In the interest of bridging the generation gap, I thought I would post this just for fun and better understanding. If you aren't lucky enough to have teenagers, you still might want to give this a quick glance just to see what you're missing.
Good luck; I've had years of practice and am still woefully ignorant.
Sorry about the formatting; I'd have asked someone more knowledgeable, but it was way past their bedtime.
How well do you know Teenese? See if you can match the correct ‘teen statement’ to its corresponding meaning in the more boring, long-winded Adultese. A few distractors have been thrown in just to make this a little more challenging. 1) We were like, ‘Oh.’ (a) I find him very congenial. 2) CD 9 (b) He’s an interesting person. 3) I’m like, duh! (c) Male Oriented Society 4) He’s this like totally amazing person. (d) I really approve of that. 5) MOS (e) We took exception and let (him) know it. 6) So we’re like: Excuse me! (f) My parents are present just now. 7) This random guy came up and (g) I let (her) know I thought it was
went, Dude, like, chill. obvious.
8) I can’t stand him, he’s so gay. (h) We were a little surprised by that. 9) PAW (i) I don’t like him at all. 10) He’s, like, a retarded gimp. (j) I don’t like him, he’s homosexual. 11) That’s well cool. (k) Mother Over Shoulder (l) Parents are Watching (m) Parties are Wild (n) We were approached by a suspicious man who told (him)
to calm down.
(o) We were approached by a man who happened by and told (him) to calm down (p) I don’t think much of his intelligence (q) Miserable Old Sod Bonus Points: What is the difference between an Emo and a Goth? What is the difference between an I-pod and an M3 Player? |
Hmmm am i that old?
Written by cheapthrill (30 comments posted) 19th April 2007 | 1) We were like, ‘Oh.’ -- (h) We were a little surprised by that.
2) CD 9 --
3) I’m like, duh! -- (g) I let (her) know I thought it was obvious.
4) He’s this like totally amazing person. -- (b) He’s an interesting person.
5) MOS -- (k) Mother Over Shoulder (?)
6) So we’re like: Excuse me! -- (e) We took exception and let (him) know it.
7) This random guy came up and went, Dude, like, chill. -- (o) We were approached by a man who happened by and told (him) to calm down
 I can’t stand him, he’s so gay. -- (i) I don’t like him at all.
9) PAW -- (l) Parents are Watching
10) He’s, like, a retarded gimp. -- (p) I don’t think much of his intelligence
11) That’s well cool. -- (d) I really approve of that.
Emo is meant to be short for Emotional. They tend to dye their hair pink wear make up and revel in teenage angst. Goths seem to be the clique people join to avoid cliques. Crap, I have no clue.
An iPod is a mp3 player made by Apple, while anything made by another company is just an mp3 player. But I think you were looking for something along the lines of "iPods own and other mp3 players are gay"
| Jay, a quiz!
Written by Fledermaus (3238 comments posted) 19th April 2007 | 1) We were like, ‘Oh.’
Depending on the intonetion either " We had an aha-Erlebnis" or " We realized we had been a little dumb" or "We hadn't expected that".
2) CD 9
Uh, something that they put music on? I haven't got a clue.
3) I’m like, duh!
Hey, that's my ex-GF's favorite line. Appearantly it's invented by Homer Simpson. It means "Stupid remark, I already know that."
4) He’s this like totally amazing person.
Something between " He's a reasonably nice guy" to "I'm in love".
5) MOS
No idea. A drug addicted super model??
6) So we’re like: Excuse me!
" Hello? I was right, you were wrong, how dare you accuse me!"
7) This random guy came up and went, Dude, like, chill.
" A stranger told us to calm down."
I can’t stand him, he’s so gay.
No idea. Perhaps he's a bit girly?
9) PAW
something kids saw when they immite a gunshot, but what teens mean by it???
10) He’s, like, a retarded gimp.
" He's too old fashioned."
11) That’s well cool.
Again depending on intonation. Either " I like that!" or "I couldn't be less interested".
What is the difference between an Emo and a Goth?
Goths existed when I was a teen, emos did not. Goths are black-dressed, long haired people listening either to modern versions of classical music called Gothic Rock or to some sort of undefined noise called Metal. They prefer to wear too much make up and to look like zombies.
Emos, so I've heard, are girly boys who refuse to come out of the closet.
What is the difference between an I-pod and an M3 Player?
An I-pod is an expensive MP3 Player, not notably better than most, but well advertised.
The BBC used to have a brilliant site about teenage sub-cultures, full of typically British humor, but for some reason they removed it. I bet some teens didn't get the irony about stereotypical depressed goths, and empty headed soulstrels. |
Written by Witzl (1585 comments posted) 19th April 2007 | Cheapthrill and Fledermaus, you guys are so young I'm amazed we can communicate! Either that or you must work with kids. Cheapthrill in particular did well in getting almost everything right with the exception of (2) -- (f) -- CD9 means 'My parents are present just now.' And the answer to (7) is closer to (n), as 'random' now means 'suspicious' or 'unpleasant' in Teenese, believe it or not. You've got Emos down well; Goths are apparently the people Emos seek to emulate. Emos toy with devil worship and pretend to consider suicide; Goths actually do it.
Fledermaus, I like your definition for (4), but 'gay' doesn't mean 'homosexual' anymore, it means 'substandard.' Weird, eh? And 'That's well cool' is entirely complimentary.
In case anyone is interested, the following is a funny piss-take on Emos and a good laugh:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moC-TXQJXTY |
Written by Fledermaus (3238 comments posted) 19th April 2007 | Ah, so emos are fake goths... Not all goths are gloomy devil worshipers though. I know a few who simply dress in black and listen 'Gothic' music. Perhaps they're fake goths too, but as far as I know they're not depressed or obesessed with dark forces.
Over here we have our own teenese and it evolves too quickly to keep up with: In the 80s were 'heavy', then they became 'awesome', then 'gaaf' (undamaged) 'kickuh' (derived from English 'to kick' I guess), then 'cool', then 'wreed' (cruel), 'heftig' (fierce), then 'stoer' (tough), then 'chill' and finally 'vet' (fat), although that may have changed already too. |
Written by Bottleblondesurfer (3298 comments posted) 19th April 2007 | I admit the only stuff I knew was "gay" for flakey and "cool" which has survived unchanged for decades. My son a goth for a while but he hadn't heard of emos when I asked. Of course he claims to have outgrown it but he's still got a Cradle of Filth CD. I quite admire the way each new group of kids generate their own buzz words and re-define old words. We might not understand it but that is the whole point and it keeps the language alive
cheers
Jane |
Written by Phil (6645 comments posted) 19th April 2007 | Fun piece Mary. My youngest's latest is 'sick' for interesting or cool. The one that annoys me the most is 'random' - used randomly.
Phil. |
Written by anorwegianwood (278 comments posted) 19th April 2007 | I try so hard to not talk this, but as it's technically my generation, sometimes there's no escaping it; it seeps into your brain. I read an article recently about how more and more middle-schoolers are starting to use IM abbreviations in papers.
One thing I find interesting is how slang goes in cycles. When I was in about 10th grade, "word!" and a few other 80's-isms made a brief comeback. About half my teachers had been in high school during the 80's, and many were genuinely upset that their students were stealing their slang. Now "trippy" is back.
Then there are the more creative attempts. There was one about two years ago that had a very short life (for good reason). "Deece," short for "decent." The first time I heard that one I was like, dude, wtf? that is so totally the most random thing ever.
How about this? Explain the difference between emo, goth, punk, unpunk, hipster, scene, and mosher.
~Claire |
Written by Witzl (1585 comments posted) 19th April 2007 | Jeez, and there I was so proud that I finally figured out the difference between Emos and Goths!
Thank you Jane, Phil and Claire, for reviewing this silliness. It is interesting how slang is recycled. I remember an uncle insisting that 'rip off' went back to the thirties and prohibition, when people buried their liquor under the floorboards. Thieves knew where to look for it and would rip off the floorboards, thus creating a new term for theft. My uncle was right, and yet we kids thought it was our very own word. As Jane states, 'cool' has been around for decades now and shows no sign of waning popularity; 'groovy' on the other hand was wildly popular, then suddenly very dated. I wonder why? I had a Japanese teacher whose English was superb, but she never cottoned on to the fact that 'groovy' was no longer used; we used to cringe, as she used it all the time. | Hi Witzl
Written by BrianRobertNeal (1195 comments posted) 21st April 2007 | | Can I phone a friend or grab one of my sons. |
Written by Gill21 (566 comments posted) 22nd April 2007 | Haha what fun. PAW and MOS were the only ones that stumped me and i still use a couple of the above phrases [ducks head in dreadful shame], but i'm only a few years out my teens so you can forgive me. Using the word 'like' and 'see' too often is an almost unbreakable habit and i make up my own words on a nearly daily basis. At the same time i still get annoyed at friends for their terrible slang, swearing and small vocab.
The whole 'emo' and 'goth' thing still confuddles (see) me but then i've never been into labels. I've never understood why these people who claim they want to be unique, conform.
Phil 'sick' is a new one to me too, and sounds vaguely transatlantic. Random.
Thanks Mary for a fun post  |
Written by Witzl (1585 comments posted) 23rd April 2007 | I've never understood people who lay claim to uniqueness while slavishly following fashion myself. My parents used to voice that sentiment and it sounded like just so much noise. Now I'm saying it and it sounds like good, plain sense.
Actually, I assumed that 'sick' meaning 'cool' must be British. Wishful thinking, maybe, or could it have been that some English-speaking teenager somewhere just didn't know how to pronounce 'chic'?
A few days ago, thanks to my kids having given me their useful pointers about Emos and Goths I correctly identified my first Emos outside the Loreburn Shopping Center in Dumfries. I almost shouted out 'Hey -- Emos!,' but managed to catch myself before making this gaffe. My kids rewarded me for this uncharacteristic restraint by saying that they will still go shopping with me as long as I maintain the correct ten-foot distance from them. |
Written by cheapthrill (30 comments posted) 23rd April 2007 | Having left the better half of my twenties behind for a couple of years now, its good to see I'm not totally out of touch. I'm almost tempted to buy a skateboard and go "hang" at the park.
For PAW and MOS I made educated guesses, but CD9 I couldn't figure out. Any further explanation to that one?
|
Written by ellipinnock (1753 comments posted) 25th April 2007 | I've only just happened on this - very funny. Honestly, I go to America for four days and by the time I get back there are more new postings than you can shake a stick at.
At 22 (I think I'm 22 anyway...) I suppose I should be familiar with all this stuff but the acronyms had me a little stumped. And I try not to use any of the buzzwords unless forced...in order to maintain what little street cred I didn't lose long ago you understand
I wouldn't go as far as woefully ignorant - you seem pretty fluent in teenese!
Elli |
Written by Witzl (1585 comments posted) 25th April 2007 | Thank you, cheapthrill and Elli. By the time everyone's read this, kids will have come up with a whole new bunch of buzz words and these will all be out of date.
CD9 means 'parents are around,' by the way -- sorry to be answering this so late. |
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