Component 3: Response

The exchange of Slang does not impede the clarity of communication, nor is it an accurate identifier of one’s intelligence. I disagree strongly with Isabelle Kerr’s article “Twerking, selfie and unlike? Young people don’t speak like that – I should know” This article rants about how great the old English language was and how more recent generations are destroying the Queens tongue.

Kerr spends time in her article explaining her problems with the term ‘twerking’: “I actually had to Google this word.” Uh oh. In this great article on how degrading slang is, Kerr actually used slang herself. “Google” isn’t a real word, it is slang terminology for using the Google search engine, changing the noun ‘Google’ into a verb. So how can this article even be valid if the person presenting it is showing clear signs of hypocrisy? Preposterous.

Kerr blames the ruin of the English language on the youth of today; she often draws upon stereotypes to tell us that “young people” as a group are at fault, stating they face a “constant battle” to “prove we’re not all apathetic, ASBO-wielding yobs who can’t communicate properly.” Excuse me? In this statement, she’s implying that most young people that utilise slang can’t communicate properly.
Properly: “adverb 1. correctly or satisfactorily.”
Communicate: ” verb 1. share or exchange information, news, or ideas.”

So, how does slang hinder the exchange of communication? Is there even a proper way to communicate? To communicate properly, I mean? To correctly share information? Who is to say whether communication, the method and means, the clarity with which I express myself, should be judged? Surely, communication is subjective. We are each senders and receivers, shouldn’t we all take some responsibility for these reciprocal roles that we take part in?

This quotation caught my eye, “And I’m not alone. Some young Twitter users have expressed their rejection of the new words, with one young follower tweeting, ‘what has the world come to?’” Kerr seems to be implying that there is a constant battle for all young people to not be portrayed as the people they seem to condemn. This, again is an act of hypocrisy; throughout Kerr’s whole argument, she states that these slang words are a negative contribution to the English language. Kerr also says that “your generation” only worries about image, reputation and sex and that the slang words are only used to portray such negative things. In reality, she is doing the same thing. Kerr, alongside her young Twitter writers, are worrying about image and reputation by constantly trying to prove that they’re not like the “young people” which she seems to hate. So Kerr is going to rant about image and then obsess about image in an attempt to make yourself look like you’re not obsessing over your image. Where is the logic?

Kerr continues on to affirming, “Words like tweaking, unlike and selfie are nothing more than slang which, just like any fashion trend, come and go. After all, when was the last time you heard someone describe something as ‘groovy’?” The flare that set off her rant is the fact that slang words such as “unlike” have been added to the English dictionary. Then she’s using an example to support her argument through the word “groovy” not being used and that slang is a trend. This is just dumb. Regardless of “groovy” being a trend, it has still been added to the dictionary as slang. This goes against your argument as although it being a trend, it has still been added to the dictionary, so why shouldn’t the other slang terms be added? Is it because the term “groovy” was invented before Kerr was born that she have some sort of biased opinion when comparing modern day slang with older slang? Does she actually think that her generation created slang? Hahaha, don’t make me laugh. Slang has been around for as long or even longer than the English language has been in existence.

The article finishes with Kerr announcing that “Shakespeare will be turning in his grave.” Excuse me? Is she being serious? Is Kerr so devoid of knowledge that she didn’t know Shakespeare is considered an innovator of slang? How can she even use him in her argument? Well, Isabelle Kerr got one thing right. He is turning in his grave to come back and set her argument straight!

By Daniel Alvarado