New age twist to language

Less is more. As DM’s (an abbreviation for direct messages exchanged on social media) take over real conversations; a twist in the  lingo and popular hashtags can’t be left far behind. If you’re active on Social Media, there is no way you would have escaped these short and urban lingos — BAE, LIT, Savage, #WYMTM, AF, legit and the like.

So, what makes it popular enough to be substituted for regular vocabulary? “#wymtm is popular abbreviation for cycling, trekking and any fitness related post.’ What you missed this morning’ is the full form. If someone misses the group activity then people use it to taunt them. But over time this became popular without the original theme,” says Phanibushan Singamahapatra, a 29-year-old cycling enthusiast.

A true-blue urban-lingo enthusiast,  he believes the lingo fosters better rapport. He says, “It connects to people who use the social media most. It also bares your feelings and emotions without a lengthy post. Lit is very popular, and is something I tend to use a lot.”

For blogger Rinku Chatlani, urban lingos make conversations catchy, and her favourite words are Shizz, Legit, fml and ikr. “Short, catchy lingo sends the message across
without wasting much time. Also, one thing to note is that it’s not what you say but how you say it that matters on social media today. With so many people posting the same thing, the only way to stand out and garner more views is by adding an element of uniqueness. Urban lingos help do that, and it’s a way to show you’re keeping up with the times,” she says.

Musician Kevin Vineeth Kumar, who’s known for his antics online, believes certain lingos are great communication tools. “As a musician, it’s important to be active on social media, and also ensure that the engagement online is great. Content of social media are largely  fun, informal and gimmicky anyway. So, why not use words that add some spunk to your posts? Nobody’s got the time to read a lengthy post. There’s a different level of fun using lingos — it also helps connect with the present day crowd, especially when it comes to promoting my music related posts. It adds so much more jazz to conversations, and is a fun way to send a message across,” he concludes.