| Keywords [eng] |
social meaning, indexical field, global English, mixed language use, code switching, language mixing, globalioji anglų kalba, socialinė reikšmė, socialinė tapatybė, indeksinė vertė, indeksinis laukas, kodų kaita. |
| Abstract [eng] |
The importance of English language in the contemporary society is undoubtable: being lingua franca it is crucial in tourism, business and other spheres. It is hence not surprising that English becomes the object of sociolinguistic study in non-English-speaking countries. These studies investigate the spread of English across different domains, mixed language use, social and pragmatic value of English (Vaicekauskienė, 2020:185). According to Eckert (2008), a language variant can attain various meanings in different contexts and these meanings constitute the indexical field of a variant. Studies of social meaning among youth report globalness, media, youth, group membership and similar meanings (Vaicekauskienė, 2020). Eckert (2008: 456) argues that persona style, i.e., the synthesis of all style systems, such as, language and clothing, indexes different ways of being, thus, identity, which is seen as dynamic and context-dependent. Language is considered a possible means of identity expression. This study aims to analyse the social meanings different teenage friend groups attribute to English through language use and metalinguistic comments. 20 5th graders from 2 classes in a private school in Vilnius were investigated: their relationships, peer discussions and semi-structured interviews. The qualitative analysis is based on Eckert’s (2008) notions of indexical field and persona style as well as Leppänen’s (2007) model for mixed language use analysis. The thesis reveals the investigated teenagers’ relationships, stylistic practices and the social meanings of English. First, the analysis of teenagers’ relationships and interests revealed the existing friend circles: the “good girls”, “entertainers”, “gamers”, “beauty girls” and “outsiders”. Second, the analysis of language use showed that there is a group of girls in both classes which stands out in their mixed language use, i.e., the inclusion of English elements in their speech. These groups were chosen to be target. Even though mixed language use is a feature of all 5th graders, the target groups adapt the incorporated elements to Lithuanian language less often than others. Moreover, the included elements are not necessarily related to media and often index changes in stance, role or relation. Generally, persona style indexes identity. The study finds mixed language use significant to identity negotiation: this way teenagers index membership in a group or a global society. By the incorporation of English in speech teenagers position themselves in a social context, e.g., as active as skilled media users, performers, socially powerful members of groups and similar. It is contextual: the constructed identity depends on the context, is flexible and dynamic. The study also reports these social meanings: globalness, normalcy, media, youth, skilfulness, community membership, playfulness, socioeconomic benefits, quality. Similar findings are reported in other studies of the field (Vaicekauskienė, 2020). Due to the importance of contexts, the findings of the study cannot reflect the overall tendencies among Lithuanian youth. This study can, however, be useful for future studies in the field. |
