Talk:Adolescence

Isn't teenager a kind of informal term? isn't adolescent more appreciate as the title o encyclopedia article? -- Taku 00:51 19 May 2003 (UTC)

Does anyone have access to an Oxford English Dictionary and would care to look this word up? From what I undertand, it's a very recent coinage. -- Zoe

Amusingly, the OED entry for teenage refers one to teen², where it is defined as brushwood for fences and hedges. Nearby is the sadly obsolete word teenful, defined as "causing trouble or sorrow; vexatious, troublesome, painful, grievous, distressing." Teenage also doesn't make it into the OED Supplement, it may make it into the most recent edition, which I don't have. Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary gives the date 1921 for the coinage. -- Someone else 03:18 19 May 2003 (UTC)

I want to rename the article to adolescence because

1. teenager seems a new, inaccurate informal word
2. no all other language has a word corresponding to teenager
3. teenager connotates eleven, twelve or twenty are not young generation. Mere age has nothing to do with important and social changes occuring during adolecence.

-- Taku 03:29 21 May 2003 (UTC)

If the two concepts are different, address the difference in the articles.

1. Teenager is a new word, but it is completely accurate (it's defined numerically!) and is not considered an informal usage.
2. Wikipedia is written in English.
3. teenager and young generation are not identical concepts. -- Someone else 03:36 21 May 2003 (UTC)

Yes, of course we shall (or already?) address the difference. And to be more precise what I meant is:

1. Teenager is relatively less formal than adolescence e.g. britannica uses adolescence instead of teenager
2. Not everyone all over the world uses a concept teenager while the concept of adolescence is widely accepted
3. Teenager coonotates 12-year-old is outside of it by its strict definition but body changes, for example, can occur in 12-year-old for sure.

-- Taku 16:27 21 May 2003 (UTC)

There should definitely be an article at teenager. The word and its meaning have inspired a million songs from "A teenager in love" by Dion & The Belmonts to "teenage dirtbag" by Wheatus. It also is the root of teenybopper, teen-dream, teen-angel. The word implies and embodies cultural aspects of teenage years that the word adolescent doesn't. Mintguy 21:36 21 May 2003 (UTC)

The discussion is not about if we should cover a word teenager, but about the naming of the article. Why not there should definitely be an article at adolescence? -- Taku 21:40 21 May 2003 (UTC)

This is English wikipedia and teenager is the more common form and has the advantage of its cultural context as well as the chronological one. Mintguy

I am not sure really teenager is more common form. If so, why does Britannica uses adolesence, for instance? Besides, I am not sure why the article named adolesence doesn't talk about cultural aspect of its stage such as drug abuse. And what do you mean by chronological context? Teeanger is rather new word. -- Taku 21:47 21 May 2003 (UTC)

I am telling as a native English speaker that it is the mre common form. You will never hear an English or American saying. "Oh... I remember when I was an adolescent, those were the days". Mintguy 21:50 21 May 2003 (UTC)

And what can I say, we are talking about which one is the common form in community of encyclopedia. If you think this is a preference problem, we can certainly go to voting. -- Taku 21:54 21 May 2003 (UTC)