You've probably heard words like ‘cringe’, ‘crash’, or ‘chill’ used by the modern Ukrainian youth. Do you know what they mean? If not, you risk being out of touch with the contemporary youth! In this article, we’ll tell how English helps you understand Zoomers and their language.

First, let's find out who Zoomers are

A Zoomer is a representative of today's youth, the so-called Generation Z—people who were born around the mid-1990s to early 2010s. They grew up in the era of smartphones and social media and have their own unique language of communication—modern slang. The word Zoomer originated in English in contrast to the baby boomer generation. At first, the term was used ironically but later became neutral.

Understanding the Zoomers is important because they are shaping the future of our society. And by understanding, we mean language. Modern teenagers and young people use a lot of slang words in their communication.

Youth slang is a special kind of language that young people often use in communication. It is quite changeable, constantly replenished with new words and expressions. Of course, some slang words remain popular for several generations, but regularly there appear new slang words that are incomprehensible to young adults and the boomers.  These slang words allow young people to stand out and to communicate emotionally and create for them a sense of unity and belonging to a certain group.

The most popular slang words used by the Ukrainian youth come from English, of course. Let’s look at the list of English words most commonly used by teenagers in Ukraine:

As you can see, among the many possibilities that knowledge of English provides is even the key to understanding the next generations.

Read also: 

• How to learn English
• How to quickly learn and memorize English words
• Selection of online English dictionaries and their useful features

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