Random Babbling
You know, it kind of annoys me how some people seem to think that Transformers wouldn't pick up on human colloquialisms. Yeah, I can understand that guys stationed on Cybertron the entire time or pre-cartoon mechs not knowing human colloquialisms, because hey, they've never been to the planet. At best, they may have heard some of the Earth-stationed guys using the phrase, and that's a silly reason to take up talking like that. Unless they're trying to sound "cool".
On the other hand, the Transformers who are on Earth? I expect they'd pick things up, especially the Autobots. Some of the Autobots might not like it, and they might avoid using it in speech, but they live among humans, they have humans living with them - they're going to hear this stuff.
Sure, some of them will hear it more often and others will be more comfortable with using it, but I don't think it's unfair for anything that humans normally converse about to be 'opaque' to Transformers. Not after living and, more importantly, interacting with humans for years.
Decepticons I can imagine picking up human slang more slowly, and I bet even less of them are prone to using it. But I still don't think this means they don't know this stuff, especially given the fact that they can communicate intelligibly with humans. If you go with the idea that the Decepticons monitor human information networks, then the guys on monitor-duty are going to pick up the slang.
Basically, my attitude comes down to the idea that while it's fun to write Transformers as aliens, it's also bloody stupid to write them as never learning anything about the planet they live on. It takes work to avoid picking up slang and jargon.
Also, there's no reason for English to be the only Earth language that Transformers know how to speak.
Finally, and only semi-relatedly to the rest, but use of 'vorns' and similar time-keeping skills makes me mentally fill in bleeps. I can't be arsed to step out of the fic to calculate how long you're actually talking about.
Besides, I was in ReBoot fandom. I've already had my fill of silly time-scale differences.
On the other hand, the Transformers who are on Earth? I expect they'd pick things up, especially the Autobots. Some of the Autobots might not like it, and they might avoid using it in speech, but they live among humans, they have humans living with them - they're going to hear this stuff.
Sure, some of them will hear it more often and others will be more comfortable with using it, but I don't think it's unfair for anything that humans normally converse about to be 'opaque' to Transformers. Not after living and, more importantly, interacting with humans for years.
Decepticons I can imagine picking up human slang more slowly, and I bet even less of them are prone to using it. But I still don't think this means they don't know this stuff, especially given the fact that they can communicate intelligibly with humans. If you go with the idea that the Decepticons monitor human information networks, then the guys on monitor-duty are going to pick up the slang.
Basically, my attitude comes down to the idea that while it's fun to write Transformers as aliens, it's also bloody stupid to write them as never learning anything about the planet they live on. It takes work to avoid picking up slang and jargon.
Also, there's no reason for English to be the only Earth language that Transformers know how to speak.
Finally, and only semi-relatedly to the rest, but use of 'vorns' and similar time-keeping skills makes me mentally fill in bleeps. I can't be arsed to step out of the fic to calculate how long you're actually talking about.
Besides, I was in ReBoot fandom. I've already had my fill of silly time-scale differences.