English Code-Mixings in WhatsApp interactions among Spanish adolescents and their orthographic competence

Abstract

Aims: The widespread use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) among adolescents has favored the creation of a newly written code called digitalk. This new code includes, among other characteristics, the use of foreign words as textisms, mainly anglicisms. These textisms also serve as a mark of identity among young speakers. The aim of this paper is twofold: first, to describe which are the more frequent anglicisms used by Spanish adolescents in their CMC and the code-mixing pathways of inclusion; second, to examine the possible influence between the use of anglicisms in the CMC of Spanish adolescents and their orthographic competence. Method: Based on an exploratory methodology, a corpus of interactions through WhatsApp of a group of adolescents attending Compulsory Secondary Education in a region of southern Spain has been analyzed. Data analysis: Sketch Engine software was used for corpus analysis, presenting the normalized frequency (1/1,000) of textisms, misspellings, and multimodal elements. Finally, for the descriptive statistical analysis of the data and for the bivariate correlation analysis applying Pearson’s coefficient, IBM SPSS v.26 software was used. Findings: The results indicate that young people use English Code-Mixings (ECM) as discursive framers with an expressive aim and as a sign of belonging to a specific community of speakers. Moreover, no positive correlation is observed between the use of these ECMs and a lower orthographic competence. Implications: ECMs show an important pragmatic function in CMC among Spanish adolescents. Furthermore, they are one of the elements that have been incorporated into the digital norm of Spanish and can be used in Compulsory Education as a resource for the acquisition of communicative competence in adolescents along with other textisms. Originality: This is the first research that analyzes the frequency and function of anglicisms in Spanish CMC and their impact on the orthographic competence of Spanish adolescents.