Transfer of meaning in formation of adolescents’ language subcode

Abstract

The transfer of meaning at forming vocabulary of German-speaking adolescents has been studied in the article. This language subcode has become a popular and efficient means of verbal self-identification, which is used to satisfy certain communicative needs of young people in a certain range of communicative situations. The analysis of lexicographic sources has shown an active use of semantic derivation, first of all metaphorizing, for creating new language units. We have also singled out the most productive types of meaning transfer in the language subcode under study. The latter include metaphorizing on the basis of similarity of an internal or external feature. Semantic derivation on the basis of semantic transfer from physical concepts to abstract concepts is productive as well. Language behavior of adolescents is strongly affected by factors which are mainly of social and psychological origin. That is why representatives of this socio-age group verbalize their own ideas about the similarity of the compared people and things when making new words by means of semantic derivation. In many cases, their associations are based on personal experience. The lexemes under study are often formed as a result of changes in the semantics of standard vocabulary. It can be regarded as an evidence of a close correlation of the language subcode of adolescents and standard German. In their vocabulary, semantic derivation is also characteristic for loanwords, mainly of Anglo-American origin. Some lexical units popular among adolescents are used in at making compound nouns, in the processes of prefixation and suffixation. Young people’s verbal self-identification is often expressed in the use of stylistic lowered words and phrases, lexemes with pejorative components. At the next stage of the study, we have singled out the largest lexico-semantic groups of metaphorized lexemes in German adolescents’ vocabulary. They encompass words that are used to name peers and adults, point to subcultural affiliation, express subjective assessments, describe mental abilities, physical state, and appearance. The young people’s vocabulary has a relatively high value in terms of its potential impact on communicative partners or target audience, which significantly increases its pragmatic efficiency.