If yousa国际传媒檝e noticed kidssa国际传媒� conversations sound a little different this back-to-school season, yousa国际传媒檙e not alone.

Words like sa国际传媒渟kibidi,sa国际传媒� sa国际传媒渟igmasa国际传媒� and sa国际传媒済yattsa国际传媒� now pepper tweenssa国际传媒� sentences, and sa国际传媒淥hiosa国际传媒� is more than just a U.S. state: itsa国际传媒檚 a state of being.

The issue came up at 11-year-old Dashiell Chinnsa国际传媒檚 summer camp, where he said his counsellor banned the word sa国际传媒渟kibidi,sa国际传媒� citing its annoyingness and lack of meaning.

Dashiellsa国际传媒檚 dad Wyatt Chinn said he understands the impulse.

sa国际传媒淭hat actually is exactly why we tell Dashiell he shouldnsa国际传媒檛 swear,sa国际传媒� Chinn said. sa国际传媒淏ecause itsa国际传媒檒l stunt your vocabulary. Yousa国际传媒檙e at an age where itsa国际传媒檚 very important to build out your vocabulary and use words that have actual, specific meanings.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淪kibidisa国际传媒� can be used as an adjective or adverb sa国际传媒� sometimes replacing sa国际传媒渃oolsa国际传媒� or sa国际传媒渂adsa国际传媒� sa国际传媒� or it can be repeated ad nauseam for sa国际传媒渃omedicsa国际传媒� effect. It was popularized in a series of YouTube videos called sa国际传媒淪kibidi Toiletsa国际传媒� that Chinn said sa国际传媒渉auntssa国际传媒� his dreams.

But the wordsa国际传媒檚 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.

sa国际传媒淭hey thought it was a big joke against adults who didnsa国际传媒檛 know what it meant, and they would just use it to confound the adults in the room,sa国际传媒� Tagliamonte said.

The wordsa国际传媒檚 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. Theysa国际传媒檙e exposed to different people, and therefore different language.

Whatsa国际传媒檚 different from past generations, Tagliamonte said, is the speed of language change.

sa国际传媒淭heresa国际传媒檚 lots more ways to communicate,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 not just speaking on the street but texting on our phones and listening to podcasts and checking in sa国际传媒� wherever wesa国际传媒檙e going online.sa国际传媒�

That, she said, isnsa国际传媒檛 a bad thing.

sa国际传媒淣obody should be too concerned about new words,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淭hey should just wonder how they came to be and watch where they go. Itsa国际传媒檚 fascinating to me.sa国际传媒�

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

Chinn said hesa国际传媒檚 found himself correcting Dashiellsa国际传媒檚 use of words like sa国际传媒渟ussa国际传媒� sa国际传媒� which is short for suspicious or suspect sa国际传媒� and sa国际传媒渟igma,sa国际传媒� which members of gen Alpha (the successorsto gen Z) have started using to mean sa国际传媒渃ool.sa国际传媒�

But Chinn said that word in particular worries him, because itsa国际传媒檚 adapted from online content made by boys and young men who tend to vilify women. Those boys donsa国际传媒檛 identify as either sa国际传媒渁lpha males,sa国际传媒� who are successful with women, or sa国际传媒渂etas,sa国际传媒� who they believe are weak.

sa国际传媒淪o they say Isa国际传媒檓 a sa国际传媒榮igma,sa国际传媒� because Isa国际传媒檓 still dominant but I donsa国际传媒檛 have any friends and girls donsa国际传媒檛 like me,sa国际传媒� Chinn said.

He doesnsa国际传媒檛 want his son using words that validate that worldview, he said.

sa国际传媒淚 donsa国际传媒檛 know if theysa国际传媒檙e just perverting words into their own slang, or if theysa国际传媒檙e using them incorrectly,sa国际传媒� he said, before conceding: sa国际传媒淥r maybe itsa国际传媒檚 evolving.sa国际传媒�

A GLOSSARY OF TERMS

sa国际传媒淐hatsa国际传媒�: a generic term of address for an audience; a sort of plural sa国际传媒測ousa国际传媒� born of online content creators who stream videos of themselves gaming, in which they address live viewers who provide commentary in the chat section.

sa国际传媒淔anum Taxsa国际传媒�: stealing food between friends, based on the username of Twitch streamer Fanum.

sa国际传媒淕yattsa国际传媒�: a big butt; short for an overenunciated pronunciation of sa国际传媒済oddamn.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淥hiosa国际传媒�: crazy, strange; based on funny stories that came out of Ohio.

sa国际传媒淩izzsa国际传媒�: short for charisma. See also: sa国际传媒淩izzlersa国际传媒� for a charming person.

sa国际传媒淪igmasa国际传媒�: Cool; adapted from an online subculture of boys who donsa国际传媒檛 identify as either sa国际传媒渁lpha males,sa国际传媒� who are successful with women, or sa国际传媒渂etas,sa国际传媒� who they believe are weak.

sa国际传媒淪kibidisa国际传媒�: we wonsa国际传媒檛 even try to define this one.

-with files from Cassandra Szklarski.