|
|
|
|
In defense of Dys-language
30 May, 2007: I must confess, I felt
more than a little flattered when my
13-year old cousin and 15-year old
assorted nephews and nieces added me
on Orkut. How many 35-year-olds are
allowed access into the world of
teens? I must be so cool, I thought.
But my fledgling cool faltered a bit
when I was faced by diS lAnguaGe dat
tEENz on d n8 n d fone uZe.
Translation: Gobbledygook teen-speak
that passes for English in chatrooms
and social networking sites.
I did not understand it, but I wuvved
it. So what if I could not even read
their names. Try deciphering
~~!!*%P#r@l*!!~~ or ♥ ĄŋăмIk ŠħărM@
=D*♥..
I’ve always had a flair for languages
and I so badly wanted to crack this
enticing tongue that I plodded on.
The next time I was on chat with my
sister-- mother of a three-year-old,
and so blissfully unaware of what was
in store--I thought I'd initiate her
as well and practice my new-found
skills.
Me: B fRed, B vaRy fRed, dis is d
futCHER
Sis: Hello, Hello...there is a virus I
think, is that a virus or are you
chatting in Jupiterian?
Me: Dis is d lanGage of the futCHER,
gotEEt? how'r ur o's going?
Sis: O's as in my Ovaries, the Oranges
I am growing or the BIG O? O?O?O? What
is this language anyway?
Me: This is the language of the
future…this is the language that the
K12 segment on Orkut/MSN/yahoo/gtalk
employs as a communication tool. (My
sister is a corporate type and I
usually have to translate from English
to corporate speak anyway, when
speaking to her.)
Sis: But I thought only dysfunctional,
displaced, dys-kids talked like that!!
Me: nOt neMore, I sweAr on doi maach,
taT is y I warnz u.
Sis: Thank you (sarcastically)
Me: yer welccum, cuteeeeeeeee
Sis: Dys-gusting (Quick study, these
corporate types)
Anyway, now I was confident enough to
chat with my cousin in dys-language. I
matched every dis with dat and at the
end she said, “Congo!”…Congo, Congo??
I was pole-axed. “Congrats,” she
translated smugly, “Ur reAllee
struglng, aren’t u?”
Bummer. Back to school, I guess.
I know all you purists out there must
think it’s dys-gusting to encourage
dys-language but even though I’ve had
my doubts, on the main, I think it’s
nothing new.
I remember when I was in my teens,
many youngsters would fashion
languages of their own, a code for the
young, if you will. They would at
random add a t before every word or a
ch so it sounded like twaddle to
adults--who didn’t give a hoot, unlike
us oldies so hung up on being
cool--but those in the know and with
the practice, could decode it
immediately.
I am inclined to think the dys-language
is just another mechanism for kids to
carve their own space and create their
own identity. And left to their own
devices, they will probably grow out
of it. cArpe DiEm.
|
|
|
