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June 9, 2009 It has occurred to me that in about ten to twenty years those of us still alive who are considered "Old-School", will be speaking a foreign language. We will probably sound like we came from another country (planet?) if the current trend of changing the English language continues. The word "Conversate" is just one example of what I am talking about and although I am shocked that so many words are now considered acceptable, I wasn't prepared for the hundreds (maybe thousands) of words that have replaced what I was taught in my English classes way back in the dark ages. I understand that using Internet slang is okay if you are typing on the internet but I never thought I'd actually hear people speaking this abbreviated and often confusing language face to face in conversations. When I first heard someone say "OMG" or "LOL" to the person they are standing right in front of I was positive that it was a joke of sorts and that this type of language would never actually be a part of everyday conversation. I was wrong! Another example of this trend is the word "OBFLUSTICATE". This is the meaning of the word as it is used today:
obflusticate: vt/ To confuse,through the use of vague, convoluted language, to the point at which the listener either starts grinding his/her teeth, or flexing the jaw up & down in a flustered state. Then there is:
lacktion: Lack of action with a situation. The list goes on and on and I even found several web sites dedicated to these words and their meanings. I was puzzled when I first noticed that the word "Axe" was being substituted for the word "Ask" but figured that it was just a cultural fluke and that most people didn't speak this way. Again, I was wrong. We are slowly exchanging the accepted words in Webster's Dictionary for the slang versions of what was once the common spoken word and it's a frightening thought for those of us who used to speaking in the language that many years of schooling taught us to use. Here is but one of the many sites that list this new-speak: If I live long enough, I will sound as foreign as my European grandparents did to me when I was a little girl.
This, my friends is simply "WACK".
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