WHAT THE HELL is wrong with the youth of today?

Watching a doco on UK young people.. (Sorry if I sound old? Maybe I am?)  We do have the same probs here but.... NOT to the same degree.

Young ladies (I use the term loosely), lifting shirts to flash their cortège in public.  Skirts so short you can see there.....  theres no way they can walk, let alone sit down without showing the world what they own!....  

Young men (also i also use the words loosely, hooligans is prob more fitting. Wouldnt want to be my son. I believe in gentleman, manners, etc) hitting people...(for no reason)   just out to compare a count for the night if they're are not sick or sleeping in a gutter.

Whats going on in the world???
I used to get a smack if I was insubordinate / disrespectful to the back of the head if I didnt stand on public transport for an elder!

We were taught respect!

I had fun, but this has gone too far! The stories I could tell, but never this sort of behaviour. It will come back to haunt them. They will be ashamed in the future of their behaviour.

WOULD YOU WANT YOUR DAUGHTER TO BEHAVE LIKE THAT??? WHAT ABOUT YOUR SON?

HOW PROUD WOULD YOU BE OF THEM?

Apologies, This was not the way I grew up & I am ashamed at the behaviour!

Right... rant over! 

Edit: the typos are killing me. Need to proof read better.

Well nearly.... what is.... "she goes"??? Did she go somewhere or didn't she? Did she actually say something???

&"Like"! Well is it or isn't it "like" something??? It cant be "like" if it's completely different or nothing to do with it!

& buy the way,.....nup, yep, yeah, na, are not words! They are slang!
Though I use some myself in text to shortcut. They are not part of the English language!!!!!

& if I hear... "do you feel me" one more time.... I will actually smack someone!!! I dont damn well "feel you", unless i have my hands on you but, I actually do have ears & I CAN  hear you when you speak!!!!!!

& if you say.... hey dog, or...my bitch.....
Well, wrong tree brother!

Ok. Rant over now..... 

Lol, don't get me started....  

Where I live it's a nasal whine with half pronounced words all running together. The area is also really bad for drugs and knife crime. Walking around after dark is a no no.

Growing up I was shocked if I heard someone swear or saw someone drunk, and there is no way I would ever have answered back to an adult.

Well to be fair there are many many UK young people who are not like this, but they are not going to feature in a documentary which was (and I'm guessing here) was made to show how terrible they are.

The young people who behave badly are more visible so the tendency is to think that they are all like this. But it has to be said that there are far too many yobs and yobesses in the UK for comfort.

Aye that's sounds like a typical night out in Sheffield that   you can't go anywhere without seeing a fight, flash of boobs or a lad windmilling it.... I sound old

LyndaW wrote:Well to be fair there are many many UK young people who are not like this,

Yes, and I have two of them!   

ella wrote:Aye that's sounds like a typical night out in Sheffield that   you can't go anywhere without seeing a fight, flash of boobs or a lad windmilling it.... I sound old

I don't think it's a matter of feeling/being old. It's just common decency.

Most of us (oldies) have done things in our youth that we are embarrassed about, but they were harmless in comparison!

The language is something I'm okay with, as I did quite a considerable amount of research into it for a paper a couple of years ago (English Language). Delved right into code switching and the prescriptivism vs. descriptivism debate.

I'm definitely a descriptivist, in as much as I believe that language is constantly evolving, mainly due to youth coining and adopting new words/phrases. Most of it fades away; if it didn't, we would all be speaking like that!

However, I do feel that language needs to be adjusted as necessary when addressing different people, which is where my views on code switching come in. When speaking to casual friends, slang might creep into (or swamp) the conversation; when speaking to a university lecturer or elder, the language may become more formal.

It definitely gets on my nerves when harmless slang slips into disrespect. I think this happens all too often.

As for the nudity/fighting/lack of clothing, well... Personally, I'm fed up with it. Somebody could argue that they aren't hurting anybody (aside from the fighting), but actually they are. I've had people cross to the other side of the street to avoid me, when I would much sooner offer a cheery, "Good morning!" than steal their wallets. It reflects badly on the rest of this generation.

On a side note, according to mum, I do a very good impression of your typical yob!

Caryll wrote:

LyndaW wrote:Well to be fair there are many many UK young people who are not like this,

Yes, and I have two of them!   

Eleanor wrote:
On a side note, according to mum, I do a very good impression of your typical yob!

Yes, but purely as a mimic!  

Just be glad I ain't tokkan la dat all da tahm.

Yes, language is constantly evolving. I am old enough to remember when a certain Kenneth Tynan cause shock, horror, outrage and headlines when he uttered the f-word on TV. I am of an age where I still find that word offensive, but nowadays it is the most common adjective and you would have to stay indoors on your own with no TV on to avoid hearing it a million times a day.

On the plus side, regarding pronunciation/accent - although I don't care for the Estuary accent (sometimes called Mockney although that is completely different), and particularly deplore the tendency of some young men to attempt to sound like Jamaican gangstas, I am relieved that TV announcers etc don't attempt to speak in the strangulated accents of our own dear Royal family, as they did when I was young.

Oh, yes, Lynda - the BBC accent! Awful.

I don't have a problem with swearing (although there are some words I can't stand), most people swear at some point. What I don't like is a swear word every other word in general conversation - it just isn't necessary.

Do I swear? Yes, sometimes I do, and I certainly swear more than my parents did - but that isn't hard as neither of my parents swore!

I prefer not to swear, although I do sometimes utter the odd naughty word...   

Yes, swear words have a place - to relieve extreme anger or exasperation without resort to physical violence.

When such words become commonplace, what takes their place? I suspect physical violence.

I tend to swear to relieve anger/tension. I think, if I did it too often, it wouldn't have the same effect.

Eleanor wrote:I tend to swear to relieve anger/tension. I think, if I did it too often, it wouldn't have the same effect.

Exactly. I rest my case.

LyndaW wrote:
When such words become commonplace, what takes their place?  I suspect physical violence.

You know, you could well have a point!  

I do cringe a bit when I hear people swearing after every other word! Not my place to tell them not to, but it isn't something I'm entirely comfortable with.

I am very sure, like here, there are more youth to be proud of than not. It was a doco on Edinburgh & the issues they face with their youth.


Though I do swear on occasion. Every single time I do, I hear oma, (German grandmother) in my ear...... even today, & she passed away 25 yrs ago! She always said.....

The only reason you have to swear is that you are not yet intelligent enough to replace it with another, more appropriate word!!!
I suggest you stop speaking now, go away from me & try reading the dictionary instead.

Eleanor wrote:I do cringe a bit when I hear people swearing after every other word! Not my place to tell them not to, but it isn't something I'm entirely comfortable with.

I have been known to say....
(Cough's extremely loudly) If you would like to remain near me, I would "love" it if you could exchange your vial tongue for an educated one.
Thanks darling! (Darling can be very patronizing with the right tone).  

Caryll wrote:

Eleanor wrote:
On a side note, according to mum, I do a very good impression of your typical yob!

Yes, but purely as a mimic!  

Glad you cleared that up.   I was about to give her a talking to.    

tracyp wrote:I am very sure, like here, there are more youth to be proud of than not. It was a doco on Edinburgh & the issues they face with their youth.


Though I do swear on occasion.  Every single time I do, I hear oma, (German grandmother) in my ear...... even today, & she passed away 25 yrs ago! She always said.....

The only reason you have to swear is that you are not yet intelligent enough to replace it with another, more appropriate word!!!
I suggest you stop speaking now, go away from me & try reading the dictionary instead.

To an extent, I stand by that same saying. Very often, people swear because they can't think of another word to express their emotions. Some people just like the words though.

tracyp wrote:

Eleanor wrote:I do cringe a bit when I hear people swearing after every other word! Not my place to tell them not to, but it isn't something I'm entirely comfortable with.

I have been known to say....
(Cough's extremely loudly)  If you would like to remain near me, I would "love" it  if you could exchange your vial tongue for an educated one.
Thanks darling! (Darling can be very patronizing with the right tone).  

tracyp wrote:

Caryll wrote:

Eleanor wrote:
On a side note, according to mum, I do a very good impression of your typical yob!

Yes, but purely as a mimic!  

Glad you cleared that up.   I was about to give her a talking to.    

Like that would have done any good! I'm stubborn anyway!

you're funny.

Think my oma was just teaching me not to swear whenever possible. She used to take the lords name in vain on occasion.... my dad did enjoy telling her off back. I however was never that brave back then.

&your never too old to be told off. As my mum tells me.
Quote. "You'll be old enough to do as you please... when i drop dead." End quote.    

 

My dad always used to say that excessive swearing (except when extreme circumstances catch you out!) showed a lack of vocabulary.