Clichéd Responses in Youth Communication: Semantics, Axiology, Pragmatics, and Sociocultural Functions

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of formulaic response utterances in youth speech, conceptualized as propozeomas (e.g., Osuzhdayu [“I condemn it”], Ponyal, prinyal, obrabotal [“Got it, received, processed”], Znayu, umeyu, praktikuyu [“I know, I can, I practice”] etc.). These utterances are proposed as units of intermediate status between phraseological units with a predicative basis and free sentences. The study examines their structural and functional specificity, including the absence of imagery and their role in dialogue organization, among other features. It is established that these utterances function as speech clichés or ready-made verbal solutions, enabling instantaneous reactions in typical communicative situations and relieving speakers or writers from the cognitive effort required to formulate extended personal statements. Emphasis is placed on their role as a communicative tool that fills typical slots in dialogue, serving as metalinguistic markers with varying semantic specialization. It is noted that such constructions act as markers of cultural identity for the contemporary “digital” generation, reflecting shifts in communication styles and value orientations among young language users. The analysis demonstrates that the examined stable cliché-utterances from modern youth speech mark value fixations centered on self-presentation through personal experience, information-digital interaction, visual sensitivity, and ritualized normative-value distancing. It is further observed that the aggregate of these value slots constructs a psychographic profile of the younger generation.