A Grammar Guide for Gen Z

Gen Z, AKA the folks born between 1997 to 2012 (and up to 2015 because as we’ll learn from their grammatical predilections, members of Gen Z don’t do full stops) have followed the Millennial lead in reinventing accepted grammatical norms, which is fine…grammar is the system and structure of a language; it’s not stagnant—it’s living. It makes sense that with the technological revolution that there’d be substantial grammatical shifts. This grammar guide for Gen Z is designed to explain some of the most important modifications.

Capitalization Adds Tone & Meaning to Language

Gen Z may have started jamming out to Barney on Sony Discmans, but it didn’t take long for them to swap headphones for earbuds and personal CD players for MP3s. They may loosely remember a cordless phone with a base that plugged into the wall, but by the time they were finished playing games on their moms’ cell phones and got their own, texting was becoming increasingly favored over (ugh) phone calls.

Social media and related apps also populated on desktops and phones as Gen Z minors group grew up; the bulk if Gen Z’s communication happened digitally whether on the computer or via text. One major deficiency, though, that Gen Zers quickly accommodated for and that changed the way we communicate, was the lack of rich text formatters for emphasizing language, for adding tone, and for enhancing meaning.

Observe:

I love you.

I Love You!

I LOVE you!!!!

I Love YOU!!!!!

Three of the most important words in our language all written differently and all with different meaning because of how they’re capitalized. For technical grammar gurus and editors, all but one of these is a grammatical act of aggression; for Gen Z, all are not only acceptable but encouraged depending on what you’re really trying to say.

Maybe if social media and app developers had given us italics and bold font, this wouldn’t have happened, but it did, so here we are.

You Can Exclaim Yourself!!!!!!!!!!! (What Exclamation Points Really Means to Gen Z)

Now, let’s check out those exclamation points. Remember the ‘90s (like when Gen Z was born and stuff?) when we were somewhere between Gadzooks cool and Cher Horowitz of Clueless Valley-chic, and it was, like, so apropos to use, like (pops bubble gum), a zillion exclamation points to express yourself?

Well, Gen Z is bringing back their exclamatory birthright, and it’s like, totally okay to use a billion exclamation points in communication (maybe not your grad school entrance essay, but following an all-cap OMG, um, yeah, that’s cool). Consequently, saying like after every other word has not come back into style (as if!). Nobody, absolutely nobody, is upset.

Stop with the Full Stops

Periods are another point of punctuation worth discussing. Gen Z does not like a full stop; as in, they don’t use periods as in text and other digital forms of writing. In a casual context, full stops convey passive aggression, unfriendliness, or abruptness (Snap! Gen Z’s periods are more savage than my perimenopausal ones). What’s more, the message’s meaning can be conveyed without the full stop. In fact, this is the reason many don’t capitalize words at all (unless providing emphasis); it’s considered a waste of time and effort, this author writes, ending her findings with a superfluously rude period.

But, to illustrate the point consider this in text:

cool!

vs.

cool.

That period isn’t cool; it’s frigid.

Two Dots (..) & Three Dots (…)

Meanwhile, two dots, previously known as just plain wrong, is now used to indicate that the other person or persons in the conversation should go on. It could mean “tell me more” or “as you were saying”. The two dots (..) is now widely understood to convey that the person is waiting for the other person to continue. It’s a textual courtesy.

Three dots, i.e., the ellipse, on the other hand, can, like the period, be interpreted as passive aggressive. Technically, ellipses are used to convey trailing off in communication; ellipses can also be used to connect related ideas in a similar fashion as an em dash or as a semicolon; however, to Gen Z, the ellipse (…) conveys passive aggressiveness.

Basically, it means “I guess so” or “if you’re going to make me.”

For example:

Sure, you can bring James to my engagement dinner…

So, I guess he’s out of jail again..

Note, too that rather than using punctuation for changing subject, Gen Z prefers to start a new line of text.

Say It with Emojis

Lastly, and unsurprisingly, in Gen Z grammar, emojis are requisite. If periods and capitalization are too much effort, typing in general must be (Kidding! Gen Z is actually highly literate especially in terms of conveying expression; they’re also known to be exceptional readers). Hence the emoji lexicon now available on social media, phone messaging apps, and elsewhere.

Emojis convey tone and emotion in conversation in ways that even punctuation cannot as there are a myriad of faces, gestures, and objects that condense language into a series of easily understood expressions.

Final Thoughts—What Gen Z’s Grammar Guide is Really About

Honestly, the above statement regarding emojis sums it up; Gen Z’s grammar guide illustrates the true purpose of language, which is to convey a message not only in terms of verbiage but also tone, emotion, expression, etc. in as few words or emojis or punctuation marks as possible.

This isn’t the result of laziness; it’s the result of both efficiency and evolution. Language and grammar are reflections of the era we live in, and if you look beyond the cutesy emojis and the glut of exclamation points and the lack of punctuation elsewhere, you’ll see that we are a text-driven technological society that prefers to text over talk and that prizes efficiency, expediency, and emotion over technical accuracy.

Of course, for grammar nerds who are still grieving the double-space after periods (raises hand), this evolution is somewhat frustrating because now we have no idea how to differentiate between the functionally illiterate and the whippersnappers. How do we know who to judge? (Cries in exclamation points.);)

In all seriousness, thanks for the emojis and for loosening the reigns on conversational grammar, Gen Z (I left the period off on purpose just for you…)

Gen Z’s grammar guide shows us that writing is more than just getting words on a page; it’s about expression, too. It’s also about writing the right words to reach your audience. If you’re trying to reach Gen Z and Millennials with your content but aren’t seeing results, could it be because you’re not speaking their language? Writers at The Storyteller Agency know how to reach audiences in the tone and words that resonate with them. Contact us for quality content!!!