#Facebook Languages: 70s jive, FTW!
Friday, March 4, 2011 at 11:01AM#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @SaintPepsi
On Facebook you get asked a lot of questions in the profile area so that others can learn just a little more about you -if they take the time that is. So it's understandable that languages would be a part of that. Easily, what ever language you speak will commonly be placed first. After that you put in any other languages you have taken the time to learn. I for a while had Japanese; as I had studied that for a few years. Since learning it, I have sadly forgotten most of it and in shame removed it from my facebook account. Yet as far as languages go there are an insane amount of them that you can show yourself knowing. I myself had my facebook set to Pirate for a good 3 years, only taking it down when I attempted to create a party and had no idea what all the translated versions of the party details were. Languages ranging from the native tongues of countries to imaginary dialects delivered through dead drama's drawn out by day dreaming deviants, such as Klingon. Apparently, one of the fastest growing languages next to Elven. Yes each of those are languages you can claim to be fluent in over in the facebook universe.
Generally, facebook is the place to show just who you are. The real you. I mean you have myspace for the fake you that's got a ripped photoshopped body, is a talented musician, and artist. For the most part facebook has always been the place to put yourself on display. So it's with some hesitance that I would put languages like Pig Latin or 1337 speak in there. I would like to be honest about who I am so I would need to know those languages fluently to post them there. I'm sure others may front like they know Gaelic, but that's just not true to me. I can say with confidence I speak fluent Pirate, English, English with a heavy British Mumble, and Thick Irish Accent English - so I could put any of those up there.
See the brilliant part of this is that there are people that are very fluent in some of these obscure languages. Geeks that know exactly what Klingons are saying in the Trekverse without the captions; nerds that have read all of Tolkien's works in Elvish. (There are girls that are very good at communicating using only subtle eye movements and facial ticks .... evil) So I think you will find the languages people to post about are actually something they take pride in knowing. Having worked to secure that knowledge even if it seems ridiculous to others. Personally, I think 1337 speak is just about the dumbest things ever created. Still there was a significant amount of teens that used that as their secret code to get away with seeking solace from a parent's watchful eye. 
Each of these languages, no matter how ridiculous has evolved from someone's idea. Like many idea's languages have sprung up and fallen like world powers. Since the birth of the many tongues at the tower of babel; which was at the time used to confuse and disorient the people of that era. They have now brought people together in common language interests on facebook, with an ability to see just how many other people speak the languages you have practiced in secret; they have acted as a bonding glue for the fringe linguists. You can finally meet up for coffee at your local brewery and freak out the tables near you with your collective rhyming through your tables fine tuned 70's Jive. For anyone over the age of 21 of course; the ease we can all speak and understand each other in IHOP at 3 in the morning speaking Drunk and Gibberish.
So if you can speak it, claim it. Own that part of you that you would have been ashamed to admit in high school. Be proud of who you are and what you have spent a part of this short life learning. You may just find that you're not the only one who has been allotting time to learn a new language skill. So go out and find your nerdy brotherhood with your secret languages and talk in whatever form you would then be comfortable talking in. Life's too short to spend it talking in your hum drum native language. Hell, if you want make up a new language and teach it to your soon to be cult like following.
#nerdsunite
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