Distribution of criminal content in online youth communities of the Kursk region: linguistic analysis of "Zumerian" slang as a means of disguising and broadcasting prohibited information

Relevance. The massive digitalization of Generation Z's communication practices has given rise to the phenomenon of "Zumerian" slang, a dynamically developing language system actively used to mask illegal content in youth online communities. In the context of an increasing number of crimes related to the dissemination of prohibited information via the Internet (by 29% in the Kursk region in 2023), where 63% of those brought to justice are persons aged 14-25, there is an urgent need to develop effective mechanisms for detecting and suppressing cryptologically disguised communications.

The purpose of the study is to identify and describe criminologically significant properties of "Zumerian" slang as a tool for concealing illegal information in regional online communities, as well as to develop organizational, legal and linguistic recommendations for law enforcement agencies on the effective detection and qualification of such communications.

Objectives: revealed the mechanisms of semiotic masking (euphemization, graphic mimicry, emoji coding), established correlations between jargon markers and types of illegal content, and developed proposals for improving legislation.

Methodology. The study uses an interdisciplinary approach combining the methods of forensic linguistic examination, corpus analysis, statistical data processing (χ2-criterion, coefficient of terminological saturation), contextual and situational analysis of jargon and the formal logical method.

The results of the study are: the establishment of four dominant thematic clusters of illegal content (drug trafficking ‒ 41%, cybercrime ‒ 23%, extremism – 12%, suicidal content – 9%); identification of stable lexico–semantic masking patterns; development of proposals for the creation of a state lexicographic registry of jargon codes and federal information system "Krimlex"; substantiation of the institute of complex situational and semiotic expertise.

Conclusion. "Zumerian" slang has evolved from a means of intra-group communication into an effective tool for cryptological masking of illegal content. The identified mechanisms of semiotic transformation create significant obstacles for law enforcement activities. The proposed amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation and the Federal Law "On Operational Investigative Activities" are aimed at institutionalizing mechanisms for fixing and interpreting jargon markers, which will ensure uniformity of law enforcement practice and increase the effectiveness of combating crimes in the digital environment.

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