Spectacular Vernacular

Raise your hand if you have used any of the following phrases today:

"Off the Hook"

"Doing Big Things"

"Getting it In"

"That's What's Up"

"Get at Me"

"Holla," (Or any of its popular variations, such as 'holla at me, holla at us, or holla back')

"Trippin'/Wildin'/Buggin/Lunchin''"

"Joint," (Referencing an object or event)

There are many others, too many to adequately give them justice on this platform. But no worries, you can catch these and many of your favorite cliches and grammatically challenged colloquialisms everyday on MTV and BET. I know, I know, it's all a part of the machine that caters and markets to a younger generation. You remember, those folks with the expendable wallets and the expandable imaginations? It does not bother me that young people come up with clever terms and sayings everyday that infuse themselves into American lexicon. Most are regional, but a lot of them are traded like priceless stocks at family reunions, summer camps and of course, college campuses.

The problem today is that cable companies, and consequently corporations know this. They would hope to intricately weave the creative genius that is the average teenager into crafted marketing campaigns. Boost Mobile's "Where U At?" is one example. This simple grammatically challenged slogan, commonly used by young people that stay on the move, has provided the catch for a couple of memorable advertising initiatives by this company.

Viacom, who owns two channels that are widely watch by teenagers (BET and MTV), also embody this marketing philosophy. It is not rare to see commericals on these channels describing products as "Off the Hook." Even more of a regular occurrence with programming on these channels are the shows that contain attractive young people, using slang with the greatest of ease on the air. Just think, some of it they actually ad lib without use of a teleprompter.

I think that today's youth are smart enough to take advantage of what they have wrought. I would love to see a teenager actually apply for an intellectual patent or trademark on a new slang expression: get paid for talking nonsense. Or, when these teenagers are polled and participate in surveys regarding advertising, make up some off the wall stuff. Imagine it, one of the clowns on MTV's "Real World" describing the hot new club in the city as "doobilicious."

Let's face it, teenagers and young adults take great pride in establishing a sense of individuality. It's their free range on adjusting styles in fashion, language and music that keep us all looking forward to every summer. But let's not let another aspect of the American youth movement fall prey to corporate influence. And that's what's up.