<![CDATA[This study is motivated by the shift from standard Indonesian to Generation Z’s slang, known as brainrot, and its potential impact on academic communication in higher education settings. Terms such as skibidi, mewing, yapping, sigma, and rizz, which originally gained popularity in digital spaces, have begun to permeate students’ spoken interactions, potentially blurring the boundary between informal and formal academic discourse. This research aims to describe the forms and functions of brainrot vocabulary in students’ speech, map the academic interaction domains vulnerable to interference, and analyze students’ perceptions of language norm compliance and its effect on the clarity of scientific communication. This study employs a qualitative descriptive approach grounded in sociolinguistic study, with data collected through an online survey of 20 active students from the Indonesian Language and Literature Education Program at Universitas Pekalongan, class of 2025, as well as the uninvolved observation method (simak bebas libat cakap) during actual classroom situations. The results show that the term brainrot is already recognized by 86% of respondents, with yapping (37%), bro (28%), and mewing (15%) reported as the most frequently used terms. Their use is concentrated in casual conversations among peers (91%), while usage in formal academic domains such as presentations and communication with lecturers is nearly absent. As many as 71% of respondents consider the use of brainrot inappropriate in academic contexts, and 86% believe the term can affect the clarity of scientific communication. These findings indicate that students generally remain able to distinguish language varieties according to context, suggesting that the shift toward brainrot slang does not yet pose a significant threat to academic communication, although the tendency toward interference still warrants attention as part of the linguistic dynamics of the digital generation.]]>
