Article - How Language is Changing

"Language Evolving Faster Than Ever" Claim Specialists

In recent times, you may have noticed a multitude of new words cropping up in everyday speech, particularly among the younger generations. This emergence of new linguistic terms is believed to have been spurred on by the digital age. With so many different ways for people to communicate with each other, it is no surprise to see 'text talk', or similar abbreviations making their way into everyday speech, along with completely new terms that have surfaced. Ever since mobile phones, with their old character limits, were popularized from the early 2000's onward, text language has been in everyday use for many people. However, in recent times, these text language terms have been slowly making their way into real life speech, particularly among the younger generations.

Alongside this, we can observe a rise in completely new terms being created and used frequently in everyday speech. Terms such as 'bae' and 'fleek' have become almost commonplace among the youth of today. In a recent study, it was revealed that 86% of the parents surveyed felt that teenagers spoke an entirely different language.

This sentiment is creating an interesting gap between the younger and older generations, seeing that as soon as they come to understand the current terms in use, they are replaced with new ones, it is not clear whether or not this gap will be closed any time soon. Perhaps the most significant case of a term falling out of favour among the youth is 'LOL', or 'lol'. After gaining huge amounts of use in the early 2010's, it has recently become obsolete among younger generations, being replaced with the less cryptic 'haha' and 'hehe'. In a recent study it was recently revealed that only a paltry 1.9% of the users included used it. The average age of these users was 28.
Another method of conveying laughter or amusement is coming to prominence, in the form of the emoji, which garnered a 33.7% usage rate in the same study.

Another interesting development in the English Language is the misuse of certain terms leading to complete alterations in their Oxford definitions. The most prolific case of this is the misuse of the term 'Literally'. While this is by no means limited to the younger generations it is frequent among them. It has escalated to the point where the Oxford Dictionary altered the definition of Literally to include use as an alternative to the term 'figuratively'.

With this, and many other developments it is easy to see why many people are having trouble keeping up with the ever-changing English Language.


Bibliography
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/may/01/icymi-english-language-is-changing-faster-than-ever-says-expert
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/aug/10/young-people-decide-theres-not-much-to-lol-about