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this post was submitted on 25 Mar 2025
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Asklemmy
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One big thing I notice is that the youngest speakers all use [ɹ̈] for "r", instead of the more traditional [ɹ], which means it's formed in the back of the mouth now. I have to think that will change the trajectory of the whole phonology going forwards if it holds up, since dropping front-of-the-mouth r is a major tendency English has had.
Use of "like" as a hedge is the most famous change for young speakers all over the Anglosphere. It's just handy, honestly, to have a quick way of conveying degrees of certainty in this highly complicated world. If future English grew that into a full mood system it would actually be great. At the other end, the last vestiges of grammatical gender have been on their way out for centuries, and are leaving at an accelerated rate now.
I think young people are much more comfortable verbing nouns than older generations. English is noted for doing this, but usually the words that can be used either way are fixed. In the absence of a better verb I'll often improvise one, and be understood no problem by speakers my age, but I've never heard an older speaker do this.