On the dynamics of lexical-semantic processes in the German youth sociolect

The article is devoted to the description of the dynamic processes taking place in the German youth sociolect which in modern Germanic studies is traditionally referred to as youth language (Ju-gendsprache). Youth sociolect is a constantly evolving part of the language. It is the most flexible layer of the language in which a constant process of updating the vocabulary structure is going on, as a result of which there appear not only new slang words and expressions but also there emerge new previously unknown thematic areas. The objective reason for these changes is that certain notions go out of use and new concepts that are to be named come up. The subjective reason lies in the activity and creativity of slang speakers who think of new words and expressions and constantly invest them with a different meaning later on. The research also explores in moving fashion changes in the gender aspect of the youth sociolect. In the 18th and 19th centuries slang was predominantly young men's domain since women were not allowed to universities. In the 20th century women got access to higher education but the situation hardly changed and slang words continued to be concerned with male preoccupations. In the 21st century gender asymmetry starts to decrease gradually with slang used equally by both men and women. Lexical-semantic development is most visible in the change of meanings of slang words that lose their old meanings and repeatedly acquire new ones, in which connection this process can be repeated again and again. The changes in semantics take place at irregular intervals. Sometimes terms get back their old meanings one or two centuries later. This is mostly the case with polysemantic slang words that change only some of their meanings rather than all of them. The process of creation of new slangy names for designation of the same persons, objects, concepts is also very active thanks to which there appear synonymic groups whose length indicates the importance of these realities for youth slang speakers. Due to the transparency of the borders of the youth language we observe transition of separate lexical units into the colloquial and even standard language as is evidenced by the development of some student terms and expressions which are traced in the article three centuries back. The research is a case study of the material of the most significant dictionaries of the 18th-21st centuries. All the findings are illustrated by concrete examples from these lexicographic sources.

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