Whats your Flavor ?

My Flavor


My favorite thing to do on a rainy day is to break out the old photo box and recreate the moment right in front of me. Imagine the scenery, the atmosphere and especially, the conversation. The Language of each generation changes as we progress. Throughout the years, each generation uses its own experiences and environment to modify the English language. History takes us back in time, and although most words in the English language are the same, every new generation adds its own flavor.
In the 50s, people would say, “That was a blast!” meaning that they had a good time. In the 60s it would be, “a gas!” in the 70s it was “groovy!” It changes from decade to decade. It never ceases to amaze me, how we express ourselves in different words. These words could be totally new or they could change the meaning of a word completely. For example, Cool: Neither warm nor very cold; moderately cold. Today, in the dictionary under Cool, there will be another definition under slang. Cool: Excellent; first rate. Clearly, the meaning of the word changed. But just as clothing comes in and out of style, our speech is also a fad that can be thrown away and picked up at different times.
Many things separate the different age groups, but the most obvious one would be the differences in our speech. The elders one of the generations seem to always despise the changes the youth has made to speech. One might ask, “Why is there a change?” Through out time changes are being made to our environment. Things such as technology have actually altered our speech, especially in the 21st century.
The Internet has made it fairly easy for people to communicate by simply typing whatever they want and sending it online. This fabulous invention is called Instant Messaging or IM. Instant messaging has created a whole new vocabulary. It has abbreviated, shortened or even changed the spelling of words in order to rapidly send messages. To express feelings, such as laughter, one would simply type LOL (Laughing out Loud). It has become a worldwide way of communicating among adolescents. As they type it on the computer, they start to use it in their language. So when “JK” is heard, one would know that they were “Just Kidding.”
The shortening of words becomes most predominant, not only in adolescences but also in multi-million dollar corporations. In order to sell products to a certain age group, one must get on their level of communication. Big Business uses language in order to do this. One of the biggest fast food restaurants in the world uses the slogan, “We’re lovin’ it!” to market to juveniles. When our grandparents see this slogan, they can’t help but ponder, what has become of the English language today? They would comment and complain on the use of contractions. It is “We are loving it!” Unfortunately I don’t think Mc Donald’s would receive the same response with out the contractions.
Businesses aren’t the only ones who use the language to market to certain age groups, most hip hop artists use it in their music which is mimicked by teens. In this century, music is a huge industry and has a lot of influence on this generation. One thing that has become more common in the music industry is the different ethnicities that are represented in these popular tunes. Now, it is common to find elements of ethnic music combined with American rhythm. Reggaton for example is a big influence on the Spanish community and because it is linked with English, people are more aware of the Hispanic culture. There is also an Indian influence that can be heard in some pop culture songs. In most modern R&B songs, the Caribbean beat can be recognized. Same goes for many other cultures as well.
Something that I have become aware of is the political correctness in the use of our language. There was a time when women were not involved and did not have the same opportunities as men did. But as time progressed, so did women’s rights. Therefore, words such as fireman or mailman have been terminated and to replace it, they would say fireperson, or mail carrier. The same goes for demographics. People in the 50s and 60s grew up with saying, “colored” or “black”, but we were taught to be politically correct and say African American. The term “nigger” used to be an offensive word. It was used as an abusive term for a Black person. Now it is a word that is used more commonly. It has more meanings today then it did when it started. It can mean “my friend” or “my worker” depending on the connotation. It seems as though roles have changed and now the offensive term is “cracker.” It’s used as a disparaging term for a poor white person. This is what I grew up learning and our children will probably grow up saying something totally different.
We are able to communicate with people of all ages but, in my opinion, our peers use the same language as we do, so they are the only ones who truly understand our message. Our language is very different from those who are 30 or 40 years older then us. For example, when our grandparents were younger they would “go steady”, but “we date.” They would “make out”, “we hook up.” My first time telling my mother that I’ve “hooked up”; my mother was ready to take me the gynecologist. She understood that I’d done something with a boy, only she didn’t truly understand what I’d done. The result of not being able to completely understand shows the lack of communication. My conclusion is that two generations, that have a significant age gap, will never be able to truly communicate with each other and fully understand for two reasons. The first, being that the older of the two generations would fail to comprehend what is trying to be communicated to them. This leads to the second dilemma. Since the older generation can’t completely comprehend, the elder of the two tends to not attempt to understand and rather pass the language off as juvenile and ignorant.
Each generation uses its own experiences and environment to modify the English language. We add our own flavor, change it and so make it our own. We adapt it to our culture and way of life. It is important to remember this because although we understand it now, it won’t be that way in another twenty years. The language will again take a new form. The tradition will continue and we will be the older generation that will probably dislike the next generation’s new flavor.