Since the emergence of computer-mediated communication, research has concentrated mainly on Internet communication (Kendall 2000, Baron 2008), leaving texting without due attention; the relatively few existing studies tend to concentrate on the unique linguistic features and functions of texts (Thurlow 2003, Crystal 2008 ) as well as on the sociological aspects of this form of communication (Ling 2004).
In this paper, I show that text-messages are not only carriers of atypical or “degenerate” language, as they are frequently portrayed, but serve as an important field for expressing senders’ ethnic identity. Referring to earlier research on negotiating ethnicity and language crossing (Hewitt 1986; Rampton 1995; Harris 2006), and based on the analysis of 300 text-messages sent by Londoners of different ethnicities, I show that texting, despite its putatively minimalist character, offers a range of possibilities for the expression of self-identity. Ethnic identity markers employed by texters include not only lexical and grammatical but also – currently perceived as practically nonexistent in this text-only form of communication – phonological features (e.g., spelling reflecting stereotypical pronunciation). In my analysis, I point to the possible explanations for the linguistic behaviours demonstrated by Londoners in text-messages, which include the senders’ and the recipients’ social profiles as well as the possibilities and constraints of a medium used for interaction.
This paper advances the current knowledge about texting as a mode of communication and leads to larger questions about the existence of ethnically-marked language in London as a multi-cultural capital.
References
Baron, Naomi (2008). Always On: Language in an Online and Mobile World. New York: Oxford University Press.
Crystal, David (2008). txtng: the gr8 db8. New York: Oxford University Press.
Harris, Roxy (2006). New Ethnicities and Language Use. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Hewitt, Roger (1986). White Talk Black Talk: Inter-racial Friendship and Communication Among Adolescents. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kendall, Lori (2000). „OH NO! I’M A NERD!”: Hegemonic Masculinity on an Online Forum. Gender & Society 14, 256-274.
Ling, Rich (2004) “I have a free telephone so I don’t bother to send SMS, I call:” The gendered use of SMS among adults in intact and divorced families. Available at http://www.richardling.com/papers/2004_Gendered_use_of_SMS.pdf (DOA 04/02/09)
Rampton, Ben (1995). Crossing: Language and Ethnicity Among Adolescents. London: Longman.
Thurlow, Crispin (2003). Generation Txt? The sociolinguistics of young people’s text-messaging. Discourse Analysis Online.
