A Sociolinguistic Analysis of English Slang Used by Indonesian Youth on Twitter (X)
Authors
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Rizki Wulan Yuniarsa
Universitas Mataram
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Sudirman Wilian
Universitas Mataram
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Udin
Universitas Mataram
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36312/jar.v5i4.7122Keywords:
English Slang, Sociolinguistics, Indonesian Youth, Twitter (X), Formation Patterns, Communicative FunctionsAbstract
This study investigated the use of English slang by Indonesian youth on Twitter (X). The study aimed to identify the types and formation patterns of English slang, examine its communicative functions, and analyze how Twitter (X) features and interactional contexts influenced its use and meanings. This study employed a descriptive qualitative approach within a sociolinguistic framework. The data consisted of 50 public data units from Indonesian Twitter (X) users aged 17–25, collected through purposive sampling in 2026, containing 79 slang tokens representing 73 unique expressions. Slang types were analyzed based on Partridge (1984) and Coleman (2012), formation patterns on Mattiello (2008) and Kudirka (2020), communicative functions on Holmes (2013) and Stenström (2012), and platform features through digital sociolinguistics (Androutsopoulos, 2013). The findings revealed that semantic shift or extended meaning was the most frequent formation pattern (26 tokens, 32.9%), followed by abbreviation, acronym, or initialism (19.0%) and phrase-based slang (13.9%). Slang was mainly used for expressing emotion or personal reaction (27.8%) and evaluation or judgment (24.1%), followed by humor, stance, solidarity, and emphasis. Furthermore, original posts, replies, quote posts, and hashtags shaped how slang was used and interpreted. These findings indicated that English slang functioned not only as informal or non-standard language but also as a context-sensitive sociolinguistic resource reflecting creativity, social identity, and audience awareness in digital communication.
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