Wednesday, November 23, 2011

I Wanna Cop Your Lingo

Barbara: I’m in the middle of writing a screenplay right now and I have a couple of young characters that have fun with cool speak, making up their own lingo as they go. That said, I wanted to do some research on what’s the latest in jive talk (that I know “jive talk” is not the latest hip-speak and used it anyway shows just how not-trippingly this stuff rolls off my tongue).

So I’m doing my research and don’t I run across several websites and blogs that go on rants about how modern slang is being appropriated and—as a result—un-cooled by soccer moms everywhere. Okay, I’m no longer officially a “soccer mom”—LOVED those days—but I can still say that my feelings are hurt. And I feel something of a retort rant coming on.

I like my words, peeps!!!!! Love them, in fact. I want access to all of them, not just a select few that were coined in “my time”. I want to diss, to be down, to lurk. I want random experiences and stellar calls. I want to wear bling (only sometimes). I want to feel stoked or psyched or pumped (well, okay, maybe not so much, but I want to reserve the right!).

I remember when I was in my mid-twenties having a rare argument with dear friends when they took the outrageous—to me—stance that rockers like the Stones should pack it in in their forties (their FORTIES!) because rock was for young people only. I would have thought that this ‘tude was outdated until I watched a recent episode of The Debaters (a Canadian show where comedians are given two different sides of an argument to debate). The subject was the same: should old rockers “be allowed” to rock, or should they pack it in. Obviously I’m of the mindset that if someone wants to do something—and what’s more, possesses the talent for it—they should bloody well keep doing it, regardless of age.

Same with the language thing. I get that appropriating language from the streets or from younger generations can make you look like you’re “trying too hard” or like a fool (worse, if you use the word incorrectly—remember “foshizzle”? Did anyone use that one properly???). But I’m telling you now: I want those words!!!! I want all of them. You throw something cool and exciting and fresh into the mix, I want to get my hands on it. Or my mouth, as it were (or does that sound creepy?). Anyway, my point is the same. Don’t release a nugget into the word-o-sphere and then get all greedy and selfish about it.

Tell you what: if you give me “dippin” (for, you know, when I want to leave a party and have to grab Phil’s arm and say, “Hey honey, we’re dippin’,” you know stuff like that), then I’ll give you “malarkey” (hey, it’s an evocative word and really should be brought back).

Deb: Barb, you my girl are the cat’s meow! I agree with you 100%. I too love me some words and I will say anything I damn well please. And like you, I may just bring back “23 skiddoo” and “oh you kid”. But I do think that each generation feels that they own their own slang and hipisms and they do and they should. Me, I’m just a random happy camper. Where’s the beef? I don’t know. Don’t think there is one. After all ... love means never having to say you’re sorry.

18 comments:

  1. Love the topic for today. It's very true that we all have our own little way of talking. Me, I am big into the txt Talking . I do it all the time and not meaning too bit I do. I even catch myself doing it while responding or while writing a post . For the most part I Try to stick to just pure English but when I do get to txt Talking it's bad. Lol

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  2. Bitchen article Barb.

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  3. I freaking love this!!!! A word Holly and I like is "Ska-doosh!"

    And of course...as made famous by Friday night, the infamous "pooter." :P This made me laugh; you all and your silly jargon. And yeah....I agree with Madgew too! :D

    Just waiting to go HOME!!!!!!!!

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  4. Lyndsie, can't tell you how often I want to use lol in spoken conversation! Madge, thanks for the laugh. And Kelly, love the ska-doosh.

    Safe travels home, girls!! xo

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  5. LOL Madgew's comment just made me laugh so hard!!!! XD This blog makes me day! Literally, I look forward to it!

    Waiting to "roll out" to head home! Hope everyone has a lovely holiday! :)

    I have to ask...what the heck is "malarkey"? LOL!

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  6. Holly, if you have to ask, you can't use it. Kidding! Why, malarkey, young lady, is just malarkey...

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  7. Bahahahahahha!!! I just looked it up. Cute.

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  8. I've acquired one from my daughter although I won't use around her.

    Cray cray.

    I love it. I've exhausted crazy and insane.

    What a fun post, Barb. I love thinking about words.

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  9. Word, Barb, homies be trippin. :) I use as much of the new verbiage as I can get my greedy little ears on. If bra don't like it Ima buss a cap in a FOO. :) lol it's spectacularly funny, I think.
    hugs

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  10. Cray cray! Awesome, dude.
    And Karen, yup, that made me laugh out loud (or lol, as it were)!!

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  11. They do these surveys here to find out the "coolest" word. Seriously, I hope no one actually talks like that. I wouldn't understand a thing.

    Although I'm not that "old" (turning 29 this year) I can't remember any cool words we used to say...except for cool (or a german word: geil - which means awesome - I wish I could think of more...).

    I tend to use lol, too...and since I'm writing/listening/reading a lot of English, I'm always using English words, and confuse other people. LOL!

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  12. Oh...I remember when I was in France, my mom taught me this sentence: Quel dommage! (which means: What a pity), but somehow I didn't understand it properly and always said: Quel fromage! (which means: What a cheese).

    I used to say it every time...once we went into a supermarket, and I yelled: Quelle fromage! And of course, everybody stared at me. ;)

    I still say that. ;)

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  13. Sweet! This is a totally awesome post. I grew up in the age of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. My brother loved them. They introduced me and my friends to such surfer terms as "Tubular", "cowabunga," and "bogus." So, don't have a cow, man. Did you see that boy? He is totally fine. Of course, I like more sofisticated words like "brouhaha" and "balderdash". I would love to fit ghastly into my common speech, but being from the southern states, we don't say ghastly, we say tacky, darlin. Living in Hawaii taught me the phrase "da kine." Wow, I just have to say, this post is totally the bomb.

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  14. Becki, it must be a whole other dictionary if you throw in another language. And I love "Quel fromage". That's a keeper! Molly, thanks for reminding me about the classic Ninja speak. Cowabunga.

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  15. I've gotten messages from Karen that I've managed to interpret, but, like, I like, have the like, toughest time, like 'cause it's like so hard, dude. Hey, early 80's, like, SO valley.

    My daughter uses 'mad' in a way that annoys me. "That's MAD good, mama." Mad is not good. Nor is 'sick,' and yet somehow the kids think it is.

    Bostonians have been 'blamed' for sayin' 'wicked pissah' and I have no idea why. I don't, nevah have. I have, howevah, cut my alphabet down to 25 lettiz. Why use that othah one anyway?

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  16. Barbara,

    You lost me in the first paragraph. My concentration was completely shot for all the words that followed because all I could think of was this:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa1rjCZxtxo

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  17. Ha, Dawn!! So funny! I love the Boston Accent (see how I capitalized it there?)

    Rigel, I'd forgotten that one! Classic.

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  18. Quite late, but I remembered another phrase just today that I heard quite a lot as a youth. I don't recall using the phrase myself, but "cool beans!"

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