DECODING THE LEXICON OF YOUTH; A SOCIOLINGUISTIC ANALYSIS OF YOUTH SLANG IN THE ALBANIAN CULTURAL AND LINGUISTIC CONTEXT

The proposed article sheds light on the lexical space of modern Albanian language, describing the tendencies that mark the speech of modern youth and raising awareness of the dimension and conceptualization of youth slang in the Albanian context. A qualitative and quantitative methodology is applied to observe the relation between culture, language and different social situations in which students use slang. The semantics and etymology of slang vocabulary are analysed based on the results of a questionnaire given out to first-year students. The questionnaire results revealed that youth slang significantly influences the students’ social interactions and plays a key role in shaping and expressing their social identity. Additionally, the impact of youth slang on the students’ use of standard language suggests that this may be a supporting factor for their pragmatic development. Youth slang provides opportunities for students to learn interactive linguistic skills and engage in peer conversations, which contribute to the co-construction of their social and cultural worlds and language socialization.