Younger Generation Attitudes

Both LAs and language use vary according to age and there is evidence that younger people differ from older people with regard to language use and linguistic attitudes. Similarly, Giles and Coupland (1991) claim that “ when we talk about intergenerational communication we are talking of intercultural relations ” (p. 33). This statement indicates that this difference between the younger generation and the older generation can be seen as a difference between two cultures.

Many studies have proved that change in generations may lead to change in linguistic behaviour and linguistic attitudes. Children may change their attitudes when they become teenagers and teenagers’ attitudes often change when they grow up to be adults. Individuals tend to change

There is a widely accepted assumption that younger generation tends to have different attitudes and perceive TWs differently from the old generation. De Klerk (1992) claims that “ adolescents ‘perception of these words is obviously not the same as those of many adults. They seem less inhibited in their use of swear words, not even perceiving them as taboo ” (p. 287). In her study, the author (ibid) hypothesized that older informants would use more TWs than younger informants as they would use them to assert power over younger people. However, her results showed the opposite as younger participants were more likely to use TWs than their older counterparts.

Along the same lines, individuals’ use and attitudes towards TWs tend to change with age as observed by Holmes (1995):

The extensive swear word vocabulary which some teenagers use is likely to change over time [...] Though they continue to know these terms, the frequency with which they use them often diminishes, especially as they begin to have children and socialize with others with young families (as cited in McEnery & Xiao, 2004, p.

The more the relationship of the interlocutors is close and intimate, the more they would likely to have more positive attitudes towards the use of TWs. For example, individuals are more likely to use TWs in the presence of same -sex friends than in the presence of people who are not close to them and family members (Wells, 1989). In addition, social-physical setting of the communication and the level of formality of the occasion influence also individuals’ attitudes and beliefs towards TWs. For instance, TL is more likely to occur in casual, informal places like a bar than at more formal places like the place of work (Pezdek & Prull, 1993).

2.5. Attitudes to taboo language in the Algerian society

Algerians’ attitudes towards TWs are subject to a number of factors. Among these factors, there are socio_cultural factors. Oskamp (1977) describes the relation between culture and attitudes stating that “ the overall cultural context within which we live can provide a set of assumptions and salient facts which determine the attitudes we will develop ” (p.132).In the Algerian society, religious and traditional practices also impose a greater sanction on the deliberate use of language in different subjects of life as noted by Bassiouny (2009) :

Tradition is perhaps one of the fixed independent variables that play a major role in Arab countries. A number of customs