An Assessment of Online Pragmatic Variation in Nigerian Social Media Posts: A Comparative Analysis of WhatsApp and TikTok
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Background of the Study
Pragmatic markers—elements that help convey speaker intent, manage conversation, and signal politeness—are essential in shaping digital communication. In Nigeria, platforms such as WhatsApp and TikTok exhibit distinct pragmatic styles due to differences in format and audience engagement. WhatsApp group chats typically involve informal, context-rich exchanges, where users rely on emoticons, interjections, and colloquial expressions to manage interpersonal relationships. In contrast, TikTok’s video-based content combines visual and auditory cues with brief textual captions, creating unique pragmatic markers that are both performative and transient. This comparative study explores the pragmatic variations in Nigerian social media posts by analyzing data from WhatsApp and TikTok. It investigates how digital affordances, such as immediacy and multimedia integration, influence the use of pragmatic markers and how these markers evolve to meet the communicative demands of different platforms (Adeniyi, 2023; Okoro, 2024).
Statement of the Problem
Although pragmatic variation is critical to understanding digital communication, there is limited comparative research on how platforms like WhatsApp and TikTok shape these pragmatic practices. Existing studies often focus on one medium without considering the influence of platform-specific features on language use. This gap hampers our understanding of how different digital contexts drive pragmatic innovation. The study seeks to address this by examining the pragmatic markers used in Nigerian WhatsApp group chats and TikTok posts, thereby revealing the underlying mechanisms of digital pragmatic variation (Chukwu, 2023).
Objectives of the Study:
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To compare pragmatic markers in Nigerian WhatsApp and TikTok posts.
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To assess the impact of digital affordances on pragmatic behavior.
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To develop a model of digital pragmatic variation.
Research Questions:
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What pragmatic markers are prevalent on WhatsApp and TikTok?
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How do platform features influence their use?
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What factors drive pragmatic variation in digital communication?
Significance of the Study
This study advances our understanding of digital pragmatics by comparing two distinct social media platforms. Its findings will benefit linguists and digital communication professionals seeking to grasp how different digital environments shape interpersonal language use (Adeniyi, 2023).
Scope and Limitations of the Study:
Limited to Nigerian WhatsApp and TikTok posts.
Definitions of Terms:
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Pragmatic Markers: Linguistic elements that convey speaker attitude and manage conversation.
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WhatsApp: A private messaging platform.
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TikTok: A video-based social media platform.
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