Language Innovations in Youth Speech: Ain Temouchent’s Youth

Abstract

The present research work is an attempt to analyze the sociolinguistic phenomenon of language innovations among young people in an Algerian context, and particularly in Ain Temouchent. The main objective of this inquiry is to describe and highlight the linguistic features characterizing the speech of youth of Ain Temouchent, mainly the morphological and the lexical. Its purpose is to denote how Adolescents generate new items and expressions and how these words contribute in language change. It also explores the reasons and motives which lead to innovation and to its diffusion and spread over the whole speech community. This research work includes three chapters. The first one gives an overview of the field of sociolinguistics through defining some key concepts. The second chapter deals with the situation in Algeria by revealing youth language and culture in the Algerian society and the final chapter elucidates the methodology and the research instruments employed to collect reliable data. In doing so, two research tools have been devised; a questionnaire and a word list in order to verify the hypotheses. Both are addressed to EFL students of the department of English at Belhadj Bouchaib university as they present Ain Temouchent's youth. Therefore, the findings of this research work exhibit that the age variable plays a paramount role in language change and youth are regarded as agents for innovations. Besides, the noticeable role of mass media and Culture influences in the diffusion and spread of those neologisms. The overall results are then detailed in the general conclusion which asserts that the findings seem to support the hypotheses.