Language and Age

Question 1

Penelope Eckert (2003)

Answer 1

Slang is used to connect to an individual to youth culture and to set themselves off from other generations.
Typical features include:
> ‘okay’, ‘like’
> rising inflection
> multiple negation

Question 2

Anita Stenstrom

Answer 2

common features of teenspeak:
> slang
> irregular turn taking
> verbal duelling
> overlaps
> teasing and name calling
> indistinct articulation
> taboo and language

Question 3

Ignacio Palacios (2011)

Answer 3

Teenagers use negatives more than adults
teenagers are more direct and are not afraid of potential FTAs.

> negatives used such as ‘nah’, ‘nope’ and ‘dunno’ as well as multiple negation and use of ‘never’

Question 4

Cristopher Odato (2013)

Answer 4

> Non-standard syntactic use of ‘like’ being seen in children as young as four.
Girls seem to develop on to using ‘like’ in more syntactic positions faster than boys.

Question 5

Gary Ives

Answer 5

Thirty 15 year olds - found examples of features slipping into speech such as ‘cba’ and ‘wtf’ both including expletives.

> Instagram research with children aged 8-12. Found text-talk language used extensively

> technology’s influence may be diminishing or passed on to younger children

Question 6

Vivian de Klerk (2005)

Answer 6

younger people have the freedom to challenge linguistic norms.
> they seek to establish new identities.
> patterns of speech formed by parents are eroded by patterns in peer-group
> need to be seen as modern and cool to appear as a distinct peer group