Riddhi, Week #1- The Meaning behind Meaningless words

                                                                  Image credit: bark.us

“Bro I am actually cooked”. To me, this makes perfect sense, however to someone who has not been online much would probably think I am getting tanned under the sun or having a kitchen crisis. That’s what makes slang so interesting, everyone shows a different perspective of what they think the word means and we become a slightly distinct version of ourselves with others through the specific words we use. For example if I am talking to a friend, they would perfectly understand what I am saying “yo ts new lingo lowk gas” however if I say that to a teacher, she would probably ask me to stop and translate what I am trying to convey.


That is the funny thing about slang language, these words that have never existed before have suddenly become the biggest part of my vocabulary. I feel humorous and cool while using them, but sometimes even embarrassed, like if I say “I am the biggest alpha” in this day and age, I am probably going to cringe everyone in the room, their expressions most likely containing a frown. Sometimes I wonder how people even came up with these crazy creative dialects, such as the term “larp” which means to fake it but has no correlation with the original term at all, even the alphabets are not similar.


That is what I find so fascinating, people do not need similar sounding words to understand the meaning, they just get it like it is another language they learnt from social media or their friends. But slang isn’t just some random internet vocabulary, these words show who we spend our time with, what shows we watch, and where we feel belonged. It shows the different sides of us. I might talk completely different with my teacher than with my friends, however both of those versions are still me. Maybe slangs aren’t meaningless after all, maybe the strange sounding words came from a moment, person, or a group that gave it meaning.


Comments

  1. Anirudh RaoSeptember 2, 2026 at 4:50 PM

    I really liked your idea about how slang can reveal different parts of our identities. I also wanted to push back on the idea that slang words are necessarily “internet-born neologisms” as many of these words have been deeply rooted in African American Vernacular English. But I wanted to draw a connection to code-switching, where people–often of minority groups–switch dialects or languages in order to fit in with the dominant dialect. It can often cause mental exhaustion and a sense of inauthenticity. But I do like how you implicitly framed the spheres of your communication as layers or parts of your identity, subverting this trope.

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  2. Maxwell WangSeptember 2, 2026 at 9:00 PM

    What a fitting hook to introduce your blog post! As someone who doesn't use slang very much, I feel like the adults sometimes - needing a translation from whoever was speaking with a thick slab of slang. This type of language has become so central to our age group; it's how many adults and even some of our younger siblings come to view us. Sometimes, it is indeed perceived as just a meaningless jumble of words, but like you say at the end, it really connects the people who do use it and that's how it comes to life.

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  3. Riya PurumalaSeptember 2, 2026 at 9:31 PM

    Hi Riddhi! I found your blog very engaging as I, and likely many others around our age, can relate to the use of slang that you described. I enjoyed your analysis of how different people interpret slang words. Your example of your teacher not understanding the slang you use when talking to your friend was definitely relatable, because my parents are also always lost when I use slang when I talk to my sister. Something else you brought up that I connected with is how you feel when using different types of slang. I like to use certain lingo to connect with who I am talking to, but sometimes I use certain types of slang to make my friends cringe. I also for sure agreed with your point about how we change how we talk around different people, as that is so true!

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