How Pseudostralian are Your Language Skills?

As I am now a 55+ year old, I am enjoying reading blogs by equally impressive people of a similar age. My current favourite site to read is https://greymatter.gallery/ .

Thanks to one of my oldest friends (not her years alive; our years knowing each other!) Charlie Helen Robinson, I have recently read an article entitled “Pseudostralian: The New Language We’re All Learning“ by Bel. Her articles tickle my funny bone and remind me that age is both our strength and our enemy — thankfully never at the same time!

The following is my response, review & reckoning of her article.

From G’day to Gyatt – How Our Children are Rewiring English

You’ll know the English we grew up with is morphing faster than an emu in a dust storm. Once upon a time, Aussie slang was all g’day, reckon, and fair dinkum. Now, it’s a mash-up of YouTube memes, TikTok trends, and gamer chat; spoken fluently by kids who barely remember dial-up internet.

What’s emerged isn’t quite English, and it’s not pure Strine either. It’s something entirely new. It’s Pseudostralian – a digital dialect that’s both baffling and brilliant.

THE EVOLUTION OF TALK

Back in the day, Gen-X had “wicked,” Boomers had “groovy,” and Millennials had “cool beans.” Now, my sons – aged ten to thirteen – are throwing around words like rizz, sigma, and gyatt as if they’re part of the national curriculum. And when I ask what they mean, I get an eye-roll so powerful it could power a small town.

It’s not just slang – it’s code.

The language of belonging, memes, and identity. A blend of irony and attitude that says, “I’m in on the joke.” And in a world where social circles stretch across screens instead of fences, this linguistic remix is their way of saying, “We’re connected.”

A FIELD GUIDE TO GEN-ALPHA SPEAK

If you’ve got kids, grandkids, or even a young workmate, here’s a handy cheat sheet to help you translate their everyday chatter before it leaves you scratching your head:

• Drip – stylish clothes or appearance. “That hoodie’s got serious drip.”
• Rizz – short for charisma; smooth talk. “He’s got mad rizz with the girls.”
• Sigma – lone-wolf confidence; independent thinker. “He’s being sigma – just doing his own thing.”
• Skibidi – nonsense meme word, often used just for fun. “Skibidi toilet!” (Yes, really.)
• Ohio moment – something weird or cursed. “That’s such an Ohio moment.”
• Gyatt – admiration (usually of someone’s body or confidence). “Bro’s got a gyatt!”
• Slay – doing something perfectly. “You slayed that game, mate.”
• Bet – “sure thing” or “you’re on.”
• Cap / No cap – lie / truth. “That’s cap.” / “No cap, bro.”
• Sus – suspicious behaviour. “He’s acting sus again.”
• Flex – showing off. “Stop flexing your phone.”
• Ghost – disappear without warning. “He ghosted the chat.”
• NPC – a person who just follows the crowd. “That guy’s a total NPC.”
• Hits different – feels deeper than usual. “That old Cold Chisel song hits different.”

LANGUAGE IN MOTION

It’s tempting to grumble that “kids these days can’t talk properly,” but truth be told, this is exactly how language survives. Every generation rewires it to fit their world. From convict slang to surf talk, from bogan banter to TikTok terms – it’s all part of the same living, breathing thing: communication.

And while I might not say rizz with a straight face, I love watching my sons play with words, bend meanings, and invent new expressions faster than I can learn them. It’s creativity in motion – a reminder that language isn’t owned by any one generation.

So next time you hear a kid yell, “Sigma move, no cap!” don’t panic. Just nod knowingly. You’re listening to evolution – one skibidi at a time.

What new words have you heard from your kids or grandkids lately that left you scratching your head? Drop them in the comments (or via your social media platform of choice):
Let’s build the next Pseudostralian dictionary together.

PostScript:

The unique image for this article produced with Sora.ChatGPT.com using the following prompt on a portrait picture of myself: “Using this image, create a surreal collage art piece inspired by human psychology — fragments of the face on the image, surrounded by symbolic elements like eyes, clocks, brains, smartphones and vintage phone devices. The composition should feel dreamlike and layered, blending textures (paper, paint, and photo fragments) with contrasting colors. Arrangement should be semi-chaotic yet balanced, evoking subconscious thoughts and emotions. High-resolution, modern artistic collage style.” Text added myself with GIMP photo-editing software.