Are Teens Ruining the English Language?

Today,teenageslangplaysacolossalpartincommunicationand
contactbetweenadolescents,asslangisusedtoincludeaspecific
generation,andexcludeothers(parents,teachersandlosers.)
Thisinformalspeechisusuallyintroducedtochildrenattheage
of10/11,oncetheystartenteringthedreadfulperiodof
demarcationanddifferentiationfromtheiroverpossessiveand
controllingparents.Thenewlyfreshadolescentsstarttoneglect
presentintruders,whoforcethemtoobeyandpreparethemfor
theirreleaseintothevastandterrifyingworld.Thustheuseof
thismoderninformalspeechisawaytosetthemselvesapartand
expresstheiropinionsandfeelingsinadistinctiveand
individualisticwayandalsokeeptheseunwantedpersonsout.
Consequently,youngsterstakeanantisocialbutstillconnected
step;theyfindprotectioninthedigitalrealmsofsocialmedia
wherecodelanguageisthemainformofcommunicationusedby
teens.However,teenagersstillfaceaproblem;itisnotillegalfor
peopleover35yearsoldtojoinsocialmediaplatformsinorder
toseewhattheirkidsareupto,andtobehonest,thecodeisnot
100%indecipherableforfogies.

GotafriendrequestonFacebook?Itsjustyourmum
GotanewfolloweronTwitter?Nevermind,itsyour
dad

Alittlebitofhistory
Thetermsthatyoungpeopleusetodaysuchasgtg(got
togo)orttyl(talktoyoulater)originatedfromearlycell
phonetextinglimitsandwereusedtoshortenandsimplify
messages.However,fewpeoplewillknowthatthefirst
persontocointhefirsteveracronymstillusedinmodern
slangtodaywasBritishAdmiralJohnArbuthnotFisher,
whenheforwardedatelegraphtoWinstonChurchill,

Technologies
Manylamentthefactthatlongerwordshavebecomeoutdated
amongstteenagerssincetextmessagesandsocialnetworkingwebsites
gainedpopularity.However,whilesomesaytheseuptodate
expressionsarethereasonwhyEnglishisgoingtothedogs,others
argueitrepresentslinguisticadvance.Slanghasbeenaccusedof
ruiningtheEnglishlanguageasvariouswordsaresteadilybeing
replacedbycoolerversions.Butinactualfact,theEnglishlanguage
isconstantlyevolvingandhasdonecontinuallyfromitsearly
beginnings.
Phonesandcomputersareperceivedastheendemicrootofthe
problem;youngstersarealwaysontheirtechnologicaldevicesand
cannotspendadaywithouttechnology.WorldrenownedTVstations
suchasDisneyChannelandYouTubechannelslikeBuzzFeed
contributetotheincreasinguseoftheinformalspeech,making
millionsofviewsandexpandingmodernslangtremendously.The
Internetischangingthewaywespeak;It'snotnecessarilythat
languageischangingmorequickly,buttechnologieshavedeveloped
andtheyallowthetransmissionofslangtermstopassfromonegroup
toanothermuchmorequicklysaysJulieColeman,authoroftheLife
ofSlang.Inotherwordstechnologyisfacilitatinglanguagechangein
awaywehaveneverwitnessedbefore.

reactingtoasurprisingnewsheadlineabouttheGermanFleetassistinglandoperationsintheBalticSeaduringWorldWarII,
withthenowinfamousO.M.G(ohmygod).
ThehistoryoftheconstantlydevelopingEnglishlanguagestartedwiththeinvasionofAngloSaxontribesintoBritainduringthe
fifthcentury(A.D);theAngles,theJutesandtheSaxonscrossedtheNorthSeafromDenmark,NorthernGermanyandHolland.It
wastheAnglesthatgaveEnglandandEnglishtheirnamesandtheseinvadingGermanictribeshadsimilarlanguages,which
developedintoOldEnglish(4501100AD.)In1066WilliamtheConqueror,DukeofNormandyinvadedandconqueredEngland
andbroughtaderivationofFrench.TherewasalinguisticclassdivisionwhereFrenchbecamethelanguageoftheupperclassand
thelowerclassesspokeEnglish.Inthe14thcenturyEnglishbecamethemostdominantlanguageinBritainagain,althoughmany
Frenchwordswereadded.DuringtheRenaissancemanynewwordsandphrasesenteredtheEnglishlanguage,asBritain
colonizedcountriesallaroundtheworld.TheBritonsborrowedfrompracticallyallotherEuropeanneighborsandfromtheir
formercolonies.YouwouldbesurprisedtodiscoverthatmanywordsusedonadailybasisbytheBritishpopulationactually
camefromIndiaorPakistan.Forexample,thewordjungleasdefinedtoanareaofdensevegetationisderivedfromtheHindi
wordJangalmeaningaforest,whichbegantobeusedinEnglandduringthe18thcentury.Thesewordshavemadetheirway
extremelyrapidlyintotheEnglishlanguage,backwhenBritainwasstillinpossessionofitsnumerouscolonies.
Consequently,peerpressuremassivelyincreasedthedevelopmentofteenageslanginNativeEnglishcountries;studentsstart
adoptingthejargoninprimaryschoolinordertofitintoaparticulargroupofindividuals;appearanceanddialogueineducational
establishmentsvividlyreflectsyoursocialclassandupbringing.Butdonotunderestimatetheclevernessofyourkids;mymother
wouldn'tallowmetospeakslangwhenIwasgrowingup,butwhenIgotoutside,aroundmyfriends,itwas:Yo,whatsup?And:
Passthejoint.SoIhadmygameformyfriendsandmygameformymomQueenLatifah.
Intheend,theEnglishlanguagehasbeenconstantlydevelopingduetonumerousfactors,whichdevelopeditintoanupdated
versionusedbyalmostthetotaloftheBritishpopulation.Thislanguagerepresentsthemulticulturalandmultiracialidentityofthe
populationandconveystoothercountriesasenseofacceptanceandrecognitiontowardsthepastinfluencesleftbycolonizersand
thecolonized.Thereisadiversemeltingpotofethnicitiesandorigins,whichshapedtheEnglishlanguageoftoday.