Standardization efforts in Flanders, as in much of Western Europe, have led to a radicallydeclining use of traditional dialects for everyday communication. They are not, however,substituted by standard languages as much as other, so-called sub-standard, varieties arenow increasingly occupying the vacant ground. The success of these sub-standard varietiesis moreover attributed to teenagers, who are said to be ever more indifferent to standardlanguage norms, to lose themselves in electronic communication and increasingly toadopt multi-ethnic urban street styles. This leads to public concern, as only a competencein Standard Dutch is said to assure school success and the ensuing labour market opportunities.The stereotypical view of ethnic urban youth in Flanders is that they are incompetentin Dutch or unwilling to speak it. The present article discusses and revises thiswidely accepted view by analysing data collected during long-term fieldwork in a mixed ethnicitygroup of teenage girls in Antwerp.
