Morphology/Semantics

Los Angeles Pacific University

Ciara Blunt

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Cringe

• Cringe is a new popular word the

students were using. They mean
is as in something is or someone
said or acts in a way that is
embarrassing. For instance if a
guy posts a “thirst trap” he is
cringe.
• ”That guys story is so cringe.”
• The actual meaning is to
“experience an inward shiver or
embarrassment or disgust.”

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No cap
• The students were saying “no
cap” meaning that whoever they
are talking about or if their
sentence was true. And if they
were saying “cap” means the
person is lying.
• Or they can say someone is
“capping.” For example, “did you
really get tickets to the bad
bunny concert or you capping?”

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 Snatched
• Snatched means that the persons body is looking good.
They usually say this when a girl has a small waist and a
bigger behind.
• “She is snatched after she came back from her surgery in
Tijuana.”
• Snatched literally means ”quickly seize (something) in a
rude or eager way.”

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Bruh
• Bruh just means “bro” typically
used in the beginning of a story
to get the attention of the person
they are speaking to. This can
refer to any gender, just whoever
they are talking to in general.
Generally they were speaking as
if the story was some good
gossip.
 Periodt
• The students said “Periodt” a lot after
finishing a statement.
• This refers to a statement that is
definite and direct. They use it in a
way that is condescending or sassy.
• For example “I said what I said,
periodt.”

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 Goat
• Some boys were referring to their
friend as the “Goat” which means
“greatest of all time.”
• They typically use this term when
someone is good at something
like a singer, rapper, artist, sports
player, shoe collection, or
something that is of great
achievement
• “Drake is the Goat of rap.”

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Throw Shade
• Throw shade means to dis a person in a sneaky
way.
• “Did you see her story, she was defiantly throwing
shade at Sabrina.”
• Or to give someone a dirty look.

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 Sus

• This term was used a lot. Sus meaning to be

suspicious.
• In other words to be shady or the person
cannot be trusted.
• “Sabrina is sus now that she is dating Jake.”

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Flex

• The students used this term as in

a way to show off.
• Many of them said “weird flex
but ok.”
• I have heard this a lot on the
internet as well.
• The actual meaning is to bend or
become bent (with reference to
a limb or joint on the body).

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A Karen

• This refers to how a person is

behaving negatively towards a
situation.
• They said that some students can be
Karen's if they snitch to the teacher
or make a big deal out of a situation
that is unnecessary.
• The meaning on the internet means
“a disparaging way to describe a
petty middle-aged woman, who is
rude, especially to people who work
in the service industry.”
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Overview
• There was a lot of conversation going on that I kept up with. I am familiar with all of
these terms because of social media and hanging out with younger people. Most of
these terms they have learned from social media in the first place. My expectations lived
up to the results because of how prevalent these terms are across every social media
platform.
• I use some of these words as well. My slang terms were different because I am much
older than these teenagers and these words are used with newer generations.
Overview

In the principles of morphology is that people will pick apart words to shorten
them and use them as a completely different meaning sometimes. It is a way we
can relate to each other in different age groups. For example, people took
suspicious and shortened it to sus with a similar meaning.

Language changes over time to fit the ever-changing times. We have a lot of
advancements in technology, social media, and the way we live. New terms come
into trend while others are outdated. In the 70s people would say groovy, and
now people will say dope.
Using slang terms is just a part of life and I will allow the students to use them if
they keep it appropriate for the classroom.
References
• Amy Morin, L. C. S. W. (2022, July 22). Teen slang words every parent
should know. Verywell Family. Retrieved August 3, 2022, from
https://www.verywellfamily.com/a-teen-slang-dictionary-2610994
• Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Flex Definition & meaning. Merriam-
Webster. Retrieved August 3, 2022, from https://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/flex
• Optics of sunlit water drops on leaves ... - Wiley Online Library. (n.d.).
Retrieved August 4, 2022, from
https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-
8137.2009.03150.x