Where: The Tribune (Ames, Iowa)
What: An interview with a 13-year old skateboarder
Current URL: http://www.midiowanews.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=18868757&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554188&rfi=8
(also reproduced below)
The slang and jargon of a different generation. It's marvelous, creative, unconscious, and it is the glue that holds the social group together. Like a summer storm, it comes up out of nowhere, is very noticeable by its ability to shake language up, and is unlikely to last long enough to become part of the wider language (that is, to get into the dictionary).
What amazed me here was the way this boy answered in a way that was not adjusted to an adult audience. The main slang with my guesses at definitions
a melon air - a skateboard trick
air out - to come off the board in control
to tweak - to push the board in front
sandbagged - to fall split-legged on a metal rail (not what I would mean in golf!)
jacked up - hurt
sick - extremely good
insane - very skilled
stoked - excited and interested (the only one I could have guessed)
I suspect a lot of adults would see not beauty and creativity, but bad language, especially for the slang where the meaning is almost the opposite of the literal meaning, such as sick and insane.
The Language Detective
Chairman of the board
Witness Isaac Rosenbloom. He's not the biggest kid at the Ames Skate Park at 3:45 on a Friday afternoon, but his skill is obvious, and he's the only one wearing a helmet, due, perhaps, to the presence of his supportive but wary mother on a bench nearby. Riding his battered board, he jumps stairs, ramps inclines and performs other maneuvers whose names must be translated from skater lingo before they can be understood by those not involved in the sport. At 13, he's got skills to keep pace with even the best of the regulars at the park, and others have noticed him as well; he sheepishly admits that he's been booked for a photo shoot for a sports magazine. Still, on Friday afternoon he's something besides a would-be skating phenom. He's a kid doing something he loves, and he's more than happy to take a break to answer some questions about it.
HIS TAKE ...
What's "I Ride 4 Pella" mean? (The words are printed in marker on Isaac's T-shirt.)
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How long have you been skating?
About a year and a half.
What's the hardest trick you can do?
Probably a melon air. You air out and grab your board. I tweak mine out. (Tweaking, in this case, means pushing the board out in front of you.)
Have you been injured?
I've sprained my wrist, my ankle, my knee. I've been knocked out a few times. And I've been sandbagged on rails, jacked up my spine.
What's sandbagged mean?
That's when you fall with the rail between your legs.
Ouch.
Yeah.
Who's your favorite pro?
Probably Corey Duffel. He's just sick. He has the most insane style, and he doesn't care what you think about him.
Do you skate at Parks Library or the post office?
I'm from Webster City, but I skate at our post office up there all the time. It's a great area.
Are you a slacker?
Yeah, I like to sleep.
When's the last time you got a haircut?
I honestly can't tell you.
Is skateboarding a crime?
People who dis skateboarding, that's a crime.
Is Tony Hawk overrated?
He can be, but I'm all for him. I'm stoked when he skates.
