Hi Fellow Classmates –

In this presentation I will share the unique and unusual words I encountered when I
observed teenagers.

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 Males – Teenage boys (baseball players)
• Tank
• Bomb
• My Bad
• Roll it up
• Pumped
Females – Teenage girls
• Mid
• Cap
• Bussin
• Tea
• Rizz

10 Words
I interacted with a set of male and female teenagers. The male teenagers were baseball
players; hence their words were related to the sport. The female students used words
focused on social activities like popularity and food. In this slide are the 10 words used by
the teenagers: tank, bomb, my bad, roll it up, pumped, mid, cap, bussin, tea and rizz.

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 To hit a baseball hard
Spoken
That’s a tank!

Translation
The ball was hit hard.

Tank is used in baseball and is said when a player hits the ball hard.

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 To hit a home run

Spoken
The player hit a bomb.

Translated
The player hit a home run.

A bomb in baseball means a home run.

4
 My mistake
Spoken
My bad, it should not have
happened.

Translation
Sorry, that was my mistake.

“My bad” is commonly used not only by teenagers but adults as well. To make a mistake is
the common translation for my bad.

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 Double play ball

Spoken
Come on guys, roll it up!

Translation
Let’s get a double play.

A double play ball in baseball is know as roll it up.

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 Let’s get excited!

Spoken
Team, let’s get pumped.

Translated
Team, let’s get excited.

Pumped is also a common and acceptable phrase used by teens and athletes. Let’s get
excited! Pumped can also refer to an individual who is muscular.

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 Something that is not good or bad.

Spoken
The restaurant food was mid.

Translation
The food was average tasting – it
was not good and not bad.

The female teens used the word mid. I had never heard of this word. When something is
“mid” it is not good nor bad. Mid must have been shortened from the word middle.

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 To Lie
Spoken
That is a cap.

Translation
The girl is lying about the dance.

Cap means to lie. I had never heard cap used in this manner.

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 Tastes good

Spoken
The food was bussin.

Translation
The food tasted good.

When something is bussin, it tastes good!

10
 Gossip
Spoken
That is tea and not true.

Translation
Stop gossiping, it is not true.

Tea is used to describe gossip. I had never heard of tea used in this manner.

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 To be popular

To be Popular or to
have charisma
Spoken
The girl is rizz.

Translation
The girl is popular.

When something or someone is popular, it is rizz.

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 Language/Vocabulary used by
teenagers
• Linguistic trendsetters
• Identity
• Trendy and cool
• Popular versus Nerdy

Discussion/Reflection
In the 2020 article, Teen Talk and Linguistic Evolution by Dr. Frindland, she states identities
are referenced and reinforced by the linguistic choice people make (Frindland, 2020). Teens
are exposed to social types that seek to make dress, music and linguistic cool and trendy.
Teens do not want to be the nerd among their peers and adopt linguistic trends that
contribute to the shape of language. Teens are linguistic trendsetters.

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 What stuck out about the teens’ language?
• Females more innovative with words

Connection to my own linguistic

development Female innovators

• Linguistic practices not changed

• Similarities

Discussion/Reflection
What stuck out about the language being used among the teens were the female
participants and the volume of slang words spoken. The teen girls seemed to use slang
words in nearly every sentence, much more than the teen boys. Many researchers
contribute this usage to the GenZ teens growing up with social media influence and this
linguistic as a style and self expressions (Enan, 2024). Aesthetics or having a style is a
trending thing with GenZ which has now spilled over to linguistics.

Further research refers to teenage girls as language disruptors – innovators of new words
(Thompson, 2015). Researcher Helen Thompson states girls are responsible for 90% of
new words (Thompson, 2015). I can see how this research is valid just from the constant
interaction I have with teens. Females seem to be more attached to their phones and social
media than their counterpart males. This constant connection to social media I believe is
aiding in the development of new words and the linguistic changes our society faces on a
daily basis.

I am older, in my mid-thirties. Social media and cell phones were just coming of age when I
was in my late teens. There was no Instagram or Facebook. My Space was just being
introduced. Due to the lack of social media, I do not recall using slang words especially with
my parents. My linguistic practices were not disrupted or changed. Even today, I seldom

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use acronyms or slang even why I send text messages. The differences in linguistic develop of
the teens whom I observed as compared to mine is significantly influenced by the access to
the internet. I believe platforms like TikTok and Instagram have a significant negative
influence on language development.

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 Connection to morphology
• Clipping - Mid
• Hypocorism - Rizz

Future application
• Stress importance of proper language
development
• Challenge in the world of social media

The word formation application I observed in this activity was clipping. George Yule defines
clipping as the element of reduction that is noticeable, and a word is reduced to a shorter
form (Yule, 2023). In this activity the word middle was reduced to mid. The definition of
mid is something that is not good nor bad, but in the middle. Rizz is also from the word
charisma. Rizz is formed using the process of hypocorism. In this process a longer word is
reduced to a single syllable – charisma to rizz.

As I reflect on my future classroom and instructing language development, I see a challenge

ahead of me. Unfortunately, children are continuously exposed to inappropriate media
content that will influence their language and their behavior. As a teacher it is our
responsibility to ensure we continue to reinforce morphology, phonology, syntax, semantics
and pragmatic concepts to ensure students develop the proper language skills that will
improve their reading, writing and comprehension skills.

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Enan, R. (2024). A Guide to New Teen Slang and Genz Slang Trends. Retrieved:
https://www.familyeducation.com/teens/social-
development/communication/a-guide-to-new-teen-slang-and-gen-z-slang-
trends

Fridland, V. (2020). Teen Talk and Linguistic Evolution. Psychology Today.

Retrieved: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/language-in-the-
wild/202011/teen-talk-and-linguistic-evolution

Thompson, H. (2015). Teenage girls have lead language innovation for

centuries. Retrieved: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/teenage-
girls-have-been-revolutionizing-language-16th-century-180956216/

Yule, G. (2023). The Study of Language. Cambridge Press.

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