Learning to speak “teen.”
I thought that once my youngest hit a certain age I would be past the point of having to translate the language of children. I mastered baby talk and conquered toddler babble. But then I had teens. And I once again found myself asking what in the world they were saying. We are now learning to speak teen.
What does that word mean?
Come again?
Speak “Mom” to me, please.
A conversation would start normally, then the teen lingo would kick in. I pride myself on staying up to date with modern slang, but some of these words go right over my head and I don’t know if my kids are going to get grounded for what they had just said or if I should laugh at a joke I just missed.
Google became my best friend for deciphering words and phrases to determine if the conversation was okay or offensive.
» » » » » » » RELATED READ: 5 Things No One Told Me About Parenting Teens « « « « « « «
My kids love laughing when I ask for an explanation of a word or when they see the look of confusion cross my face after they say something.
What did you just tell me? I don’t speak “teen.”
My need to learn a new language is not limited to verbal communication but also written. My kids text in abbreviations and acronyms. We often remind our guys that we are only learning to speak “teen,” a language they are fluent in. Take it easy on us. We implemented a rule that the kids were only allowed to communicate in full sentences and words. We have unlimited texting, and there is no character count, so please please talk to me using all the syllables.
Here are some examples:
TBH – To be honest (this one isn’t hard)
Bruh – Bro, or a sarcastic acknowledgment of a statement, or a word used to start a sentence
Dead – Something very funny was done or said
Fit – Outfit
Gucci – Cool
Hits different – Better than something else
Lit – Very cool
Low key/High key – Both are important but have different levels of visibility or intensity
FS – Fo Sho, acknowledgment
Bussin – Another word for cool, usually associated with food
Cringe – Not cool, embarrassing
Gas – Cool, or hype someone up
Ghosted – Ignored
Sus – Suspicious
These are some that my own children have used, but there are so many more.
But, seriously, what did you just say?
Slang isn’t bad. Every generation has its own vocabulary. It’s how we communicate with our peers. But there are some slang words in use that are not good. I do tell my kids, after an extensive Google search, that some words will not be used. It might not come out exactly like that, but they get the idea.
We are also teaching our guys that there is a time for slang, and there is a time to speak properly.
A time and a place for everything. You don’t always have to speak in slang.
I do encourage my kids to hold conversations without the use of their teen vernacular, but I understand that there will be conversations in the common tongue of the 2023 teen, and if I want to be an active participant, I need to study some.
If you want to study some slang you may have to learn, there are hilarious tik tok videos on the subject. There are some very talented parents who nail impressions of their pre-teens and teens. Happy learning!
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