Slang has always been a part of human society. It tends to be what linguists call a “change from below”—language that bubbles up from the people rather than being handed down by elites, institutions, and authorities like schools and dictionaries. It almost always comes from subcultures and, above all, from youth. Every generation makes its own enriching contributions to language, although original meanings can shift over time.

Slang is strongly associated with identity. The way you speak marks you as a member of a group, and slang can function as a type of intimate language that creates solidarity and excludes outsiders. This is why generational micro-trends feel so specific.

In 1969, a popular counterculture expression was “out of sight,” a term almost no one uses today. Modern 20-year-olds are familiar with nontraditional meanings for words like “ate” and “bet,” which are often nonsensical to their parents. Generational slang tends to stay that way because it’s so intertwined with age. Parents don’t want to sound like their kids, and it’s cringeworthy when they try because they usually can’t do it right. But even college students complain that they don’t understand the viral “6-7” trend used by younger teenagers.

“6-7” is a perfect case study, as—while its roots trace to a rap song that was memeified—it appears to have no fixed meaning, making it an almost pure expression of slang as an insider trend. It highlights slang’s social and cultural functions, allowing members of Generation Alpha to form an identity distinct from their older siblings. Social media accelerates this process, amplifying communication to spread trends faster and wider than ever before.

Although slang is often generational, its origins are diverse. Regional terms differ, such as Northern California’s “hella” or New York City’s “deadass,” which has roots in the rich culture of African American English, a history often obscured. Mexican Americans and the Yiddish-speaking community have also contributed to the lexicon with terms like “ese” and “shlep,” respectively. Even occupations leave their traces, from kitchen slang like “86” to military terms like “MIA.”

Unfortunately, slang can also be used for linguistic discrimination, where nonstandard language, particularly that associated with minoritized groups, can be looked down on as “uneducated” and used to stereotype people. We need to keep in mind that language is always changing. Everyone has their own linguistic repertoire and adapts their speech depending on various situations.  

Sometimes, slang breaks free from its origins. It goes mainstream when it’s used so broadly that it loses its specific identity associations. “Cool,” for example, is completely mainstream, while “dude” entered common usage spread from surfer subculture, popularized by 1970s and ’80s media. Like much American slang, both “cool” and “dude” either originated with or were popularized by Black American culture before being adopted by the wider public.

This cycle of creation, confusion, and adoption is timeless. Language is always changing. Today’s parents likely heard the same complaints from their own parents. In 20 years, today’s teens will surely reminisce about “6-7,” while their older siblings might still be exasperated, arguing, “It doesn’t even mean anything!” Time will tell which slang endures.

Slang at a glance:

• 6-7 is Dictionary.com’s 2025 word of the year
• Lexicographer Francis Grose first used the word “slang” in his 1785 Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue
• 89% of Americans have googled a slang term to confirm its meaning
• Nearly half of teens pick up slang from TikTok 
• One-third of Gen Xers struggle to understand their younger coworkers’ slang
• 12 years after its social media debut, “adulting” was added to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary in 2020