When did everything become “so awkward”?
That shirt is so gay. Really? With thousands of words at your disposal, your immediate choice was to describe the shirt as a sexuality?
Or when every other f@%$*^g word they f@%$*^g use is a motherf@%$*^g cuss word. Like, are you f@%$*^g sh!*^#%g me right now?
And I have yet to hear a clear definition for the term “on fleek.”
Oxford Dictionary announced that the 2015 Word of the Year was the “face with tears of joy” emoji. A dictionary chose an emoji as the word of the year? Oxford Dictionary defended their choice by stating that this particular emoji is the most used emoji and because emojis "have been embraced as a nuanced form of expression."
When expressing feelings, opinions, thoughts, ideas, news, or anything else, we have the opportunity to speak in a lively way, use detail, and tell a compelling story. But instead we keep in short, using overarching terms to describe the situation.
Here is an example: Say you were to tell your friend about an embarrassing moment you had in class that day:
Simplified speech: Dude, I walked into the wrong class room and this guy was all like "I don't know you," and I was like "oh" and ran out. It was so awkward!
Real speech: When I was heading to Econ today, I accidentally walked in and sat down in the class two doors down. I didn't even realize my mistake until a guy sitting by me asked me who I was. I was so embarrassed, I just buried my face and ran out of there as soon as I could.
I understand everyone has different preferences in the way they talk and that sometimes it's different depending on who we are talking to and what we are talking about. The simplified speech would be perfect in a text message or if you were in a hurry, but the second options gives just a little more detail and is a more entertaining summary of what happened.
I’m not saying we should jump back 400 years to Shakespearean time when things were all “thou,” “ought,” and “shant” or that all your conversations should include an excessive use of flowery language, but when people resolve to speak like they’re texting, it might be best to take a look in the dictionary.
