Instagram User's Language Choices and Attitudes Towards Code Mixing
Anisa Dara Oktaviani
*1Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Bandung, West Java, Indonesia
*email: anisadaraoktav@upi.edu
Received: 22 Juli 2023
Published: 30 September 2023
doi: 10.22236/imajeri.v6i1.12137
© 2023 by the author. Immajeri License: Indonesian Journal of Language and Literature Education, Uhamka, Jakarta. This article is open access distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license.
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Abstract
Abstract Social media has an important role in language choice. This can be seen from the variety of language in the comment column or captions used. The purpose of this study is to find out the language choices used by Instagram users, the factors behind the language choices of Instagram users, and their attitudes and views towards code mixing. The research was conducted with a descriptive qualitative approach through questionnaire and interview techniques. The questionnaire was distributed through WhatsApp and Instagram media with a total of 105 respondents. Meanwhile, interviews were conducted through WhatsApp chats to 20 respondents. The results of the study show that Indonesian is the most widely used language for reasons of politeness and formality, regional languages are used because of the proximity factor and English because of convenience and is adjusted to the context of the upload. The factors behind the choice of Instagram user language are 1) the context of the upload; 2) the purpose of the conversation; 3) the topic of the comment post; 4) Mood. A positive attitude was also shown towards mixing codes based on comfort factors, habits, the absence of appropriate word equivalents, adjustment to the context, language skills and creating good communication.
Keywords: Language selection; Instagram; Mix code; Attitude
Abstract
Social media has an important role in language choice. This can be seen in the language variations in the comments column or the subtitles. The purpose of this research is to find out the choice of language used by Instagram users, the factors behind the language choices of Instagram users, as well as their attitudes and views on code-mixing. The research was conducted using a qualitative descriptive approach through questionnaires and interviews. Questionnaires were distributed via WhatsApp and Instagram media with a total of 105 respondents. Meanwhile, interviews were conducted via WhatsApp interviews with 20 respondents. The results of the study show that Indonesian is the most widely used language for reasons of politeness and formality, local languages are used because of proximity and English because of convenience and adapted to the context of the upload. The factors behind the Instagram user’s choice of language, namely 1) the context of the upload; 2) the purpose of the talk; 3) the topic of the post being commented on; 4) mood. A positive attitude is also shown towards code mixing based on factors of convenience, habit, lack of appropriate word equivalents, adaptation to context, language skills, and creating good communication.
INTRODUCTION
In modern times, communication is not only done directly through face-to-face. With many digital communication media and social media, it is easy for us to communicate regardless of distance. Social media is used as a place to express feelings and experiences (Risliyanti et al., 2019). Meanwhile, according to Prayudi & Nasution (2020), social media as a communication channel plays a role as a process of conveying messages and news that have a special meaning for readers. From the results of Purawinangun & Yusuf's (2020) research on the literacy movement of the millennial generation through social media, it is stated that Instagram and WhatsApp are social media that have the largest number of users with the intensity of daily use. Meanwhile, in terms of information sources, Instagram ranks first as the most accessed.
Huang & Su (2018) presented the results of their research on the factors that motivate the use of Instagram. The first factor is social interaction which is illustrated by following other Instagram accounts, seeing other people's updates, interacting with others in the comment column, finding something new like a friend, and other interesting things. The second factor is documentation to remember and commemorate important events, depict life through photographs and record moods. The third factor is that Instagram can be a medium of entertainment to escape boredom or problems and release emotions, to relax, spend time and escape from uncomfortable situations. The fourth factor is a self-promotion event with the aim of being famous, showing off, promoting yourself and getting attention from followers on Instagram such as comments and the number of likes. The fifth factor is the realization of creativity, characterized by the ability to express, create artwork, show off photography skills, seek creative inspiration, and see the latest fashion trends.
Social media has an important role in language choices. This can be seen from the variety of language in the comment column or captions used. Tacaptions on Instagram can be used to communicate between users through the comment column by means of nonverbal chats (Fitria, 2020). Language choices convey information about social relationships between speakers as well as about topics of discussion (Holmes 2013). Similar to physical appearance, aspects of language use, especially vocabulary, diction and accent can affect character impressions and education (DeFrank & Kahlbaugh, 2019). Through the choice of language and its variety, a person can show his identity (Romaine, 2000).
With the choice of language, we can know one's mood and desires (Trudgill, 2000). Meanwhile, Wei (2005) argues that with the choice of language, a person can express and define his relationship with others. In line with Wei, DeFrank & Kahlbaugh (2019) mentioned that the type of language used involves the choice of language on the part of the speaker that shows their characteristics. From some of these views, it can be concluded that language choice has an important role in showing identity and in social relations in society.
Holmes (2013) mentioned the existence of social factors that affect language choice. First, there is social distancing that shows how far the speakers know each other, such as strangers, friends or relatives. Second, there is a relationship of social roles that are described through the role of each speaker. This role creates social distance between speakers so that they have to adjust the choice of language used. Examples such as teachers and students, officials and the community. The third factor relates to formality. When in a formal situation, a person will adjust their choice of language using a formal language style. The fourth factor is adjusted to the purpose of the interaction. If the goal is to create a more flexible and relaxed interaction, the speaker will use an informal language style. However, if the goal is to create an interaction that seems formal, the speaker will use a more rigid or formal style of language. The fifth factor is adjusting to the interlocutor. The choice of language used when talking to friends will certainly be different when talking to parents or people who are more respected. The sixth factor is adjusting to the topic of conversation. For example, when talking about political topics, speakers will use several lexical choices that are also related to politics.
Language choice is not only influenced by linguistic factors, but also external factors such as speech situation, age differences, and education level. Language choice is closely related to behavior and attitude towards language (Nasution & Ayuningtyas, 2020). Amin (2020) stated that language behavior and attitude towards language are two interrelated things, which can determine language choice and the sustainability of a language
From the subtitles and chats that occur on Instagram, it is often found that language behavior is mixed with code. Code mixing is a language behavior that mixes two or more languages. Sutrisno & Ariesta (2019) mentioned that in code mixing, several parts of one language are used, while basically speakers use other languages. According to Das & Gambäck (2013) code mixing is more widely used in social media than in formal texts.
Mixing codes or mixing more than one language in a conversation or speech is a common phenomenon in multilingual societies (Choudhury & Bali, 2014). Mixed code usually inserts one word from another language into the first language construct (Ugot, 2010). The same opinion was also expressed by Awaliah et al. (2020) that code mixing is the insertion of one language into another language that is more dominant in a discourse.
Genesee (2005) stated that the factor that influences a person to do code mixing is not knowing the equivalent of a suitable word in one language but knowing it in another. Kim (2006) classifies code mixing factors into two types, namely internal factors or linguistic factors and external factors or social factors. Linguistic factors include lexical and grammatical factors, while social factors include (1) the absence of proper word equivalents, (2) prestige, (3) participants and social groups, (4) situation, (5) topics of conversation, (5) other social variables such as status, race, age, economic status.