Abstract
Phenomena of language crossing are common in Western multi-cultural societies. This paper reports on conversational crossing practices among German adolescents who use stylizations of Turkish-German, a German variety attributed to 2nd and 3rd generation immigrants from Turkey and other South European and Arabian countries. Based on an ethnographic and conversation analytic approach, linguistic features, sequential organization and interactional functions of stylized Turkish-German are analyzed, with a special emphasis on how social identities of self and other are projected. The study discerns three practices of stylized Turkish-German: quotations, category-animations and playful assessments. Stylized Turkish-German is mainly used as a fun-code which serves to define the key of interaction and is used as a resource for poetic performances which are marked by playful competition and the display of youth cultural capital acquired from the media. This positive valuation, however, rests on the derogatory identity-stereotype of the aggressive and dull Turkish-German-speaker.
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