We have all been there. You hear some new slang word somewhere and can’t help but roll your eyes because it sounds so stupid. A week later you find yourself saying it and before you know it, you can’t stop saying it.
“Doe” slips into a conversation with your professor. Your grandma gets concerned when you describe something as “sick,” and you have trouble explaining to her why this is a good thing. “Lit” and “AF” somehow become reasonable ways to describe situations. Soon enough you have your parents calling each other “bae,” and it just goes downhill from there.
As I am typing this, 80 percent of the words I just used came up with read underneath them. Clearly my computer doesn’t acknowledge their legitimacy as words, so why do we? How did these words become commonplace in how we speak to one another every day? Here are the seven steps it takes for you to incorporate a new slang word in your vocabulary:
1. You hear a new obnoxious word used.
You probably saw it on Twitter and wanted to unfollow the person who said it immediately. Pretty soon it’s everywhere. That guy obnoxious guy at a party says it, and you fight the urge to walk away from him right that second. It slips into your friend’s vocabulary and you immediately make fun of them. There is no way you will let that happen to you.
2. You start saying it as a joke.
This is where the real problem starts. You say it thinking you’re funny. You say it to make fun of your friends who use the term. You say it jokingly so much that it becomes the norm.
3. It starts slipping into your vocabulary.
The first time you say the word in a serious manner, you catch yourself and want to puke. Eventually you get over that sick feeling that you’re becoming one of them and own the fact that you are in fact one of them. You know that all new slang words lose their appeal after a while anyway. This won’t last long.
4. Your friends hate you.
You know how you used to be that irritated friend? Well, how does it feel to be on the other side of that argument now?
5. Your friends start saying it to make fun of you.
There might be a pattern here. As all your friends are teasing you, you just smirk because you know that it is only a matter of time before they say it too.
6. It starts slipping into their vocabulary.
And now we have come full circle.
7. The word becomes normal and no longer annoying…until the next word comes along at least.
I’m not sure if this speaks to how susceptible society is to modeling our own actions after others,’ or if it shows how quickly new ideas can spread now. Without getting too philosophical now, I will say that it is crazy how quickly this process happens.
I hope you all take this as a warning. “Turnt” and “swag” were not always accepted, but now these words are all over T-shirts. Do you want more T-shirts with dumb words on them in stores? If your answer is no (as it should be), then stop the cycle before Drake tells us what the next word to infiltrate our world is.
