The words that jump from streams of words
That bubble through the concrete corridors of school,
Like salmon leaping, calling out for us to catch.
These words are just as rich in taste
Even though they never make the dictionary,
They tell a story of our time, its silky flesh
Delightful on our tongues. I wish that I
Could catch them all and understand
What just a few might mean. The kids all know
While I rely on Google for a bloody clue.
Part of being a teacher is being around kids and all their interesting new words. To start with I found it really annoying, but as time went on I started to become fascinated by this language that I didn’t even know about.
I guess it’s the English teacher in me that makes me so interested in how this language is used, but I seem to get abnormally excited when I can slip one of the words into my everyday life. It’s like I’ve achieved something for the day and I can rest easy once I’m done.
Yesterday, Noah was out with his friends and one of them texted me a picture of Noah in McDonalds, wearing a little paper hat. I just texted back the word ‘suss’ and apparently they all went to bits. Most of them didn’t believe that it was me.
I felt proud in a way that I probably shouldn’t given that I have a degree in Literature, but in these difficult times we must all take wins whenever we can. Yesterday I made some teenagers laugh – and it was peng :0)
Much Love
Rachel xx
P.S I also learnt the word ‘cheugy’ off the internet yesterday and it is my goal to slip it into conversation today.
Greg Dennison
So what does cheugy mean? I’ve seen that word a couple times, but I have no idea… I could Google it, but I prefer having actual conversations, even if just by comments 😛
As an English teacher, does it bother you as much as it does me when slang is ultimately derived from people pronouncing words wrong? Or is it just the grammar police in me coming out? Like how the 90s gangsta slang term “skanless” was derived from “scandalous,” or my unconfirmed theory that the more recent adjective “ratchet” was originally a mispronounciation of “wretched.”
patientandkindlove
Yep, mispronunciations annoy me too. The one that bugs me the most is when people say ‘aks’ instead of ‘ask’ – what’s that all about?
And apparently cheugy means to be out of date or trying too hard. It’s basically me.
Greg Dennison
What if you’re out of date but not trying too hard, not caring if you’re out of date? Is that still cheugy? Because that’s me. And how does one pronounce cheugy anyway?
Margot Kinberg
Ha! I have a ten-year-old granddaughter, Rachel, and I’m always learning new words for things through talking with her and listening to the way she speaks with her friends. Language is always evolving, and it’s exciting to see how that happens, isn’t it?
clcouch123
Language is so wonderful and crazy. I’m glad you’re inserting youths’ words into your conversation with them. And with us. (You got me to look up the word from the headline.)
juliadeniro
It must be exciting to learn new words that young people use. Since I don’t interact with teenagers, I don’t have access to these new words. I guess that means I’m uncool.