Proceedings, 6th World Congress of African Linguistics, Cologne 2009
Brenzinger, M. & A.-M. Fehn (eds.) Cologne: Köppe. Pp. 87-98.
Aspects of youth language in Khartoum
Abdel Rahim Hamid Mugaddam, University of Khartoum
1.
Introduction
Youth languages have been a hot issue in linguistics ever since HALLIDAY's (1976) seminal introduction
of “anti-languages” as a concept. According to Halliday, an anti-language is created by some kind of antisociety. Its main function is to create and maintain social structure through conversation, just as everyday
language does. Yet, it differs from other forms of everyday language in that some features of the social
structure are made more salient. This gives the anti-language a special characters in which metaphorical
modes are the norm occurring at the different levels of linguistic analysis (e.g. phonological, morphological,
lexical, and semantic).
Anti-language has its own characteristics, one of which is relexicalization, the creation of new words for
old ones. One possibility of doing this is through a process of fission and splitting off from an established
language. Typically, the process of relexicalization is partial, as not all words of the language have their
equivalent in the anti-language. The principle is, Halliday (1976:571) continues, “same grammar, different
vocabulary”, but different vocabulary employed in certain areas where the new lexical items are central to
the activities of the subculture and that distinguish it sharply from the mainstream society. This means, for
instance, the creation of new words for criminal activities, police, tools for trades, etc.; also, secrecy is an
important reason for creating an anti-language. HALLIDAY (1976:572) writes:
The theme of secrecy is a familiar one in what we might call "Folk anti-linguistics" – in members
and outsiders' explanations of the use of an anti-language. No doubt it is a part of the truth:
effective teamwork does depend, at times, on exchanging meanings that are inaccessible to the
victim, and communication among prisoners must take place without the participation of the
jailer.
Youths in Khartoum, the capitals of Sudan, as well as other urban areas in Sudan are continuously
creating their own languages serving different functions in their everyday activities. Secrecy, fun and
identity construction are among the main reasons for creating youth language in Khartoum. As is the case
with anti-languages in general, elaboration of specific domains in the lexicon and the extensive use of
metaphors are salient features of youth language in Khartoum. The matrix language of this code is Arabic
with occasional use of words from other languages – mainly English, depending on the educational level of
the users. University students, for instance, tend to employ a good number of English words to show a
distinct identity as enlightened members of the society. English words, in most of the cases, are manipulated
morphologically and semantically to serve different communicative functions. Semantic and morphological
manipulation is also extended to Arabic words with varying degrees of consistency.
In this article, I present a brief description of youth language in Khartoum in terms of its structures and
socio-cultural functions. The data were collected from three social groups in Khartoum: street boys, regsha
drivers, and university students. Following KIESSLING and MOUS (2004), I will investigate youth language in
an urban context, not urban languages as such. In my analysis I will focus on how words from Arabic and
English are manipulated structurally to express certain socio-cultural ideas and attitudes within youth
groups.
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2.
ASPECTS OF YOUTH LANGUAGE IN KHARTOUM
Method of Data Collection
The greater Khartoum area consists of three cities: Khartoum, Omdurman, and Khartoum North or
Bahri. The city has a population mounting to more than eight million, with citizens coming from different
parts of the Sudan. Khartoum represents the center for Sudan's economy and politics. Almost all of the
development projects as well as all sorts of services (e.g. education, health) are located in the city. Khartoum
hosts 12 universities, among them Khartoum University, the most prestigious and historically selective in
the entire country. As such, Khartoum attracts people from different regions of the Sudan who look for
better living conditions (MILLER & ABU-MANGA 1992; MUGADDAM 2006a, 2006b). The eruption of wars in
Southern Sudan and the Nuba Mountains together with drought and desertification in Darfur and Kordofan
has forced even more people to migrate to Khartoum.
Interviews with young individuals belonging to three social categories, street boys, regsha drivers and
university students, were conducted to collect data on a youth language which occurs in a number of
varieties and which has come to be known as Randok. Subjects were carefully selected to represent the three
communities of practice (as they are called here, after ECKERT 2000) which appear to have been the most
dynamic and creative linguistically. Research assistants selected from among Khartoum University students
were employed to help with data collection in the university context. Intensive interviews with street boys
and regsha drivers were conducted by the researcher himself. Street boys in Khartoum represent a highly
organized community whose members are tightly closed to each other. They work in small groups, each in a
certain designated area, for example in and around the university campus.
Regsha drivers are mostly young individuals who are school drop-outs or still pursuing their education
at school or university. Their work venues are the internal streets in Khartoum neighbourhoods, especially
those areas where public transport facilities like buses and mini buses are inaccessible. This particular group
can be said to be rather tightknit socially. All regshas are queued in sometimes long lines waiting for their
turns. Drivers sit together drinking tea or discussing a common issue. The regsha drivers interviewed
showed a high level of solidarity and commitment to the group. This is obvious in the way they treat each
other and cooperate in different aspects of life. In the evening they gather in certain areas, discussing
different issues. On Fridays, for instance, they meet at Aldaim Market (a market in Aldaim, a neighbourhood
in Khartoum) to have breakfast and to spend some time together.
The third category, female and male university students, appears to constitute the largest and most
open group towards other sectors of community. Nevertheless, the social ties between them remain very
strong. Although the students belong to different faculties and departments, they still have much in common.
Public lectures, political activities (e.g. talk corners, debates, and demonstrations) are among the functions
bringing students together. The life style of this particular category, university students, is characterized by
dynamism and consistent change due to their extensive exposure to the media. The influence of the media
can be seen clearly in the language the students speak, as we shall see below.
The main reason behind the selection of these three categories for an investigation of language behavior
in the present study is the fact that they overlap socially, either directly or indirectly. Street boys work as car
cleaners and shoe shiners in and around the university, which enables them to be in contact with the
students who spend some time with them while waiting for their transport. Using regshas as means of
transportation to and from the university, on the other hand, brings students in contact with regsha drivers.
By so doing, students are exposed to the language used by these two social groups. As a result, words and
expressions found in the language of street boys and regsha drivers also find their way into the students'
community.
3.
Analysis of the data
KIESSLING and MOUS (2004) outline a number of linguistic strategies operating in youth languages in
Africa: Incorporation of foreign material in the grammar base, use of foreign affixes, truncation of words or
adding segments as well as semantic extension. The authors conclude that the range of strategies and their
frequency is not typical of language change in general, but instead of deliberate linguistic manipulation. Such
deliberate linguistic manipulation is a characterizing feature of youth languages in Africa. The ultimate
objective of such a language, according to KIESSLING and MOUS (2004), is to mark the speakers' distinct
identity. Below, I will investigate whether these strategies are also followed in creating new lexical by
younger people in Khartoum. For practical reasons, data analysis will be organized into two main sections:
The formal structure of Randok, and semantic manipulation.
ABDEL RAHIM HAMID MUGADDAM
89
3.1. Morphological manipulation
Most of the morphological manipulations occurring in our data involve the application of Arabic
morphology to lexemes from English. This tendency is typical of university students who are exposed to
English more than the other two social groups are. English plays an important role as a key to better
academic achievements. Before Arabicisation of the language of education at Khartoum University, the use of
English words in ordinary conversation was a characterizing feature of Khartoum university students. The
influence of English is still obvious in the speech of students at this university and other Sudanese
universities. The manipulation of English words university students can be regarded as an instance of Arabic
word formation, because the grammatical source is totally different from the grammar of the donor
language, English. Table 1 gives examples of English words manipulated morphologically according to Arabic
grammar.
Table 1: Affixation of Arabic suffixes to English words
WORD
VERB
ADJECTIVE
NOUN
tension
yatanshin
mutanshin
tanshana
depress
yadabris
mudabris
dabrrasa
repeat
yarabit
murabid
tarbeeta
bench
yabanish
mubanish
banshana
attendance
yatanddis
mutanddis
tanddasa
cheating
yachayit
muchayit
tachyieta
chewing
yachawim
muchawim
tachwima
case
yakayis
mukayis
takyiesa
lecture
yalakshir
mulakshar
lakshara
Prefixes such as ya-, mu- and ta- are attached to English lexemes to form verbs adjectives and nouns
respectively. In addition, internal (non-concatenative) morphology occurs, following productive patterns of
modern colloquial Arabic. Similar cases of morphological adaptation are described by KIESSLING and MOUS
(2004) in their study of other urban youth languages in Africa.
English loanwords are very well represented in the speech of university students compared with the
speech of street boys and regsha drivers. As mentioned previously, the significant role played by English in
the students' academic life justifies the heavy impact of English loanwords in their speech. In addition to the
plethora of vocabulary items related to the academic fields (‘examination hall’, ‘lecture’, ‘attendance
substitute’, ‘supplementary’, ‘library’, ‘sheet’, ‘lecture-notes’) many other words associated with today's
technology, more specifically internet and mobiles ('internet', 'missed call', 'credit', 'scratch', 'cyberspace',
SMS, 'messenger', 'chat', 'email', 'internet café', 'computer', 'laptop', and 'DJ') are obviously present in
students discourse. Examples of loanwords in the speech of street boys, on the other hand, find their way to
this particular group through the media, mainly cinema and television, where English movies are shown.
Here, some of the English words maintain their original meaning (e.g., ‘son’, ‘man’, ‘nigger’, ‘gun’, ‘fighting’,
‘Rasta’, ‘party’, or fiftiyya for ‘fifty pounds’), while others undergo significant semantic manipulation.
Examples of these latter words as found in the register used by street boys are chooma ‘food’, joker 'meat’,
kart manipulated to mean ‘new’, and albak ‘back’, manipulated to mean ‘far places’.
The use of English words by regsha drivers is particularly interesting, because the words employed
directly reflect the cultural context of its users. When examining the semantic domain of words such as
makana ‘machine’, shofair from French ‘chauffeur’, joki ‘jockey, suyubar ‘super’, and second hand, it is
immediately clear that these are used frequently in the community of car drivers. The intensive use of
semantically manipulated words to refer to females, as shown in Table 3, can be attributed to the fact that
most of the regsha passengers are woman and young girls.
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ASPECTS OF YOUTH LANGUAGE IN KHARTOUM
Table 2: English loanwords in the speech of regsha drivers
WORD
SOURCE
MEANING
fiftia
English 'fifty'
banknote of fifty pounds
makana
English 'machine'
a fat woman,
shofair
French 'chauffeur'
conductor
joki
English' jockey'
driver
mujawik
from jockey ‘
a temporary driver
suyubar
English 'super'
sex woman
akhir model
Arabic & English 'model'
new wife
kart
English 'card'
a new wife
second hand
English 'second hand'
a divorced or widowed woman
Another interesting process, found exclusively in the language of street boys, is the addition of Arabic
affixes to Arabic lexical roots to form nouns and adjectives. The subjects create nouns and adjectives out of
already existing nouns, verbs, and adjectives. The prefix mu-, for instance, is attached to verbs such as
hambak ‘to blow’, and fatah ‘to open’, to derive the adjectives muhambik and mufatih, respectively.
Adjectives are also formed by attaching mu- to nouns such as hawa ‘air’ and kanab ‘bench’, resulting in
derived forms such as muhawi and mukanib, respectively.
Of the three productive plural forms in Colloquial Arabic ( jama almuzakar alsaalim, jama almu'anath
alsaalim, and jama altaksier), street boys tend to use jama almu'anath. The suffix -at, marking a feminine
plural form, is attached to nouns to mark plurality. Table 4 gives a summary of affixation as used by street
boys.
Table 3: Affixation of Arabic prefixes and suffixes to Arabic nouns and verbs
MA-
MU-
TA-
PLURAL -AT
ma-khayee:
mufatih: cunning
ta-gmaas: from
haffa-at: bread
my brother
ma-khayytee:
my sister
ma-amak:
my uncle
'gamies': shirt
muhambik: (Arabic): From
hanbukka: balloon: angry
ta-loos: from
murhaati
'marah':
happy
ta-fnaali: from 'fanila': Tshirt
(Arabic) from
cheerfulness:
taraa-at: bread
'bantaloon': trousers
dahaaka-at: money
3.2. Coinage
Youths in Khartoum tend to create new words for a variety of reasons, although creating hilarious
effects and secrecy play an important role. While university students and regsha drivers create new words
by adding suffixes or prefixes to pre-existing words (Arabic or English), street boys coin completely new
words. Secrecy seems to be the prime reason for this tendency, as members of this group do not feel secured
when people from outside – especially the police, their potential enemy - understand their language.
Sometimes secrecy is needed even among different groups of street boys, who organize themselves in units
competing for work in different venues. Each group has its own terms referring to money, food, people,
police, etc., thus creating words that make it very difficult if not impossible for outsiders to figure out what
these street boys are talking about. When a word becomes known widely in and out of the group, a new
word is invented, which justifies the abundance of synonyms in this language. University students and
regsha drivers manifest a similar tendency to invent new words, though with a lesser degree compared to
street boys. As shown in Table 4, it is clear that the two categories of subjects use alternative words for the
same words found in the discourse of street boys.
ABDEL RAHIM HAMID MUGADDAM
91
Table 4: Coinage of new word forms
STREET BOYS
REGSHA DRIVERS
UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
injakas (V): died
granboz (N): teen girls
hankosh (N): one who belongs to a well off family
dagaas (V): To make a mistake
lago (N): girls
mazamiz (N): those belonging to well off families
jiyyas : (N) money
jagga: (N)a middle age woman
magna (N): tea
fagdaaki : (N) a thief
kak (N): jinni
kanjaalaat (N): money
jagga : (N)a middle aged woman
daagis (Adi): got fooled
khastaka (N): uselessness
kaddala: (N) a thief
oho (Adj): idiot
shirteet (N): money
sheega
shifit: naughty
shifit (adj): naughty
shirteet (N): Money
latta (Adj): drunk
mukhastik (adj) : useless
iror, Kandoora', Nimiti
4.
Phonological manipulation
The only salient phonological manipulation occurring in youth language in Khartoum is the process of
metathesis. In phonology, metathesis refers to a sound change that alters the order of phonemes within a
word. As a language game, metathesis is used extensively in secret languages. According to KIESSLING and
MOUS (2004), metathesis is one of the very appealing language games because it gives an element of
competition, when used productively. Youth in our sample use this process heavily in their speech. In fact
many of the interviewed subjects could produce the whole text in metathesis form. Density of metathesis
was found among regsha drivers, followed by street boys. University students, on the other hand, manifest
the least use of the process in their speech.
Table 5: Metathesis: street boys
WORD
ORIGINAL FORM
MEANING
darfa
farda
friend
loof
fool
bean
gamas
samak
fish
habri
bahri
Bahri (Khartoum North)
hasa
saha
area
jaaha
haaja
girl
bagartu
ragabtu
his neck
raafa
faara
mouse (one who knows nothing)
sagad
dagas
made a mistake
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ASPECTS OF YOUTH LANGUAGE IN KHARTOUM
Table 6: Metathesis with regsha drivers
WORD
ORIGINAL FORM
MEANING
majaa?a
jamaa?a
group of people
ratiega
tariega
way, method
masih
samih
good
rashie?a
sharie?a
Islamic law
rahaara
haraara
temperature
sakla
kasala
Kasala, a town in Eastern Sudan
samalan
masalan
for example
lakaam
kalaam
speech
rahif
harif
letter
yalogo
yagolo
they say
nushu
shunu
what
Table 7: Metathesis with university students
WORD
ORIGINAL FORM
MEANING
lataba
talaba
students
lakaam
kalaam
speech
raafaat
faraat (Mice)
those who don't know anything
majaa
jaama
university
jahaa
haaja
girl
raatiekh
taariekh
history
arshahu
ashrahu
explain (second person plural)
zok
koz
mug (used to refer to an Islamist)
A closer look at the above tables (5, 6, and 7) reveals that most of the words reversed typically reflect
the cultural context in which the three groups of subjects live. For example, street boys are concerned
particularly with words relating to food, and particular areas.
5.
Semantic manipulation
Extension or change of the meaning of words with the purpose of insulting, ridicule, secrecy,
exaggeration or fun is a characterizing feature of youth languages. Semantic processes like metaphor,
metonymy, synecdoche, hyperbole, and euphemism are used frequently in youth languages.
ABDEL RAHIM HAMID MUGADDAM
93
5.1. Metaphor
Table 8: Metaphorical expressions with university students
DROW
ORIGINAL FORM
MEANING
mashror
something spread in the sun to dry
someone kept waiting for a long time
mukasar (Adj.)
broken
someone who is in love
mubarak (adj.)
break
someone who is in love
murakasa (adj.)
licensed
married woman
Table 9: Metaphorical expressions with regsha drivers
WORD
ORIGINAL FORM
MEANING
kharasana
small stones
beans
hakkar
old car
an old and unattractive woman
regshat, regshas
(3 wheel car)
three-wheel car
young girls
baboor
large machine
a fat , sexy woman
mashor
something spread in the sun to dry
someone kept waiting for a long time
It is obvious from the table above that none of the metaphorical representations retained the original
meaning in the everyday language. HALLIDAY (1976) calls this phenomenon "metaphorical variants”. The
metaphorical nature of youth language places it in the very core of anti-languages. An anti-language is a
metaphor for an everyday language (ibid). The three categories of subjects were found to use a considerable
number of metaphorical expressions. Yet, each category used metaphors that are derived directly from its
immediate environment. University students employed metaphorical expressions that refer to the emotional
relations between girls and boys. The word mashror, for instance, denotes a lover who is waiting her/his
sweet heart for a long time. Mukasar and mubaraka, on the other hand, refer to one who is deeply in love.
Conversely, regsha drivers gave much weight to words with sexual connotation such as baboor and tubeless.
Street boys use metaphors that give a more comprehensive picture of their own society compared to
university students and regsha drivers. ‘Food’, ‘pick-pockets’, ‘drugs’, ‘train’ – most of them came to
Khartoum by trains-on the roofs of trains, because they could not afford to buy tickets – and ‘friend’ are
exceptionally important in the life of streets boys. Bread winning is a hectic process for this particular sector
of society. During this process many things may happen. Competition for work, confrontations with thieves
and the police, and getting involved in other activities are among the characterizing features of street boys’
life. As a result of this dynamic life, many concepts and ideas come into play for which metaphorical
expressions are created. The current database contains a huge number of such forms, but I use just a sample
for the purpose of the present paper. A more comprehensive analysis is due in another publication.
5.2 Metonymy
Metonymy, the use of a word to refer to a concept or object which is associated with the concept/object
originally denoted by the word, can be contrasted with metaphor. In both figures, one term is substituted for
another. However, in metaphor the substitution is based on similarity, while in metonymy it is based on
contiguity. Metonymic use of words is evident in youth language, again reflecting the dynamic nature of the
speakers’ speech behaviour. A considerable number of metonymic manipulations of words have been found
in the discourse of our three categories of subject. The word laban, originally meaning 'milk', is used to mean
'breasts of girls', indicating the relation between milk and breasts. The word hawa ‘storm’, on the other hand,
is used to mean problem, which shows the link between hawa and the original concept, 'problem'. Table 10
gives a clearer picture of the situation.
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ASPECTS OF YOUTH LANGUAGE IN KHARTOUM
Table 10: Metonymy with university students
WORD
ORIGINAL FORM
MEANING
laban
milk
breasts of girls
hawa
storms
problems
mustahami
having had a shower
handsome
alrahaat
rests
drugs
Table 11: Metonymy with regsha drivers
WORD
ORIGINAL FORM
MEANING
mufatih
one who keeps the eyes open
careful
musakin
hot
bankrupt
?adda
bite
food
dahaakaat
Causing laughter or happiness
money
Table 12: Metonymy with street boys
WORD
ORIGINAL FORM
MEANING
fajaaga
something that goes on things
shoes
shaloot
kick
shoes
kalama
speaker
mobile
jaazaf
take the risk
steal something
5.3 Onomastic synecdoche
Onomastic synecdoche is widely used in the youth language investigated here. What is interesting in
this particular context is that proper names and place names are used to denote concepts. The substitution
of a concept with a proper name depends largely on formal similarity between part of the name and the
original concept. The name Sharrhabeel for instance, is used to refer to sharra ‘to spread something in the
sun in order to get dry’. Here, two things happen: the substitution of one word with another and the
manipulation of the meaning of the original word, sharrhabeel to denote keeping someone waiting for
somebody or something for a long time. Tables 10-12 give more examples for this phenomenon.
ABDEL RAHIM HAMID MUGADDAM
95
Table 13: Onomastic synecdoche with university students
WORD
ORIGINAL MEANING
MANIPULATED MEANING
Sharrhabeel
a famous Sudanese singer
To keep someone waiting for so long.
The first syllable of the word resembles the Arabic word sharra
meaning 'to spread something in the sun'
Nansi ?ajram
a famous arab singer having a
video clip in which she appears
washing cloths
washing cloths
Bireema
a famous sudanese footballer
hash (Explanation: the word resembles the Arabic word barama
meaning 'to fold' or 'to wrap something' (a hasheesh cigar is
prepared by folding/wrapping the materials).
Bakeen
(Arabic)
Beijing (The Chinese capital)
in love (Explanation: bakeen resembles the word buka meaning
'crying' manipulated to mean 'in love')
Table 14: Onomastic synecdoche with regsha drivers
WORD
ORIGINAL MEANING
MANIPULATED MEANING
Fatna alhaj
name of a women
breakfast (Explanation: the first syllable of the word, fat,
resembles the first part of the Arabic word fatoor meaning
'breakfast')
gaddambalia
place name
lunch (Explanation: the first syllable resembles the Arabic word
gadda meaning 'lunch')
?asha alfalatia
a famous sudanese singer
dinner (Explanation: the first syllable ?sha resembles the Arabic
word ?asha meaning 'dinner')
?ashosh
another form of the name '?asha'
dinner (Explanation: the first syllable ?sha resembles the Arabic
word ?asha meaning 'dinner')
?ashmeeg
a famous sudanese physician
dinner (Explanation: the first syllable ?sha resembles the Arabic
word ?asha meaning 'dinner')
Table 15: Onomastic synecdoche with street boys
WORD
ORIGINAL MEANING
MANIPULATED MEANING
Bakumba
a famous sudanese footballer
To cry or to fall in love with a girl.
The first syllable of the word resembles the Arabic word baka
meaning 'to cry'.
Bireema
a famous sudanese footballer
hashish (kind of drugs). The word resembles the Arabic word
barama meaning 'to fold' or 'to wrap something' (a hasheesh cigar
is prepared by folding/wrapping the materials).
Sayyid jirsa
a name of a comedian in TV
drama who always complains
and fears others
coward (Explanation: the word jirsa means 'showing fear' in
Arabic)
Jazera abba
a town in Central Sudan
refusal (Explanation: the second part of the word, abba is identical
to the Arabic word abba meaning 'refused')
kasala
a town in East Sudan
lazzy (Explanation: kasala resembles the Arabic word kaslan
meaning 'lazy')
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ASPECTS OF YOUTH LANGUAGE IN KHARTOUM
It is clear from the tables above (Tables 13-15) that both proper names and place names are used to
denote concepts. The use of these names depends largely on the similarity of sounds between parts of the
names and the concepts denoted. The proper name, sharrhabeel, for instance, is used to mean ‘keeping
someone waiting for a long time’ base on the phonetic and semantic similarity between it and the word
sharra (originally meaning ‘to spread something in the sun to get dry’). The tables also reflect the immediate
social context in which the subjects interact. University students derive the new meaning from the media (in
particular singers, namely Nancy Ajram and Kamal Alshinaawi), football (Bireema for ‘hash’), and the
university context (Amona for ‘security forces’). Regsha drivers, on the other hand, employ female names
heavily as most of those using regshas in their commuting are females. The third categories of subjects,
street boys, use names that are strongly connected with their surroundings. TV drama, football, and place
names are the main sources of words denoting concepts such as love, drugs, and social values (e.g., ‘coward’,
‘laziness’).
5.4. Hyperbole
Hyperbole, a figure of speech in which statements are exaggerated, may be used to evoke strong
feelings or to create a strong impression and emphasis. Instances of hyperbole have been found intensively
in the speech of our selected population. Table 16 shows how hyperbole is used to create emphasis among
our sample population.
Table 16: Hyperboles with university students
WORD
ORIGINAL MEANING
MANIPULATED MEANING
gadam wargu
introduce a new ambassador to a country’s
president
propose a girl
yaduk
destroy
miss a lecture deliberately
ma?aat
one who pulls the hair out
a lecturer who consumes the
full time of the lecture
itlahas
get sucked
died
dafar
lorry
a fat woman
Table 17: Hyperboles with regsha drivers
WORD
ORIGINAL MEANING
MANIPULATED MEANING
firizin
dutch cows
big breasts
jarari noor
putting on the car’s strong lights
starring
jaari hawat
suck air
having no
renting cars
income
from
Table 18: Hyperboles with street boys
WORD
ORIGINAL MEANING
MANIPULATED MEANING
algadah
a huge bowl
market
taraat
wheels
bread
hamaam mayit
dead pigeons
easy
Hyperbole is used here to express exaggeration and to emphasize certain ideas. However, some
differences in the use of hyperbole can be observed across the three groups of subjects. While university
students tend to exaggerate things as a means of making fun, regsha drivers emphasize the things that
seriously influence their life. yadduk, for instance, originally meaning 'to destroy', has been manipulated to
mean 'missing a lecture intentionally'. This manipulation may indicate students’ frustration for having to
attend lectures regularly. So a lecture is depicted here as an enemy that has to be destroyed. The word
ma'?aat, from ma'?ata which means 'to pull hair or grasses out' is used to describe demanding professors.
ABDEL RAHIM HAMID MUGADDAM
97
Exaggeration among regsha drivers, on the other hand, proved to be depicting the tough experiences
they have during their work. The phrase jaari alshaari? (Originally meaning 'to go down the street from its
beginning to its very end'), is manipulated to mean 'picking up passengers'. The phrase indicates how hard
the work day is for regsha drivers. Another interesting example for hyperbole in the language of regsha
drivers is the phrase jaari hawa which originally means 'having no petrol in the tank' (The engine receives
only air). The meaning was modified to mean 'having no income'. The exaggeration here emphasizes the
importance of money, the ultimate objective of the drivers.
Street boys on their part, use hyperbole to emphasize things that are very essential for them. Bread is
exaggerated to be taraat resembling wheels in shape and size. In addition, train is described as a long twisted
worm referred to as sargeel, and the market is referred to as gaddah (a big bowel). What is interesting in the
last two examples is that big objects are compared with small ones. In most of the instances of hyperbole the
opposite is true where small things are compared with big ones to create emphasis or exaggerate things. One
might claim that such a tendency is exclusive to the street boys.
5.5. Dysphemism
Dysphemism refers to the usage of an intentionally harsh word or expression instead of a polite one; they
are rough opposites of euphemism. “Dysphemism” may be either offensive or merely humorously
deprecating. Table 19 shows Dysphemism by the sample population.
Table 19: Dysphemism with university students
WORD
ORIGINAL MEANING
MANIPULATED MEANING
kalib
dog
faithful
dubaana
fly
intruder
nahla
bee
noisy person
kilab lahab
hell dogs
security forces
Table 20: Dysphemism with regsha drivers
WORD
ORIGINAL MEANING
MANIPULATED MEANING
samkara
maintenance
Make up
sakandhand
second hand
a divorced or widowed woman
karkaasa
noise in a car (onomatopoetic)
children
kilab lahab
hell dogs
security forces
Table 21: Dysphemism with street boys
WORD
ORIGINAL MEANING
MANIPULATED MEANING
kalib
dog
faithful
nimity
a kind of noisy insect
police
bunnya
boxing
police
shawal faham
sack of charcoal
police
The use of harsh words with the purpose of insulting others or showing hostility towards them is
evident from the data in Table 21. This tendency appeared to have been the norm across the three groups
under study. University students employ words referring to insects and animals to describe others as being
'noisy', or 'intruders'. The use of a word for an insect to describe people in the Sudanese society is in itself a
very big insult. Likewise calling someone 'a dog' is classified as extremely impolite. However, words such
'kalib' and 'nahla', are also used to mean 'faithful' and 'active', respectively. Interestingly enough, the word
for dog is used by the university students to mean 'faithful' and to insult others ( kilab lahab for ’security
98
ASPECTS OF YOUTH LANGUAGE IN KHARTOUM
men’). Just as the police is the potential enemy of the street boys, security forces are seen by many students,
especially those who are active politically, as bitter enemies.
Use of dysphemism among regsha drivers seems to have a dual function: offensive and humorously
depreciating speech event. When describing a woman as a ‘second hand’, or musamkara, the main objective
is to create some sort of humour among the fellow drivers. But if any of these words is used to address a
woman directly, the situation will be extremely embarrassing and the words are considered highly offensive.
Offensive use of language has been found to be direct in the speech of street boys. The police, the
traditional enemy, has been described as bunyya (‘a box’), nimity (‘unpleasant insects’), and shawal faham
(‘a sack of charcoal’), to mean ‘violent’, ‘bad’, and ‘foolish’, respectively. The function of such words is
twofold. First, to guise what they really mean when using the words, in order to prevent themselves or to
warn other colleagues that the police is around. Second, to show the attitude they have towards the police,
their traditional enemy, by describing them as brutal and foolish.
6.
Conclusion
Youth language in Khartoum has been found to have all of the characteristics of Halliday's anti-language. The
analysis reveals that the three categories of subjects which are central to the present study tend to
manipulate language morphologically, phonologically, and semantically. Moreover, metaphorical modes of
expressions are the norm in the speech of youths in Khartoum. Metaphor, metonymy, hyperbole, and
onomastic synecdoche, dysphemism in particular are well represented in the data. At the morphological
level, English words were adapted to form Arabic verbs, nouns and adjectives. This phenomenon was found
to be peculiar to university students due to the fact that they use English in their studies. The formation of
new words, on the other hand, proved to be popular among street boys. In phonology, the data recorded
metathesis as the main phonological process characterizing youth language in Khartoum. Metathesis was
found to be common among all three categories of subjects. In semantics, synonyms were represented
abundantly in the speech of our sample population. In some instances more than ten different synonyms are
used to refer to one object or thing. Police, girls, and the verb for 'going' are among the concepts expressed
with synonyms.
This study confirms KIESSLING and MOUS (2004) findings on urban youth language in Africa. All features
characterizing youth language in the African cities studied were found in the language used by younger
people in Khartoum. However, this study has also highlighted some linguistic features that were not
recorded by these authors. Abundant use of synonyms and creation of totally new lexical items seem to be
the most salient feature of youth language in Khartoum. In addition, unlike the situation in some African
urban areas, metathesis and onomastic synecdoche are used more frequently by youths in Khartoum. A good
amount of examples of the phenomena was detected in the speech of the subjects studied. The use of names
of famous people, mainly singers and actors, to denote concepts reflect the immediate cultural context in
which the subjects are involved. While university students and regsha drivers used names frequently
appearing in the media, street boys used place names (towns) and names of famous Sudanese footballers.
References
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Halliday, M.A.K. 1976. Anti-languages. American Anthropologist 78:570-84.
Kießling, R. & M. Mous. 2004. Urban youth languages in Africa. Anthropological Linguistics 46/3:303-341.
Miller, C & Al-Amin Abu Manga. 1992. Language change and national integration in Sudan. Khartoum:
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