Language variation,student's slang and the awareness of its use : the case of first year master students community of english at mostaganem university

Abstract

People construct distinctive communities according to language variation which is tightly related to context. The present study on “Language Variation Students’ Slang and the Awareness of its Use: The case of First Year Master Students Community of English at Mostaganem University” aims to examine how and why students construct their own community through slang use. The study targets the first year master students’ community of English because there is a little interest on investigating the variety used by students of English. Thus, the major contribution of this research is to give an insight on students’ language features precisely in the context of Mostaganem University. The study starts with the definitions of some theoretical concepts as speech community and the issue of language variation, slang variety and its sociolinguistic features. Throughout this research, both the qualitative and quantitative approaches are opted for .Data has been gathered from first year master students and their teachers employing various tools as tape-recording, semistructured interviews, and questionnaires. Tape-recording is used to illicit the students’ distinctive language features used among themselves through a comparison between their speeches inside and outside classroom; with their teachers and among themselves respectively. Semi-structured interviews are organized to get an insight on the slang words students use, their meanings, and functions. Questionnaires are designed to see whether students and their teachers are aware of slang use. Results show that first year master students of English construct their community through community through slang use.