Intensifiers 7 can boost an inherent property or descriptive feature of the modified element, both from a quantitative ( un montón de gente ‘a heap of people’) or qualitative ( mazo de humilde ‘really humble’) point of view ( Arce Castillo 1999 Napoli and Ravetto 2017). Intensification can be defined as a semantic-functional operation realized by different linguistic strategies ( Grandi 2017). Indeed, expressive linguistic items are highly compatible with youth language, but when becoming more frequent and productive, they might lose their novelty and as such be abandoned by new generations. The question arises to what extent highly expressive intensifiers (e.g., fucking in English or puto ‘whore’ in Spanish) and vocative forms (e.g., coño ‘pussy’) are faster abandoned by upcoming generations than more neutral ones. Expressive linguistic units are characterized by semantic independence, i.e., their meaning is separate from the main descriptive content ( Potts 2007) but relates to the emotions and the attitude of the speaker ( Gutzmann 2019 Hilte et al. In (1), the use of que flipas is more expressive than the use of to(do) or super- the same applies to vocative forms where the use of tía is more expressive than the use of a proper name. Moreover, both phenomena do not constitute homogeneous classes either, as the use of some members implies a higher degree of expressivity than others. In contrast, vocative forms act upon the interpersonal relationships between speakers. The use of intensifiers is mostly linked to the speaker’s stance as an expression of his/her emotions. Still, both phenomena are of a quite different nature. As a consequence, although English borrowings entered the Spanish language much earlier, in the current era, there is a considerable increase in their diffusion and use ( García Palacios et al. Furthermore, with the advance of streaming platforms such as YouTube and Netflix, Spanish speakers are more than ever in contact with foreign languages and cultures, led by the Anglo-Saxon world. Moreover, given the omnipresence of social media, ideas and particular language use spread more quickly than ever across different networks. This has resulted in the use of a more informal language in general ( Gutzmann 2019). Consequently, conversational rules no longer apply in the same way in these ‘mediated’ interactions, which may, in turn, have an impact on the strategies applied during a direct conversation. Because of the strong development of social media as a primary means of communication, speakers continually enter into interaction more indirectly rather than engaging in face-to-face conversations. In 2014, 91.3% of the young Spanish population was engaged in online social networking ( Shoeni et al. One of the milestones of the current era is the unstoppable expansion of social media (e.g., Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok) and streaming services (e.g., Netflix, YouTube) ( Jenkins 2009). The first two decades of the 21st century have witnessed a number of important sociocultural changes in Western societies, including Spanish society, which have undoubtedly influenced the languages they use. Additionally, the data suggest that more neutral forms remain quite stable over time, while the use of more expressive items shrinks or increases faster. It is shown that changes occur at a more moderate speed than previously assumed and that the speed of change depends on the linguistic phenomenon under study. ![]() The study scrutinizes two typical phenomena of youth language, namely the use of intensifiers (e.g., super-, mazo) and vocatives (e.g., tío/tía, chaval/chavala). Data of the contemporary CORMA corpus ( Corpus Oral de Madrid, compiled between 20) are contrasted with the highly comparable data of the COLAm corpus ( Corpus Oral de Lenguaje Adolescente de Madrid, compiled between 20). This study explores the speed and nature of recent language change within Spanish youth language by conducting a corpus analysis in real time. However, few studies have empirically monitored the speed at which linguistic innovations are introduced into youth language. Since adolescents aspire to create and safeguard an in-group identity, they constantly generate innovative linguistic forms. ![]() In recent decades, youth language has become one of the preferred research areas in sociolinguistics, not only because of its non-normative nature but mostly because it is recognized as a catalyst for language change.
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