Abstract:This study investigates Nigerian and English interjections and emojis used for expressing surprise in Nigerian online communication. Interested in the factors influencing the choice between a shocked emoji and an English or Nigerian interjection, we apply automated emotion analysis and a language detection measurement we developed for an 840‐million‐word web forum corpus to test the influence of these and further variables on the choice of a surprise item. Our multinomial regression model suggests that the pro… Show more
“…Emojis play a significant role in communication [25], especially among the youth, and understanding their usage requires insight into the cultural context [27]. In the Nigerian youth culture, emojis are not just graphical representations; they are a form of language that adds depth and nuance to online conversations.…”
Section: Understanding Emojis In the Nigerian Youth Culturementioning
This paper explores the dynamic role of emojis in text-based communication among Nigerian youths and the potential implications for miscommunication. Emojis have become integral to contemporary digital conversations, offering users a visual means of expressing emotions, tone, and context within the constraints of text-based interactions. In the context of Nigeria, a country with a diverse linguistic landscape and a youthful population heavily engaged in online communication, understanding the impact of emojis on interpersonal exchanges becomes particularly pertinent. This paper examines the prevalence and patterns of emoji usage among Nigerian youths across various digital platforms. It investigates the cultural nuances and interpretations associated with emojis within the Nigerian context, considering factors such as regional differences, linguistic diversity, and socio-cultural influences. Furthermore, the study examines instances where emojis may contribute to miscommunication or misunderstanding, potentially exacerbating conflicts or hindering effective communication. Through a comprehensive review of existing literature, online discourse analysis, and case studies, this research aims to shed light on the ways in which emojis influence the interpretation of textual messages and the potential challenges they pose to clear and accurate communication. The study concludes that as digital communication continues to be a primary mode of interaction, it is essential for users to recognize the potential for misinterpretation, prompting the need for increased emoji literacy and awareness.
“…Emojis play a significant role in communication [25], especially among the youth, and understanding their usage requires insight into the cultural context [27]. In the Nigerian youth culture, emojis are not just graphical representations; they are a form of language that adds depth and nuance to online conversations.…”
Section: Understanding Emojis In the Nigerian Youth Culturementioning
This paper explores the dynamic role of emojis in text-based communication among Nigerian youths and the potential implications for miscommunication. Emojis have become integral to contemporary digital conversations, offering users a visual means of expressing emotions, tone, and context within the constraints of text-based interactions. In the context of Nigeria, a country with a diverse linguistic landscape and a youthful population heavily engaged in online communication, understanding the impact of emojis on interpersonal exchanges becomes particularly pertinent. This paper examines the prevalence and patterns of emoji usage among Nigerian youths across various digital platforms. It investigates the cultural nuances and interpretations associated with emojis within the Nigerian context, considering factors such as regional differences, linguistic diversity, and socio-cultural influences. Furthermore, the study examines instances where emojis may contribute to miscommunication or misunderstanding, potentially exacerbating conflicts or hindering effective communication. Through a comprehensive review of existing literature, online discourse analysis, and case studies, this research aims to shed light on the ways in which emojis influence the interpretation of textual messages and the potential challenges they pose to clear and accurate communication. The study concludes that as digital communication continues to be a primary mode of interaction, it is essential for users to recognize the potential for misinterpretation, prompting the need for increased emoji literacy and awareness.
“…These works highlight the importance of language in reasserting national identity in diasporic contexts and show how notions of prestige from the home country are not necessarily transplanted to a new environment. For example, Honkanen's (2020) work on the Nairaland corpus examines the range of linguistic resources Nigerian Americans have available to them (African American Vernacular English, Nigerian English, Nigerian Pidgin, and various Nigerian languages) and shows how, in particular, Nigerian Pidgin is mobilised as a resource for marking authentic Nigerian identity. In this way, Nigerian Pidgin loses some of the negative prestige it faces among Nigerians in Nigeria.…”
This monograph examines the ways in which Caribbean content creators use elements of Caribbean Englishes and Creoles in their performances of identity in image macro memes and TikTok videos. It also examines the ideologies that underlie these performances. The data comprises memes from Trinidadian Facebook pages, as well as videos by Guyanese, Barbadian, and Trinidadian TikTokers, and was analysed using the multimodal method designed by Kress. For meme makers, identity is understood as a system of distinction between ingroups and outgroups, and language and other semiotic features, notably emojis, are used to distinguish Trinidadians from other nationalities, and groups of Trinidadians from one another. TikTokers establish their Caribbean identity primarily through knowledge of lexis, but this works in concert with other linguistic features to create authentic identities. Social media content is underpinned by the tension between the acceptance and rejection of standard language ideologies.
“…Although Nigerian Pidgin English is locally perceived as an informal variant of English, used as a main language of daily communication in contact venues such as schools and markets, it ‘has achieved a certain prestige as a result of the increased functional load assigned to it in Nigeria and by Nigerians residing outside the country’ (Oyebola & Ugwuanyi, 2023, p. 80). In fact, there are millions of users in the diaspora around the world (Honkanen, 2020). According to Mensah (2013), another reason for the expansion of NPE is: the emergence of metropolitan cities such as Lagos, Port Harcourt, Calabar, Yenagoa, Benin, and Asaba, resulting in a multilayered linguistic ecological system where English, NP [Nigerian Pidgin, MC], and the indigenous languages are constantly competing for relevance in the urban space.…”
Section: Nigerian Pidgin English and The Social And Cultural Signific...mentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The vocabulary of Nigerian Pidgin English is largely based on English, but includes borrowed expressions from indigenous Nigerian languages and has a structure that is similar to that of the indigenous languages. Nigerian Pidgin English has no official status but is estimated to be used by more than 50% of the population on official or semi‐official occasions (at least in the south; Faraclas, 2012; Honkanen, 2020, p. 17; Schneider, 2007, p. 204). Faraclas (2012) considers it ‘undoubtedly the most widely spoken, readily learned, practically useful, and fastest growing language in Nigeria today’ (p. 418).…”
Section: Nigerian Pidgin English and The Social And Cultural Signific...mentioning
This article explores Nigerian Pidgin English proverbs as a source of cultural conceptualisations that reflect traditional wisdom as well as the modern urban setting of West Africa. A total of 173 proverbs sourced from the BBC News Pidgin's Instagram service were analysed for recurrent lexical keywords and themes (e.g. those relating to food, eating and drinking, and animals) that can be interpreted as source domain lexical material that points to the knowledge of nature, common animals, objects and social situations. The findings suggest that Nigerian Pidgin English proverbs contain a rich inventory of variety‐ and culture‐specific lexis that encodes cultural knowledge and practice, for example knowledge of the local flora and fauna, food items, but also objects of material culture such as clothing, as well as references to social culture.
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