Translation not between languages, but generations

Amid the flooded mobile application market, already awash with new creative programs, another app has been introduced -- to help parents better understand their children.

The “Woteva” (slang for “whatever”) app, expected to be officially available by summer, will provide users with definitions of teenagers’ slang, reported the Daily Mail.

Due to the Internet and the use of text messages, youngsters create vocabulary which cannot be easily understood by older generations.

Released by Saga, it will be available for all smartphones.

Dr. Ros Altmann, a director general of Saga, said parents can feel that “the next generation has a language of its own.” She said this app will help “nurture relationships across generations.”

She also estimated that approximately 5 per cent of words currently used in English are not familiar to those born before the 1960s.

These sites provide a translation service to reduce the generation gap: ww.noslang.com and www.teenchatdecoder.com.

In Korea, a Christian organization introduced a similar app last year, titled the “Teenage Slang Dictionary.” It is available free from the Apple App Store.

By Kang Yoon-seung (koreacolin@gmail.com)
Intern reporter
Edited by Hannah Stuart Leach