From Instagram comments to Big Screen dialogues, Generation Z (Gen Z) makes it impossible to anyone who is outside their bubble, keep up or escape their “non -vertical” vocabulary. The “non -steering” itself is a reference to gene Z, to those born between 1997 and 2012, who are called an incredible generation.
After growing up with smartphones and social media, this generation language gap is clearly reflected in the experience of V. Smithy, in a home in Kozhikod, who remembers her confusion when her daughter said, “You killed.”
“I thought killing meant to kill; apparently it means I did well, or” ate and left no crumbs, “as my children would say,” he laughs, trying to keep up with youth. “Spirit has nothing to do with ghosts. It means ignoring someone without explanation,” adds Mrs. Smitha.
Their daily conversations are dominated by expressions like Pookia (Eduement), Rizz (Charisma), Aura (Energy Emiting), Medium (average), Bussin (delicious) and diva (self -confident and attractive woman). The local slangs Thantha-Vibe (old-fashioned) and Otta-Mind (one mind when two or more people make spontaneous plans) are fashionable.
Malayalam Words Such as ‘Aynu’ (SO What), ‘Oola’ (USEless), and ‘Pole’ (Cool) Remain Common Usage Even As They to Employes like ‘Scene Anna’ (Trouble), ‘Oh Scene/Scene Thanne’ OR FEMALE FRIEND SEEN AS A POTENTIAL THREAT IN A RELATIONSHIP), ‘VALLI’ (to get tangled in problems) and ‘ligament’ (unnecessary) in interviews.
While many parents are trying to keep up with Newgen Ling, P. Paul, the father of two daughters Gen Z, in Thripunithura, he considers it easy. “Children think they are fine by repetition of old terms,” he says, adding that parents should be open to changing times and words.
“I don’t understand why they judge us to use slang when they used them. Many of us still use the conditions like” lol “(laughing aloud) and” Yikes “(to express surprises, panic or disgust) that they created and popularized,” says Sreya T, 23 -year -old English literature, in Kozhikode.
“Most of the slang I use comes from the Alpha Memes gene. We know what we mean” Ohio “,” Skibiddi “(cool, bad or stupid, depending on context),” says GS Gautum, postgraduate student in Palakkad.
Responses such as “Kidu” and “Mass” (Cool), which were once trends, are now outdated. The words of the oath are the latest trend, although not everyone follows it. “Some terms that I thought were normal, are actually offensive, but most of us don’t realize,” says Mariya Grace, a student in Ernacula.
“It is chronically online people natural to use Internet slang in everyday conversations. It’s not serious.
“We spent the whole time of locking in 2020 by moving our phones. Memos and slang have since become part of our lives,” he adds.
Although Gen from IS OFTEN CRUCIFIED FOR USING SLANG EXPRESSIONS, Previous Generations Had Their Own, Including ‘Chill Out’ (Bitter), ‘Clap Back’ (and Sharp and Witty Retort), and ‘Throw Shade’ (to Subtly Insult Someone) from the Millennials, who borrowed the gene and incorporated into his language.
(The writer is a trainee at the Hinda Office in Kozhikode)
Published – 12 June 2025 20:54 is
