Grown Up Thinking

I’m always interested in how language is influenced by changes in culture and technology. Trend Central recently published a good, albeit slightly flawed (etymology of pwn is way wrong, real one found here… thanks Matt) list of new slang for 2009.  As this list indicates, two themes are really making an impact on the words we use: the recession & digital media.

It will be interesting to see how the economic downturn continues to shape the ways we communicate and the language we use.  ”Recession menus” are popping up all over New York City, and some are under very dubious disguises.  

One thing is clear: whether we’re talking about relationships or macroeconomic instability, the proliferation of micromessaging tools and platforms will continue to augment language and change standards of acceptability.  I’m still not sure I want to use “do not want!” in my business emails yet, but given what we’re seeing I can’t imagine it will be long before such obscure terms and expressions gain mainstream use.