It’s been a decade since the turn of the millennium and naturally, ten years has given today’s generation an evolution in modern vocabulary. As fast-paced as our world is today, it isn’t surprising that we constantly generate our own slang words. For some reason (blame it on pop culture), there always seems to be a new term that finds its way into our conversations, which eventually becomea “buzzword.”
Buzzwords, also known as identifiers, can tell us a lot about a year that’s passed maybe even better than long paragraphs of narrative description. Let’s try to look back into the last decade and see what fads we’ve outgrown.
Friendster is definitely one of the fads we’d like to forget-—remember testimonials? “Erap” was also heard in almost every conversation, resulting in the infamous Erap jokes of the early 2000s. In 2001, “9/11” became a famous albeit painful term, bringing about the rise of another buzz word, “terrorism.” Harry Potter, Havaianas, Wiki, and Google are few of the many other buzzwords that emerged in the past decade. In 2010, which words dominated our ever-growing daily lexicon?
Jeje
Definition
Those who follow the jejemon culture (i.e. wearing baggy jeans, using the number 3 to replace the letter “e”). According to Urban Dictionary, it’s a person “who has managed to subvert the English language to the point of incomprehensibility.”
History
The term first emerged in 2009, when people wanted to put a name to those who insisted to typing LyK DiS. They studied their fashion, sub-culture, and their alphabet. A synonym would be the word jologs.
BBM
Definition
It stands for Blackberry Messenger, the free worldwide instant messenger available only with Blackberry phones
History
We’ve seen so many of those 8-digit pins up on Facebook statuses posted by the ever-growing population of Blackberry users. Since Blackberry has been available to Filipino users, more and more have been switching to BB just for the BBM service.
Tweet
Definition
A Twitter post, 140 characters max, describing what one is doing
History
Twitter only started getting popular in the Philippines this year, even if it’s been around since 2006. With the rise of unlimited internet on cellphones, Twitter has been the number one boredom-filler, with updates only a few seconds apart.
Unfriend
Definition
To remove someone as a friend in a social network
History
Believe it or not, the word has been around for some time. Along with this newly crafted phenomenon of “unfriending” comes unfollow, unlike, unhype, and the like.
Vampire
Definition
Fangs and blood, ‘nuff said.
History
Ever since the Twilight books became popular, the word “vampire” started to come out more in our everyday conversations. When the movie came out, all jokes and fantasies were suddenly centered on the concept of vampires.
Chos
Definition
Gay lingo that indicates that the speaker is only kidding
Synonym
Joke
History
Not much is known about the origin of this word, but what we do know is that in Ateneo, it started in the Dollhouse, where the fiercest of the fierce can be found.
Froyo
Definition
Frozen yogurt that may come with different toppings; a sweet and sour, healthier alternative to ice cream
History
With the trend of being health-conscious came the opening of the Red Mango franchise. Its popularity pushed frozen yogurt into the mainstream. White Hat, Golden Spoon, Qoola, and others then followed.
Hipster
Definition
Someone who refuses to conform to consumerist culture; someone whose taste in fashion, clothes, and music is anti-mainstream
Synonym
Hippie
History
The word has been used since the 1940s, when the jazz age brought about underground music. The word has since then come back to life, due to the sudden popularity of indie culture, with the rise of alternative music, thrift store shopping, vegan food and the like.
Gleek
Definition
Fans of the TV series Glee
History
Since the debut of Glee, everyone has been using the word “Gleek” as a way to show their support for the show. Derived from “Glee Club” and “geek,” it’s a term used by some characters to tease the members of the club.
Vegan
Definition
Vegetable-eaters; people who have given up meat—and of all things derived from animals—for a worthy cause
History
There has been a rise in the Vegan population lately. It could be because healthy lifestyles are in vogue now, but it could also be because various organizations (among them, PETA) have been doing a better job at promoting animal rights.
