If you told others you are from the 1980s generation, probably you are not as cool as you might have expected. The cool kids today, or the so called "Post-90s" generation, have become even much "cooler" than the 1980's group, as they can speak "Martian language", an even more difficult code-like language created by themselves.

Ms. Li, mother of a 15-year-old girl, got really confused and worried recently, as she could hardly read what her daughter was writing in her weblog. When logging onto her daughter's online space, what the mother found were lines of individual codes, mixing together English, Japanese or half-finished Chinese characters, which looked completely meaningless to her.

The 15-year-old middle school girl told her mom that it was called "Martian Language", or the "language of the Mars", which however was spoken among her peers, not on the Mars! It's their powerful secret tool to communicate with each other - a means which parents and teachers cannot figure out at all.

Just as what the young girl said, the new language is becoming ever popular in the cyber space - so much so that even some translating softwares have been created to transfer the normal language into 'Martian', China News Service reports.

According to the youngsters, it's not an easy job to speak like a "Martian". You need to know some foreign languages and have some imagination.

Another 14-year-old netizen, nicknamed "S._Tangguo" explained more about how young children create their own language. "At first, I just copy the language from other people's articles. Later, I begin to create some words by myself. I split some Chinese characters, or use words that have similar pronunciations to interchange with each other, or even add some English, Japanese or Korean words into my article, and that makes the new language."

"My classmates all chat in the 'Martian Language'. It's in style, and can help us hide our secrets from being found out by our parents or teachers."

Unlike the worried parents, some experts have found positive aspects in the spread of this peculiar cyber language. Wang Haiyong, a psychologist from the education association in central China's Zhengzhou City, said that there's no need to be too worried about the phenomenon. This so called "Martian language" is just a little hobby of the "post-90s" generation. On the other hand, the new language can inspire children's imaginations, which is in essence a good factor.

However, Wang also advised teachers and parents to give proper guidance to their children, helping them better distinguish between cyber space language and the normative language of real life.

(CRIENGLISH.com August 15, 2007)