Slang Usage of the Hunagarian Youth in Transylvania

Abstract

The study aims to investigate the slang usage habits of young people native in Hungarian in Transylvania. The research analyses to which extent high school and university students claim to use slang depending on the speech situation, as well as the primary motivations for slang usage. This question is examined by means of two research methods: analysis of questionnaire surveys and focus group interviews. The questionnaire data collection took place in five different linguistically diverse cities for high school students in Transylvania (Gheorgheni, Harghita country; Alba Iulia, Alba country; Cluj-Napoca, Cluj county; Târgu Mureș; Mureș county; Oradea, Bihor county) and three cities for university students (Cluj-Napoca, Cluj county; Târgu Mureș; Mureș country; Oradea, Bihor county), resulting in 384 completed questionnaires. The focus group interviews were conducted in groups of 3–5 participants, with 32 Hungarian-speaking young people studying in Cluj-Napoca participating in one of the eight groups.The questionnaire survey provided an opportunity to examine whether there are statistically significant correlations when comparing the results with the respondents’sociological variables, language proficiency, evaluation of languages, as well as their use of Hungarian and Romanian. The main benefit of the focus group interviews was gaining insight into the respondents’thought processes and underlying thoughts.Keywords:slang, language usage habits, linguistic norm, questionnaire, focus group interviews. Keywords: slang, language usage habits, linguistic norm, questionnaire, focus group interviews.