If you’ve ever been on the Internet for more than a minute, chances are you’ve encountered some questionable language. Members of Generation Z have a way of making everything their own, whether it’s ’90s fashion or ancient traditions. Now, it seems that young people have even made their way to the English language.
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- Merriam-Webster dictionary adds 690 Gen Z terms
- Are you familiar with these Gen Z words?
- When does a word qualify as an official term?
Merriam-Webster dictionary adds 690 Gen Z terms
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The official Merriam-Webster dictionary recently announced that 690 Gen Z terms were added to the list. Most of these words were terms frequently used on social media platforms like TikTok and Twitter (or X).
People often say that the era of Generation Z is dominated by social media. Everything and anything on the Internet affects our daily lives, and now it seems that English speakers will officially use the slang of these platforms.
To give you an idea of what this new generation of vocabulary is up against, let’s look at some of these terms that have been added to the dictionary. There’s the word “grammable,” which refers to something Instagram-worthy. Another bombastic addition was the oft-used term “thirst trap,” meaning something desperately seeking attention.
Are you familiar with these Gen Z words?
In addition to these terms, some slang for already existing words were also included in the dictionary. Words like “doggo” for dog, “jorts” for shorts made of jeans, and “mid,” which is used synonymously with “meh.”
If you think these additions are implausible and unnecessary, then you are in for a rough ride. Other words that will have boomers reaching for the dictionary again and again are rizz (charisma), zhuzh (do something fancy), and smishing (fraudulent message). These rather specialized terms have also made their way into the official American English language, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary.
When does a word qualify as an official term?
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Peter Sokolowski, editor of Merriam-Webster, was excited about the new additions to the dictionary, saying in a statement: “We are very excited about this new batch of words. We hope there is as much understanding and satisfaction in reading them as we gained in defining them.”
The dictionary also explained with the help of an infographic that if a word is significant enough to the English language, is used by a large number of people, and is used consistently in regular speech and employed in written content, it has chances of appear. with the others in the dictionary officially.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn