By Venkata Vemuri, IANS,
London : A British charity has launched a website on ‘teenglish’ to make parents understand the jargon their children use in normal conversations.
The jargon-buster website, Gotateenager.org.uk, contains almost a hundred definitions for words commonly used by teenagers but until now incomprehensible to their parents.
It is one way to make way for better communication between parents and their teenage children, according to British charity Parentline Plus.
They spent months talking to parents and teenagers about the latest slang before compiling the online dictionary of 96 words from bare – meaning many – to wagwaan, or what’s going on?
Other words include phat (cool), tight (close), bluds (friends), bait (obvious), butters (ugly), buff (attractive) and rents (parents). There are also translations of on their jays (on their own), flossing (showing off) and hench (to be strong).
Chirps, or to chat up; dry, or boring; nang, which translates as brilliant; and off the hook – a phrase to describe something as excellent. Feds refers to the police, ends means neighbourhood, a player is a love cheat, butters is ugly, murk is to kill, gaged is robbed and jook is to stab or steal.
Nikola Mann, who helped create the site, told the Daily Mail: “It makes you realise how out of touch you can get when you read some of the words teenagers are using now”.
She said the website grew out of conversations “we were having with parents on our free 24-hour helpline who were struggling to understand their children and they wanted to know what words used by their teenagers actually meant”.
The website also includes a host of features, from e-learning modules and courses in dealing with drug and alcohol use to an online comic book with storylines and scenarios familiar to many teens.
Topics covered include drugs, sex, bullying, boundaries, health, school and self-confidence.
The site also boasts blogs, message boards, stories, a texting service with tips and information, and a live web TV show. The first of four shows will go online Monday.
It also hopes to give the parents of teens the chance to chat online and support one another.
Maureen Pearson, an area manager for Parentline Plus, said: “Gotateenager.org.uk plugs that gap by creating an online community for parents of teenagers.”