The following article deals with usage of lexical features of multiethnic youth language in Douglas Foley’s novels, namely, Shoo bre, Shoo len, and Shoo mannen. Having lived in one of Stockholm’s most ethnically and culturally diverse areas, Alby, Foley had first-hand experience of communicating with young first and second-generation immigrants who spoke a variety of different mother tongues and had only one language that united them all — Swedish. The variation used by these young people differed from standard vernacular in terms of phonology, grammar, syntax, and, most noticeably, vocabulary. Along with classical features of Swedish vernacular they used slang words and swearwords from other languages, had various deviations from traditional grammar and syntax rules, and they added different discourse particles, emphatic elements, and code-switching to their speech. This new variation of Swedish was becoming more and more widespread in the suburbs of big cities, which understandably sparked a large interest among Swedish linguists. Today, this variation is known as “multiethnic youth language”. The aim of this article is to analyse the lexical features of multiethnic youth language used by Douglas Foley and to determine the authenticity of this usage and what effect it has on the text. The data from the “Language and language use among young people in multilingual urban settings” project, conducted by Swedish linguists, is used as a basis for analysis.
Aseeva N. THE USAGE OF MULTIETHNIC YOUTH LANGUAGE IN DOUGLAS FOLEY’S WRITING