The issues presented in the article concern English loanwords and their role in the process of shaping a specific variety of the language which is characteristic of the subculture of Polish graffiti writers. The article describes various forms, styles and techniques by means of which young people signal their presence and express their thoughts and feelings. The paper is, first of all, an analysis of the linguistic component and an attempt of classifying English lexical units which are borrowed and most frequently used in the conversations of Polish graffiti writers. This study also concentrates on the categorization of the linguistic content which is adopted from the English language to various forms of Polish graffiti writings. The article presents the results of the survey which was conducted at the turn of April and May 2006. The obtained results suggest the widespread use of English words in the daily talk of Polish graffiti writers, the evidence of which comes from the quoted expressions and utterances that are applied by artists in their environment and their description of the so called "crime work". The article in the final part also enumerates the main factors which are believed to have a significant impact on such frequent use of English words among Polish graffiti writers.
The following article primarily deals with the notion of lexical borrowing. It particularly emphasizes the process of adopting English loanwords by Polish teenagers who in this way reflect their views, beliefs and feelings as well as accentuate their sense of belonging and their presence in the society. Apart from encapsulating opinions and observations of scholars on this subject, the article provides an extensive amount of empirical data which comes from the survey conducted among young Poles in March 2007. This data is presented by the author with the aim of issuing a list of English loanwords commonly adopted by Polish teenagers for whom these words function as an important part of their daily communication. The use of these items is exemplified in the article by various sentences which were quoted by teenagers participating in the research. The sentences in fact illustrate how foreign units are incorporated to the Polish system and in what social contexts they are applied by the youth. An analysis of the data is also carried out here to assist the author in classifying English loanwords into certain semantic fields and in distinguishing and comparing the codes developed by boys and girls at the gymnasium and secondary school level. The article in the final part enumerates the reasons for adopting English words teenagers and discusses the most influential channels by means of which the transmission of lexical borrowings takes place.
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