Jul 2026· Quantum Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities· 0 citations
Abstract
The popularity of social media has altered the communication pattern of young people, particularly the students of Generation Z who are living in the digital world where internet usage is their daily routine. Communication in these online platforms tends to space out of typical written English by incorporating emojis, abbreviations, innovative spelling, different typography, and seamless blending of English and local languages. Although these linguistic creativities are typical of the telecommunication platforms like WhatsApp and Instagram, their intended meanings can be misinterpreted or perceived as reckless or as lack of language proficiency. This issue reveals an opportunity for further research on the communicative values and social meanings of digital languages. This research aims to determine the creative linguistic elements applied by Generation Z learners on social media, and to analyse the new trends in digital English. Qualitative content analysis was employed to document language as it is naturally found in the digital context. Information is gathered in the form of the screen shots of the actual online communication as captured in several social media platforms like Instagram and WhatsApp communication. The results indicate the Generation Z students employ creative features of language like emojis, abbreviations, stylised spelling and code-mixing language in deliberate and organised means. These practices are signs of flexibility, awareness, and good communicative competence in the digital spaces than indicators of poor language abilities. It was revealed that the creative uses of English language by Generation Z on social media are both purposeful and socially inclined. Emojis, stylistic variation, code-mixing, and the use of abbreviation act as extensions of emotion, expression of identity, and relationship expression, and not to be perceived as language deficiency. This online language emerges as a new English language variation which can be perceived as a strategic strength in social communication among Generation Z.
The results indicate that social media can enrich language acquisition by delivering valuable experience, growing motivation, and helping autonomous learning, and reminds that social media can serve as an effective extra tool for enhancing English proficiency in an engaging way.
This study examines the emergence of localized English expressions in Indonesian social media discourse, highlighting how English is adapted and reinterpreted in multilingual digital contexts. While previous studies on English in Indonesia have primarily focused on formal domains such as education and language policy, limited attention has been given to informal online communication where linguistic innovation is highly visible. This study aims to analyze how English lexical items are re-semanticized and creatively transformed by Indonesian users on social media platforms. The study employed a qualitative approach using data collected from Instagram posts and comments, focusing on selected examples of English-derived expressions such as boba, gas, voucher, server, and suamiable. The analysis compares the conventional meanings of these terms in Inner Circle English with their localized meanings in Indonesian usage. The findings reveal that English functions as a flexible linguistic resource, undergoing processes of semantic shift, metaphorical extension, and lexical blending. These localized forms reflect users’ creativity as well as their ability to adapt global linguistic resources to local cultural contexts. The study concludes that English in Indonesian social media is not merely borrowed but actively reconstructed, contributing to the dynamic development of English in the Expanding Circle.
Miftahush Shalihah· Bhinneka: Jurnal Bintang Pen...· 0 citations
Abstract Young people in Norway experience a considerable presence of English through media, creating new affordances for language use. This study explores such affordances by investigating language practices and reflections about language among five pre-teens (aged 11–12) and six teens (aged 15–16) in Norway. Through analyses of participants’ metalinguistic commentary as well as their language use during interviews, the article describes the ways in which a changing media landscape influences the everyday linguistic repertoires of young Norwegians. The findings show that English-language features are integrated as part of a contextually relevant identity for some of the participants, while ideological links to perceptions of language proficiency persist. The data suggest a widely shared indexicality of English features, in particular accent features, and the study shows how this indexicality can be drawn on in creative performances, including styling and mocking practices. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the sheer amount of American English media content accessed by young Norwegians has rendered standardised American English an unmarked standard. The role of English in identity work and complex communicative repertoires suggests that the status of English surpasses that of a “foreign” language, having become an everyday language for young Norwegians.
Ulrikke Rindal· International Journal of the...· 0 citations
Abstract With the increasing use of social media, young people engage more frequently with international communities, which increases the lexical borrowing and code-switching practices in Turkish. This study investigates how undergraduate English Language Teaching (ELT) students employ borrowing and code-switching in their social media use by focusing on the social context and types of borrowed elements, their thematic functions, and the motivations and degrees of awareness underlying these practices. Drawing on questionnaire data from 67 students at a state university, the analysis combines frequency-based findings with qualitative categorization of commonly used expressions. Results show that single English words and short phrases are the most prevalent borrowed forms, while hybrid constructions reveal structural integration into Turkish morphology. The dominant themes, content types, motivations, and metalinguistic awareness indicate that borrowing is less about lexical need and more closely connected to digital culture, creativity, and alignment with global youth discourse. The study contributes to ongoing research on language contact, youth language, and the sociocultural dynamics of online communication, offering insights into both digital sociolinguistics and language education.
Social media has become a primary platform for communication among students, shaping how they interact and use language in their daily lives. The widespread use of informal digital language features such as abbreviations, slang, omitted punctuation, and simplified sentence structures has raised concerns about its potential influence on ESL learners’ grammatical awareness, particularly in formal academic writing. This concept paper examines the impact of social media language on ESL students’ grammatical awareness in the digital era. Specifically, it aims to (1) identify the common linguistic features of social media language used by students and (2) discuss how these features may influence ESL students’ grammatical awareness in formal writing contexts. While social media encourages communication, engagement, and language exposure, the transfer of informal language into academic writing may affect students’ ability to distinguish appropriate grammatical usage across contexts. Therefore, this paper highlights the importance of developing contextual language awareness and suggests integrating digital literacy with grammar instruction to support ESL learners in adapting their language use across communicative settings.
N. Zamani, Nur Amirah Nabihah Zainal Abidin, Susanna Bithiah Varma· International journal of res...· 0 citations
The digital revolution has fundamentally transformed the linguistic landscape of Central Asia, with Uzbekistan representing a particularly dynamic case where rapid technological adoption intersects with deeply rooted cultural and linguistic traditions. Among younger generations, especially university students, this transforma-tion is most visible in everyday digital communication practices. The expansion of internet access, smartphone usage, and global social media platforms has created new communicative environments in which language use is no longer fixed or monolingual, but fluid, adaptive, and highly context-sensitive.In this context, the instant messaging platform Telegram has emerged as one of the most influential communication tools in Uzbekistan. It is widely used for academic coordination, peer interaction, informal communication, and even professional networking. Unlike traditional face-to-face communication, Telegram provides a semi-public, fast-paced, and text-based environment where linguistic creativity is not only possible but socially encouraged. Within this digital space, students continuously negotiate meaning, identity, and social relationships through language choice and stylistic variation.One of the most prominent linguistic phenomena observed in this environment is code-switching, defined as the fluid alternation between Uzbek and English within a single conversation, sentence, or even phrase. This practice is not random or accidental; rather, it reflects complex sociolinguistic, psychological, and cultural motivations. Code-switching in Uzbek student communication serves multiple functions, including lexical filling, stylistic emphasis, emotional expression, and identity construction. From a functional perspective, English is frequently used to express concepts that are perceived as more precise, modern, or emotionally nuanced, particularly in areas related to technology, education, emotions, and global culture. Uzbek, on the other hand, remains the primary language for cultural grounding, interpersonal respect, and traditional social interaction. The interaction between these two linguistic systems creates a hybrid communicative style that allows speakers to maximize expressive efficiency while maintaining cultural belonging. rationality.
