Image credit: languagejones | YouTube
What do you know about 67? It’s all overTikTok. Dictionary.com chose it as the 2025 Word of the Year. One preschool teacher told us it’s hard now to teach how to count to ten, that students all start shouting when they get to 6 and 7. So it’s popular slang, but do you have any idea what it means? According to some, it has no meaning—and some even call it brain rot. According to linguist Taylor Jones, however, “there’s actually a lot more to it.” In his 2025 video, linguist Taylor Jones traces the origins of 67 and complicates the impulse many “mature folks” have to dismiss its significance. Watch the video to learn how the mysterious origins of 67 is part of a larger pattern in the development of slang and the evolution of language.
Watch it here.
- Taylor Jones responds to those who dismiss 67 as “meaningless brain rot” with a detailed analysis of its origins. Where does he think it began, and what does he say about its meaning? How does he support his analysis?
- In analyzing Skrilla’s “Doot Doot” lyrics Jones emphasizes the importance of context and insider knowledge in order to understand the song. How does this analysis, along with the linguistic concepts he explains along the way, support his argument?
- LET’S TALK. Why is it so tempting for people outside of the community—older folks, specifically—to dismiss or disapprove of the slang that kids are using? Is the desire for young people to have or maintain an insider language reason enough to validate its use? Why, or why not?
- AND NOW WRITE. Take some time to think about your own use of language. What kind of language use has been an important part of your identity? When do you use slang and other specialized language—and who do you use it with? Have you ever felt excluded because someone has used language you were unfamiliar with? In what ways does your use of slang indicate what communities you’re a part of or outside of? Write a short essay reflecting on how language has shaped you in some way.
LetsTalkLibrary 