Is it all just gibberish? Like almost every generation before them, Gen Alpha now has its own language. But some critics think their unique vocabulary shows young people spend too much time online.
What the sigma! Top slang revealed
Is it all just gibberish? Like almost every generation before them, Gen Alpha now has its own language. But some critics think their unique vocabulary shows young people spend too much time online.
How many of these words or phrases do you recognise? Mog. Sus. Cap. Negative aura. Fanum tax.
If you scored five out of five, congratulations! You might well be a member of Gen Alpha, those born after 2010.
As this generation grows older, it has started to develop its own slang. Many of these words become popular online, spreading via memes, social media videos and streamers or influencers.
For instance, Fanum tax refers to Fanum, a popular content creator on TwitchA video streaming service which broadcasts video game livestreams and esports competitions. . When friends are eating in Fanum's presence, he insists that they share their food. That is the "tax" they have to pay.1
The same is true for the word "sigma", once just the 18th letter of the Greek alphabet. Its slang meaning originally developed in right-wing forums online to describe men who travel their own path. It was based on an out-of-date theory about packs of wolves: alphas rise to the top of the pack, whereas sigmas reject any company to become a "lone wolf".2 But now Gen Alpha has claimed the term as their own, meaning someone popular, cool, or self-sufficient.
Some critics think that Gen Alpha's slang is impossible to understand. According to one journalist, because this generation spends so much time communicating online, their language "is often niche and insularInward looking, and uninterested in other cultures or ideas. to the internet".3 After all, 65% of this generation pass four or more hours a day on social media.4
The use and meaning of online language can change quickly. This is most obvious with the term "skibidi," which originated with an animated YouTube series called Skibidi Toilet. The word can now mean almost anything: good, bad or simply strange. No wonder adults have trouble making sense of this speech.
But, communicating meaning is not always the purpose of slang. It can also be used for "communicating attitudes and cementing relationships".5 This is the argument of linguistSomeone who studies the development and workings of languages. Some linguists study how modern languages work, while others study how languages developed historically; still others try to translate ancient languages. Julie Coleman, who thinks that slang is intended to create a sense of shared identity and show that somebody belongs.
In her book, The Life of Slang, Coleman points out that private and colloquial languages are common among minority communities. They bind the community closer together, while separating them from the mainstream. For the same reason, slang often develops in schools, in the military, and in prisons or among criminals.
This may explain why slang is often considered informal. When writing a school essay, or sending a work email, slang might cause confusion and even offence. Yet in other contexts slang can be a sign of creativity: using language in an original or unexpected way. For this reason, another respected linguist called Anne Curzan refers to slang as "the people's poetry".6
When it comes to children and teenagers, words like sigma, skibidi and rizz allow them to move away from their family and closer to their peers. While parents might be confused by expressions such as "gyatt" or "zang," adopting slang, experts say, is an important stage of growing up. By developing their own language, Gen Alpha may be developing its own identity, too.
Is it all just gibberish?
Yes: Gen Alpha have grown up online and spend record amounts of time on social media. Their slang is based on memesA funny image, video, text or idea etc that is shared quickly online. , streamers and influencers - no wonder it sounds so strange.
No: Slang is not meant to communicate meaning so much as a sense of belonging. That is why you find slang in schools, prisons, online communities and among so many young people.
Or... Slang may be informal, but it is also inventive, because every new generation creates a new language. By coming up with original words and phrases, Gen Alpha is making its own identity.
Twitch - A video streaming service which broadcasts video game livestreams and esports competitions.
Insular - Inward looking, and uninterested in other cultures or ideas.
Linguist - Someone who studies the development and workings of languages. Some linguists study how modern languages work, while others study how languages developed historically; still others try to translate ancient languages.
Memes - A funny image, video, text or idea etc that is shared quickly online.
What the sigma! Top slang revealed

Glossary
Twitch - A video streaming service which broadcasts video game livestreams and esports competitions.
Insular - Inward looking, and uninterested in other cultures or ideas.
Linguist - Someone who studies the development and workings of languages. Some linguists study how modern languages work, while others study how languages developed historically; still others try to translate ancient languages.
Memes - A funny image, video, text or idea etc that is shared quickly online.