Teen Language Across The World

Boy, am I getting a delightful education this week. As I mentioned in an article yesterday -I am currently at an international conference in Hawaii with teen girls from across the world.  Yesterday, I learned a lot about teen phrases that are used in the Caribbean and thought I’d share them. My girls from the U.S. and other parts of the world were as intrigued as I was.

In the U.S., teens use the word “party.” Hopefully, not too much, but “party” they do. In the Caribbean, the girls “lime.” This can be used as a verb or a noun just like “party.” Consider a teen girl in the Caribbean texting her friends and saying let’s go “lime ” tonight or there is a “lime” at Alana’s house. An interchangeable word for “lime’ is “fete” in the Caribbean. Think- who is going to be at the “fete” tonight-any hot guys?

Speaking of how teen boys are characterized-the girls from Barbados say that a hot guy has “swag.” The American girls said that this term is dated in the U.S. A teen boy who is a “player” is called just that in the states. On the islands, a guy player is referred to as a “gallis.”

Nope, in the Caribbean and in the other parts of the world including Canada the word “awesome” is not common. Here, in the U.S., not only the teens, but some adults as well, refer to something pretty terrific as “awesome.”  In the Caribbean, something that is pretty wonderful and to be taken note of is referred to as “safe.” In the U.S. the teen set uses either “awesome’ or “sick.” I was informed that the term “phat” used to mean awesome in the U.S. but it is now an outdated term.

That’s all for now, folks. Hawaii is really “sick” and “safe” and I am going out to enjoy the island before my plane departs tomorrow.