Displaying items by tag: slang language

Author: Valencia Wagner (SADiLaR Setswana Researcher)

Language is not fixed, it is continuously changing and adapting to reflect the needs of its users. Today’s youth do not speak the same language as their parents. They develop their own unique slang and use it to communicate amongst themselves. Generation by generation, the vocabulary changes, pronunciation evolves and new terms are coined.

Within the past year a new language trend has emerged. South African male teenagers originating from the suburban areas came up with this very informal variety of language. They started using specific terms that are rather unusual and a bit confusing to the older generation. According to Pedersen (2007:3), new slang is invented to replace old slang aiding the youth of today to be able to be shocking or amusing people by speaking a certain way.