MODERN GERMAN THROUGH THE PRISM OF YOUTH LANGUAGE

This article examines youth language (Jugendsprache) as a significant and dynamic component of contemporary German. The study aims to analyze its structural, lexico-semantic, and functional features, as well as its role in shaping modern linguistic trends. The methodological framework combines descriptive, comparative, and lexico-semantic analysis, along with the examination of digital discourse, enabling a comprehensive investigation of youth language in its natural communicative environment. The findings demonstrate that Jugendsprache is characterized by a high degree of lexical innovation, driven by anglicisms, neologisms, and abbreviations emerging in digital communication. Word-formation processes, including compounding, affixation, and conversion, exhibit increased creativity and hybridization, often deviating from standard linguistic norms. Youth language also performs important sociolinguistic functions, such as identity construction, emotional expression, and the differentiation of social groups. The study highlights the crucial role of the digital environment in accelerating linguistic change and shaping new communicative practices. While Jugendsprache contributes to the enrichment and adaptability of the German language, it may also lead to challenges related to normativity and intergenerational communication. Overall, youth language is interpreted as a “laboratory of linguistic innovation” and a mediator between linguistic change and standardization, reflecting the broader processes of globalization and digitalization in modern society.