Use of English Neologisms in Social Media: a Case of Twitter Language in Kenya
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USE OF ENGLISH NEOLOGISMS IN SOCIAL MEDIA: A CASE OF TWITTER LANGUAGE IN KENYA BY RUTH M. MWORIA A PROJECT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF MASTERS OF ARTS DEGREE, DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS AND LANGUAGES: UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI OCTOBER 2015 DECLARATION I hereby declare that this research project is my original work and has not been presented for examination in any university. Signature…………………………………….. Date………………… Ruth M. Mworia. C50/83957/ 2012 This research project has been submitted for examination with our approval as the University Supervisors. Signature…………………………………….. Date………………… Dr. Iribe Mwangi Signature…………………………………….. Date………………… Dr. Mohamed Akida ii DEDICATION To my dear parent Mr. &Mrs. Mworia, You have always propelled me to great heights. Heights that I never knew existed. You taught me the value of handwork, prayer and determination. You have made me the person I am today, I will forever be indebted. To my sister Lydia and brother-in-law Kim, Your kindness and support is beyond measure. You two are a source great of inspiration Thank you for the love and generosity you have shown me for years. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Almighty God for allowing me to go through this life-changing process. Through his grace, I was able to undertake and complete this study. To him I give honor and glory. My sincere gratitude and appreciation go to my two supervisors; Dr. Mohamed Akida and Dr. Iribe Mwangi whose supervision, constructive criticisms and support immensely contributed to the writing of this project. To all the lecturers in the department of linguistics at the University of Nairobi especially to those through whom knowledge was impacted; Dr. Jane Oduor, Dr. Helga Shroeder, Dr. Marete, Mr. Mungania, Dr. Kaviti, Dr. Mukhwana, Dr. Michira, Dr. Maloba, Prof. Okoth Okombo and Prof. Lucia Omondi; thank you all for the academic nourishment. I would also wish to acknowledge and appreciate the help and constant advice from my classmates. Your knowledge and company was great experience. Kanana Regina and Purity Gakii, you made this journey homely and to that i will always treasure the memories we made together. Finally I would like to appreciate my two brothers; Timothy and Kenneth, I thank you all for your unwavering moral and material support you gave me throughout the study. iv ABSTRACT This project investigated the use of English neologisms in social media using twitter in the Kenyan context. Driven by inadequacy of literature with regards to English neologisms in Kenyan social media: English neologisms that are used in Kenya and also internationally. The study looked into the word forming processes and gave examples of processes that social media neologisms undergo. The study guided by the objectives, aimed at determining how social media neologisms deviate from the use of Standard English using linguistic levels of analysis giving various examples. The study focused on the factors that lead to the production and usage of the social media neologisms. Finally the study focused on the effectiveness of social media neologisms in communication. Lexical pragmatics was used as the theoretical framework for this study due to its ability to explain how a hearer is able to understand the encoded concept of a word from the concept communicated; this was explained under the processes: lexical narrowing, lexical broadening and categorical extension. The study after the investigations found that: social media neologisms deviate from the standard use of Standard English at different levels explained through linguistic description, the deviation was found to be a way to easen communication amongst the online users. Factors such as age, gender, quickness in communication, meaning impact and avoidance of grammar and spelling conventions were identified as having contributed to the production of social media neologisms. Finally speed of communication, brevity time-sensitivity, ease of interpretation and exposure were amongst the elements used to affirm that social media neologisms are effective in communication. v TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ............................................................................................................... II DEDICATION ...................................................................................................................III ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. ............................................................................................... IV ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... V TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................. VI LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .......................................................................................... .XI DEFINITION OF TERMS .............................................................................................. XII CHAPTER ONE: BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY 1.0 Introduction ....................................................................................................................1 1.1 Background of the study ................................................................................................1 1.1.1 Technology ...........................................................................................................2 1.1.2 Social media ..........................................................................................................3 1.1.3 Mobile social media ..............................................................................................4 1.1.4 The internet ...........................................................................................................5 1.2 Statement of the problem ...............................................................................................5 1.3 Research questions .........................................................................................................7 1.4 Objectives of the study...................................................................................................7 1.5 Justification of the study ................................................................................................7 1.6 Scope and limitation ......................................................................................................8 1.7 Literature review ..........................................................................................................10 1.8 Theoretical framework .................................................................................................14 1.8.1 Lexical pragmatics ..............................................................................................14 1.8.2 The lexeme in lexical pragmatics .......................................................................15 1.8.2.1 Lexical narrowing ..................................................................................16 1.8.2.2 Lexical broadening..................................................................................17 vi 1.8.2.2.1 Approximation ...............................................................................18 1.8.2.2.2 Hyperbole .......................................................................................18 1.8.2.2.3 Metaphor ........................................................................................19 1.8.2.3 Categorial extension................................................................................19 1.8.2.4 Neologisms .............................................................................................20 1.9 Hypotheses ...................................................................................................................21 1.10 Methodology. .............................................................................................................21 1.10.1Introduction .......................................................................................................21 1.10.2Sample selection ...............................................................................................21 1.10.3 Data collection techniques ...............................................................................22 1.10.4 Nature of data collected ...................................................................................23 1.11 Conclusion ...............................................................................................................23 CHAPTER TWO: NEOLOGISMS IN TWITTER 2.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................24 2.2 Concept of social media ...............................................................................................24 2.2.1Twitter ..................................................................................................................25 2.2.2. Instagram............................................................................................................26 2.2.3 Facebook .............................................................................................................27 2.3 Neologisms ..................................................................................................................27 2.4 Word formation processes ...........................................................................................27 2.4.1 Motivation ...........................................................................................................28