There is
a mass presence of slang and improper language being used in the English
language today. The major outlets for this to occur are through popular music,
social media, movies, and texting. The group that receives most of the blame
for these annoying slang words is teenagers; however, this solo blame is not
always accurate.
The accusation placed on teenagers of “ruining the English
Language” is exaggerated especially in social conversations. The language that
emanates from the mouths and texting fingers of teens results from different
forms of media such as movies, music, social media, and texting abbreviations.
However, as supported by the article, “Point
Counter-Point: Is the use of slang corrupting language?” written by Karalee Manis and Amanda Bagnall-Newman,
teenagers are the ones that are most susceptible of this de-evolution of the
English language because they are the most engaged in media.
Through media, people can see words and
abbreviations being used such as “LOL,” “bae,” “omg,” and other acronyms. The article
written by Karalee Manis and Amanda Bagnall-Newman uses the example of hearing
people say, “they ‘can’t even,’ with that
being the entire thought, and my eye twitches a little bit because that doesn’t
even make sense. You ‘can’t even’ what? Finish a thought? What are you even
saying!?” This empty statement results mostly from the mouths of teens because
they are the ones that are divulged in media the most. However, according to Lafrance’s
article in The Atlantic, “How much
a person’s vernacular changes over time may have as much to do with personality
and social standing as it has to do with age. The extent to which teenagers are
credited with (or blamed for) driving lasting change to language is ‘grossly
overstated.’” The blame that is placed on teens that is usually in social
conversation is actually proved inaccurate by scholarly sources such as this
article.
In addition, the people that are representing
teenagers such as the creators of the music that they listen to are not teens themselves.
Therefore, the ones that are using the slang language that is tainting the
English language as we know it are not actual teens themselves. In an
article in The Guardian written by Michael Rosen, he discusses his study of
researching artists in movies, television, and music that bring slang into the
media. He explains, “E4 youth drama Skins has squeezed more street talk onto screen
than any of the soaps to date. Laura Hunter is one of its scriptwriters, which
means not only writing the drama but also responding on Twitter in-role as one
of the show's characters.” Laura Hunter is in her thirties, which solidifies
the argument that teens are not the only ones responsible for bringing slang
and improper English into everyday language.
In closing, even though society
blames teens for “ruining the English language,” they are not the only ones
using this annoying vocabulary, nor are all teens using improper grammar and
language.
