Functions of Kaaps in virtual linguistic landscapes: a Jakobson perspective

Abstract

This study investigates the functions of Kaaps within Virtual Linguistic Landscapes (VLL), with a particular focus on YouTube comment sections and Facebook Memes. Although Kaaps is one of the oldest varieties of Afrikaans, it remains marginalised in formal domains and under- researched in digital environments. Drawing on Roman Jakobson’s six functions of language; Referential, Emotive, Conative, Phatic, Metalingual and Poetic, this study examines how Kaaps is used, for what communicative purposes, and what its usage reveals about language vitality, identity and cultural expression online. A mixed-methods approach was adopted, comprising frequency counts of linguistic patterns and a qualitative thematic analysis of 200 YouTube comments and 80 Facebook memes. The findings show that Kaaps is widely used and highly visible in the VLL. On YouTube, 53% of comments employed Kaaps either independently or through translanguaging with English, while on Facebook, 76.25% of memes were composed solely in Kaaps. Thematic analysis revealed dominant communicative purposes such as appreciation and support for artists, expressions of excitement, pride in Kaaps identity, humour and cultural commentary. Applying Jakobson’s framework demonstrated that six communicative functions are actively performed online in Kaaps discourse. The referential function grounded comments in shared cultural knowledge, while the emotive function emerged as the most prominent, expressing strong affective stances and identity claims. The conative and phatic functions structured interpersonal engagement by directing, encouraging or opening and closing lines of communication. The metalingual function surfaced in users’ reflections on spelling, meaning and language authenticity, particularly in memes. Finally, the poetic function was evident in creative linguistic play, stylised orthography, humour and multimodal expression. Overall, the study shows that Kaaps thrives in digital spaces as a dynamic, expressive and culturally significant linguistic resource. Its widespread use in VLLs enhances its vitality, challenges historical stigma and affirms its role in identity formation and community building among its speakers. The research contributes to sociolinguistic scholarship by highlighting the importance of digital environments in the preservation, visibility and evolution of marginalised language varieties.