MULTIPLE VOICES – “Wicked brick, Yeah they’re chips, that it’s gas or something like that.”>
NCC NEWS KALIA BUTLER – If this is you right now, you might be running to Google, looking up urban dictionary and typing in the words to figure out what they even mean.
These and other slang terms often start with younger generations. These reinvented words and phrases play a pivotal\l role in shaping cultural identity. It serves as a form of expression, allowing individuals to communicate in ways that are often more nuanced. Linguistics professor Tej Bhatia says without this creativity, things wouldn’t be the same.
SYRACUSE PROFESSOR TEJ BHATIA: “Young people create language, without it, it would be dead…So they bring some more innovation and more vitality and more excitement to that one and those are some of the slang. They innovate. Its a linguistic innovation.”
KALIA BUTLER – innovations such as wicked brick which means it’s really cold. Chips meaning its stupid or corny. Gas, its really good. And slay meaning something amazing. Have gained widespread popularity in recent years.
Chris green a professor of linguistics at Syracuse University, says these terms often start within a specific community before spreading to a wider audience through music, movies and other forms of popular culture.
SYRACUSE PROFESSOR CHRIS GREEN – “So mostly what we’re doing is, is taking words that already exist and we’re kind of combining them together to create a new meaning or we’re kind of extending the meaning or narrowing the meaning or words that are already in place and so when someone creativity goes on to do something like this one of the key things in order for slang to pick up is you have to have a community of use.”
KALIA BUTLER – Nowadays, social media has played a huge role in that community of use, connecting different cultures,regions and interests like never before.
Syracuse student, Nyah Jones says social media impacts pop culture and how these words can become trends.
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY STUDENT NYAH JONES – (“I definitely think that music and pop culture plays a big role in how long words stay, like I feel like slang is a very now term that people are using but we’ve been using it in the black community for so long but we’re kind of over it. And now pop culture is bringing it back into so I feel like it kind of ebs and flows with what pop culture is. Whats in the music? What are your big influencers saying?)
KALIA BUTLER – THESE WORDS AND PHRASES ARE A DYNAMIC REFLECTION OF HUMAN CULTURE AND CREATIVITY.
SO THE NEXT TIME YOU HEAR SOMEONE DROP A “FIRE” NEW SLANG TERM, REMEMBER THAT YOU’RE WITNESSING LANGUAGE IN ACTION, CONSTANTLY EVOLVING AND ADAPTING TO THE WORLD AROUND US.
“KALIA BUTLER N-C-C News”
Syracuse, N.Y. (NCC News) —If you’ve ever heard someone refer to the weather as “wicked brick,” or dismiss something as “chips,” you might have found yourself scratching your head in confusion. But fear not, because these phrases are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the ever-expanding lexicon of slang.
In today’s fast-paced world, language isn’t static; it’s an entity that evolves with each passing day. And at the forefront of this linguistic evolution are slang terms, the vibrant expressions of contemporary culture.
According to experts like Tej Bhatia, a linguistics professor at Syracuse University, these creative reshaping of words and phrases are pivotal in progressing language.
“Young people create language, without it, it would be dead,” said Bhatia. “It’s a linguistic innovation.”
It’s the youthful energy that injects vitality and innovation into our everyday conversations. From “gas” to “slay,” these words don’t just convey meaning; they embody entire cultural movements.
Chris Green, another linguistics professor at Syracuse University, said that slang often originates within specific communities before spreading like wildfire through music, movies, and social media. It’s this sense of community that propels slang into the mainstream, transforming obscure phrases into household terms.
Syracuse student Nyah Jones says pop culture and social media go hand in hand, breathing new life into old words.
“Music and pop culture play a big role in how long words stay,” said Jones. “I feel like slay is a very now term that people are using but we’ve been using it in the black community for so long but we’re kind of over it. And now pop culture is bringing it back so I feel like it kind of ebbs and flows.”
So the next time you find yourself struggling to decipher the latest slang term, remember that you’re witnessing language in action—constantly evolving and adapting to the world around us.
