Over time, the teencode of the 8x and early 9x generations seemed to have become a thing of the past, but recently, the use of "somewhat strange" language by Gen Z is becoming a trend and making people think of the "teencode legend" of the past.

Teencode is a unique character set by young people, encoded by rules they themselves have agreed upon. Many people use teencode to express their own "identity" and vice versa, teencode helps them easily integrate with their peers. In addition, this type of code makes young people feel free, avoiding parental control, especially during the "rebellious" age.

Millennials (8x, early 9x) probably still remember the days of texting each other all night long using Nokia 1280 phones, jokingly called "brick". The teencode that young people agreed on wastrendAt that time, it seemed like it was a thing of the past, but recently, Gen Z's use of "slightly strange" language is becoming a trend and making people think of the "teencode legend" of the past. So is Gen Z bringing back teencode?

Generation Z (Gen Z) is the term used to refer to young people born between 1995 and 2012. In addition to Gen Z, this generation is also known by many other names such as Gen Tech, Net Gen, Plurals, Zoomers, Internet generation, Generation Z, iGen, iGeneration, Gen Wii, Digital Natives, Neo-Digital Natives, Founders, Homeland Generation, Post millennials, or post-Millennials...

Gen Z is considered the first generation born and raised entirely in the digital age. They are known as citizens of the digital age, with a mindset about money and economics, and are expected to be the “captains” in the process of changing and building a developed world in the future.

First appearing in Vietnam before 2000, teencode was used in the form of encoding letters into numbers. However, teencode only really exploded after 2000 when more and more young people owned “brick” phones, especially Nokia 1280 phones with T9 keyboard (Text on 9 keys). They used teencode in every conversation and texting every day.

For example, to replace the letter “i”, users will use the letter “j”, or the word “love” is shortened to “êu”, “nhan tin” becomes “nt”, “vợ/ chồng” becomes “vk/ck”...

When the Internet became popular in Vietnam, teencode dominated almost all social networks. By around 2018, the teencode fever also began to cool down as the Millennials gradually matured, at this time the standard text writing style was back in vogue.

The “spelling police” began to appear and became a trend at this time. This group of people followed all the rules of writing, to the point of being picky and often catching other people’s spelling and grammar mistakes.

Social networks have seen statements like "If there are spelling mistakes in an argument, no matter how much reasoning there is, it becomes meaningless." At the same time, error correction groups have also appeared, typically the fanpage "Spelling Police" with more than 79,000 likes and more than 83,000 followers.

Teencode has become popular in the past year or so. The comeback of teencode is thanks to Gen Z. However, Gen Z-style teencode has a completely different look than the teencode of the past.

Instead of setting a common convention between letters and numbers and characters, Generation Z teencode uses mispronunciation, lisping or pronunciation of foreign languages ​​such as English, Korean, Thai, Chinese... to write Vietnamese words.

For example: "poetry" will be written as "ther", "khong" is "khum", "cuoc song" becomes "cot spine", "chec gioi" (dead), "goi song" (finished),...

Like the previous generation, the teencode of today's young people represents their own identity, humorous, creative, unique, not constrained by any principles or standards. Thanks to social networks, Gen Z's own language is also widely spread.

That's not to say Gen Z ignores spelling rules. They're still very precise in their writing and language, but on social media platforms, they've created their own "language," largely for entertainment purposes.

So is teencode bad?

The use of teencode by young people from the "old days" has caused many conflicting opinions. However, teencode should be evaluated from many different perspectives.

In fact, many older people are often more harsh on the use of teencode by young people.

They believe that teenage language destroys the purity of Vietnamese: "It's sad for the Vietnamese of the current generation of students. Texting messages that the recipient doesn't understand is a failure in communication." (Mr. PN shared)

Or they consider it disrespectful for young people to use teencode with adults: "If it's just for fun communication between friends, it's fine. But the problem is that if it's used to communicate with people of the older generation, it's disrespectful (because most of them have difficulty understanding this language)." (Mr. M. shared)

On the other hand, many people believe that teencode is a creation of young people and should be recognized and evaluated fairly.

"Many people are very conservative and dogmatic. Young people need to be encouraged to be creative, but they stubbornly protect the old. I feel that Vietnamese people are very afraid of change and always stick to the status quo." (shared by LVH)

TA shared: "Young people should do what they like but be careful to do it in the right place, at the right time, and not affect anyone."

From the perspective of language research, Associate Professor Pham Van Tinh, General Secretary of the Vietnam Linguistics Association, commented: "To some extent, teencode has a positive meaning. The strange way of writing creates interest, loveliness, and humor in communication, helping to diversify Vietnamese."

In fact, teencode is also a form of jargon that makes it easier for young people to communicate, express their thoughts and feelings, and even relieve stress, making life more vibrant. However, the Associate Professor advises young people not to overuse teencode when communicating, especially with older people, at work or in serious conversations.

As for those who have had “experience” using teencode a decade ago, reading the Gen Z “dictionary” will surely be startled by the unpredictable changes of the language. They will somehow feel “their old selves” in this language. They understand that teencode only brings temporary satisfaction, it will disappear over time but is undeniable proof of the rebellious age.

And one thing is for sure, when Gen Z grows up, they will have many funny stories to tell, thanks to which they understand how they grew up from such recklessness - just like the Millenials have been and are experiencing.