Florida

The ‘Florida Lingo Challenge' is Among the Top Trending Hashtags in Miami

As South Floridians tweet, retweet and share their common lingo in cyber space, the #FloridaLingoChallenge, has crept to be one of the top trending hashtags on Twitter in Miami.

Since picking up steam late Tuesday, the social media analytic site, Topsy, reveals that the hashtag has been tweeted nearly 14,000 times as of Wednesday morning.

According to Topsy, the hashtag started with the tweet, “What the lick read?” (a regional colloquialism for "What's Up") on Tuesday evening with a callout for more Florida phrases and sayings. Thousands of Twitter uses jumped on board, sharing popular local slang such as, “jit,” “bih,” and “tighten up” which have been continuously tweeted.

So what explains the popularity surrounding regional-specific hashtags, such as the #floridalingochallenge? A study conducted by the New York Times suggests that a sense of personal identity may be a contributing factor. Their study, entitled The Psychology of Sharing, revealed that 68 percent of respondents admitted that their social media sharing behaviors were largely influenced by a desire to give their followers a better sense of who they are and what they care about.

The ability to demonstrate a mastery of “Florida lingo” may, in theory, be a way for people to express to their followers that they are Floridian and proud.

Do you have any favorite “Florida lingo” phrases not included in this list? Tweet us at @nbc6!
 

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