#1
#2
#3
Yes, it is slang that most accurately reflects the dynamics of the development of any language - because the academic norms of linguistics clearly don't keep up with the rapid fashion for words. Especially with the development of the internet. It is not surprising that it was in 1990, a year before the emergence of the worldwide web, that the American Dialect Society began to determine 'The Word of the Year' in the United States.
By the way, the history of words and expressions that became 'The Word of the Year' over the time perfectly illustrates the evolution of our lives. For example, in 1994 it was the word cyber, in 2003 - metrosexual, in 2009 - tweet, in 2020 - Covid, and in 2023 - ens**ttification (the pattern of decreasing quality of online platforms that function as two-sided markets). At the same time, some 'words of the year' are so irrevocably a thing of the past that it's difficult to remember their meaning without the appropriate context.
#8
“Any language is truly a living, constantly changing structure, especially when it comes to slang,” says Oleksiy Arkhireyev, a Ukrainian copywriter and novelist, who was asked by Bored Panda for a comment here. “And everything really depends on our perception. For example, in the '60s the word 'boomer' was perceived as the personification of everything young, progressive, full of energy, but now it has quite logically changed its meaning.”
“On the other hand, we stop accepting new words in the language where we feel comfortable, and if someone considers, for example, the words 'cool' and 'okey-dokey' to be outdated, then this is not at all a problem for people who actively use them in their speech. In any case, each generation, each year brings us more and more new words - only for them to, after some time, also 'go out of fashion.' This is an objective process - and that’s what makes linguistics so wonderful,” Oleksiy ponders.
#12
It’s interesting that in this collection I personally found about a dozen words and expressions that I regularly use - and which other people perceive as outdated. Interesting experience, by the way - so please feel free to scroll this list to the very end, read all these stories about 'archaic slang' and maybe add your own examples in the comments below.