Methodological issues in African youth languages research

Youth language research is an outgrowth of sociolinguistics and has contributed immensely to redefining and reconstructing youth-based identity, linguistic ideology and agency. Youth language practices are exoticized and othered as deviant, and speakers of youth languages are labelled as violent and street-based. This top-down view of youth language (speakers) poses problems and creates inequalities between researchers and their subjects of study. This article, therefore, aims to offer methodological insights and blueprints for African youth language research. The initial starting point is to address the lack of clear definition of the concepts of “youth” and “identity” and to interrogate the question of othering and inequality. The paper also discusses some ethical concerns and methods of authentic data collection during fieldwork. I proffer a model to guide researchers in the field. Significantly, the paper strives to redefine African youth language methodology to further expand the frontiers of research in this emerging field.