本稿は、偏向的先行硏究の問題点と若者語に關する新たな硏究方法の提案として、『日本俗語大詞典』に載っている若者語を抽出し、品詞別の特徵とその機能について詳細に考察した硏究である。考察を通じて次のようなことが明らかになった。 一. 『日本俗語大詞典』の見出し語6323語の內、若者語は1020語で全體の16.1%を占めており、品詞別には名詞(60.3%)＞動詞(14.3%)＞形容詞(9.5%)＞副詞(8.2%)＞感動詞(4.8%)＞形容動詞(2.9%)の順であった。二. 名詞若者語の比率が高いのは、イメ-ジの壇達が容易なイメ-ジ壇達機能、省略表現や「KY語」などで言葉の意味を分かりにくくし、仲間同士にのみ通じるという隱蔽技能、連帶機能と關係があると思われる。三. 動詞は「る言葉」(40.6%)＞「∼する」形(13.5%)＞」～「てる」形(9%)＞その他(36.9%)の順であり、ある言葉の省略形や名詞に活用語尾「る」付けて動詞化した「る言葉」が最も多いのが特徵であると言える。また、「る言葉」の前部の語種を分析した結果、外來語を省略した「る言葉」が多かったが、これは「る言葉」の主な使用階層が若者であり、その若者が漢語の使用を敬遠して外來語を言葉遊びの道具、だじゃれの道具として好んで使うことと關係があると言える。四. 形容詞若者語の場合、形態や發音が變化した形容詞が全體の33.0%で最も多く、「芋い」『まぶい』のような「い言葉」が多いのが特徵であった。これは言語を言葉遊びの道具としてみなす若者の遊び感覺に起因する結果であると思われる。五. 副詞からは强い造語力を、感動詞は他の音より卽座に出せる「ア行」の音で始まる言葉が多いのが特徵であった。形容動詞からは反復形の使用で會話にリズムを付けようとする意圖が窺えた。

This research paper is a careful investigation into the characteristics and functions, according to part of speech, of the slang of the younger generation, listed in the Dictionary of Slangs of the Japanese language. This paper works as a suggestion to address the issue of bias in previous research and has discovered the following facts. 1. Of the 6323 words listed in the Dictionary of Japanese Slang, the slang of the younger generation amounts to 1020 words, accounting for 16.1%. The order in terms of highest occurrence for parts of speech was Noun > Verb > Adjective > Adverb > Exclamation > "Na-" adjective. 2. The percentage of nouns is thought to be high because of their ability to convey images, conceal information to outsiders, and form camaraderie among friends. 3. The order of the weighting in Verbs is as follows: "Ru-" Phrase > "Suru-" Phrase > Others. The main characteristics in Verbs are that the "Ru-" Phrase abbreviates certain phrases or transforms nouns by attaching "-ru" at the end of words. Another observation was that there were many "-ru" phrases that abbreviated foreign-language-based words. This seems to be related to their use as puns or plays on words. 4. As for the adjective slang of the younger generation, words that have had their pronunciation transformed comprise the largest segment. A characteristic among these words was that "-i" phrases such as "Imoi" and "Mabui" were the most common. This trend is thought to be a result of the playful nature of the younger generation. 5. In adverbs, the ability to create new phrases was the most important factor. In exclamations, words starting with "a" were the most common. Among "Na-adjectives," the use of repetitive phrases in order to create a sense of rhythm and cadence seems to have been the intention. Finally, among the others, there were many intentionally grammatical misusages and vague or roundabout expressions.