TOPICS

Background of the study

Pragmatic markers—linguistic cues that indicate speaker attitude, manage conversation, and facilitate social interaction—are essential in digital communication. In Nigeria, WhatsApp and Twitter serve as platforms where users employ these markers to navigate diverse conversational contexts. WhatsApp chats, with their informal and real-time nature, often incorporate emoticons, abbreviations, and contextual cues to express tone. Twitter posts, limite...

Background of the study

Social media platforms are key drivers of linguistic innovation in Nigeria. Facebook and Instagram, in particular, offer distinct environments for creative language use. Facebook, with its lengthy posts and public comments, encourages the integration of formal language and local slang, resulting in innovative expressions and syntactic constructions. Instagram, by contrast, emphasizes visual content with succinct captions, hashtags, and emojis, fostering a cul...

Background of the study

Semantic shifts—changes in the meaning of words or expressions—are rapidly occurring in digital communication. Twitter hashtags, in particular, serve as catalysts for semantic evolution in Nigerian online discourse. Political and cultural hashtags are frequently repurposed by users, leading to shifts in meaning that reflect current events and social dynamics (Adeola, 2023). As these hashtags spread virally, they create new semantic associations an...

Background of the study

Morphological variation, the process by which new word forms are created or existing ones modified, is a key indicator of linguistic innovation in digital discourse. In Nigerian social media, Instagram memes have emerged as a fertile ground for morphological creativity. These memes often blend images with text, leading users to invent neologisms, abbreviations, and portmanteaus that challenge traditional word formation processes (Ibrahim, 2024). The playful a...

Background of the study

Online code mixing, where speakers blend elements of multiple languages, is a common phenomenon in Nigerian digital communication. WhatsApp group chats provide a rich context for observing this practice, as users engage in spontaneous, informal exchanges that frequently combine indigenous languages with English or Pidgin English (Obi, 2023). In these settings, code mixing is not only a communicative strategy but also a marker of cultural identity and group so...

Background of the study

Hashtag neologisms are at the forefront of linguistic innovation in Nigerian digital communication. On Twitter, users creatively combine hashtags with existing words to form new expressions that encapsulate evolving cultural and political narratives (Adeniyi, 2023). These neologisms often emerge rapidly and spread virally, reflecting the dynamic nature of digital language evolution. Twitter’s constraints, such as character limits and immediacy, foster a...

Background of the study

Digital visual content has become an influential factor in shaping language use, particularly morphology, in Nigerian social media. Instagram and Facebook, two widely used platforms, present distinct visual environments that affect word formation and lexical innovation. Instagram posts, characterized by eye-catching imagery and succinct captions, often promote the creation of abbreviations, acronyms, and neologisms that reflect contemporary cultural expressio...

Background of the study

Political hashtag campaigns on Twitter have become potent instruments of semantic change in Nigerian digital discourse. These campaigns not only mobilize support and disseminate political messages but also drive the evolution of word meanings. Nigerian users repurpose common terms into politically charged hashtags, thereby triggering shifts in semantic networks as these new meanings spread rapidly across online communities (Adeola, 2023). Through collective e...

Background of the study

Social media platforms such as TikTok have dramatically influenced phonetic articulation among Nigerian users. TikTok audio trends, characterized by lip sync performances and creative voiceovers, lead to modifications in pronunciation, intonation, and stress patterns. Nigerian users often adopt innovative vocal techniques to enhance content appeal and express cultural identity (Akinyemi, 2023). These digital practices contribute to notable phonetic variation,...

Background of the study

Pragmatic strategies, which encompass the use of linguistic cues to manage conversation and express attitudes, are vital in digital communication. In Nigerian social media, platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook exhibit distinct pragmatic practices. WhatsApp chats, characterized by their immediacy and intimacy, frequently employ informal markers, abbreviations, and emoticons to convey tone and manage interpersonal relationships. In contrast, Facebook posts a...

Background of the study

Digital media platforms like Facebook and Twitter have transformed syntactic practices in Nigerian communication. Facebook posts, typically longer and more discursive, allow for complex syntactic constructions that combine formal language with creative digital expressions. In contrast, Twitter’s character-limited format forces users to condense ideas, leading to innovative syntactic shortcuts and unconventional sentence structures (Ibrahim, 2024). This...

Background of the study

Hashtag based neologisms have emerged as a distinctive feature of digital discourse on Twitter, particularly in Nigeria. Users often create new words by combining hashtags with existing lexical items, thereby forming innovative expressions that capture socio-political sentiments and cultural nuances (Adeniyi, 2023). Twitter’s real time environment and brevity stimulate rapid lexical innovation, where neologisms spread quickly across digital communities....

Background of the study

Morphological innovation in digital communication is transforming the way language is used online. On Twitter, users often craft captions that incorporate inventive word formations and creative lexical blends, challenging traditional morphological rules. Nigerian Twitter users, influenced by socio-cultural trends and digital constraints, frequently coin new expressions that reflect contemporary realities (Ibrahim, 2024). These innovative constructions, includ...

Background of the study

Online code mixing, the blending of two or more languages within a single communication, is a common phenomenon in Nigerian digital discourse. WhatsApp group chats, in particular, provide a dynamic environment for code mixing due to their informal, real time nature. In these settings, users frequently intersperse indigenous languages with English or Pidgin English to express identity, humor, and solidarity (Obi, 2023). Such practices not only reflect Nigeria&...

Background of the study

Digital visual content is a potent driver of linguistic innovation in online communication. In Nigeria, Instagram and Facebook serve as platforms where the integration of images and text leads to the emergence of novel morphological forms. Instagram posts, often characterized by concise captions paired with striking imagery, promote the creation of abbreviations, emojis, and creative word blends as part of users’ lexical repertoire. Conversely, Facebook...

Background of the study

Hashtag campaigns have become a hallmark of digital activism, significantly impacting semantic variation in Nigerian online discourse. On Twitter, political hashtags are not only used to mobilize support but also to reshape the meanings of words by recontextualizing them in socio-political narratives (Adeola, 2023). Nigerian users repurpose common terms and coin new expressions through hashtag campaigns, resulting in rapid semantic shifts that reflect current...

Background of the study

TikTok has emerged as a transformative platform for shaping phonetic articulation among Nigerian users. The short-form videos on TikTok often feature lip syncs, voiceovers, and spontaneous audio performances that lead to modifications in pronunciation, intonation, and stress patterns. Nigerian TikTok users frequently adopt creative vocal techniques to enhance content appeal and express cultural identity (Akinyemi, 2023). These digital practices contribute to...

Background of the study

Pragmatic markers are linguistic elements that help convey speaker attitude, manage conversation, and signal social relationships. In Nigerian social media, platforms like Twitter and Instagram display distinct uses of these markers. Twitter, with its limited character count, relies heavily on abbreviated markers such as hashtags, emojis, and punctuation to convey tone. In contrast, Instagram allows for more elaborate captions where pragmatic markers are inte...

Background of the study

Code switching, the practice of alternating between languages, is a salient feature of Nigerian digital communication. On Instagram, users often combine indigenous languages with English in captions and comments to express identity and cultural nuance, while Twitter’s concise format encourages rapid shifts in language for emphasis or humor (Obi, 2023). These platforms provide differing contexts for code switching: Instagram supports visually integrated,...

Background of the study

Digital communication has revolutionized linguistic expression in Nigeria, particularly in how syntax is negotiated in online environments. Facebook comments, characterized by their public and often extended nature, encourage users to adopt elaborate syntactic structures that blend formal language with localized digital shorthand. In contrast, WhatsApp chats—used primarily for private, real time conversations—exhibit more spontaneous and abbreviat...

Background of the study

Hashtag neologisms represent a dynamic aspect of linguistic innovation in digital communication. On Twitter, users in Nigeria frequently create new words by combining hashtags with existing vocabulary to express complex socio-political ideas and cultural humor. These neologisms, born from rapid online interactions, reflect a departure from traditional language norms and signal the evolution of the digital lexicon (Adeniyi, 2023). Twitter’s unique constr...

Background of the study

Digital visual content, which combines images with text, plays a crucial role in shaping language use. In Nigeria, platforms such as Instagram and Facebook exemplify how visual media can influence morphology—the structure and formation of words. Instagram posts, characterized by visually engaging content and succinct captions, encourage creative word formations and the use of abbreviations and emojis as morphological elements. Facebook posts, however, o...

Background of the study

Viral hashtags have revolutionized digital communication, particularly within politically charged environments on Twitter. In Nigeria, political movements harness hashtags not only as mobilization tools but also as catalysts for semantic change. These hashtags rapidly disseminate new meanings and recontextualize existing lexicon to reflect evolving socio-political narratives (Adeola, 2023). As hashtags gain traction, they reshape semantic networks by forging...

Background of the study

Digital linguistic creativity encompasses the innovative and experimental use of language within online communities. In Nigeria, platforms like Instagram and Twitter serve as catalysts for such creativity. Instagram’s visually driven environment encourages users to blend images with textual elements, leading to inventive wordplay and the emergence of new idioms and hashtags. Twitter, with its character constraints and rapid interaction cycles, fosters c...

Background of the study

Digital code switching—the practice of alternating between languages in a single discourse—is a well-documented phenomenon in Nigerian social media. Platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook offer distinct contexts for code switching. On WhatsApp, conversations are often informal, spontaneous, and characterized by rapid language shifts in private group chats, where users frequently blend indigenous languages with English or Pidgin English. In contra...