engleski

The influence of foreign languages on the urban vernacular of Osijek

The adjustment of language to the needs of the urban culture, i.e. the capacity of language to keep pace with changes in the speech community using it, commonly presupposes its opening towards influences of prestigious foreign languages and activation of its own expressive potential, which adds to the speed and ease of communication. Such circumstances give rise to urban vernaculars marked by lexical productivity and innovation, semantic expressivity, metaphoricity and association, as well as a ludic play with meaning. This makes urban vernaculars very complex idioms which are both lexically and stylistically complex, and varied in their grammatical structure, since they arise through an interrelation of regional, i.e. dialectal characteristics with the elements of both the standard language and other foreign languages, as well as under the influence of social factors. Given the specific geographical position of Osijek, with her proximity to as many as three national borders, but also considering the historical heritage , i.e. the influence of foreign languages due to socio-political circumstances, viz. German, Turkish, Hungarian, this paper aims to investigate the extent to which the elements of foreign languages on the one hand and regional, i.e. dialectal elements on the other hand are represented in the contemporary urban vernacular of the City of Osijek. To this end, research was conducted on 50 participants who have lived in Osijek since birth, classified into two age groups: 25 participants aged from 15 to 25, and as many participants aged 45 to 55. The analysis aims to show the prevalent influences prevail in the urban vernacular of Osijek, as well as determine if there is an age difference in its use.

urban dialectology, urban vernaculars, word formation, semantic formation, foreign language influence

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