New language practices on TikTok and X

Abstract

Social media’s presence has brought opportunities for the change of language and vocabulary use over the years. This is because it has become the most used and easily accessible communication platform. This study seeks to outline the exploration of new language practices on social media. This will be done by identifying the emergence of new vocabulary that is being used by people on social media platforms, more specifically on the applications TikTok and X. This study is vital because it provides insight into the impact of language use on social media and examines the creativity in the creation of new words and how they keep evolving in the digital space. The study adopts a qualitative methodological approach to collect the data and employs content analysis to examine the data. This study gathers and analyses users’ posts, comments and videos on TikTok and X to explore how individuals express themselves through using slang, memes, emojis and inventing new terms and phrases. The study draws on a computer-mediated discourse analysis theoretical framework, which examines the study of communication through digital means, as well as a content analysis analytical framework to examine the data. The findings of this research contribute to a deeper understanding of emerging vocabulary on TikTok and X, offering a clearer meaning of new slang and explaining the communicative practice of them.