“That is so fetch” was an unknown phrase until the success of the 2004 film Mean Girls landed it a spot on the pop culture map.
In the film, mean girl Gretchen Wieners attempts, with little success, to make “that is so fetch” catch on. While her efforts were in vain in the film, the catch phrase became one of the movie’s most popular and recognizable quotations.
But not every phrase can be fetch. Since the beginning of the English language, there have been phrases that have caught on while others have fizzled out. Some words are built to last and some simply “bite the dust.”
History
Much of the slang and abbreviations that have made their way into modern nomenclature have been added to English vocabulary slowly throughout history.
“Some words come in as technical terms because of technology or travelers who bring them in and are accepted as the official word,” said Marsha Dutton, English department chair and professor of medieval literature. “Other words have become accepted as real words even though they are technically slang words.”
Some examples of slang words that have become standard are plane (airplane), cell (cell phone) and trendy (fashionable).
“When it comes to defining standard English, we don’t have a sense of what it should be,” Dutton said. “The great thing is that we understand each other, no matter what term we use.”
The introduction of a new piece of technology, type of entertainment or major event can also have an impact on the language.
After World War I, new language connected with new kinds of music and entertainment tended to become popular, Dutton said. Along with the entertainment speak came war terms used by soldiers and factory speak from the workers.
“Language is mysterious,” Dutton said. “Linguists don’t know the exact reasons behind every change, but we can guess.”
Why we say what we say: the effects of media and word of mouth
New technologies that enabled instant communication also led to the introduction of countless shorthand abbreviations that are now commonplace.
People like to use words that are shorter and faster to type because it’s easier for social media and texting, said Elsa Heiner, an Ohio University freshman studying biological science.
“Obviously, words like ‘lol’ or ‘brb’ are used a lot in text, so they have been colloquialized,” Heiner said. “It’s convenient.”
Television and movies also play a role in how phrases become popular. People will watch a show and imitate the character, Dutton said.
“A few years ago, ‘whassup’ became a popular phrase, and I don’t even know what it’s from,” she said. “It caught someone’s imagination and then caught on for good.”
“Whassup” was introduced to the public as a commercial campaign for Anheuser-Busch Budweiser beer from 1999 to 2002 and was also used in a 2012 episode of How I Met Your Mother.
Although pop culture helps spread new phrases, the most common way a phrase spreads is by word of mouth.
Social groups and social reinforcement play a major role in how words are spread, Dutton said.
“If you use one term and your friends laugh at you for it, you’ll eventually change to what they are using,” she said. “It’s not because they say you shouldn’t use it, but it’s just something you say to fit.”
Withstanding the test of time
A word’s longevity is largely linked to its ability to change with the time, said Christina Correnti, a teaching assistant for Linguistics 270 and a graduate student studying linguistics, who cited the word “dude.”
When it was first used in the 1870s, “dude” was used to mean unfamiliarity with urban life (e.g. dude ranches) and later evolved into a surfer’s word in the ’60s. It eventually became a word used to refer to a friend in the late ’70s.
“When a word shifts around, it becomes more acceptable,” Correnti said. “It doesn’t define a certain group, and then it becomes an informal term accepted by everyone.”
A word will become popular if there is a need for it, and it will stick around if it is still necessary, said Spencer Smith, a junior studying English.
“If we still felt like there was a need for ‘phat,’ we would still be using it,” he said. “But for whatever reason, words have replaced it or we don’t identify with that word anymore, so we’ve gotten rid of it.”
How what we say affects us
Language is also used as a tool to make judgments on how a person might act, Dutton said.
“We define ourselves by the way we dress and hold ourselves and talk,” she said. “If you hear me speak without seeing me, you are going to make an assumption.”
Different geographical regions have certain speech patterns and choice of slang words that hint at specific traits, she added.
Common stereotypes that can exist in college are what define a hipster or a “bro,” Smith said.
“Everyone identifies words that a ‘bro’ would use or they assume that hipsters would use older words,” he said.
“Fratty” and “bro” types use more modern or short words whereas hipsters stereotypically use words that aren’t common, Heiner added.
Popular phrases
While popular culture and societal trends prompt near-daily changes in modern vocabulary, some choose to stick with more tried and true vocabulary.
“I’m called the resident gramps because of how I speak,” said Cullen Challacombe, a freshman studying business. “Some of my favorite phrases to use are ‘razz my berries,’ ‘salty’ and ‘you lie like a rug.’”
Challacombe adopted “razz my berries” as his own after he discovered it during his junior year of high school.
“I don’t ever hear anyone else say it, and the undertones are funny too,” he said. “A word has to be interesting for me to like it.”
Freshman Jess Cawley said she prefers to use words such as “delightful,” “dapper”, “swell” and “nifty.”
“As an English major, I like to use words that people don’t use, because it makes them interesting,” she said.
Isaac Callion said he likes to be original with his vocabulary by using words and phrases that aren’t always familiar to others.
“I like to say ‘are you about that life,’ ‘that’s not real’ and ‘I’m going to hit something up,’” said Callion, an undecided freshman.
Friends from high school and the humor behind each of the phrases are what make the phrases appealing, Callion said.
“People are less worried about what others think in college,” he said. “You can say whatever you want to say, and, if it catches on, that’s cool.”
ao007510@ohiou.edu
