ShmoopTube

00:04

[Dino and Coop singing]

00:13

Low-key…lit…fam…

00:16

No, that's not the name of some indie hipster band.

00:19

Or…maybe it is. [Band on stage]

00:20

It gets hard to keep track.

00:21

Anyway, we don't know if it's a band, but all of these words?

00:24

They're definitely slang.

00:26

So…what is slang?

00:27

Well, while "Slang" kinda sounds like the name of a comic book villain… [Dragon with a shirt on breathing fire out a window]

00:30

… it’s actually just super informal language.

00:32

You pickin’ up what we’re layin’ down? [Coop pointing at a blackboard]

00:34

…Okay, that wasn't great.

00:35

Sorry. [Students look unimpressed]

00:36

Slang is the language you might use when you're hanging out and talking with your friends!

00:39

…or fam, or posse, or crew. [Group of people in a living room]

00:42

Using slang is a way for you to feel a bond with the peeps you hang out with.

00:45

…not those kind of peeps.

00:47

Unless you like hanging out with marshmallow chicks. [Guy sat with a group of marshmallow chicks]

00:49

Then…uh…you do you.

00:50

Knowing these non-standard words can help you stand apart from others – like, say, [Family in a car]

00:54

your super basic parents.

00:56

And slang can differ depending on where you are.

00:58

For instance, people in the countryside use way different slang than people in the city. [Country houses with the city in the background]

01:02

And some cities even have their own unique slang.

01:04

Yup.

01:05

Slang makes it pretty easy to tell if your new roommate is from the wicked cool city [Guy with sunglasses and a leather jacket on]

01:09

of Boston, or if you're going to be living with a jawn from Philly.

01:12

Sometimes, slang becomes “common use”, meaning everyone shares it. [TV show with police officer pulling someone over]

01:15

If that happens, you might even catch the word used on television, dude.

01:18

We can thank the '60s surfer dudes for that one.

01:21

And sometimes, a word that means one thing in formal conversation means something else [Dino pointing at a blackboard]

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entirely in slang.

01:26

For example, the word “sick.”

01:28

In formal conversation, “sick” means not feeling well. [Girl in bed sneezing]

01:30

But in common slang, someone calling something “sick” means that it’s totally awesome. [Guy doing a skateboard trick]

01:35

And this isn't just an American thing.

01:36

Nope, in cultures all over the world, there's a new standard way of speaking. [Countries on a map saying hello in different languages]

01:40

There's a standard way of speaking and writing, and an informal slang way of speaking.

01:44

For example, the Ojibwe people of Canada don’t have different words for

01:48

every color.

01:49

The word ozhaawaa can mean brown or yellow. [Two guys wearing yellow and brown shirts]

01:51

Bet their box of crayons is pretty whack… [Different crayons all with the same name]

01:54

But nothing lasts forever. [Girls taking pictures with a selfie stick]

01:55

Even slang must change over time, usually when a word goes mainstream.

01:59

Because once your mom uses a slang word, it’s by definition no longer cool. [Uncool looking girl using slang]

02:03

The relation between language and culture is partly why learning a new language isn’t [Guy reading Ozhaawaa for dummies book]

02:07

just about the words.

02:08

It’s really about learning a whole new way of thinking.

02:10

Now if you'd excuse us, we're going to write some dope songs for our new band, Low-key

02:14

Lit Fam.

02:15

We smell Grammy! [Band with their instruments]

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