Language Choice in Mobile Text Messages among Jordanian University Students

Abstract

This paper examines the linguistic structure and sociolinguistic functions of ArabicEnglish code-switching in mobile text messages as used by a group of Jordanian university students. It also aims at investigating the distribution of the switched elements by syntactic category. The corpus was collected from 46 male and female undergraduate and post-graduate students. Qualitative as well as quantitative analyses were carried out by the researchers. The major findings of the study revealed that there are a number of technical elements that might be responsible for the wide use of English or switching between English and Arabic “with Arabic Roman scripts” in mobile text messaging. Qualitative data analysis indicated that CS could be brought about and shaped by the dynamics of the relationship of the speaker–addressee and by cultural features embedded in the Arabic language. The analysis also showed that CS in this particular means of communication functions as a communicative strategy for facilitating communication by lowering language barriers as well as by consolidating cultural identity. Moreover, it has been noticed that the process appears to be conditioned, among other factors, by the sex of the writer. The findings of this study chart changes in language choice practices ushered in by the advent of a new medium of communication.

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