SMS Texting among GSM Users in Nigeria: A morpho-Syntactic Analysis (original) (raw)
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Syntactic Aspects in Text Messaging
World Journal of English Language, 2011
Online interactive media such as text messaging has influenced syntactic aspects of language. In order to determine how text messaging has resulted in paradigm shift in the traditional uses of language, this paper explores the syntactic characteristics of Kenyan text messages. The discussion in this paper is structured around Coupland's Sociolinguistic theory because syntactic aspects of text messages are influenced by social factors. This theory not only aroused intense discussion within the paradigm on the nature of the discourse of Short Message Service but also steered the subsequent research theoretically and methodologically. The findings reveal that new syntactic structures have permeated into the linguistic continuum of Kenyan texters. Thus, variation analysis shows that there are instances of language (syntactic) variation at every level of English grammar. However, it is apparent that Kenyan text messages are shaped by social variables.
This paper investigates the use of different registers in the syntax of text messaging among young undergraduates of the Redeemer's University. Specifically, the study examines the internal structure of words (morphology) and how words are put together to form text messages (syntax). Theoretical frameworks for the study rely on model. Some morpho-syntactic features are selected from one hundred and twenty two text messages written by young students of ages 16 and 24. Their frequency and distribution are examined to determine how they vary across register. The study reveals that young students' choice of morphemes to build syntax is largely sourced from logograms, symbols (figures), phonics, the Nigerian Pidgin English and relevant mother tongues.
Linguistic Features and Patterns of Texting: Results of a Case Study at an Indian University
Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 2021
The main objective of the present study is to explore the linguistic features which characterize English used by texters. It also aims to investigate if texting follows any specific pattern. As this study aimed to investigate the linguistic features of texting and their impact on the structure of Standard English, the data of the study were collected from a sample of ninety students. The morphosyntactic elements, phonological elements and code mixing elements were linguistically analyzed separately, providing some examples from the data collected for the study. Although punctuation has been discussed under both morphosyntax and phonology, its significant presence in the data prompted us to look into the pragma-semantic elements in the use of punctuation by the texters. Five sent emails, five sent SMS and five sent Facebook chats from each of the respondents were collected to test the linguistic features of texting. SMS are more deviated from Standard English than Facebook chat texts in some cases such as deletion of subject and deletion of punctuation. It is found out that email texts were less deviated from Standard English than SMS and Facebook chat texts. It was found out that the respondents deviated from the Standard English in all the aspects which were examined, i.e. in morphosyntactic and phonological structures, which indicated that it could be a threat to Standard English. This study proved that texting followed some patterns in some cases but it was randomly used in other cases and it is difficult to control and find fixed patterns followed.
NON-STANDARD SYNTACTIC MARKERS IN SMS DISCOURSE
Filológia.hu, 2012
The new forms of written communication, especially short message correspondence and its technical limitations or, more probably, possibilities make the costumer or enable him(her) to deviate from canonic norms of language. Therefore, the discourse becomes more effective, live and expressive. Today researchers agree that due to its technological characteristics, the short message discourse is similar to both asynchronous (electronic mail, online forum discussion) and synchronous (internet chat, instant messages) communication (Anis 1998; Davis−Brewer1997; Ferrara−Brunner−Whittemore 1990; Marcoccia−Gauducheau 2007; Tornow 1997). Despite of its synchronous nature, the limited number of characters makes it like to the chat language. Thus SMS language has both written and spoken features that is it’s the most important trait. This contradictory character of SMS communication creates additional problem with syntactic analysis that is related to mixing limits between writing and spoken languages. In the description of spoken discourse the central place is given to the suprasegmental dimension presented by the prosody. But the question is how to act in case of the absence of any prosodic elements (due to the graphical nature of the SMS language). It is commonly known that the punctuation which in writing language plays the role of suprasegmental is not graphical equivalent of prosodic phenomena. “The punctuation was born in the necessity to adapt the graphic form to the spoken language, to fix in writing segmental division of spoken language, marked by the prosody. This correspondence between the syntactic units of the spoken language and the written code is disturbed by the evolution of the language that is not accompanied by the development of two forms. […] The interpretation of punctuation as a means to mark in the writing the intonation, appears therefore inadequate: the relationship between the punctuation and the intonation reflects the difference in the “organization” of speech and writing as well as different use of linguistic means. Both the intonation and the punctuation are used to form the phrase, thus they are close from functional viewpoint but they differ on the means of performing this function […]” (Védénina 1989: 137−138). More complex are cases, where there is no punctuation at all, as in the following example (The examples are transcribed as they appear in the corpus, with orthographic or typographic errors/adaptations.): Filológia.hu Harmadik évfolyam negyedik szám (2012/4.) 185 (1) moi je pet le faire aujourdhuicongé yes :)) ‘I can do it today holiday yes :))’ Depending on where we insert comma – before or after “aujourd'hui” ‘today’ – the entire sense of phrase changes. From functional point of view, “the purpose of syntax is to make evident by what means the relationships between the elements of an experience can be marked in a succession of linguistic units so that the receiver can reconstruct this experience” (Martinet 2000: 404). The role of intonation and other paralinguistic features in spoken discourse is often decisive in the analysis of the structure of information (Hazaël-Massieux 1993; Martinet 1985). As electronic discourse can be considered a ‘written oral language’ (Anis 1998), paralinguistic adaptations, presented generally by nonstandard typographic phenomena – graphical stretching, non-standard punctuation and emoticons – often play the role of syntactic markers.
A Morpho-graphological Description of Alphanumerical English Words in SMS Text Messages in Nigeria
SMS, which is said to be extremely interactive and dynamic, has been observed to convey one " s thoughts to another. Whenever a sender of a message uses numerals and alphabets to form a word and send to a receiver, it is now left for the recipient to decipher the intended meaning of the message. Though, SMS text messages most often come in written form, but it is has been argued in the literatures that the spoken form of language predate the written form. Numerals and alphabets have replaced sound meanings in most of the SMS messages sent on telephones, even e-mails are not exceptional. The main concern of this paper therefore, is to investigate how words are formed in SMS messages with the use alphabets and numerals to convey the intended meaning to the recipient. Data analysis shows that numerals, alphabets and wrong symbols have overridden the usual phonetic symbols even when students write examination essays. To most Nigerian users of English, this type of writing convention is presumably acceptable in examinations at different levels of academic, even up to higher citadel of learning.
Language in SMS—a socio-linguistic view
The inside Text: Social, cultural and design perspectives on SMS, 2005
Text-based communications in many forms are abound in the lives of most people in computer literate societies today. The introduction and popularity of mobile phones and mobile text messaging has come to evoke excessive hype and hysteria about the kinds of cultural, social and psychological impacts that the new technology is likely to have, just as with many earlier communication technologies . Central to the hype of popular media representations about new communication technologies are concerns about the way that standard varieties and conventional linguistic and communicative practices are affected (Thurlow 2003). Doing research in Finland, which has a high population of mobile phone and SMS users, observes that "the wider the phenomenon has spread, the more discussion it has aroused in the Finnish media concerning its influence on the language and, most notably, the written expression of teenagers." Similar populist concerns and a 'moral panic' about language use and language change are found in the Swedish media.
Texting language (Internet linguistics)
The Internet is now an inseparable part of contemporary life. It has dramatically changed the way people work and study, the way they communicate to others and spend their spare time. Communication is getting increasingly mobile, with most of the world's population using personal computers and mobile phones. Modern technologies are accompanied with fears, such as loosing language. But no one is able to state, that modern communication technologies are ruining English on its various aspects. The paper studies how English is changed over the time and represents the main reasons for the changes.