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SLANG WORDS AMONG THE DIGITALLY SAVVY GENERATION Z’S
ONLINE WRITTEN DISCOURSE: A MORPHOLOGICAL
ANALYSIS
A RESEARCH PAPER PRESENTED TO THE FACULTY
OF LA CONSOLACION BACOLOD
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE
OF
BACHELOR OF ARTS MAJOR IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDIES LA
CONSOLACION COLLEGE BACOLOD - ETEEAP
IANNAH JANE BORRERO
February 2023
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Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Slang used by the technologically savvy generation Z has emerged as a
result of the growth of new media. New media refers to the digital technologies
and platforms that have emerged since the rise of the Internet, including social
media, mobile devices, and the Internet of Things. These new forms of media
have had a significant impact on the way people communicate and consume
information, particularly among younger generations such as generation Z.
One of the key characteristics of new media is its interactive nature, which
has led to the development of new forms of communication and language. For
example, social media platforms like Twitter have given rise to a new form of
shorthand and slang, known as "netspeak," which is used to save space and
convey meaning more quickly in a highly connected world. This language is
particularly popular among younger generations, who
are more likely to use digital platforms on a daily basis.
It is also worth noting that new media also has a big impact on the way
people consume information, for example, the way people consume news.
Nowadays, people have access to a wide range of sources and platforms, which
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has changed the way people consume news, and it's also changed the way news
agencies and media organizations produce and distribute news.
In conclusion, new media has had a significant impact on the way people
communicate, consume information, and produce it. It has also given rise to a new
form of language, known as "netspeak," which is particularly popular among
younger generations who are more likely to use digital platforms on a daily basis.
Overall, this study aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the
slang of the digitally savvy generation Z and its impact on language and
communication in the digital age. It is hoped that this research will contribute to a
greater understanding of the linguistic and social changes that are taking place in
our society and how they are shaping the way they communicate.
This study will delve deeper into the specific ways in which the use of slang
on new media platforms differs from traditional forms of communication. For
example, the use of slang words and hashtags as a form of expression will be
examined. Additionally, the impact of social media and messaging apps on the
development of language and language usage, in general, will be explored.
Furthermore, the research will also investigate how the use of slang words may
be impacting traditional forms of language and communication.
In order to conduct this research, a combination of qualitative methods will
be employed. This will include a morphological analysis of the most frequently
used slang terms on popular social media platforms and messaging apps, as well
as in-depth interviews with digitally savvy millennials. Additionally, surveys will be
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administered to gather data on the usage and understanding of slang among
different demographic groups.
This thesis aims to explore the ways in which the language used on social
media platforms and messaging apps has evolved and how it is shaping the way
in which this generation communicates. Through an examination of the most
commonly used terms and phrases, as well as an analysis of the cultural and
societal influences on their usage, this research will provide insight into the
linguistic and social phenomena that are
emerging in the digital age.
Statement of the Problem
This linguistic study aims to investigate the morphological processes of
constructing slang words and the meaning of the found slang words used by
digitally savvy generation Z in their Twitter posts and comments. Specifically, this
study endeavors to answer the following questions:
1. What are the slang words found in the online written discourse of the
digitally-savvy generation Z?
2. What is the morphological structure of the slang words used by the digitally-
savvy generation Z in terms of:
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2.1. word structure; and
2.2. word formation strategy?
3. Based on the findings, what monograph can be proposed?
Theoretical and Conceptual Framework
This linguistic research theorizes that linguistic varieties are found in the
social media posts, comments, or hashtags of the digitally savvy generation Z.
This further argues that the linguistic varieties found in the social media posts are
slang words that undergo morphological process based on theories proposed by
Yule in 1985, Potter (in 1975 O'Grady and Guzman in 1996 and Gerber in 1968.
This argument is supported by Holmes in 2001 with his Theory of Language
Varieties. According to Holmes (29), Language variety is a form that differs from
other forms of language systematically. Variety is a Sociolinguistics term referring
to language in context. A variety is a set of linguistic forms used under specific
social Circumstances with a distinctive social distribution. Variety is therefore a
broad term that includes different accents, different linguistic styles, and different.
In this world, every language is different from the other. It could be different in
pronunciation, pitch, tone, lexicon, style, dialect, vocabulary, and etc. dialects, and
even different languages which contrast each other for a social reason
(Holmes,9). Slang words, according to theories by Yule in 1985, Potter in 1975,
O'Grady and Guzman in 1996, and Gerber in 1968 can be divided based on the
morphological processes of coinage, borrowing, compounding, blending, clipping,
backformation, conversion, acronym, derivation, and multiple processes.
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Slang, a very informal kind of vocabulary used mostly in a speech by people
who know each other well (Swan, 6) is the language selected for its striking
informality and is consciously used in preference to proper speech. Almost
everyone uses slang on some occasions, but it is not easy to define the word.
Slang, according to Fromkin, et al. (7), is one of those things that everybody can
recognize and nobody can define.
Moreover, Slang is words and phrases used in casual speech often
invented and spread by groups. Slang or colloquial language introduces many
new words into the language by recombining old words into new meanings. Slang
words and phrases are often invented in keeping with new ideas and customs.
Slang is often compared to jargon. Jargon is the specialized vocabulary used by
those inside established social groups, whereas slang is more typically used
among those who are outside established, higher-status groups.
Furthermore, Slang, or ‘colloquial speech’, describes words or phrases that
are used instead of more everyday terms among younger speakers and other
groups with special interests.8 It can be used by those inside a group who share
ideas and attitudes as a way of distinguishing themselves from others. As a
marker of group identity during a limited stage of life such as early adolescence,
slang expressions can ‘grow old’ rather quickly. Older forms for ‘really good’ such
as groovy, hip, and super were replaced by awesome, rad, and wicked which gave
way to dope, kickass and phat. A hunk (‘physically attractive man’) became a
hottie and instead of something being the pits (‘really bad’), the next generation
thought it was a bummer or said, That sucks!. The difference in slang use between
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groups divided into older and younger speakers shows that age is another
important factor involved in social variation.
Morphology is the study of words, their construction, and how they relate
to other words in the same language. It is a branch of linguistics. It examines the
composition of words and their constituent pieces, including stems, root words,
prefixes, and suffixes. Parts of speech, intonation, stress, and the ways that
context can affect a word's pronunciation and meaning are all examined in
morphology. Morphology is distinct from morphological typology, which organizes
languages according to how they utilize words, and lexicology, which examines
words and how they contribute to a language's vocabulary.
The study of word structure is called morphology. Understanding word
structure helps students improve spelling and expand vocabulary. In studying
word structure, the key concepts to look into are the morphemes in the word.
Morphemes are either free or bound and are used as prefixes, suffixes, roots, and
bases in words.
The bound morpheme is a word element that cannot stand alone as a word,
including both prefixes and suffixes. Free morphemes, by contrast, can stand
alone as a word and cannot be broken down further into other word elements.
The free morpheme is a morpheme (or word element) that can stand alone
as a word. It is also called an unbound morpheme or a free-standing morpheme.
A free morpheme is the opposite of a bound morpheme, a word element that
cannot stand alone as a word.
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There are eight-word formation processes in morphology, namely coinage,
compounding, clipping, blending, borrowing, back-formation, conversion,
acronym, derivation, and multiple processes in Yule’s taxonomy in 2010.
Coinage is a term used to describe the act of creating or inventing new
words. Yule (53) emphasized that while this technique of word construction is
unusual, people are outdoing one another with better and more creative product
names in the digital age. The public adopts these brand names, which eventually
become common nouns.
Compounding is the process of combining two words (free morphemes) to
create a new word (commonly a noun, verb, or adjective). Compounds are written
sometimes as one word (sunglasses), sometimes as two hyphenated words (life-
threatening), and sometimes as two separate words (football stadium).
Compounding is the most common type of word formation in English.
Clipping is something you’re likely very familiar with. It’s the simple process
of forming a new word by clipping off part of an existing word. An easy example is
the word exam, which of course comes from the longer word examination. The
letters “ination” have simply been clipped off, forming a new word that shares the
definition and context of the older word.
Blending is the name of the process which occurs when at least two
lexemes are shortened and joined together disregarding their initial boundaries.
What is created in such a process can be called a blend, though other names are
also found to operate — those being portmanteau or telescoped words.
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Borrowing is the process of creating words by incorporating words from
other languages. It is the process through which a word from one language gets
changed to be used in another.
Backformation is the process of forming a new word (a neologism) by
removing actual or supposed affixes from another word. Put simply, a back-
formation is a shortened word (such as edit) created from a longer word (editor).
Verb: back-form (which is itself a back-formation). Also called back-derivation.
Conversion refers to the process of changing or converting the class of a
word without changing its form. The word email, for instance, can be used as a
verb in Modern English though it was only a noun in the past.
Acronym is a word formed by abbreviating a phrase by combining certain
letters of words in the phrase (often the first initial of each) into a single term.
Common examples of acronyms include NASA (an acronym for National
Aeronautics and Space Administration) and FOMO (a slang acronym for fear of
missing out). The word scuba comes from an acronym for self-contained
underwater breathing apparatus.
Derivation, in descriptive linguistics and traditional grammar, is the
formation of a word by changing the form of the base or by adding affixes to it
(e.g., “hope” to “hopeful”). It is a major source of new words in a language. In
historical linguistics, the derivation of a word is its history or etymology. In
generative grammar, derivation means a sequence of linguistic representations
that indicate the structure of a sentence or other linguistic unit resulting from the
application of some grammatical rule or set of rules.
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The word-formation process is the process by which new words are
produced either by modification of existing words or by complete innovation, which
in turn become a part of the language. We can very quickly understand a new
word in our language (a neologism) and accept the use of different forms of that
new word
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Scope and Limitations
This study is limited to the usage of slang words among 20 digitally savvy
generation Z. Thus, this study will investigate the slang words used by generation
Z using different social media platforms such as Twitter. The study will focus
mainly on the morphological process such as word structure and word formation
strategy of slang words using a method of analysis based on theories as proposed
by Holmes in 1982 and Yule in 1985.
Significance of the study
This study involves important factors. The first goal is to raise awareness
about the use of slang phrases in Philippine society. As a result, this study may
be helpful to future researchers, educators, and students.
English Language Students. They will gain from this study in that it will
help them understand language variances more deeply. It is also beneficial when
faced with challenges in foreign places where you are beyond unfamiliar with the
native language. It can provide a way to kind of shape-shift and assimilate
oneself.
English Language Teachers. The study's findings might provide them with
new perspectives on how language might be innovated over time and might also
inspire classroom activities that might advance the students' research of
language and literature culture in terms of worldviews, viewpoints, and intuitions.
Future researchers. Researchers in related fields may be motivated to
conduct additional, more diverse research as a result of this study. Additionally,
it is advised that future researchers undertake studies on various slang users
in various contexts because slang evolves and develops through time.
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Definition of Terms
It would be important to provide clear definitions for key terms used in the
study. The terms are operationally defined.
Digitally Generation Z: In this study, it refers to the demographic group of
individuals born in the late 1990s or the early 21st century is considered "digital
natives" and have grown up with access to new media technologies.
Morphological process. In this study it refers to a process that dwells on
the study of the formation of slang words. The morphological process in this
study is categorized into the following:
Acronym. a word formation process in which the first letters
(sometimes the first few letters) of the words in a phrase are extracted and
put together to form a word, pronounced as a word by the usual rules of
English spelling, with the same meaning as the original phrase
Back-formation. It refers to either the process of creating a new
lexeme (less precisely, a new "word") by removing actual or supposed
affixes, or to the neologism formed by such a process.
Blending. It is a type of word formation in which two or more words
are merged into one so that the blended constituents are either clipped, or
partially overlap.
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Borrowing. It means that words which originated in one language
are now used in another, even by people who don't speak the 'lending'
language.
Clipping. It is one of the ways new words are created in English. It
involves the shortening of a longer word, often reducing it to one syllable.
Compounding. It is a word formation process based on the
combination of lexical elements.
Conversion. It refers to the process of changing or converting the
class of a word without changing its form. The word email, for instance,
can be used as a verb in Modern English though it was only a noun in the
past.
Derivation. It processes form new words (generally of a different
category) from existing words, in English this is mainly done by adding
affixes.
Multiple processes. It is the process by which new words are produced
either by modification of existing words or by complete innovation, which in turn
become a part of the language.
Slang words. Informal language that is characterized by its use of non-
standard words and phrases, often used to create and signal group identity.
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Chapter 2
METHODOLOGY
This chapter outlined the methods to be utilized in this study. Wherein, this
study described the utilization of research design, corpus of data, data gathering
procedure, unit of analysis and coding of data, and ethical consideration.
Research Design
This study is descriptive qualitative research that will use morphologic
analysis specifically and create a lexicon of slang terms. The morphologic analysis
uses Holmes's in 1982 and Yule's in 1985 theories of the morphologic process to
analyze word development and categorize slang words. The most common format
of literary works is used to perform the qualitative study, which examines
generation Z's social media posts. It makes an effort to categorize the slang terms
and morphological methods applied.
Corpus of Data
The main source of the data are the tweets, comments, and hashtags made
by 20 generation Z users in Brgy Tangub who are between the ages of 23 and
27.
Data Gathering Procedure
This study will examine generation Z's social media postings, comments,
and hashtags on Twitter. In order to clarify how the slang terms that are used in
posts, comments, and hashtags are produced, a morphological approach of
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analysis based on theories advanced by Yule in 1985 and Holmes in 1982 will be
applied. There will be three phases in the data-gathering procedure:
Phase1: Identification of the slang words
In this phase, the analysis of social media posts, comments, and hashtags
of generation Z will be done. The researcher will identify the slang words used in
social media posts, comments, and hashtags of generation Z
Phase2: Morphological Analysis of the slang words on the Word Structure
and Word Formation Process
In this phase, the morphological analysis of the slang words found in the
posts, comments, and hashtags of generation Z using the morphologic method
based on the theories proposed by Yule in 1985 and Holmes in 1982. The The
word structure analysis will identify the bound and free morphemes formation of
the slang words. The word formation process will analyze on how the slang words
and formed based on the eight-word formation processes in morphology, namely
coinage, compounding, clipping, blending, borrowing, back-formation,
conversion, acronym, derivation, and multiple processes in Yule’s taxonomy in
2010.
Phase 3: Designing of the monograph.
The fourth phase of the study is the designing of a monograph based on
the findings of the investigation. The content of the monograph will be the
glossary. The list of slang words and their meanings can be found in the glossary.
Unit of Analysis and Coding of Data
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This study will examine the usage of slang words by generation Z. In coding
of data, a morphologic analysis of the usage of slang words by generation Z will
be conducted.
Morphological method of analysis based on theories as proposed by Yule
in 1985, Potter in 1975, O'Grady and Guzman in 1996, and Gerber in 1968 will
be used to explain how the slang words are formed which are used in the social
media posts of generation Z. This variety of language is used to accomplish
intended actions and how hearers infer intended meaning and act from what is
delivered.
The identification of the slang words and providing the meaning of the
collected slang words will be presented in table 1.
Table1. Identification of slang words
Slang Words Meaning
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Table 2 presents how the morphological analysis on word structure and
word formation process will be presented. The word structure will classify the
morphemic structure of the identified slang words. The word formation process
will identify how the identified slang words are formed based the eight-word
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formation processes in morphology, namely coinage, compounding, clipping,
blending, borrowing, back-formation, conversion, acronym, derivation, and
multiple processes in Yule’s taxonomy in 2010.
Table 2 Morphological Analysis
Identified Slang
Words
Word Structure Word
Formation
Free Morphemes Bound Morphemes
Trustworthiness
For the trustworthiness of this study, the analysis to be done by the
researcher will be reviewed and validated by the two linguists who are experts
on this field.
Ethical Considerations
It is important the identity of participants is kept confidential or
anonymous and the assurances extend beyond protecting their names to also
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include the avoidance of using self-identifying statements and information. The
Digitally-savvy Generation Z’s names who are participants of the study will be
kept confidential. Anonymity and confidentiality are important steps in
protecting the participants from potential harm. Anonymity and participant
confidentiality are two terms commonly used synonymously when in fact they
are different. Participant anonymity means the participant’s identity is unknown
to the researcher (e.g., when using anonymous surveys, the participant's
identity is truly unknown to the researchers). Participant confidentiality means
the participant’s identity is known to the researcher but the data was de-
identified and the identity is kept confidential (e.g., interviews, where the
participant identities are known to the researcher, therefore, only confidentiality,
not anonymity, can be offered). The research design needs to consider the
potential of harm to the participants, the researcher, the wider community, and
the institution. The harm can range from physical, resource loss (including
time), emotional, and reputational. When considering the potential for harm, the
approach should be, in descending order, to eliminate, isolate, and minimize
the risk, with the participants being fully informed on what the risks are.
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