LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 26:4 April 2026
ISSN 1930-2940

Editors:
         Selvi M. Bunce, M.A., Ed.D.
         Nathan Mulder Bunce, M.A., Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         T. Deivasigamani, Ph.D.
         Pammi Pavan Kumar, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.

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Temporal Compression and Generational Layering: Acronyms and Slang Across Early Generations in Multilingual India

Srinidhi Elangovan and
Dr. Sreejana S.

Abstract

Language evolves in response to shifting social and technological environments. This study examines generational patterns in the use of acronyms and slang, arguing that contemporary colloquial vocabulary represents a cumulative outcome of successive media environments rather than isolated lexical innovation. Drawing on sociolinguistic and historical scholarship, the paper introduces the concept of temporal compression to explain the progressively reduced time required for slang to achieve mainstream circulation as communication technologies evolved from print to broadcast media and subsequently to digital platforms. The study further situates generational language variation within multilingual Indian contexts, where English acronym usage intersects with regional code-mixing practices. The findings suggest that generational slang functions as adaptive sociocultural capital shaped by media infrastructure, identity formation, and contextual register awareness. Rather than indicating linguistic decline, acronym proliferation reflects structured sociolinguistic evolution.

Keywords: Generational slang, temporal compression, media linguistics, Indian English, sociolinguistics, code-switching

Introduction

Language is a dynamic social system shaped by cultural practice, communicative need, and technological transformation. Each major communication medium—print, radio, television, and digital networks—has altered the speed, reach, and permanence of linguistic innovation (Crystal, 2001). Slang and acronyms provide a particularly revealing site for observing these shifts.

Generational language differences are often interpreted as signs of decline or fragmentation. However, sociolinguistic research demonstrates that variation correlates with age, identity, and communicative environment rather than linguistic competence (Labov, 1972). Slang operates as a marker of belonging and social alignment (Eble, 1996), while digital forms follow patterned norms rather than randomness (Tagliamonte & Denis, 2008).

This study advances the argument that generational slang is historically layered and increasingly accelerated by media evolution. The compression of dissemination timelines across cohorts reflects structural shifts in communicative infrastructure rather than spontaneous lexical volatility. Within multilingual India, these patterns intersect with code-mixing and hybridisation, producing distinctive generational registers.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Srinidhi Elangovan
I Year CSE Student
Kumaraguru College of Technology
Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
subashini.25cs@kct.ac.in
&
Dr. Sreejana S.
Assistant Professor and Head
Department of Languages and Communication
Kumaraguru College of Technology
Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
sreejana.s.sci@kct.ac.in

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