Teenage Language = Bad Language?

Abstract

Some adults regard teenagers’ use of slang and the use of expressions such as you know, sort of and like (pragmatic markers) as sloppy speech and completely unnecessary. A study of the top five taboo and non-taboo slang words in the two corpora shows that taboo slang dominates in both, but also that the Spanish teenagers use both types more often than the English. The main purpose of phatic talk, which is to create social contact in the form of ‘chitchat’, often gossip, is indeed characterized by a frequent use of pragmatic markers, which make it easier to keep on talking as well as make a new start.