Jacomine Nortier. Language and identity practices among multilingual Western European youths. Language & Linguistics Compass. May 2018

Nortier J. Language and identity practices among multilingual Western European youths. Lang Linguist Compass. 2018;12:e12278. https://doi.org/10.1111/lnc3.12278

Abstract: Since the 1980s, an increasing number of studies on youth languages in Europe has appeared. In this paper, a selection of the literature on linguistic practices and identity work by young people in multilingual and multiethnic urban areas in Western Europe is reviewed and
discussed. Practices in Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden are focused on. From a bird’s eye view, the literature on linguistic practices of urban youth in other West‐ and South‐European countries is reviewed as well. After a sketch of the context in which the first studies on multilingual and multiethnic youth languages appeared, research on youth languages in the five focus countries is presented, followed by a comparison of linguistic characteristics. Specific features from the levels of grammar, lexicon, and pronunciation are used to index social belonging  and identity.