Is GEN ALPHA SLANG just NONSENSE?

Summary

In this video, Dr. Taylor Jones explores the nature of slang, particularly among Generation Alpha, debunking myths and tracing the origins of various terms. He explains that slang often arises from misunderstandings, intentional obfuscation, or changes in language use over time. The video humorously critiques the tendency to attribute new slang to younger generations, highlighting that many terms have deeper, older roots in different dialects and cultures. Jones encourages viewers to appreciate the dynamic and ever-evolving nature of language.

Takeaways

• 😀 The speaker, Dr. Taylor Jones, humorously addresses the topic of slang, particularly Gen Alpha slang, and its perception as 'stupid', while emphasizing that slang from every generation is often seen as such.
• 📚 Slang is tentatively defined as words and phrases that become popular among a specific subset of the population and are used as a signifier of identity, eventually falling out of fashion due to their conscious use.
• 🤔 The script challenges the common misconception that slang is entirely new or unique to Gen Alpha, highlighting that many terms have been around for decades or even centuries.
• 📈 The process of slang creation often involves misunderstandings, intentional obfuscation, or the reappropriation of existing words and phrases, which can lead to changes in parts of speech or meanings.
• 🎵 Music, particularly hip-hop, has a significant influence on the creation and spread of slang, as seen with terms like 'drip' and 'slay'.
• 🔍 The script points out the 'recency illusion', where people attribute the origin of slang terms to recent times or specific groups when they have been in use for much longer.
• 📝 The importance of context in understanding slang is highlighted, but also the potential for misinterpretation due to relying too heavily on context clues.
• 🧬 The script discusses the 'Yerson cycle' or 'euphemism treadmill', which explains how words can shift in intensity or meaning over time, such as 'sick' moving from a term of disgust to one of approval.
• 🎮 The influence of gaming and computing on slang is noted, with terms like 'maxing' and 'me' emerging from these contexts.
• 🌐 The global spread of slang is mentioned, with the internet and social media playing a crucial role in the rapid dissemination of terms across different cultures and generations.
• 🔄 The cyclical nature of slang is emphasized, with terms often becoming mainstream, then outdated, and eventually being replaced or repurposed by new generations.

Q & A

What is the speaker's stance on Gen Alpha slang?

The speaker claims that Gen Alpha slang is not inherently bad, but acknowledges that some of it may be 'stupid,' similar to how slang from other generations can be perceived.

What is the purpose of the video according to the speaker?

The purpose of the video is to define what slang is, discuss its origins, and to analyze whether Gen Alpha slang is any different from that of previous generations.

How does the speaker define slang for the purposes of the video?

Slang is tentatively defined as words and phrases that come into fashion among a subset of the population, often used as a signifier of identity, and eventually fall out of fashion.

What is the difference between slang and a dialect according to the speaker?

A dialect has its own phonological patterns, syntactic rules, and is a fully interlocking system, whereas slang is more about self-conscious usage and is often marked or noticeable.

What are the two main pathways for making slang as mentioned in the script?

The two main pathways for making slang are not understanding something or intentionally doing something wrong, often referred to with scare quotes.

Can you explain the concept of 'recency illusion' as discussed in the video?

The recency illusion is the misconception that if something is new to an individual, it must be new in general. This can lead to the misattribution of the origins of certain slang terms.

What is the role of context in understanding slang?

Context plays a crucial role in understanding slang, as it often helps decipher the meaning of slang terms that are not well-defined or are used ambiguously.

Why does the speaker mention the term 'anti-language'?

The term 'anti-language' is mentioned to describe a type of slang that inverts the meaning of words, such as 'bad' meaning 'good', as a form of resistance or subversion.

What is the significance of the 'Yerson cycle' in the context of slang?

The Yerson cycle refers to the process where a term that was once considered intense becomes less so, leading to a shift in the language system to find new, more intense expressions.

Can you provide an example of a slang term discussed in the video that has been misunderstood or misattributed?

One example is 'Stan', which is often mistakenly thought to be a new term from Gen Alpha, but actually originates from a song by a Gen X rapper from the year 2000.

What does the speaker suggest about the future of slang?

The speaker suggests that slang terms often become mainstream and then fade away as people grow tired of them or they become too widely accepted to be considered slang anymore.

Outlines

00:00

😀 Generational Slang: Perception and Misconceptions

The speaker begins by clarifying that the video will not simply criticize younger generations' slang, nor will it defend it without reason. The main argument is that Gen Alpha's slang is often perceived as foolish, but this is a common sentiment across generations. The speaker, a linguist, aims to define slang, explore its origins, and assess Gen Alpha's slang in particular. Slang is tentatively defined as words and phrases that gain popularity among specific groups as a form of identity and eventually fade as they become outdated. The speaker also distinguishes slang from dialects, which are more complex systems with their own rules and patterns.

05:00

📚 The Nature and Evolution of Slang

This paragraph delves into the nature of slang, explaining that it often arises from misunderstandings or intentional deviations from standard language. The speaker discusses how slang can come from various sources, such as metaphors that evolve over time, like 'drip' which transitioned from a metaphor for being fashionable to a concrete term for stylish attire. The paragraph also touches on 'anti-language,' where words are intentionally used to mean their opposite, and the 'recency illusion,' where new generations believe they have invented slang terms that have actually been around for much longer.

10:01

🔍 Debunking Myths About Gen Alpha Slang

The speaker addresses the misconception that Gen Alpha slang is entirely new and unique to this generation. They provide examples of slang terms that are often misattributed to Gen Alpha but have been in use for years or even decades. The paragraph highlights the tendency to credit or blame younger generations for language trends that are not necessarily their creation. It also discusses the influence of games and computing on slang, as well as the process of reanalysis where words change their grammatical function over time.

15:03

🎓 Linguistic Analysis of Gen Alpha Slang Terms

In this paragraph, the speaker provides a detailed linguistic analysis of specific Gen Alpha slang terms, explaining their origins and how they have evolved or been misinterpreted. They discuss the transformation of words from one part of speech to another, the use of acronyms, and the adoption of terms from other dialects or cultures. The speaker also points out the role of media and technology in popularizing certain slang terms and the tendency for these terms to become mainstream and lose their status as slang.

20:05

🚀 The Creative and Cultural Dynamics of Slang

The speaker examines the creative aspects of slang, noting that it can emerge from new coinages, misunderstandings, truncations, and changes in word recognition. They emphasize that slang is a natural part of language evolution, often involving humor and novelty that capture people's interest before eventually becoming outdated. The paragraph also touches on the role of context in understanding slang and the potential for misinterpretation when context clues are relied upon too heavily.

🌐 Conclusion: The Universality and Transience of Slang

The video concludes with the speaker summarizing that Gen Alpha slang, while perceived as foolish by some, is not unique to this generation and follows the same patterns of creation and obsolescence as slang from other generations. They encourage viewers to appreciate the fun and novelty of slang while recognizing its transient nature. The speaker also invites viewers to engage with the content by liking, subscribing, and commenting with their thoughts or favorite slang terms.

Keywords

💡Slang

Slang refers to words and phrases that become popular within a specific group or subset of the population, often as a signifier of identity such as age, race, or social group. In the video, the concept of slang is explored as a linguistic phenomenon that is often misunderstood or intentionally altered, illustrating the dynamic nature of language and its evolution.

💡Gen Alpha

Gen Alpha, also known as Generation Alpha, refers to the demographic cohort born after the Millennials, from the mid-2010s to the late 2020s. The video discusses the notion of 'Gen Alpha slang,' challenging the idea that this generation has created entirely new slang, instead showing how many terms have deeper historical roots.

💡Dialect

A dialect is a variation of a language spoken by a specific group of people, often characterized by its own phonological patterns, syntactic rules, and grammatical patterns. The video distinguishes between slang and dialect, emphasizing that while slang is often self-conscious and temporary, dialects are more systematic and less consciously used.

💡Phantom Tax

The term 'Phantom Tax' is used in the script as an example of a pun where the slang term 'Phantom' is associated with the concept of a tax that doesn't exist. This illustrates how slang can emerge from wordplay or the creative reinterpretation of existing terms.

💡Yeet

Yeet is a term that, according to the video, is often mistakenly attributed to Gen Alpha slang. It is suggested to have originated from video games and is used to express excitement or to describe the action of throwing something with force. The video uses 'yeet' to highlight the misattribution of slang origins.

💡Euphemism Treadmill

The 'Euphemism Treadmill' is a linguistic concept where terms that were once considered intense or strong lose their impact over time, leading to the creation of new terms to replace them. The video discusses how this concept applies to slang, with examples like 'slay' and 'shook' evolving to intensify meaning.

💡Anti-Language

Anti-language is a type of language that inverts or subverts the meanings of words in the dominant language, often used in subcultures or as a form of resistance. The video mentions 'anti-language' in the context of slang like 'bad' meaning 'good,' showing how slang can be a form of linguistic rebellion.

💡Recency Illusion

The 'Recency Illusion' is a cognitive bias where people believe that something new to them must be a recent invention. The video uses this concept to critique the tendency to attribute the origins of certain slang terms to Gen Alpha, when in fact they have been in use for much longer.

💡Hyperarticulation

Hyperarticulation, also known as 'baby talk,' is a linguistic phenomenon where speech is exaggerated or simplified, often for expressive effect. The video touches on this concept in the context of slang, suggesting that certain terms may be intentionally exaggerated to create a playful or novel linguistic style.

💡Lit

The term 'lit,' meaning exciting or lively, is used in the video as an example of a slang term that has been adopted into mainstream language. It illustrates the lifecycle of slang, from its initial use within a specific group to eventual widespread acceptance.

Highlights

The video discusses the nature of slang, challenging the notion that it's solely a product of Gen Alpha.

Dr. Taylor Jones asserts that slang from any generation, including Gen Alpha, can be 'stupid' and that's acceptable.

Slang is often created through misunderstanding or intentionally breaking language conventions.

The video defines slang as words and phrases that become popular among a subset of the population and eventually fall out of fashion.

Distinguishes slang from dialects, which have their own phonological patterns and syntactic rules.

Explains that slang often arises from phonological changes due to children approximating speech patterns of their community.

The concept of 'anti-language' is introduced, where words are intentionally used to mean their opposite.

Discusses the 'recency illusion', where new slang terms are mistakenly thought to be recent inventions.

The video points out that many supposed Gen Alpha slang terms have been around for decades or even centuries.

Analyzes the origin of the term 'drip', showing how slang can evolve from metaphor to concrete meaning.

Examines the role of media and technology in the spread and reinterpretation of slang terms.

The video addresses the Yerson cycle, a linguistic pattern where the meaning of words can shift over time.

Critiques the tendency to attribute slang terms to Gen Alpha without historical context.

Provides a detailed breakdown of various slang terms, explaining their true origins and meanings.

The video concludes that slang is a natural part of language evolution, often stemming from novelty and eventually becoming mainstream or obsolete.

Encourages viewers to consider the historical context of slang and not to dismiss Gen Alpha's linguistic contributions.

Ends with a call to action for viewers to engage with the content, share their thoughts, and support the channel.

Transcripts

I got you with the title I promise this

is not just going to be old man doesn't

like what the kids are doing these days

and wishes they'd get off his lawn but

it's also not going to be academic

linguist tries to convince you that

anything goes and everything is fine and

nothing matters there's a lot of that

going around too and regular viewers of

the channel will know that I am deeply

annoyed at my colleagues' tendency to on

your leg and tell you it's raining so

I'm going to make another claim that

sounds spicy gen Alpha slang is stupid

and that's okay I'm a millennial and

ours was too that second part is really

important yes some slang is stupid but

that's okay so I need to talk about what

exactly I mean because it's not what you

think all slang is to a large extent

based on just not understanding stuff or

intentionally doing stuff wrong scare

quotes very much intended these are

pretty much the two Pathways for making

slang so today I'm going to talk about

what slang even is how it happens and

whether gen Alpha slang is Sigma or mid

I'll have a word by word explainer of

most of the purportedly gen Alpha slang

you're likely to hear at the end so

stick around for that if you're

interested in it I'm Dr Taylor Jones and

this is skibbidy Jones I'm just kidding

this is language

[Music]

Jones if you're watching this you've

probably seen one of those videos where

they ask some white 10-year-old about

life and the kid just spews gibberish

the drip wasn't as good probably like

mad lit on God you don't need me to tell

you that every generation has their own

catchphrases and slang that they use

precisely because old people I guess

that includes me now don't or at least

they think that old people don't more on

that later but what's going on when a

child explains that Riz is when you're

look maxing well first we have to Define

what slang even refers to because we are

very much not on the same page about

that then we can get into where it comes

from how it works and what should be

done about all these skibby Kender

pardon my French first there's not a

great linguistic definition of slang

there's dictionary definitions but

linguists don't all really agree and

dictionaries just describe how people

use the word anyway they're descriptive

not prescriptive and they're usually

very late to the party the important

thing I want to say here is that the

word slang is used to describe way more

things than it should be so as a

linguist I'll say that for the purposes

of this video today we can Define slang

tentatively as words and phrases that

come into Vogue among a subset of the

population which they may use as

signifier as of identity whether it's

age group race sexual orientation or

whatever and they eventually fall out of

fashion because people are consciously

aware of their use slang is what

linguist would call marked people notice

it what it isn't is different dialects

or how different social classes or

ethnic groups speak but those often get

conflated so just so we're clear if you

take something like black English it's

an entire set of Interlocking Systems

and it has its own slang but what makes

black English or Appalachian English or

Yiddish English or whatever a dialect

and not slang is that they all have

phonological patterns that affect the

pronunciation of every word they all

have their own syntactic rules with

different grammatical patterns and

they're fully Interlocking Systems most

of which work below the level of

Consciousness for most people we're not

usually aware of it that lack of

awareness actually helps create slang

words as I'll explain in a minute so

slang is something people are sort of

self-conscious about using sometimes it

sticks around and becomes a permanent

feature of the language like cool which

started as slang in black English in the

1930s and was picked up by the white

mainstream in the 1950s and sometimes it

gets really popular and then people drop

it completely because they think it's

old hat like dig which comes from the

same language variety at the same time

possibly originally from a wooff word

meaning to understand but now it's only

used as professional jargon by Jazz

musicians you dig and there's different

ways that slang comes into being but

almost all of them come from

misunderstanding something somewhere

along the way or in intentionally

choosing to Break Stuff let me explain

first a lot of language change comes

just from noise in the signal linguists

are really careful not to speak

negatively of people and we tend to talk

about languages like species that change

but ultimately the way language changes

most of the time is that kids don't

quite get something we don't think about

it that way but it's effectively

somebody somewhere was a little slow on

the uptake so phonological changes

happen because kids approximate how the

speech communities their born into to

speak but kind of sort of slightly

missed the mark and eventually entire

Generations might just not make

distinctions that their parents do make

there's a vow merger slowly spreading

east across Pennsylvania while we speak

where kids just don't differentiate

between two vowels that their parents do

leave me a comment if you know which

vowels while I sip my coffee and the

same happens for words we have fancy

terms for it in linguistics like analogy

but it's really misunderstanding and

running with it let's see how this works

with some real slang take a word like

drip now it means fashionable attire

usually a sort of crisp but casual look

this is just analogy happening over and

over again start with a metaphor like

dripping with finesse meaning you have a

lot of finesse so much that you're

saturated with it this is not new baby

boomers say things like dripping with

condescension or dripping with class or

dripping with Charisma or dripping with

finesse on the whole these are positive

not the condescension one but you get

the idea so given a ton of Expressions

that use that dripping metaphor is

pretty easy to get something like I got

that drip where it ends up being a

certain junad that deut pardon my French

you're more likely to hear that kind of

word play in Black communities but

that's not always the source from there

it's very easy to make the jump to

drippy clothes which constitute the

outward markers of that trip and finally

to just having drip which then gets

reanalyzed as nice clothes specifically

and nothing else that is not the Riz

that often accompanies drip if you were

paying attention and most of us weren't

that happened in real time in the last

10 years helped Along by not one but two

hit songs that make use of that metaphor

and for the last 10 years or so people

have been using drip in ambiguous but

positive ways and everybody just has to

figure it out from Context Clues no

surprise it's now come around to

something concrete and tangible second

regarding the breaking things linguists

sometimes call this anti- language the

classic example is the word bad meaning

its antonym good there's a ton of

reasons people might do this and anti-

language crops up over and over again

lot has been written about anti-

language and New World slavery and the

cultures that came out of the resistance

to that but effectively that's how you

get good things described as bad sick

ill dope and so on it's also how you get

Funk there's also another kind of

misunderstanding I didn't mention before

which comes in two flavors both of which

are forms of What's called the recency

illusion basically if it's new to me it

must be new so when you Google gen Alpha

slang you get Stan defined as an aid fan

one problem this comes from a song by a

Gen X rapper born in 1972 and the song

was popular in the year 2000 I get that

the person writing the 50 gen Alpha

slang terms you need to know article

that's sitting at the top of Google's

results isn't American and wasn't born

yet so she doesn't remember the absolute

ubiquity of Stan but the origins of

things just get collectively memory hold

in general the sper version of this is

that things different ethnic groups have

been saying for years sometimes

literally centuries are attributed to

little white teenagers apologies Aiden

but you did not invent the word clout

and it has meant personal influence

since 1946 lowkey has been around since

1895 Chi you can have so every slang

explainer is riddled with words that

have existed in other dialects for a

long time or just in academic English

but that people encounter a few times

and begin to use often wrong I'm talking

finna I'm talking extra which my ass got

called in the early 90s I'm talking lit

I'm talking lowkey I'm talking sus I'm

talking simp which again you can hear in

hip-hop from

1993

damn pretty much if it's actually slang

and black people are saying it now

you're going to hear it from everybody

in the world quite literally in about 20

years it's like clockwork remember when

by Felicia got big in 2014 that's the

20-y year anniversary of Friday it's not

all from African-American speech though

don't get me wrong The Beach Boys were

talking about Good Vibes the 1960s but

Jen Alpha thinks they invented Vibes

vibing and Vibe checks I saw sleeper

listed as genen Alpha slang explained as

something that is unexpectedly good or

impressive often used to describe under

ated or overlooked items experiences or

people great except it's used with that

meaning in a June 19 1948 issue of

billboard magazine talking about a

sleeper hit it's not just kids and

amateur lexicographers who miss these

things linguists do too as well Geneva

smitherman has an excellent book on

black English but she incorrectly

attributes Diva to black English and not

you know Italian and don't get me

started on her explanation of Bogart

Humphrey is not included and a ton of

gen Alpha slang is from games and

Computing as well I would have said said

video games but honestly Dungeons and

Dragons is punching way above its weight

maxing as a suffix as in his looks

maxing comes from maxing out your stats

on a given parameter now it just means

doing or being something to an extreme

me what's me it's when you look Max and

that brings me to another driver of

slang there's a pattern that goes by a

bunch of different names and Linguistics

but I think of it as all variations of

the same thing yerson cycle the

euphemism treadmill basically something

isn't thought of as being as intense as

it once was and the whole system shifts

yerson cycle is when this happens to

negation and it's how you get French

moving from n as negation to n plus verb

plus ba to just B if you're studying

French I don't care what your textbook

says people barely ever say n now that's

how mid now means bad and not middling

if it's mid it's not good and what's not

good bad Sigma is a double

misunderstanding first you have the old

wolf about alpha males where

Alpha is the best and beta is

subordinate to Alpha and so on this is

debunked bull fake science about wolves

in captivity and is not at all

reasonable as a way to think about

people but we'll set that aside in

statistics Sigma is used to indicate the

standard deviation get it s for standard

anyway back in the day you might have

heard people talk about say a three

sigma event something very unlikely

pension does this in gravity's Rainbow

so it's not super new misunderstand all

of that and when you go to intensify

Alpha instead of super Alpha which mixes

Latin and Greek or hyper Alpha you get

people saying Sigma also what does Sigma

mean means that Alpha it started with

ridiculous influencers online doing the

if men were wolves I'd be the pack

leader thing but on steroids now it's

diffused out from there and just means

generically very good this is also how

you get slay when Jazz musicians have

been saying something good is killing

for decades anti- language you killed

that means you did it very well you

completely dispensed with the task but

now we have to intensify it you bodied

it you slayed you don't have friends you

have a squad music was funky for a while

and then you get a tune like filthy

McNasty add to this mix baby talk what

linguists call

hyperarticulation while I'm on dulu

let's talk about Karens people have used

stereotypical names as standin for kinds

of people for way longer than a lot of

people inum including some linguists I

know so Karen and Stan and Chad are

familiar contemporary archetypes but

when I was growing up there was shenin

and Becky Becky is like Karen's mom I

guess and my parents generation could

refer to Gan as Bruce and mus Ians in

the 1940s talk about Jack and Mo and cab

callow was calling lames Jeffs in the

1930s by the way he was also calling

Things Groovy sorry Boomers second to

last there's also just changing parts of

speech by analogy fire went from a noun

to an adjective Flex went from a verb to

a noun but if you think about what

you're doing when you're flexing usually

posing to show off you can understand

what a flex is my age and upbringing

would call it stunt on someone but it's

the same idea finally you get to honest

to goodness genuine madeup slang words

and I can really only find about three

or four of those for Gen Alpha and I'm

not convinced that gen Alpha had

anything to do with two or three out of

them Chi Fleek and skibbidy and maybe

Yeet leave me a comment if I'm leaving

any out the point of this video is not

to beat up on gen Alpha because picking

on kids really isn't a good look maybe

we shouldn't be propping up teenagers

and children as Arbiters of culture and

asking them to explain a language to us

when they're still kind of learning that

language and honestly every generation

does this the Baby Boomers think they

invented groovy so we've seen that slang

can come from honest to goodness new

words but also misunderstanding

borrowing truncation and just simply

giving a word more recognition of slang

even when it's not new not to mention

changing the part of speech Let's go

through the top Google hits for Gen

Alpha slang and see it in action first

the second Google hit because it's just

a top 10 skibby it's a madeup word that

you don't need to know the origin story

of because it's complicated and boring

its meaning is not yet actually

consistent so it's more of a

generational marker my professional

opinion is that you will not need to

worry about this one because it will be

cringe extremely soon Riz is a

truncation of Charisma that's it Phantom

tax everyone will tell you it's grabbing

someone else's food and it's named after

a streamer Phantom but nobody seems to

get the pun that it's a phantom tax

which is a phrase that has existed for a

while what can I say people who write

slang explainers are usually not very

good at lexicography yeah you'll be told

that this is an acronym for girl your

ass is thick which like maybe but it's

about as likely as fat being an acronym

for pretty hot and tempting it's

originally from borrowing God as in God

damn the thing you say when a shorty is

fat if you're a millennial ratioed this

is 100% from Twitter and primarily used

by Gen X and Millennials cap This Is A

Lie its origin should be transparent to

people but evidently isn't it's a facade

literally a cap is a false front like on

teeth cap is literally the next

iteration of fronting goated this is

actually actually from an initialism

which is rare greatest of all time it's

now changed part of speech to past

participle which means expect back

formations soon big yikes yikes goes

back to the rumors and I have no idea

why people think gen Alpha invented it

gen Alpha is skibbidy yikes is Scooby

Sigma male I already explained this one

and now let's go through the number one

Google result an explainer written by

the delightfully named febriana ramadana

something that only happens once every

33 years I had to look that one up eight

this is to do something well the origin

is to do it thoroughly and to my

knowledge this comes from gay black

Ballroom culture in New York in the 80s

as a lot of these will basic conforming

to mainstream Trends in the '90s in

black English and to my knowledge this

is still the case it has the additional

meaning of stupid deeply ironic that

people who were called basic missed what

they were actually being called and

self-identify as such this is also not

at all new to gen Alpha notice how this

works by analogy though basic is roughly

equivalent to remedial your basic while

everyone else has moved on to Advanced

things bet transparently from you bet

black folks did this first by at least a

decade and then it spread Big W do I

really need to explain this bop a catchy

or enjoy a song This goes back to at

least the 1940s in black English busen

this is from busting like bursting you

just no longer have to say with flavor

or whatever this is one of those

instances where a person's accent their

dialect gets reinterpreted as being a

new and fun word just like B cap we

already did that Chi this one I actually

think they made up good job jenzy clout

the author is confused and this has been

around for almost 100 years it's

originally from a word that meant to

whack something cringe this is now an

adjective and not a verb but that's

literally the only difference most

likely it's a shortening of cringe

inducing which was popular about 20

years ago dulu that's delusional with

cuu Loco reduplication rupu drip surely

you remember this extra over the top

literally exactly what it sounds like

instead of saying he's extra wild today

you can just leave off the descriptive

for a vague sense of doing too much too

much what just too much also via black

English where it started at slang and

has been around for a long time facts

another instance of mistaking an accent

for a new word it's fact

a general expression of agreement as in

what you were saying are

facts finna this is not slang at all but

a future modal in quite a few varieties

of English originally from fixing

oneself to do something it's not

originally from black English to my

knowledge but it is prevalent among

black English speakers in both the US

South where it originated and the north

where it's marked as being primarily

black but that's changing it's primarily

Southern though it's just the Great

Migration coming into play here fire

another part of speech jump so now it's

an adjective meaning good Flex another

part of speech jump as I explained above

glow up this is a makeover in French

they have the imagined English word

relooking it's like that Gucci sounds

vaguely evocative of good and is a

luxury brand I'm surprised this didn't

happen earlier ghost historically this

was to leave think the little cloud in

the shape of a character that just ran

off in a Warner Brothers cartoon but it

was borrowed into the mainstream from

you guessed it black English where it

now means in the mainstream to stop

responding or to stand someone up ick

this was used by C callow in the 1930s

why are we attributing it to gen Alpha

it's the golden generation or whatever

The Lost Generation you're literally 100

years late on this it's giving I have no

idea why it's hard for people to

recognize that this means exuding and

literally the same as giving off but

without the preposition off lit how do

you get something that's fire this is by

analogy with starting something like a

firework or an engine it goes lowkey I

mentioned this earlier and it originated

with music at least according to

atmology online although I always

thought it had to do with keying as in

lighting contrast in film low

vibrational Bringing Down the energy

this is just physics used as a metaphor

although it does seem popular in

particular among hots for whom vibration

is more of a spiritual thing mid this is

the euphemism treadmill at work

eventually good and bad will be Sigma

and good mood this is a single statement

in response to something to my knowledge

it originated with Gen X and was used to

death by Millennials it's a response as

though you are captioning whatever

you're looking at or describing as in

this is a picture of my mood peep are

you kidding me again it's cab Callaway

at this point I should make a video

about slang from the 1930s jeepers

creepers where'd you get those people

period this is something that Boomers

used to indicate finality and whatever

they're proclaiming the one with a t

period is just a way of representing an

accent I have an entire publication on

what's going on there called tweets as

graffiti where I compare black Twitter

and graffiti at Pompei if anyone's

interested in that I'll leave a link

below that's on period is a version of

that uses a uniquely black American

grammatical structure it's kind of slang

but also the same idea Charisma enough

said salty also not new pretty sure

Melville used this sheesh this is where

the fact that these lists are not always

made by native English speakers really

shows this is again the recency illusion

and this is a taboo deoration of G from

Jesus from the 1950s for taboo

deformations definitely check out last

week's video shook this is literally the

same as shaken with exactly the same

meaning it's the participle and it's

just being borrowed from other dialects

go ahead and guess which one gave us

Shook and woke and turn shooketh this is

a playful variant and the ending is one

that comes from the fact that literally

nobody seems to understand the basics of

Middle English anymore it's a pet peeve

of mine for a different day SLE I

already merked this sleeper also very

very old it's dark horse snack a snack

is something that looks so good you

could gobble it up now apply that to

people it's what my grandmother would

have called a dish but I guess you don't

get as much anymore on account of

inflation snatched looking good

originally from snatching wigs from

black gay Ballroom culture so like 1980s

New York Squad I already explained this

one to my unit by the way expect

Replacements like unit team Etc in

coming years Stan an obsessed fan which

is itself short for fanatic sus a

truncation of suspicious this has

somehow become perceived as slang when I

definitely learned it as just a regular

word in the90s and had the impression

that it was used that way as far back as

at least the 1960s T gossip from a

spelling of the letter t for Truth at

least apocryphally from bam culture

thirsty eager needy pressed this one

should be obvious you want something

it's a physical metaphor Vibe and his

variations all have to do with Good

Vibrations woke I have a whole video on

this but it's like Shook and that it's

literally just the participle awake just

borrowed from black English so now the

mainstream has awake and woke with

different meanings when woke was just

awake being used metaphorically ye an

anopia used to express excitement or

when throwing something by the way I

spelled Anam anopia correctly the first

time in writing my script so like A+ for

me anyway my understanding is that yeet

originated with video games along with

things like NPC as non-player character

and a handful of other terms having gone

to the top genalpha slang according to

google there's a few things that should

stand out first most of it isn't gen

Alpha second the overwhelming majority

of slang items can be figured out of use

context clues but also there's

ironically a danger there because these

things sometimes become slang because

people used context clues and got it

almost but not quite right so yeah gen

Alpha slang is kind of stupid but that's

okay that's how slang happens it's

either misunderstandings or changing

parts of speech or intentionally obusca

but that's what makes it fun it's

novelty tickles our brains and then it

gets really old really fast and we just

stop saying it or it becomes so

mainstream that we don't think of it as

slang anymore like fan or cool if you

like this video please like And

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anything I left out or with your

favorite slang bonus points if you

invent plausibly gen Alpha slang that's

not real like that one guy thanks to all

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know these things until next time don't

be a mergatroid Jeff Daddyo