An analysis of word-formation processes and sociological properties of English internet slang on Twitter
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Abstract
Internet slang is a dynamic language widely used for colloquial communication on social media, especially Twitter. While previous research has focused on its word-formation, this study explores the linguistic processes and sociological properties of internet slang. English slang words were collected from Twitter in 2022 using entertainment-related hashtags and tweets. Digital ethnography and content analysis were employed to categorize the data, using frameworks from Timyam (2010), Yule (2005), and Crystal (2001) for word-formation, along with Mattiello’s (2008) model for analyzing speaker-oriented sociological properties. The results identified nine word-formation processes, with multiple processes (46.73%) as the most frequent, which underscores internet slang’s ungrammatical, creative, and complex nature by rendering unproductive formations (such as borrowing, affixation, and compounding) more productive. Abbreviations (29.91%), especially initialisms, helped facilitate online communication. All sociological properties were present, with informality and debasement (39.5%) as the most dominant, highlighting reduced formality and expressive conversation. Group- and subject-restriction (26%) reflected users’ demographics and affiliations, while time-restriction, ephemerality, and localism (21.4%) indicated generational trends, regional identity, and slang lifespan. Ultimately, internet slang embodies linguistic innovation and is a communicative tool that fosters connection and informality in digital communication.
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