This paper is an adaptation of one section in the theoretical part of a MA thesis on 'The conversational role of silence in Moroccan Arabic' obtained in 1990, and aims to account for attributable silence (Schegloff & Sacks, 1973) within the conversation analysis approach based on the turn-taking model advanced by Sacks, Schegloff, and Gefferson (1974). Attributable silence occurs when a speaker is selected to speak upon the completion of an utterance that solicits a particular response but chooses, for one reason or another, to remain silent. Systematic and comprehensive as the model has often been claimed to be, it does not deal with this category of silence, which is highly significant to conversation partners in daily interaction. Hence, we attempt to provide an account for it using some of the turn-taking mechanisms developed within the model itself. This silence is characterized as a violation of the turn-taking rule involving the current speaker selects next technique, and the repair of the violation is provided through the suggestion of a rule stipulating that if a selected speaker fails to start a next turn, then the current speaker has the right to pursue a response until he obtains one; otherwise, the conversation may discontinue. Features that reveal the significance of this silence are also discussed-namely noticeability, attributability, accountability, and reportability. The examples used to discuss and illustrate these points are taken from the observational and experimental data collected for the thesis.

The objective of this paper is to explore one of the most productive linguistic devices Moroccan teenagers employ extensively to create novel lexical items-namely derivation, and uncover some aspects of its innovativeness, which has widely been acknowledged to characterise youngspeak in general. The items analysed are extracted from relaxed group interviews involving six secondary school girls and recorded dyadic and triadic conversations mainly between four of them and two other female school mates. The results corroborate previous research findings that teenagers use derivational processes creatively. More specifically, Moroccan teenagers achieve innovativeness through the violation of some of the well-established derivational norms of their mother tongue, Moroccan Arabic (MA), at times, and their combination with some semantic and rhetorical tools such as unconventional metaphor, semantic shift, and hyperbole, at others. The outcome is thus a distinct language in which old words are reshaped to convey concepts that seem significant in their culture and through which, scholars claim, teenagers in general voice their distance from the world of adults on the one hand and affiliation and loyalty to their peers on the other.

This paper aims to examine one of the most productive linguistic resources Moroccan teenagers use widely to create novel lexical and phrasal items-borrowing. Of particular interest to us are the varied aspects of their borrowings' innovativeness, which has often been reported to be one of the main features of youngspeak. The examples are taken from recorded dyadic and triadic conversations mainly between six female high school mates and relaxed group interviews involving four of the latter and two female others from the same school. The results reveal first that Moroccan teenagers are 'linguistic doers' capable of creating, through borrowing, novel words and expressions to talk about their concerns, interests, and attitudes. Second, they corroborate findings of previous research that teenagers are highly innovative. To achieve innovativeness, they employ various linguistic and rhetorical devices and break the linguistic norms of both the source and recipient languages. The product is thus a distinct language that is colourful, vivid, and expressive, which scholars largely agree teenagers use to express their autonomy and affiliation to their peers.