The "in" words....

Enter a public place with a group of youngsters chatting away, and you are in for being linguistically isolated. New terms are entering the cultural lexicon.  I have been keeping my acoustic abilities alert and tenacious, trying to absorb the younger generation’s neo- linguistic milestones.

‘Fluid’ has always meant something that flows easily, related to a state of matter, for my generation of salwar/saree-during-durga-puja-and–denims-for-outing individuals. Sometime down the years when I was contemplating whether to invest in mutual funds or buy a term-plan for the sake of security of my kids the generation that followed mine decided to codify their sexual orientation and gender. In came something that initially glided over my aging shoulders (and dimming brain!) - the concept of ‘gender fluidity’. Everyone's gender exists on a spectrum and gender expression shifts between masculine and feminine. Now the younger lot is comfortable being not specific about the sense of what's normal and what is not. Words like ‘demiboy’, ‘androgynous’, etc. is commonplace these days. And one is expected now to the difference between ‘gender neutrality’ and ‘gender fluidity’. While Justice K.S. Panicker Radhakrishnan  and Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri had the potential to go down as just another couple of Supreme Court Judges, they got their name engraved in the Indian social system forever when they passed the landmark judgment of granting equal status to the ‘third gender’, our long-deprived fellow humans who were eventually brought at par with their male and female counterparts.

Let me now talk about the word ‘coffee’. This brew always brought in mind the image of steaming steel glasses in Malayali or Tamil households. ‘Madras Coffee House’, ‘Indian Coffee House’ and their brood made one nostalgic and crave for a cuppa to be savoured on a rainy evening. But now, COFFEE has arrived, and how! With quotes like ‘I have measured out my life with coffee spoons’, ‘A mathematician is a device for turning coffee into theorems’, ‘He was my cream, and I was his coffee - And when you poured us together, it was something’, etc. coffee has become a force to reckon with. ‘Coffee’ does not mean just ‘filter-coffee’ now; it come a long way from the backyards of middle-class homes in the sleepy towns of southern India to grace coffee blogs, coffee-books  and coffee tables of the rich and the famous. Greenstone Coffee, MoonMoon Coffee, Difference Coffee, Paradise Roasters, Noella Coffee are just a few appellations to the long list of exotic coffee varieties that tickle the average Indian palate these days. Kopi Luwak, a special type of Indonesian Coffee, costs upto Rs 5000 per cup! The romanticism and mystery in coffee seems to have taken its position with authority, and I cannot see that diminishing in the years to come.

Remember the affectionate words that our generation used to address friends and loved ones with, like “sweetheart”, “baby”, “honey”, “mate”, “dude” or “buddy”? Move over to the dark corner if you are still stuck to these primitive expressions. The word these days is ‘bae’ – ‘before anyone else’ or abbreviated form of ‘babe (Now it is another story that “bae” is also a Danish word for “poop”!). And I am also told that “cuddle bear”, “honey-cake horse” and “little mouse tooth” are not newly discovered animals but are the latest terms of endearment…

Do not imagine that ‘curve’ implies the contours of the beautiful lady at your workplace; these days it means to reject someone’s romantic advances. So you can ‘curve’ the irritating nag out of your life! And do not go out to the nearest restaurant when your colleague tells you to ‘sip tea’; it is rather a rude reminder telling you to mind your own business. And yes, beware of NIFOC and warn your teenage kids too (NIFOC – Naked In Front Of Computer).

Ever enjoyed a party without actually moving from your chair? Well, the generation these days do it – ‘digital hangouts’ is the trend these days.

Then there is ‘zero chill’ Well, there was a Salman Khan and there was a Katrina Kaif who crooned to ‘just chill, chill, just chill’. So, ‘zero chill’ is to do something very uncool.

‘Netspeak’ (Internet language) is getting harder and harder to understand especially for outdated souls like me. While I feel that acronyms (like  BFF, ROFL, TBH) were created as an effort to save keystrokes, the effort of technologically challenged creatures like yours truly to get used to this new language trend is getting insurmountable with each passing day.

In fact, each generation comes up with its own words. And if you have FOMO( fear of missing out) better make friends with your teenage kids and nephews and nieces and remain upgraded!