Lost in translation: Understanding teenspeak
Author: By ANNE CAMPBELL

Have you felt lately that your adolescent children are speaking in a foreign language (one that you certainly never studied in school)? Is decoding a conversation with them more confusing and mentally taxing than listening to a dissertation on quantum mechanics?
Then it’s time for a lesson in the linguistic phenomenon of “adolonics” — adolescent phonics — to help you feel a little less out of touch.
Some adolescents enjoy the look of confusion on their parents’ face when they converse in their own lingo. So, how’s an adult to learn this mysterious new language?
You can ask your kids to translate, but to avoid rolled eyes and appearing dorkier than you already do, try going online. There are several great Web sites that offer definitions of the coolest cutting-edge teenspeak terms, including words your kids might not even know.
What can be truly frustrating is that, once you think you’ve figured out the definition of a particular word, it can morph into a new meaning seemingly overnight. Take, for example, the word “fat” (usually spelled “phat”). You think you know what fat means until your daughter says that her best friend’s new outfit is “fat” and the friend is not the least bit offended! That’s because fat means “really cool.”
Other words you might not expect to have similar positive meanings include “tight,” “sick” and “bad.” Getting any clearer?
There is nothing more fatal to your cool-parent image than misusing teen slang. When trying to score points by conversing in a teen’s tongue, don’t forget this maxim: If you’re at all in doubt about a word’s meaning, don’t use it.
Lest we lose perspective and blame the current generation for abuse of the English language, remember that teenspeak is nothing new. The young people of every generation (even yours) seem to have their own unique ways of expressing themselves, often to the great frustration and confusion of their parents.
Take the Beatniks of the 1960s (Cool, Daddio!), the surfers of the 1970s (Hang Ten, Dude!), the Valley Girls of the 1980s (Like, totally gag me with a spoon!), and the budding hip-hop scene of the 1990s (Chill, Homey!).
Today’s parents, if they’re honest with themselves, experienced similar disconnects between themselves and their parents in the tumultuous years between 12 and 20. It is every teen’s delight and seeming mission to shock and annoy his parents.
In the end, though, your kids’ unique sayings, mannerisms, clothing choices and hairstyles — though sometimes painful for parents to experience — are part of the normal maturation process, and as with most things, they will pass.
So, as the children like to say, “keep it real, stop trippin’ and start feelin’ it, yo?”


* Web sites with comprehensive teen slang dictionaries:

parentingteens.about.com/cs/familylife/l/bldictionary.htm

www.thesource4ym.com/teenlingo


Here are just a few of the entries you’ll find:

• “Keep it on the down-low” means keep it secret.
• “Do you feel me?” means do you understand me?
• “Bling-bling” is expensive jewelry or other displays of wealth.
• “Peeps” are your people, such as your best friends.

*A word of caution: Many of the slang words in these (and other) dictionaries have explicit meanings related to drugs, crime and sexuality. As with any unfamiliar Web site, you may want to preview them before letting your children see them.

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