(Side note: This is NOT a part of the Searching for Joy Series. This is just having a bit of fun.)
Every now and then, I like to take some time to focus on odd things related to generational gaps. Today, I have such an inkling.
I want to talk about punctuation, verbage, and grammar in general as it relates to the separate generations. I want to talk about this because of a dispute in my own family about tone of voice via text, messenger, and email.
In my family, we have Boomers with my parents who don't fit into this discussion because they only communicate face-to-face, phone call, or snail mail; I am a Gen X; I have a Gen Y aka Millennial son; some Gen Zs; and I have Gen Alpha grandchildren.
One day some time ago, I was going along my day messaging my family when all of a sudden I got blasted with accusations of being angry at everybody for no reason. I was like, "What are you talking about?"
My daughter attempted to explain to me that because I was using periods in my messaging, I was expressing anger. When I attempted to point out that if I was angry, I would be using exclamation points, the eye-roll commenced along with the excuse that I am out of touch and don't know what I am talking about.
Now, I am seeing all these videos about the bizarre verbiage of Gen Alpha (Gen A) that I can't begin to comprehend and Millennials and Gen Y are even a bit baffled by it.
I want to go back to the eye-roll my daughter gave me, and I'm sure all the other younger members of my family did as well, insisting that I am unable to comprehend how things have changed. You could not be more wrong. I do understand.
Gen X had our own language too. Anyone remember Valley Girl talk back in the 80s when we were kids? We were all doing it in some form or another. We were using phrases for personal expression that made zero sense to the Boomers and Silent Gen. The younger Gen Xers morphed it a bit when I was in college into something less valley but still off the adult radar.
We used phrases such as "gag me with a spoon" or "totally" or "gnarly" in place of the the typical use of the F-bomb today. By the way, did I spell gnarly correctly for slang use, or did we not use the g? I can't remember.
Even the Boomers had their own slang when they were kids and teens. Their Silent Generation parents did double takes.
Here is the difference as far as I can tell. When we all used our slang, our teachers and other adults didn't attempt to join in. They remained adults using adult language and adult grammar and punctuation so that as we grew up and became adults, we could then assimilate the same rules so we could communicate and join the world productively. We adjusted as we matured to smoothly become a part of society, equal in our speech so we could be equal in understanding.
Were there some changes in language that came from the younger generations that the older ones liked and took on as their own? Yes. Of course. Things do evolve. But that was not the norm.
Most of the time, evolution is a slow process with the occasional jumps. Most of the time, little to no change happens at all.
Today, there seems to be this push for all adults to take on the language of Gen Z while Gen Alpha is waiting in the wings to force us to make all these radical changes yet again.
You can call me old, call me boomer even though I am not, whatever name calling you want if it makes you feel better. I'm a Gen X, so I don't really care. But take a beat and consider. Am I wrong? I don't think so.
What has really changed is this idea that the kids are already running the grammar world. They want all the rules wiped, and all us old folks are expected to tow the line.
Us Gen Xers, who typically let the younger and older generations have their battles around us, might need to take a bit of a stand here. After all, I don't want to deal with the confusion when I see my grandkids text me something like this: im eating grandma
If I see that, and I am confused by having taken on Gen Z rules on punctuation, you better believe my reply will include a whole lot of periods.
Thanks for reading!
Are you a bit concerned with the grammatical changes that are coming down the stream of generational consciousness? Shoot me an email at humorinchaos@gmail.com.
Sarah Hauer Nelson
Humor In Chaos
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