVER." "This picture is sooo old #throwback" 

"Ugh can't wait for dinner tonight #starving #hungrygirls2k14" "KYRSTEN DUMBED ALVARO! #OMG #YAAAS"

Dat
The teenage version of the word "that" used in virtually any contexts.
"Dat ass doe #killin'it" "Dat time we listened to Drake and drank vodka out of plastic bottles #throwback" 


Swerve 
Used in a variety of different ways, the word is usually placed at the beginning or end of the sentence in an exclamatory manner.
"Oh dat hotties single doe? SWERVE." "Swerve, I got more likes than you!" "Oh girl, you just got #SWERVED." 

Turnt
Originating from our previously studied slang term "TURN UP," turnt basically means fun in typical teenage fashion. "Bruh are we gonna get turnt for this party or what?" "Watch out, here comes the Turnt Queen!"

5) To be honest, I'm curious to see how long can our generation's tongue will last over the years to come. Will our generation's language be kept alive? It's hard to tell really, especially when you think back to previous generations and how they've managed to survive. I mean who really says "groovy" anymore, or uses the term "A gase" to express that their having a lot of fun? 

It seems to me like the majority of the people exercising the 60's slang words are the very ones who grew up with them. Just like our grandparents, I believe that the only way our generation can keep it's language alive is by speaking our common slangs until the day we die. In 20 years from now, will our kids be using the same slang our generation has picked up on? Or will they strike their independence by creating their own terms, abbreviations and dramatic hyperboles? 
With today's world constantly changing, the odds for newly developed terms are quite high. As the world evolves, new sayings will naturally emerge, which in a way are part of history itself, as each generation can be identified and embodied by the very words that represented that time in life. It's a natural process that allows each generation to be unique in it's own given way. 

2 comments:

  1. HAHAHAHA... I really loved your choice of slang words! I'm laughing out loud, and the dogs think I'm weird or something. #NOIMTOTALLYNORMAL

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  2. Wow ! What a long post ! I love your words aswell and i'll use it from now !! YAAAS ;)

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