"Quoicoubeh", "apanyae"... How teenagers create their own language on social networks

Ophélie Artaud 4:15 p.m., February 06, 2023

"What?", "quoicoubeh!"

For the past few weeks, this expression has been in the mouths of all teenagers, who use it all day long to gently make fun of their classmates, their parents or their teachers.

Starting from the Chinese social network TikTok, this is a new challenge launched by the youngest.

The concept is simple: to trap his interlocutor, by forcing him to say "what?"

or to use a word with the sound "what", to launch "quoicoubeh!"

Same thing for another fashionable term "apanyae": the goal is to say something incomprehensible, so that the interlocutor asks "huh?", and responds "apanyae".

Without these expressions having any real meaning, they are used by many young people and are a hit on TikTok.

As proof, videos with the hashtag "quoicoubeh" have been viewed tens of millions of times on the Chinese social network.

While it's a simple trendy game, it's also a way for teenagers to have fun with language and words.

A way for young people to "identify with a group"

Without necessarily creating their own language, young people play with vocabulary to create or give meaning to terms.

This is the case for expressions like "askip", "bail", "bader", "miskine"... "Teenagers sometimes need to designate new things, but also use language to identify with a group", analyzes Auphélie Ferreira, teacher of Language Sciences at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University.

"It allows them to fit in with a group of friends, or even identify with a generation at large."

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But it is also for teenagers, "a way of distinguishing themselves from adults, of not being able to be understood by outside members of the group, which is done for example a lot in college, where it is fun to see the teacher not understand what is being said", adds the teacher of Language Sciences.

"They are also at an age where they feel a little freer to play with language and its injunctions. This is the time when we assert ourselves, we seek ourselves out and we want to distinguish ourselves from external members and more elderly or in authority."

"Each generation invents its codes"

A phenomenon which is not specific to this generation, but which seems more visible because it is "multiplied by social networks" and is no longer confined to the courtyard of college or high school.

"We see it more because it's written, it stays, and there are a lot more interactions between different groups on social networks," continues Auphélie Ferreira.

However, "young people have always played with words and each generation invents its own codes. Language is constantly evolving."

A constant evolution visible in particular through the new words of the dictionary.

In 2023, the

added the terms "gênance", "chiller" or even "go" (to designate a young woman or a girlfriend), so used by young people that they have entered everyday language.

From there to say that "quoicoubeh" or "apanyae" will one day enter the dictionary, nothing is less certain.