Abstract

Teenage jargon like any other linguistic variation responds to a number of issues such as gender, geographical location, education, social status, among others. All these aspects gradually make different social groups that are composed by speakers who share common characteristics develop their own vocabulary. This vocabulary is expected to provide them with a sense of identity and to help them to differentiate themselves from others and the standard language. Teenagers are at a time of their lives in which they need to separate or differentiate themselves from adults, this is a feature of the counterculture in which many of them are included. Everything that surrounds them affects them and eventually causes changes in their way of being, the way they dress, think or speak. This research aims to present the perception of the students of eleventh year of Colegio Laboratorio del CUP, the Liceo Emiliano Odio Madrigal and Colegio Técnico Profesional de Esparza regarding teen language, the reasons they consider originate it and distribute it. This population is involved in a research project conducted during 2015 in each of the aforementioned institutions.

Key Words: Jargon; adolescents; factors; Puntarenas; lexicon