The recent announcement from Oxford University Press has left many scratching their heads. Their Word of the Year contenders for 2025 include aura farming, biohack, and rage bait - terms that sound alien to anyone born before the digital age. This linguistic phenomenon, however, is far from new and represents the natural evolution of language that every generation experiences.
The Historical Context of Linguistic Innovation
If you find yourself bewildered by terms like 67 (Dictionary.com's 2025 Word of the Year), rizz, or skibiddi, you're experiencing what previous generations felt when encountering new slang. Back in the early 1900s, American youth confused their elders with phrases like 23 skidoo - a term with multiple contextual meanings ranging from get out to leave quickly.
This tradition of linguistic creativity dates back even further. English writer Lewis Carroll perplexed readers with portmanteau words like chortle (combining chuckle and snort) in his 1865 classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. More than 150 years later, this invented word has become part of the English lexicon, though used primarily as an archaism.
Indian languages have their own rich history of linguistic innovation. Bengali, for instance, was enriched by Sukumar Ray's absurd poems, while the Hobson Jobson dictionary stands as a testament to the creative hybrid words formed by combining English with Hindi, Urdu, Nepali and other South Asian languages.
The Psychology Behind Slang Creation
According to Nicole Holliday, associate professor of linguistics at the University of California in Berkeley, this desire to invent new slang is fundamental to human development. Young people naturally seek to differentiate themselves from older generations and establish their own identity through language.
Karthik Venkatesh, an editor and author, notes that every generation has its linguistic currency. For millennials, words like woke and cool served this purpose, while Gen Z has embraced terms like brain rot - Oxford's actual Word of the Year for 2024, chosen after the US presidential elections.
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly influenced Gen Z's communication patterns. Alolika Dutta, a 24-year-old poet, observes that her generation emerged as relatively undersocialized, having missed formative social experiences during lockdowns. This isolation likely accelerated their reliance on digital communication and the slang that accompanies it.
The Communication Shift in the Digital Age
Modern slang serves as more than just vocabulary refreshment. These terms have become emotional shortcuts that compress complex feelings that once required tone, gesture, and nuance to convey effectively.
Arunava Sinha, professor of practice for creative writing at Ashoka University, warns that as AI becomes integrated into messaging apps, we risk losing the human element in communication. Templated responses threaten to erase the personality behind our messages.
Preeti Singh, a communications specialist, notes a general shrinkage in vocabulary across generations. She observes that even in professional settings with MBA students and executives, filler words like like, amazing, and awesome appear up to 25 times per minute in conversations.
Menaka Raman, a millennial mother of two Gen Alpha boys, points to the emoji as having killed the need for thoughtful responses. The namaste emoji has become a default condolence, reflecting both time constraints and fear of saying the wrong thing.
Generational Perspectives on Linguistic Evolution
A 2023 Barclays survey in the UK revealed that 49% of Gen Z respondents use instant messaging platforms at work, compared to only 27% of those over 55. This highlights the fundamental difference in communication preferences between generations.
Shyam Anand, a 14-year-old Gen Alpha, offers crucial insight: Most slang terms are used jokingly rather than in daily conversations. Older generations often miss the comedic context in which these words are deployed.
Terms that once seemed like passing fads have become permanent fixtures in our vocabulary. Ghosting - abruptly cutting off communication - has moved from niche usage to common parlance, alongside phrases like spilling the tea (gossiping) and glow up (positive transformation).
The evolution of language continues unabated, with each generation contributing its unique flavor to the linguistic tapestry. Rather than dismissing new terms as meaningless, we might appreciate them as evidence of language's enduring vitality and adaptability in an ever-changing world.
