What the kids are saying these days

Teenager Observation #2: They have their own language.
But you probably knew that already. Want to make your teenage characters sound like real adolescents but can't understand that crazy stuff they say? Here's some slang words you can throw in. Most of what I can share as yet only applies to South Central LA teens, but they'll catch on to the rest of the country sooner or later, and you'll already be prepared. I can only think of a few good ones right now, but I'll update the list as I think of more. Another day I'll compile a list of Spanglish words. Those are awesome.

For reals - Obviously this means "for real" but it is far cooler because extra consonants are hot.
Bootleg - Broken, busted, useless. As in, "Miss, that whiteboard marker is bootleg. You need a new one." This comes from the common use of bootleg DVDs, which are notoriously unreliable and usually look like crap. This is one of my favorite words to use.
Barely (pronounced "burley") - Something so recent you haven't had time to react to it yet. This is definitely a phrase used exclusively by Latino kids, but it will grow. It's a result of a mistranslated Spanish phrase. Example: "I didn't have time to do my journal. I just barely got here."
Myspace Freak - Someone who spends all their time on Myspace. The kids are nuts over the damn thing. They all have one. In fact, if you really want to learn about teenagers just go on Myspace and look around. I've known principals who've made up secret identities on Myspace so they can read about what kind of crazy pranks the kids are planning, which they are dumb enough to post on their profile.
Emo - the musical genre. Short for "emotional hardcore". Sappy music set to hard core rock with lots of key and time signature changes. These used to be punk kids, but now they've toned it down a bit. If you want to make them feel like outcasts you say, "fuck emo".

Also, it's worthy to note that teenagers these days cuss a lot more in public than they used to. My kids in North Carolina did not cuss in class ever unless they wanted to get sent home, but in the hallways you could hear "fucks" a plenty. My LA kids don't really censor themselves at all. Nine year olds cuss around here. It's not disrespectful, just how they talk. Sometimes they apologize, but usually they don't even realize they said anything offensive. So go for it. Realistic teenagers cuss like Army Rangers.