Torima, Sutabaru? A Quantitative Study on Current Japanese Youth Language

Abstract: In this thesis, several current and former trends of Japanese youth language are examined through the perspective of age-appropriate speakers, following previous scholarly arguments that youth language research is fraught with judgements made by non-members of the relevant age group. By the means of a quantitative online questionnaire, the study seeks to find examples of expressions that Japanese individuals from their late teens to their early twenties consider to be youth language, items they feel are particularly contemporary or obsolete, and the types of youth language expressions they make frequent use of themselves. The specific expressions looked at in the present thesis include both previously researched youth language items and ones obtained through group interviews conducted in connection with the study. The gathered data revealed several expressions that are particularly representative of contemporary youth language, as well as expressions previously referred to as youth language that are no longer recognized as such, fulfilling the aims of the study. It also showed that many previously researched items were unheard of to today’s youth. However, the closed nature of the quantitative methodology and subsequent lack of distinction between different registers (i.e., spoken or online) makes it difficult to draw conclusions regarding the use of some of the examined expressions, which is why it is recommended that future research within this topic take a more qualitative or register-focused approach.