SEMANTIC SHIFT IN YOUTH SLANG AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR STANDARD ENGLISH LEARNING

Abstract

This study investigates recent semantic shifts in youth slang and their implications for the learning of Standard English. Slang, as a dynamic and generational variety of language, functions as a marker of identity and creativity but often blurs the boundaries between formal and informal registers. Drawing on twenty slang terms popular between 2024 and 2025—including both global items (rizz, delulu, slay, ghost) and Nigerian expressions (chop, scatter, breakfast)—the research examines mechanisms of semantic shift such as metaphor, metonymy, broadening, narrowing, pejoration, amelioration, and euphemism. Data were gathered through interviews, elicitation, supplementary social media sources, and the researcher’s introspection as a young adult who is also caught in the web of the emergence of these slang words. Guided by the Referential Theory of Semantics and a sociolinguistic framework, the study employed Reflexive Thematic Analysis within an autoethnographic approach, supported by Discourse Analysis, to interpret how emerging slang constructs youth identity. Findings reveal that while many terms originate from global Englishes, Nigerian youth actively reinterpret them, producing new localized meanings that reinforce identity and solidarity. These shifts enrich vocabulary but pose challenges for learners of Standard English, who may struggle with register awareness and semantic interference (e.g., interpreting breakfast as “heartbreak” rather than a morning meal, or chop as “embezzle” instead of “eat”). The study concludes that youth slang illustrates ongoing semantic change and recommends pedagogical approaches that explicitly contrast slang with Standard English to help learners balance creativity with formal accuracy.