German youth-speak as the subject-matter for research in foreign German language studies

The research into German youth-speak (Jugendsprache) has been going on for three centuries. The aim of this paper is to define major linguistic concepts reflecting the formation, development and functioning of German young people's slang. The research employs an objective approach based on characterization and methodical recording of evidence from the history of language, as well as an approach which is a part of the taxonomic method (when similar occurrences in science are compared to develop a theory in some area of linguistic knowledge). The research is based on monographs, articles and lectures by leading foreign linguists published in journals in the 18th-21st centuries, as well as lexicographical sources from this period. In the course of investigation three significant stages in the linguistic study of German youth-speak are identified. They are closely connected with historical periods when youth slang came into being and started to evolve. The first stage (the 18th century - the early 20th century) is the research into historical German students' slang (historische deutsche Studentensprache/Burschensprache). The earliest lexicographical sources of the students' slang go back to the 18th century and the first scholars who made the youth-speak part of the linguistic research were F. Kluge (1895) and J. Meier (1910). The scholars uncovered the sources of the vocabulary input, described the lexical-semantic processes in it and highlighted its interaction with Argo and colloquial language. Both F. Kluge and J. Meier point out that it is not enough to catalog the distinguishing characteristics of students' lexicon, it is vital to analyze its influence on the national language. Thus, in the linguistic findings of that period the first attempts to form general conclusions about youth-speak were made. The second stage (the first three decades of the 20th century) involved the research into historical German school language (historische deutsche Schulersprache/Pennalersprache). The main findings of that period belong to R. Eilenberger (1910) and F. Melzer (1928), who examined slang words and expressions in the context of real life led by school students, conducted the comparative analysis of school sociolect, the student-speak and other types of slang. The third stage (the 1950s - present) is concerned with the research into German young people's slang (allgemeine deutsche Jugendprache), which has included both the slang of the young people who study and of those who work. This period has seen more comprehensive examination of familiar and new contexts. Along with the traditional lexical characteristics, its phonetic and grammatical distinctive qualities have been analyzed (H. Henne), the youth-speak has been defined as a complex language register (P. Schlobinski), its most important distinguishing attributes have been described (H. Eh-mann), and its usage in fiction and media (M. Chun) as well as the Internet (J. Androutsopoulos) has been studied. The numerous works by E. Neuland are also worth mentioning; the scholar characterizes youth-speak as an evolving entity, as an international, historical and group phenomenon, the phenomenon in media, human interactions and language consciousness. The analysis of the trends and approaches to German youth-speak in the 18th-21st centuries, comparison of its vocabulary, spelling and grammar over different periods of time have resulted in the following findings: 1. German youth-speak is a historical phenomenon going back to the past centuries rather than a modern linguistic product. 2. At the initial stage German youth-speak was based on the national language and used semantic and word-building elements of ancient languages. Later on it expanded through metaphorization of the vocabulary in general use, word-building derivation and borrowings. 3. Historical students' slang, historical school pupils' slang and modern young people's slang are different stages in the evolution of one and the same phenomenon - German youth-speak.

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