OUR LIVING LANGUAGE
Wilf Patten enjoys some of the latest changes within our spoken language
T his year’s Alleynian is popping off! For those of you staring at the page, wondering what on earth this means, you’re obviously not up to date with the latest lingo. According to the Urban Dictionary, ‘ popping off ’ means to “work it” or “slay”, just absolutely DESTROY the game . Not much help there, if you’re not familiar with these terms. In fact, what “ popping off ” really means is to do really, really well; to go crazy and make a scene about it. I’m sure the nature of this magazine is more sophis- ticated than that, but that’s the beauty of the spoken language. It doesn’t have to be sophisticated. Bearing in mind the theme of this year’s Alleynian , it seems only fitting to comment on the ways in which our spoken language is constantly innovating, how the way we articulate ourselves develops freely and organically, never staying the same and always taking in new ideas. In 2022, the Oxford word (or rather, ‘phrase’) of the year was revealed as ‘goblin mode’ – a slang term describing ‘unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy‘ behaviour, typically rejecting social norms and expectations. We’ve all been there .
New words and phrases pop up every year, often weird and wonderful and nonsensical
Artwork by Saverio Jones (Year 12)
an English lesson, after a lengthy chat about orcs. With the rise of social media in this modern, technological age, the propagation of such terms hes accelerated far quicker than it has been before. In fact, the term first appeared on Twitter in 2009, but its rise to true fame was in February 2022 after being tweeted in a mocked-up headline, suggesting the sheer speed and unpredictability of how trends catch on. So what am I getting at? Language is a beautiful thing. New words and phrases pop up every year, often weird and wonderful and nonsensical. Yes, you may be tired of having adhere to new trends and movements – only to have finally got the word ‘sick‘ before being faced with ‘rizz,‘ a term you fail to understand in all its many forms – but there’s nothing you can do about it. There’s nothing in the way of this absurd, baffling, amazing language. And it’s fascinating to think that the way we communicate will keep on evolving, swayed by the way we think, the way we talk, and the ways in which we present ourselves. ◉
In 2022, the Oxford word (or rather, ‘phrase’) of the year was revealed as ‘goblin mode’
It’s a word, which, according to Casper Grathwohl, the president of Oxford Languages, ‘resonates with all of us who are feeling a little overwhelmed at this point.‘ He also adds that ‘ it’s a relief to acknowledge that we’re not always the idealised, curated selves that we’re encour- aged to present on our Instagram and TikTok feeds.‘ But where do these words come from? Certainly, ‘goblin mode’ isn’t something which has suddenly popped up in
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