Monday, February 13, 2012

Dirty Mouth?

Wow! It is amazing how fast the English language changes.  I enjoy the study of the changes and how teens really influence it, so my job as a teacher keeps me fresh.  Well, kind of.  Old lady smell is fast overtaking my speech patterns!
I don't have much trouble with words used by kids that finally make it into the dictionary like "bling" and "grill" because they have been around so long.  Ones that take me off guard are off the wall words that now mean something totally different to young ones than they did for me.  For example, English teachers have forever spoken of old cellars that are dark and dank, but when I said this, sniggers were heard all around.  What did I say?  Well, it seems now that "dank" not only means "marijuana," but also is a way of saying that something is really good.  "Boy, that food tasted dank!" the cool guy exclaimed.  And please remember that thongs are no longer worn on the feet, but on the can...but then, the can-can is no longer at the rear, but on top.  I ought to just stop talking because everything I say seems to be worthy of a mouthful of soap! 
On the upside, mayber some of the old words that have taken a bad rap will go back to their originally harmless state.  "Gay" sometimes means "lame" now and is just a limp away from meaning "happy" once again.  One can only watch, wait, and hope.

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