The Phenomenon of the Americanization of Youth Language

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Introduction
This project is not only concerned with the phenomenon of the Americanisation of youth language in Ireland and the extent to which youth language has adopted variants of US-English but also the potential influences and reasons which account for this development. It seeks to examine and provide answers to the various questions surrounding the increasing prevalence of American-English in the Irish context by looking at sociolinguistic issues such as hypercorrection, distinctions in accent, vocabulary, and grammar, the features of youth language in general, language variation and change, and the concepts of performativity and membership of peer groups. It also aims to determine the specific features of US-English Irish teenagers are attempting to imitate by exploring aspects of the phonetic and phonological make-up of American English and reviewing the results of a survey I conducted on the topic. This essay and its findings are subject to certain limitations and delimitations which must be considered when reflecting on its content with one possible limitation being the fact that the background of an individual is a significant factor in terms of how that individual speaks. An Irish person may gradually acquire an American accent and style of speech if born into a family of American parents and relatives as is the case with me. However, although acknowledged, this essay is focused on other factors outside of geography and background. I chose this topic as I believe Americanisation and globalisation are two extremely relevant concepts which go hand in hand and can be seen in all walks of life, including the way in which language is used.
US English
Although US English has become the top global quality of the language and...

... middle of paper ...

...fferent perspectives on the topic from the people it currently concerns. By undertaking this project I now have a better understanding of the reality that is a young generation of Irish teenagers who sound more and more American.

Works Cited

Yule, George, (1996). The study of language, 2nd ed., Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Holmes, Janet, (2008). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics, 3rd ed., Edinburgh: Pearson Education Limited
Oxford University Press, OUP. Oxford Dictionaries [online], available: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/ [accessed 25 April 2014].
Irish Independent (2012) Dort-Speak may be on the rise but [online], available: http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/dortspeak-may-be-on-the-rise-but-25972741.html [accessed 28 April 2014].
Nolan, Larissa, (2013) Irish tribal teen-talk takes its twang from US TV, Irish Independent, 25 July.

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