Recently, I read a fascinating article on the ABC News app in relation to the development of language. Essentially, the article posited that language is forever changing and that currently, the greatest single driver of this change is in fact young women and girls. According to the article, there are several reasons for this including:
- Women’s brains being wired with a linguistic bent more so than men’s;
- Women’s use of language as social and symbolic capital; and,
- The influence of social media and young women’s exposure to language from all corners of the globe
In keeping with a current Tik Tok trend, Kate Durham, Assistant Principal Wellbeing, addressed the Opening Assembly and discussed what was ‘in’ and ‘out’ in 2025. Some of the things that were ‘in’ were being kinder to one another. An example of something that was ‘out’ was short skirt lengths. Similarly, the article I referenced had a list of current language trends that identified what was ‘in’ and ‘out’ in 2025. Listen to your children converse with their peers and see how on point they are with their culture-shaping language. To be totally ‘cringe’, drop a few of these ‘ins’ into your conversation to see what kind of reaction you provoke!
The language ‘ins’ for 2025 include:
- ‘Bet’: I’m down – if someone asks you to go out for dinner, you say ‘bet’
- Full send – not caring, I’m just going for it
- Ick – a sudden feeling of grossness (related to someone’s behaviour)
The language ‘outs’ for 2025 include:
- Lit – something that is great, but the use is considered so 2018
- Slay – used when someone does something well, but considered dated as a term
If you’re interested, the article can be found here.
Rohan Langford
Head of Student Wellbeing
