THE IMAGE OF THE WORLD IN THE LANGUAGE OF ADOLESCENTS: A PSYCHOLINGUISTIC APPROACH

Аннотация

This article explores how adolescents conceptualize and linguistically express their worldview through a psycholinguistic lens. It examines the interplay between cognitive development, emotional maturity, and linguisticchoices in adolescent discourse, emphasizing the dynamic relationship between language and individual perception of reality. Drawing on corpus-based observations and psycholinguistic theory, the study highlights the unique features of adolescent language, including lexical innovation, metaphorical framing, emotional expressiveness, and social positioning. The findings provide insight into how adolescents construct their identity, relate totheir environment, and shape their understanding oftheworld through language. Kеywоrds:adolescent language, worldview, psycholinguistics, cognitive development, metaphor, emotional expression. INTRОDUСTIОN Adolescence represents a pivotal period of cognitive, emotional, and social development, during which individuals actively construct their identity and worldview. Language plays a crucial role in this process, not only as a means of communication but as a tool for internal reflection and social negotiation. The way adolescents describe their surroundings, articulate values, and respond to experiences provides a unique window into theirevolving image of theworld. A psycholinguistic approach allows for the analysis of this phenomenon at the intersection of mental processes and language structures. By examining the language used by adolescents—particularly in spontaneous, informal contexts—we can identify patterns that reveal how they perceive, interpret, and categorize their reality. These linguistic patterns are shaped not only byneurological and developmental factors but also by cultural, technological, andinterpersonal influences. MАTЕRIАLS АNDMЕTHОDS From a psycholinguistic perspective, adolescence marks a stage in which abstract thinking, metalinguistic awareness, and metaphorical reasoning become more pronounced. According to Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, adolescents enter the formal operational stage, which enables them to think hypothetically and reason deductively. These cognitiveshiftsare reflected in thecomplexity andnuance oftheirlanguage. Linguistically, thisdevelopmental phase is characterized by:  Increased useofmetaphors and symbolic language to express internal states;  Lexicalcreativity, including slang, abbreviations, and hybrid expressions;  Pragmaticawareness inadapting speech to different social contexts;  Narrativestructuring that reflects personal and cultural identity. For example, adolescent language often incorporates metaphors related to digital technology, such as “glitching out” to describe emotional overwhelm, illustrating the integration ofexternal cultural artifacts intointernal cognitiveframeworks. page933 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ISSN:2692-5206,ImpactFactor:12,23 AmericanAcademicpublishers,volume05,issue04,2025 Journal: https://www.academicpublishers.org/journals/index.php/ijai RЕSULTSАNDDISСUSSIОN Emotionally, adolescence is a period of heightened sensitivity and self-exploration. Language becomes a means not just of describing feelings, but of testing and asserting identity. Psycholinguistic research has shown that adolescents are more likely than adults to use emotionally charged language, especially in peer communication. This includes hyperbolic expressions, intensifiers, and emphatic repetition (e.g., “literally dying,” “so freaking amazing”)[1]. Such expressions serve both communicative and performative functions: they convey affective states and help adolescents affiliate with specific social groups or establish individuality. The linguistic image of the world at this stage is often polarized—concepts tend to be categorized as “cool” or “lame,” “real” or “fake,” reflecting cognitive simplification andemotional intensity. Moreover, narrative language, such as personal storytelling or autobiographical reflection, allows adolescents to weave their experiences into coherent identity scripts. These scripts notonly shape howthey see theworld but also how they expect tobe seen withinit. The adolescent worldview is deeply influenced by peer interactions and media exposure. Through language, adolescents absorb and reflect dominant cultural narratives, norms, and ideologies. Psycholinguistically, this is evident in the uptake of “echoic” constructions—repeating phrases or syntactic patterns from media sources or social influencers [2]. For instance, the widespread use of expressions like “that’s a vibe” or “main character energy” illustrates how adolescents frame reality through culturally mediated language units. These expressions encode complex social meanings in compact forms, facilitating rapid identification with collectivevalues. At the same time, adolescents often develop in-group linguistic codes—slang, acronyms, or stylized pronunciations—that function as social markers. These