Impact of messaging chat slangs on the language of university students of pakistan
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2019
Authors
Ayesha Khan
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
UMT Lahore
Abstract
Technology has always influenced people’s lives in multiple ways. During the past few years, the increased use of social networks and messaging apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Viber LINE, Instagram etc. have made communication extremely easy and effortless. Resultantly, online communication has become quite commonplace in the recent years. A considerable number of linguistic influences have also emerged as a by-product of this online communication in text and instant messaging. Cyber slangs have evolved as a new kind of language that the users find convenient and time-saving. This kind of language has affected and altered the language of people belonging to all age groups. The growing apprehensions about the excessive use of instant messaging threatening the standard conventions and usage of language has prompted the researcher to find out the impact of chat slangs on communicative language of the students. The researcher therefore analyzed the effects that such kind of language can have on university students’ language by using quantitative research design. The subjects of the study were 60 male and female students randomly selected from two universities of Lahore. Triangulation was done for the purpose of data collection. 240 instant messages conversations of the students were analyzed and a questionnaire comprising of eighteen questions was administered among the participants of the study to explore this impact. The researcher used frequency count method and percentages to analyze and present the results of the study. The findings of the study revealed that chatting language has influenced various conventions of Standard English including punctuation, grammar and spellings but the spelling skill is the most affected area by the use of chat slangs in the university students of Pakistan.
Key Words: technology, online communication, instant messaging, chat slangs, spellings