Sticking out your “gyat” for the “rizzler.” You're so “skibidi.” If those sentences made any sense to you, you're probably acquainted with "algospeak," a kind of internet slang on steroids that spreads through viral short-form videos on platforms like TikTok.

It's the topic of a new book by Adam Aleksic titled "Algospeak: How Social Media Is Transforming the Future of Language." He’s a trained linguist and also an influencer who goes by the handle "Etymology Nerd" online. True to his calling, he told us what he means when he uses the term algospeak.

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“‘Algospeak’ says we’re living through a linguistic revolution” from The Washington Post