A SOCIOLINGUISTIC STUDY OF SLANG AMONG STUDENTS OF KWARA STATE UNIVERSITY, MALETE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Slang and colloquial expressions are rich linguistic resources through which human beings express their thoughts. This is particularly true of the youths who derive delight in this manner of communication. Therefore, the thrust of this study is to examine the use of slangy expressions among the students of Kwara State University, Malete. The study aims to explore the linguistic option in addressing the youth-related social vices in Nigeria. The study adopts Lakoff and Johnson’s (2003) conceptual metaphor theory (CMT). It has been found that most of the slang expressions used by the students of Kwara State University, Malete are formed from Yoruba and English languages, being the two major languages in the speech community of this study. In addition, the study shows that sex and sexuality, drug abuse, internet fraud and abusive expressions are related social vices associated with the youths and they constitute the thematic concern of the data analysed. The study concludes that slangy expressions deserve adequate research attention in a bid to address youth related social vices that may mitigate against the peaceful co-existence of the teaming populace in Nigeria. It is only when this is done that the drive towards national integration can be successful.