YOUTH SLANG

AN EXCERPT FROM

BY MARK MCCRINDLE

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Chapter 3

Youth SlangPeople have been inventing slang forever, and while some slang words last for centuries, the slang lexicon is always changing. Each budding generation comes up with its own language or languages, generally used among peers.

A young person’s choice of slang is quite often an extension of the particular youth subculture he or she belongs to or identifies with. While new words are born with each generation, young people also adopt terms that were popular when their parents, grandparents and even great-grandparents were young. Sometimes young people change the meanings, spelling or pronunciation of these words. They mix slang up, and personalise it. And just as there are words unique to particular generations, there are youth words unique to particular Australian regions.

Youth slang across the generationsSlang means “words, expressions, and usages [which are] often short-lived, and are considered unsuitable for formal contact.”54 Much of current youth slang originates from previous decades and although most of these terms have not made it into dictionaries, they have enjoyed long lives. The life of a slang word depends on whether or not it is adopted by the mainstream or a dominant culture. This is sparked

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by the amount of interaction between the dominant culture and the subculture that coined the slang word.55 In the case of the word “cool”, pioneered by the black American jazz subculture of the 20s, 30s and 40s, it was the popularity of jazz, especially among the young people of the day, that led the word into mainstream youth circles from the 1950s onwards. It is reported that African slaves transported to America in the 1600s used the word cool to mean “it’s got soul”, and it is thought to have survived with that meaning to become part of the wider youth lexicon. It is probably the term most people think of when they think of youth slang.

In fact, many of the terms used today to mean fashionable or popular either began in the Jazz Age or evolved in reaction to terms that came into use then. Why has jazz made such an impact on youth slang across the generations and the globe? Well, it was jazz that overhauled high culture for the first time in the history of the English-speaking world. African American culture and music continue to coin much of youth slang and to influence popular culture generally.56

Boomers X-ers Y-ers

peace bodacious bounce

way-out major bling

skag dweeb da bomb

truckin gross out brutal

teach rad/radical foo’

cherry not chica

clyde tubular duh

dream on wicked crunk

the man ace a’ight

be cool airhead fo’ shizzle

While many 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s terms, including those listed in the table, have been dropped from the youth lexicon, others, like “cool”,

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have remained in vogue. They often evolve as they are passed on from one generation to the next. There are different forces which determine this. Popular culture and subculture are two forces responsible for changes in the meaning, spelling and pro-nunciation, as well as for the invention and re-adoption of youth slang. To the youth of today “cool” is no longer exclusively pronounced “cool”, but “kewl”, “koo-wel” or “coo’”, and it is often used by young people to simply mean “ok”, “satisfactory” or “good” – for example, “yeah, I’m cool”.

It was with the advent of the teenager in the 1950s that the concept of “cool” really became common in youth circles. While the attainment of cool has been an aspiration of young people for a very long time, the difference today is that “cool” is in a constant state of flux. To Gen Y, trying to be cool is uncool, while trying to be uncool is cool. It’s confusing for parents and kids alike!

“Cool” has been packaged up and sold for so long now that it’s becoming more and more difficult to define it, let alone attain it. The youth of today are being bombarded with more messages, more pres-sure, than any other generation, but they are also more savvy than ever, and more cynical. Constant advertising and product placement, subliminal and otherwise, are often contradictory, so the fact that being uncool is cool actually begins to make sense.

Writing for New York-based Paper magazine, Fenton Bailey points out that cool:

belongs neither to the marketers who would peddle it, nor to the academics who try to colonize it through definition. Cool, like quicksilver or moonshine, slips through the fingers of all who try to capture and possess it.57

Not only does it evolve from one generation of youth to another, “cool” also takes on new meaning between youth subcultures. Similarly,

The rise of retro. Interestingly, many who wear the image of the cassette or walkman were born after its demise.

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what the hippies of the 1960s found cool was strikingly different from what their sophisticated contemporaries, the mods, found cool.

Reinventing the wheel: old words, new spin

Then Now

cool – adj. hip, happening coo’/kewl – adj. okay, good. Still used to mean “hip”

major – adj. really cool majorly – adv. extremely, totally

dang – adj. mighty fine interj. used to express disappointment or surprise

chick – n. attractive, hip young woman n. any young woman

funk – n. fear and panic and then, depression or anxiety

funky – adj. coolAlso used this way by the Boomers and X-ers when they were young

roll – v. engage in manual labour (original slang meaning)

v. to leave or act (from 80s onwards) – “okay, let’s roll”. Can also mean to steal from (“rolled” – from the 60s onwards)

freak out – v. go crazy (on the dance floor – “aaaaaaaah, FREAK OUT!”)

freaked out – frightened, shocked or angry. Sometimes used to refer to an episode that is drug-induced

freak – n. weirdo n. very good-looking person.Still used to mean “weirdo”

bananas – adj. crazy adj. hot, cute or adorable

dude – n. male (usually a friend or acquaintance) n. any male or female at all, friend or not

“Dude” is another slang term which has been around for a while. First used in the 1850s in New York to refer to a well dressed male, it then shifted to mean a city person in the country in the 1890s. In the 1970s, the term was taken up by the surfer subculture to address any male at all and it became popular in Australian youth circles. Today, it can even be used to address a female.58

The term phat (awesome, cool) derived from African American Vernacular English (AAVE or Ebonics), has been a slang term used

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by African Americans since the 60s. It is now popular among Austra-lian youth. Not simply a misspelling of the word “fat”, it actually has nothing to do with being overweight. It is said to be an acronym for “Pretty Hot And Tempting”.59

“Groovy” has been used by young Australians since the 60s and 70s. It too began life back in the Jazz Age. It comes from the expression “in the groove”, referring to a phonograph record of good jazz music.56

This table lists examples of youth slang which have survived and evolved with the generations.

Old is new again

Boomers X-ers Y-ers

dude bogus yuppie

chill/chill out totally dawg

man awesome the bomb

far out bad oh snap

groovy way out dope

funky betty chick-flick

baby bitchin fly

chick chillin bling-bling

crazy bunk all that

dang deck as if

Characteristics of youth slangGen Y and Z slang is not a mishmash of words. Much of youth slang can be categorised according to shared characteristics. Chapter 1 discussed two types of youth words used today: contrarian and contradictory. A common word is flipped to take an opposite meaning (e.g. sick means great); or a word is used in both its positive and negative connotations simultaneously. Below, a further five have been identified:

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1. Blended words: Single words made from two words. For example, “crunk” is a combination of “crazy” and “drunk”, used to describe someone who is between drunk and crazy.

chillax chill out and relax

credlocks dreadlocks worn for street credibility

wigger a white male who acts like a black male

bootylicious describes an attractive female (delicious) with a great behind (booty)

blinglish ghetto English (derived from the “bling” often desired in low-income neighbourhoods)

2. Virtual words: Computer terminology.

cyberslacking surfing the internet during work time

cyberloafing same as cyberslacking

blogosphere that part of the internet dominated by blogs

3. Analogous words: Words used to refer to something that bears some sort of resemblance to the thing or action it denotes. For example, ice refers to stone jewellery, particularly diamonds, because of the close resemblance to frozen water.

donut circular car stunt

blouse an effeminate male

dogger a policeman, from the verb, “to dog”

solid genuine and down-to-earth

4. Onomatopoeic words: Imitations of the sound associated with the thing or action they denote.

bling-bling jewellery

doof-doof electronically generated music (i.e. techno)

moshing dancing to rock music in a frenzied and violent way

cha-ching said when one comes into money

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5. Gender-specific words: Words that are generally used by members of only one sex, and/or are used to refer to or address only one gender. In our lexicon of youth slang, there is only one word used by Gen Y and Z females exclusively to address other females (girlfriend). Gender-specific words used by males to address or refer to females are usually positive while these for referring to other males are usually negative. Words used by males to address females and vice versa are mostly gender-neutral (e.g. boo).

Some of the slang can be used by both sexes (generally words that carry negative connotation). Others that can only be used by one sex are generally words that carry positive connotation and express attrac-tion for a member of the opposite sex. However, there are no Gen Y and Z gender-specific words in the lexicon used by females to refer to males in a positive way, although the Boomer terms “hunk” and “spunk” are still used by young women.

Male referring to female (positive) bootylicious, fine

Male referring to female (negative) ho, skank

Male referring to male (neutral) cuz, dawg/dogg

Female referring to male (negative) cretin, player

There is also youth slang used by only one sex to refer to activities. These words are mainly used by males to refer to activities usually engaged in by males, such as fast driving, fighting and playing com-puter games. Burnout, donut, deck, pwn and slaughtered are a few examples.

Youth terms can often be terribly confusing – they have strict rules with some words, then others (like “crunk”, for example) can be used by both males and females, referring to a member of the same or opposite sex, and can be criticising or praising them. Its negative connotation, as in “That skank was crunk!” contrast with the positive – “Man, you were totes crunk on Saturday, it was sick!”

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Another curious feature of youth language is that multiple words can have very similar meanings. Words meaning drunk for example, include crunk, bloddo, fap, off chops, off your face/head, sloshed, maggot, mag-goted and wasted.

Youth slang rarely refers to mundane activities like homework or housework. Much of it refers to parties and music, as well as risk-taking or anti-social activities, such as drinking, drug-taking, fighting and dan-gerous driving. This is a feature of youth slang that has not changed since the Boomers were young. Other terms are used to express approval or disapproval of something or someone and to classify other people, situations and scenarios.

Youth slang words – prevalence by function

To express approval of something or someone 18%

To express disapproval 12%

To classify (negative) 11%

To label risk-taking or anti-social behaviours 10%

To classify (neutral) 7.5%

To classify (positive) 5%

To refer to technology (gaming, social-networking, the Internet, etc) 4%

To refer to parties, dancing, music and hanging out 3.5%

Said when arriving or leaving/departing 3.5%

To address others 3%

Other 23%

Spelling and pronunciation of words are often altered by generations Y and Z to sound cool or tough. This is particularly common in African American street talk and has become popular in Australia. Dropping “er” (gangsta), “g” (playin’), “l” (coo’), “h” (wit) and “u” (yo’), and adding a “z” (coz/cuz) and “ie” (homie) to words are particularly common. Also, many of the popular terms used by youth are shortened – for example, bro or bra instead of “brother” and “sis” instead of “sister”. Australian

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youth, however, rarely give their entire conversations that “street” edge (as do their American counterparts from the hood, or at least those in ’da hood on ’da telly). They are more likely to drop in just the one or maybe two words in the course of a conversation.

coo’ cool

coz because

cuz cousin

da the

dat that

fo’ for

foo’ fool

gangsta gangster

harda harder

Youth slang across subculturesSlang spoken by a particular group of people is often deliberately created and used to exclude people outside the group.57 Youth slang is notorious for baffling parents and is a tongue reserved for peer-on-peer communication. Just as youth slang excludes parents, sub-sets of youth slang exclude fellow-youth. These sub-groups correspond with distinc-tive subcultures. Many of these subcultures can be found internationally, although their names may vary from place to place. These subcultures are often influenced by American culture and are traditionally set apart by styles of music and fashion in addition to slang.

In the USA today, young white people who are into hip hop and rap and talk its jargon are called wiggers. It has been observed that they talk an “MTV” version of ebonics; that is, it is not authentic and is heavily influenced by commercialisation. Young white people are usually the consumers not the producers of this subculture and its lingo. Interest-

homie homeboy

playa player

playin playing

ta to

thang thing

wit with

whassup? what’s up?

yo’ you

ax ask

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ingly, this lingo forms a large chunk of the lexicon of Australian youth today. To young Australians, African American slang puts them “on the edge” and is a way of rebelling against the white, middle-class value system that they belong to.60

The evolution of youth subcultures

40s–70s Trends and Associations 80s–90s Trends and Associations Today Trends and Associations

Bodgies and Widgies

Elvis, jukeboxes and milkbars Punks Anti-establishment, spiky hair, mohawks, safety pins

Skaters/Skaties/Skegs

Skating as a way of life, originally a rebellious, non-conforming culture, is now more commercialised

Hipsters/Beatniks

Jazz, slang, berets, cigar- ettes, poetry, underground, anti-conformist, associated with writers like Jack Kerouac

B boys Breakdancers originating in 1970s New York City. Popular- ised by the movie Flashdance and Michael Jackson film clips

Emos Black, side-swept hair, facial piercings, eyeliner, “emotional” or depressing themes

Surfers Into surfing as recreation, spirituality or both, coastal lifestyle

Ravers Going to “raves” (underground dance parties), brightly coloured clothing (hippie-punk mix), ecstasy and illicit drug use

Goths Black clothing, tattoos and body art, dark music and art

Hippies Countercultural values, peace, love, activism, psychedelic drugs and art

Skinheads Named for their shaven heads, into ska, punk and reggae music, left, right and apolitical

Hip hoppers

Break-dancing, graffiti and hip hop music. Can be underground or mainstream leaning

Mods Sharp dressing, mopeds, scooters, mini-skirts, popular music

Bogans Australian phenomenon, flannel shirts, tight jeans, mullets, beer. Think Farnsey, Barnsey and AC/DC. White dominated

Indie/Hipster

Trendy, “alternative”, usually university-educated, into progressive art and music. A spin-off of the Hipster movement

Glam Rock David Bowie, Kiss-inspired, extravagant haircuts, glitter, platform shoes

Rappers Basketball and rap music, African American dominated

Valley Girls Paris Hilton, celebrity-driven ideals, valtalk and the latest trends. Female dominated

Rockers Leather jackets and motorcycles, counter-culture, tough

Grunge Ripped and tatty clothing, greasy long hair, music like Nirvana and Pearl Jam

Riot Grrrls Originiating in the U.S. in the 1990s. Expressing feminism through rock bands, zines and a DIY aesthetic

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ingly, this lingo forms a large chunk of the lexicon of Australian youth today. To young Australians, African American slang puts them “on the edge” and is a way of rebelling against the white, middle-class value system that they belong to.60

The evolution of youth subcultures

40s–70s Trends and Associations 80s–90s Trends and Associations Today Trends and Associations

Bodgies and Widgies

Elvis, jukeboxes and milkbars Punks Anti-establishment, spiky hair, mohawks, safety pins

Skaters/Skaties/Skegs

Skating as a way of life, originally a rebellious, non-conforming culture, is now more commercialised

Hipsters/Beatniks

Jazz, slang, berets, cigar- ettes, poetry, underground, anti-conformist, associated with writers like Jack Kerouac

B boys Breakdancers originating in 1970s New York City. Popular- ised by the movie Flashdance and Michael Jackson film clips

Emos Black, side-swept hair, facial piercings, eyeliner, “emotional” or depressing themes

Surfers Into surfing as recreation, spirituality or both, coastal lifestyle

Ravers Going to “raves” (underground dance parties), brightly coloured clothing (hippie-punk mix), ecstasy and illicit drug use

Goths Black clothing, tattoos and body art, dark music and art

Hippies Countercultural values, peace, love, activism, psychedelic drugs and art

Skinheads Named for their shaven heads, into ska, punk and reggae music, left, right and apolitical

Hip hoppers

Break-dancing, graffiti and hip hop music. Can be underground or mainstream leaning

Mods Sharp dressing, mopeds, scooters, mini-skirts, popular music

Bogans Australian phenomenon, flannel shirts, tight jeans, mullets, beer. Think Farnsey, Barnsey and AC/DC. White dominated

Indie/Hipster

Trendy, “alternative”, usually university-educated, into progressive art and music. A spin-off of the Hipster movement

Glam Rock David Bowie, Kiss-inspired, extravagant haircuts, glitter, platform shoes

Rappers Basketball and rap music, African American dominated

Valley Girls Paris Hilton, celebrity-driven ideals, valtalk and the latest trends. Female dominated

Rockers Leather jackets and motorcycles, counter-culture, tough

Grunge Ripped and tatty clothing, greasy long hair, music like Nirvana and Pearl Jam

Riot Grrrls Originiating in the U.S. in the 1990s. Expressing feminism through rock bands, zines and a DIY aesthetic

Youth subcultures have come and gone over the centuries, but they rose to particular prominence in the 1950s. During this decade, it was the hipsters, and bodgies and widgies, and in the 60s, it was the hippies, mods and rockers. The hipsters, with origins amongst the hepcats of

the Swing Era,61 later evolved into the hippies. This is an interesting point to note, that although many of the stock standard youth subcultures of the past aren’t around in obvious forms today, there are noticeable elements from the past influencing modern subcultures. Each subculture is influenced by those groups that have come before them.

It’s important to remember how significant sub-cultures are to young people, and how the language they use reflects this. As much as it might seem that the words are used by people and against people merely to exclude and define their own particu-lar group, they are also a signifier of belonging. By utilising certain slang words and not others, a young person identifies himself or herself as a part of something, a group that reflects its members’ stance on things. It is therefore an easy, and usually fun, way for them to express themselves.

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Subculture Slang

Mods be cool the man clyde

Hippies peace way-out square

Rappers let’s bounce freakin bling-bling

Skaters grommet session sketchy

Valley Girls like whatever totally

Regional youth slangYouth slang varies from one part of Australia to another. Many regions, cities, and individual schools have their own slang terms which baffle people from neighbouring areas. Even words that are understood more or less nationwide can be much more prevalent or popular in some parts than elsewhere, as noted by Randal Thomas. For example, while the words sweet and rad are used and understood more frequently in Queensland than anywhere else, both are used in other states and ter-ritories too.62

Word State or territory where most popular63

When we dislike something

festy Queensland

feral Queensland

wrong Queensland

hectic New South Wales

bogus Victoria

munted Western Australia

gross Tasmania

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Word State or territory where most popular63

When we like something

that’s rad Queensland

sweet Queensland

ace Victoria

gun South Australia

fully sick New South Wales

mad New South Wales

wicked Western Australia

nuff Northern Territory

awesome Tasmania

The next table64 presents some more regional slang words used mostly by youth – some have been around for a while, while others are newer additions. The origin of some is uncertain.

Word Meaning and usage State or territory of origin

Animal Good, crazy person South Australia

Bad devon Something off, gross, not good New South Wales

Blockie To drive around the block, usually in a noisy, pimped out car Tasmania

BoganUncouth and uneducated person. Now used around Australia, but said to have originated in Victoria

Victoria

Dance floor action

Getting friendly with a member of the opposite sex on the dance floor Queensland

Dart Cigarette Victoria

Nags/nangs/nitros

Containers of nitrogen dioxide intended for soda stream bottles or whipped cream dispensers, inhaled by some teenagers

Western Australia

Nanger Eastern Melbourne suburbs term for an uncouth person Victoria

Nerpy Good, cool Western Australia

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Word Meaning and usage State or territory of origin

Nigel

Someone who has no friends (“Nigel-no-friends”). Used by school children in the Northern Territory (also used in the mainland eastern states)

Northern Territory

Nof Stands for “not one friend”. Same as “nigel” or “scott” Victoria

Not even Used to mean that you are in fact doing something Queensland

Nuffest Silly or stupid Northern Territory

Peachy A champion New South Wales

PGB Stands for “post grog bog” Victoria

Phat Stands for “pretty hot and tender” in Queensland (referring to a young woman) Queensland

Phoofy (can rhyme with either “boofy” or “goofy”)

Fluffy. “Phoofy” hair was popular in the eighties Victoria

Piece Sandwich South Australia

Scott As in “Scott (has got) no friends” – same as “Nigel” and “nof” Queensland

Westie A resident of Western Sydney. A “bogan” in other states New South Wales

Your mum

Derived from “and so’s your mum” (used throughout Australia) – “You cry like a girl” “Yeah, your mum!” It comes from the predominantly black American use of the joking phrase, “Your Mum’s so ...” [insert insult here].

Queensland

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Filler wordsFiller words are relied on by all age-groups to keep conversation flowing, to avoid uncomfortable silences or to recall something. Sometimes they are part of someone’s everyday spoken language simply out of habit. Common fillers used by Aussies include “um”, “arr”, “mmm”, “y’know”, “you know what I mean?”, “and stuff ” and “sort of thing”.

A certain subset of young people use filler words to reflect their style. Valley talk or “valtalk”, mentioned earlier, is a style of jargon that involves the excessive use of filler words. In Summer Heights High, a con-troversial ABC TV comedy series of 2007 and 2008 set in a Melbourne high school, Ja’mie King speaks valtalk. Some of the fillers she – and her friends in this subset of young women – use repeatedly are: as if, seriously, whatever, like, totally, duh, stuff, so, way. “Seriously, as if. Like you’re going to pass. Like, all that stuff is, like, so way over your head. You’re, like, totally so stupid.” “Whatever!”

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