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The communication between Matthew Morrison and his spouse, Renee, regarding the changing face of slang across generations has opened up a nice online conversation. The former Glee actor shared a funny and light-hearted dialogue about the different slangs for each decade starting from the ’90s onwards. He also mentioned how he and his partner purposely decided to keep up with the words and phrases their child, Revel, is learning at school. This sweet family interaction is actually a mirror of the worldwide obstacle of making the communicative gap between different ages disappear.
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Additionally, in a video that was posted along with their conversation, the couple appeared to be having a hilarious time while reminiscing about the classic terms from their youth. Morrison, who referred to himself as a Southern Californian kid, unleashed a torrent of words that brought back memories. He said, “the very first slang word that I can remember is ‘rad’.” “That totally fits California.” He then went on to list a few words in a very fast manner, for instance, ‘bro’, ‘cool beans’, ‘sike’, ‘that’s fat’, ‘my bad’, ‘talk to the hand’, ‘that’s so fly’, etc. They also had a good laugh discussing their son’s current slang, particularly the word ‘six-seven,’ which they discovered refers to character 667 from the children’s show ‘Stickin’ Around.’ The couple even shared that they are going to be the character for Halloween as their way of supporting their child’s passion.
The couple’s post resonated with a lot of people, leading to a huge inflow of comments that were nostalgic and funny at the same time. One user from North Carolina shared the slang of her area stating, ‘Had to share the slang I grew up with in the mountains of NC… Howdy Y’all how you doing today…’ The user was right in suggesting that regional dialects or slang are significant in terms of the formation of the different local communities, thus giving this post a strong support to Morrison’s claim where he considers language to be not only a matter of time but also a place, and hence, creating communities bonded over a feeling of belonging.
Up next, a gentleman from Japan threw in a contemporary international take to the discussion by saying, ‘My kid always says ‘meccha’ in Japanese it’s like saying ‘super’ or ‘hella.’ Since English is my second language, I love picking up the catchphrases from the sitcoms.’ A very interesting situation arises here where it indicates that the use of non-standard words and expressions is not just a question of the age gap but rather a global matter as the words sometimes migrate from one culture to another, and that often through the medium of entertainment.
Moreover, the dialogue became more of a comic situation when an individual pointed out an aspect that was probably overlooked by others, ‘I’m sorry is no one gonna acknowledge the secret handshake?!?’ This comment not only made the post entertaining but also highlighted the couple’s chemistry that was clearly visible and the playful body language that sometimes accompanies the couple when they are talking and recalling their past.
An older user who has a more reflective and philosophical mind shared his thoughts when he asked, ‘Do kids today get, ‘Houston we have a problem?’. We are about 70 years old so we often talk about it as very entertaining.’ This thought reminds us that every age has its own cultural markers and expressions which will later become outdated and thus, the reflections of Morrison are always going to be relevant.
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What Morrison mainly said was that words are a great bridge. He recounted that sometimes misunderstandings caused the gap between him and his parents but he now chooses to ‘lean in’ to his children’s new vocabulary, actively and intentionally going to the lengths of ‘getting schooled on what he thinks is cool.’ Morrison’s way of parenting is not easy but at the end of the day, he chooses to bond and to turn the possible misunderstandings into a fun family activity. His post is a heartfelt reminder that being ‘hip’ does not automatically mean following trends blindly but rather grasping the concept of your family members and friends hearts and minds, one ‘six-seven’ at a time. The immense positive response shows that the effort to cross age barriers is a universally enjoyable and relatable practice.