Slang Lanugage Origins

I recently came across a story by Kelley Nele dated June 12, 2024 entitled: ‘How secret queer languages inspired the popular slang we use today’ which brought slang to my attention.

It struck me that most of the time, when words become corrupted into a clever contraction or a version of the original, people just want to be different. Usually it is also meant to convey a thought or feeling more quickly since the words are shortened.

But when I read that it became a form of code between those members of the public that are lgbtq, I was instantly fascinated. They wanted to be able to recognize each other and at the same time, keep unwanted attention from others out.

This brought to mind the code-like words the younger generation created to send messages to each other in messages on the internet so that parents and others might not know the gist of what was happening.

Where there is a will, there is a way. Queer slang actually has a name, it is referred to as lavender language. Apparently, it dates way back to the early 1900’s and includes several groups.

Now even Gen Z uses queer slang and that is because of social media where words that sound like fun get first viewing. People looking for something different are instantly attracted even though some may not know the origins or even what it really means.

That is unfortunate because sometimes you could be offending someone or putting them down without intention to do so. Similar to sharing information without understanding the meaning or where it came from, you could be doing harm.

I encourage you to look into what has been shared with you so that you do not become part of such unfortunate goings on. Become informed, you have control over that. Care about how you communicate so no one has to pay due to lack of understanding.