Anti-Language of Computer Enthusiasts

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Sociolinguistics deals with how language and society are intertwined: how language reflects society and how society makes or forms their language express their background. Likewise, sociolinguistics deals with the variations and patterns of languages within a society. Specifically, it focuses on the way people use language to express social class, group status, gender, or ethnicity, and it looks at how they make choices about the form of language they use (Longyear, 2008). Among the subcultures is the community of computer enthusiasts. They are those computer programmers, system analyst, web designer, students who take up computer courses and even plain computer addicts. This community belongs to a culture which is emerging in this generation. The culture isknown as cyberculture which means the culture that has emerged or is emerging, from the use of computer networks for communication, entertainment, and business. The study of anti-languages offers further insights into the relationship between language andsocial structure, and into the way in which text functions in the realization of social contexts (Halliday, 1976). The researcher's purposes of the study are to understand what lies within this subculture: the creativity of the computer enthusiasts' groupin forming new words and the language dynamism; to identify the used word formation processes, and to determine the level of exposure of each age bracket to the internet.

METHODS

The research design of the study followed the descriptive-survey method ofresearch. It identified and described the anti-language used by the computer enthusiasts residing from General Santos City, Philippines. The anti-language was classified according to word-formation processes employed and determined the level of exposure of the subjects to the internet in terms of age according to adolescents (10-14 y/o), youth (15-19 y/o) and adults (20 and above). The research instruments used in the study were interview schedules, two checklists, and a guided interview. Interview schedules included the background of the subjects where personal data such as will be asked. There were two checklists, Netspeak, and Techspeak Checklists. The 100 words in each of the two checklists were gathered from 10 websites of computer slangs and jargons and were used for eliciting the anti-language from the subjects and for comparative purposes. After the data was gathered, the researcher proceeded to answer the following problems. First, the researcher listed the gathered data. Then, the researcher identified the anti-language of the subjects and was classified according to Techspeak and Netspeak. To answer the second problem, the researcher underwent analysis to describe the word-formation processes employed in their anti-language. For evaluating the level of exposure to the internet in terms of age according to adolescence, youth and adult, a statistical presentation was being done.

RESULTS

Based on the findings the following conclusions were drawn: (1) the computer enthusiasts in General Santos City used Netspeak and Techspeak via word formation processes; (2) among the word formation processes, re-lexicalization and homophonic literation are the most frequently used by youth; and, (3) the youth has the highest level of exposure among the group of respondents.

DISCUSSIONS