Teenspeak

Sometimes, embarrassing your teen can be, well, really fun. While on a recent outing with my daughter, I used the phrase, “I’m jiggy with it” ~ in public. Oh Em Gee. Her response was just so gratifying: the roll of the eyes, the twisting of her waist, the cocking of one hip, the slumping of one shoulder, the bending of her neck at a somewhat unnatural angle, and the great heaving sigh. “Mom, NO ONE says that anymore. What is WRONG with you?” Who can resist eliciting a response like that? teeheehee

Like any self respecting parent, I am fully aware of the “rules” of a parent using teenspeak. We must only use phrases that are at least five years old. We must use them only in “private” we must, at all costs, avoid saying anything remotely considered teenspeak in public. The one exception is phrases or words that have become so main stream that they are used on the Disney channel because, then, they are no longer teanspeak but mainstream American vernacular. For example, how could one live a day without saying, “awesome” or “whatever.”

I really consider “teenspeak” akin to “newspeak” in George Orwell’s 1984. Perhaps, the goal of teens is to eventually reduce the number of words used in the English language. Think about it, “whatever” could replace so many phrases and words: OK, I disagree, you’re an idiot, I don’t care, shut up [that would be a welcome deletion, unless, of course, you meant, “shhuutt uuupp], I don’t care ~ the list is endless.

Remember the phrases of the past? What has NOT withstood the test of time: groovy (now that is just sad) , excellent (my personal favorite in middle school, “whoot” (as in “there it is”), and, well, “I’m jiggy with it” (what, from Nintendo’s Banjo Tooie?). Those that have remained: cool, totally, awesome, and my personal favorite, whatever.

Recently, in response to a somewhat snotty inquiry from my teen, I responded, “WhatEv.” My beloved tween and teen responded by saying, “never use that phrase again.” So, is it cool, or beyond geeky? I don’t know the answer. I do know that I have a new favorite phrase ~ “whatev.”