Saudi Youth Slang Innovations: A Sociolinguistic Approach

This study is a sociolinguistic investigation of Saudi youth slang. Contrary to the situation in many countries, where research and projects on youth slang are popular, Saudi Arabia is destitute of systematic records and analysis of this linguistic phenomenon. The study analyzes the social factors influencing it. Besides, it sheds lights on the sources from which Saudi youth acquire new slang expressions and the reasons for using them. Moreover, it discusses the major topics of interest on which Saudi youth slang focuses. The study concludes that age and Saudi youth slang are negatively correlated. That is, the younger a person is, the higher the level of his/her acquaintance of slang. In addition, it shows that men use more slang expressions than women. Furthermore, it indicates that men and women have different interests in terms of Saudi youth slang topics, especially the sexual ones. Some typical examples of current Saudi youth slang are also provided.