What the sigma! Top slang revealed

| Read time: 7 minute(s)
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. As this generation grows older, it has started to develop its own slang. For instance, Fanum tax refers to Fanum, a popular content creator on Twitch. When friends are eating in Fanum’s presence, he insists that they share their food. The same is true for “sigma”. It developed in right-wing forums to describe men who travel their own path. It was based on an out of-date theory about wolves: alphas rise to the top of the pack, whereas sigmas reject any company to become a “lone wolf”. But now Gen Alpha has claimed the term, meaning someone popular, cool, or self-sufficient. Some critics think that Gen Alpha’s slang is “often niche and insular to the internet. After all, 65% of this generation spend four or more hours a day on social media. But communicating meaning is not always the purpose of slang. It can also be used for “communicating attitudes and cementing relationships”. This is the argument of linguist Julie Coleman, who points out that private and colloquial languages are common in minority community. They bind the community closer together, while separating them from the mainstream. Yet slang can also be a sign of creativity: using language in an original or unexpected way. For this reason, linguist Anne Curzan refers to slang as “the people’s poetry”. When it comes to children and teenagers, words like sigma, skibidi and rizz allow them to move closer to their friends. While parents might be confused by these expressions, experts say, adopting slang is an important stage of growing up. By developing their own language, experts argue, Gen Alpha is also shaping its identity. Is it all just gibberish? Brain rot Yes: Gen Alpha has grown up online and spends record amounts of time on social media. Its slang is based on memes, 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. Key words Gen Alpha: People born between 2010 and 2025. Slang: Very informal language. It is usually spoken rather than written. Twitch: A video streaming service which broadcasts video game livestreams and esports competitions. Niche: A very specific thing. 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. Colloquial: Language used in ordinary conversations, rather than formal settings. Gibberish: Meaningless speech or writing. Nonsense.? Memes: A funny image, video, text or idea etc that is shared quickly online

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. As this generation grows older, it has started to develop its own slang. For instance, Fanum tax refers to Fanum, a popular content creator on Twitch. When friends are eating in Fanum’s presence, he insists that they share their food. The same is true for “sigma”. It developed in right-wing forums to describe men who travel their own path. It was based on an out of-date theory about wolves: alphas rise to the top of the pack, whereas sigmas reject any company to become a “lone wolf”. But now Gen Alpha has claimed the term, meaning someone popular, cool, or self-sufficient. Some critics think that Gen Alpha’s slang is “often niche and insular to the internet. After all, 65% of this generation spend four or more hours a day on social media. But communicating meaning is not always the purpose of slang. It can also be used for “communicating attitudes and cementing relationships”. This is the argument of linguist Julie Coleman, who points out that private and colloquial languages are common in minority community. They bind the community closer together, while separating them from the mainstream. Yet slang can also be a sign of creativity: using language in an original or unexpected way. For this reason, linguist Anne Curzan refers to slang as “the people’s poetry”. When it comes to children and teenagers, words like sigma, skibidi and rizz allow them to move closer to their friends. While parents might be confused by these expressions, experts say, adopting slang is an important stage of growing up. By developing their own language, experts argue, Gen Alpha is also shaping its identity.
Is it all just gibberish?

Brain rot
Yes: Gen Alpha has grown up online and spends record amounts of time on social media. Its slang is based on memes, 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.

Key words
Gen Alpha: People born between 2010 and 2025.
Slang: Very informal language. It is usually spoken rather than written.
Twitch: A video streaming service which broadcasts video game livestreams and esports competitions.
Niche: A very specific thing. 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.
Colloquial: Language used in ordinary conversations, rather than formal settings. Gibberish: Meaningless speech or writing. Nonsense.?
Memes: A funny image, video, text or idea etc that is shared quickly online

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