Dear Isabelle Karr,

I partly agree with some of your points of your article “Twerking, Selfie and unlike ? Young people don’t speak like that – I should know”. Slang words can be very formal, inappropriate but also metaphorical, and are likely to be  evanescent as the spoken language changes from one generation to another. An example of this is the word ‘fugly’ a slang term used during the 1970s. This word has now been replaced by the word ‘clapped’. I would say that language is a living thing. It grows and changes. Slang changes because certain expressions become over used over after a certain time. Also, slang is sometimes used as a code between people and it is only good for a determined time before other people understand it’s meaning. In addition, people are always looking for more interesting and colorful ways to express themselves.

The fact that the Oxford Dictionaries Online want to include a new range of slang words is appalling since these “words” are not words, they’re acronyms.I am not stating that there’s not acronyms in the dictionary but they are significant and useful such as “RADAR-Radio Detection and Ranging” or “LASER-Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation” which have been used for a long time. Nevertheless, “OMG-Oh My God” or “BRB-Be Right Back” are neither important nor educational to be accepted by most the population. However, the aim of a dictionary is still to describe and explain what a word means and since these slangs are being used by most of the population the best thing is to actually add them to their online collection. Yet, I personally think slang words have no place in the printed Oxford Dictionary. I hugely respect it and this way we are just converting ‘abstract’ words into  valuable ones that are going to disappear in a short time since they are, like you said, a ‘fashion trend that come and go’.

In contrast of what you said, Shakespeare created hundreds of slang for his plays to help make it modern for his audience. Most of them are still being used at the moment such as “swag” which was first created in the 1590s for one of his plays. Besides, the word ‘twere’ is a hybrid from two exiting words made by Shakespeare himself which stands for ‘it were’; lol.

On the other hand, slang are used by many youth groups and friends but not with people they do not know or trust enough. Besides, people do not use slang in an interview or abbreviations in an important  letter since they want to give a good impression.Also, slang can be helpful to identify from which area a person is coming from  because, for example, East London uses different slang than West London.

Finally, I do not agree with you with the fact that slang words represent a bad and ‘unhealthy culture’ on young people; firstly, not all young people speak slang, therefore you cannot say that it reflects a whole generation. Secondly, not all slang words refer to image, reputation and sex. For example, the slang “to chill out” simply means to relax or “cool” which means ‘great’ or ‘fantastic’.

In my opinion, since we are in a digital era, abbreviations can be very handy. We spend most of our time on social media or texting so using slang just makes life easier and quicker. For example, if I am in a rush and I want to tell someone that I am in my way I just type in ‘OMW’ and the person immediately knows what I mean without having to make the effort writing the expression. There are positives and negatives in using slang and there is really no need to feel ’embarrassed and ashamed’ for the way we share our life style with the rest of the world. Just enjoy the advantages!!