If youB次元官网网址檝e noticed kidsB次元官网网址� conversations sound a little different this back-to-school season, youB次元官网网址檙e not alone.

Words like B次元官网网址渟kibidi,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址渟igmaB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址済yattB次元官网网址� now pepper tweensB次元官网网址� sentences, and B次元官网网址淥hioB次元官网网址� is more than just a U.S. state: itB次元官网网址檚 a state of being.

The issue came up at 11-year-old Dashiell ChinnB次元官网网址檚 summer camp, where he said his counsellor banned the word B次元官网网址渟kibidi,B次元官网网址� citing its annoyingness and lack of meaning.

DashiellB次元官网网址檚 dad Wyatt Chinn said he understands the impulse.

B次元官网网址淭hat actually is exactly why we tell Dashiell he shouldnB次元官网网址檛 swear,B次元官网网址� Chinn said. B次元官网网址淏ecause itB次元官网网址檒l stunt your vocabulary. YouB次元官网网址檙e at an age where itB次元官网网址檚 very important to build out your vocabulary and use words that have actual, specific meanings.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淪kibidiB次元官网网址� can be used as an adjective or adverb B次元官网网址� sometimes replacing B次元官网网址渃oolB次元官网网址� or B次元官网网址渂adB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� or it can be repeated ad nauseam for B次元官网网址渃omedicB次元官网网址� effect. It was popularized in a series of YouTube videos called B次元官网网址淪kibidi ToiletB次元官网网址� that Chinn said B次元官网网址渉auntsB次元官网网址� his dreams.

But the wordB次元官网网址檚 meaninglessness may be part of its allure, said Sali Tagliamonte, a professor of sociolinguistics at the University of Toronto, who studies language change.

She first heard the word when she was in England, going into different classrooms and teaching teens about language.

B次元官网网址淭hey thought it was a big joke against adults who didnB次元官网网址檛 know what it meant, and they would just use it to confound the adults in the room,B次元官网网址� Tagliamonte said.

The wordB次元官网网址檚 popularity is highest among tweens and young teens: members of an age group who want to separate themselves from both little kids and adults.

New slang often bubbles up in this demographic, she noted, as kids move to larger schools or start having a different cohort of classmates for each class. TheyB次元官网网址檙e exposed to different people, and therefore different language.

WhatB次元官网网址檚 different from past generations, Tagliamonte said, is the speed of language change.

B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 lots more ways to communicate,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not just speaking on the street but texting on our phones and listening to podcasts and checking in B次元官网网址� wherever weB次元官网网址檙e going online.B次元官网网址�

That, she said, isnB次元官网网址檛 a bad thing.

B次元官网网址淣obody should be too concerned about new words,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淭hey should just wonder how they came to be and watch where they go. ItB次元官网网址檚 fascinating to me.B次元官网网址�

But those quick changes can lead to confusion as the meaning of new words shifts.

Chinn said heB次元官网网址檚 found himself correcting DashiellB次元官网网址檚 use of words like B次元官网网址渟usB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� which is short for suspicious or suspect B次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址渟igma,B次元官网网址� which members of gen Alpha (the successorsto gen Z) have started using to mean B次元官网网址渃ool.B次元官网网址�

But Chinn said that word in particular worries him, because itB次元官网网址檚 adapted from online content made by boys and young men who tend to vilify women. Those boys donB次元官网网址檛 identify as either B次元官网网址渁lpha males,B次元官网网址� who are successful with women, or B次元官网网址渂etas,B次元官网网址� who they believe are weak.

B次元官网网址淪o they say IB次元官网网址檓 a B次元官网网址榮igma,B次元官网网址� because IB次元官网网址檓 still dominant but I donB次元官网网址檛 have any friends and girls donB次元官网网址檛 like me,B次元官网网址� Chinn said.

He doesnB次元官网网址檛 want his son using words that validate that worldview, he said.

B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 know if theyB次元官网网址檙e just perverting words into their own slang, or if theyB次元官网网址檙e using them incorrectly,B次元官网网址� he said, before conceding: B次元官网网址淥r maybe itB次元官网网址檚 evolving.B次元官网网址�

A GLOSSARY OF TERMS

B次元官网网址淐hatB次元官网网址�: a generic term of address for an audience; a sort of plural B次元官网网址測ouB次元官网网址� born of online content creators who stream videos of themselves gaming, in which they address live viewers who provide commentary in the chat section.

B次元官网网址淔anum TaxB次元官网网址�: stealing food between friends, based on the username of Twitch streamer Fanum.

B次元官网网址淕yattB次元官网网址�: a big butt; short for an overenunciated pronunciation of B次元官网网址済oddamn.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淥hioB次元官网网址�: crazy, strange; based on funny stories that came out of Ohio.

B次元官网网址淩izzB次元官网网址�: short for charisma. See also: B次元官网网址淩izzlerB次元官网网址� for a charming person.

B次元官网网址淪igmaB次元官网网址�: Cool; adapted from an online subculture of boys who donB次元官网网址檛 identify as either B次元官网网址渁lpha males,B次元官网网址� who are successful with women, or B次元官网网址渂etas,B次元官网网址� who they believe are weak.

B次元官网网址淪kibidiB次元官网网址�: we wonB次元官网网址檛 even try to define this one.

-with files from Cassandra Szklarski.