Gen Z and Alpha's meme-infused vocabulary

"Time changes all things; there is no reason why language should escape this universal law," wrote 19th-century Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure.

- Teo Kai Xiang

Today, as Gen Z and Gen Alpha come of age in a hyperconnected world, their evolving slang reflects an online ecosystem drenched in pop culture references, viral memes and niche internet subcultures.

Gen Z is typically defined as those born in the late 1990s to the early 2010s, while Gen Alpha are those born in the following generation. The oldest member of Gen Alpha would be 14 years old today.

Many of these slang terms were not coined by members of Gen Z and Gen Alpha. These draw their origins from African-American Vernacular English (AAVE), a variety of English spoken by black middle- and working-class urban communities, and the underground LGBTQ ballroom culture.

For instance, "wig" means to do something so impressively that it figuratively blows someone's wig off, while "tea" refers to gossip or juicy secrets, with "spilling the tea" referring to the act of sharing such gossip.

Both emerged from ballroom culture before migrating into the broader internet vernacular used by Gen Z and Gen Alpha today.