| Abstract [eng] |
Current research in the field of adolescence studies supports the idea that adolescence has always existed as a special stage of human development, but that adolescents for a long time were not studied as belonging to a separate subculture with specific features, distinguishing them from older generations, as well as from their earlier childhood groups. It was only in the middle of the 20th century that adolescence started to be viewed as a distinct period involving complex physical, emotional, psychological and developmental changes. Bearing in mind that adolescence is a transition between childhood and adulthood, it is pertinent to analyse it as a period of alienation and self identification, accompanied by complex relationships with both parents and friends. In order to shape one’s ego, adolescents, most often, create their ritual codes within peer groups, of which language is one of the most significant. The aim of this research is to determine the major linguistic means used by adolescents that are of great value in establishing teenagers’ sense of selfhood as well as maintaining their status as members of a group. The language of adolescents is a highly emotive code whose main features are the use of slang, taboo language, pragmatic markers, general extenders, connotative, and colloquial language. The analysis of teen speech in a literary discourse shows that a non-standard variety of language is its dominant feature (560 examples of the total of 781cases). 221 examples are instances of connotative and colloquial language, which also make the teen speech sound natural, colourful and humorous, as well as helping teens to distance themselves from their earlier childhood groups and adults. |
