Translanguaging in online requests: communicative strategies of Chinese international students in the UK

Abstract

This study investigates how Chinese students in the UK utilise translanguaging strategies in their online requests through the analysis of data collected from WhatsApp and Instagram. The findings reveal that students employ a diverse range of multimodal, multilingual, and multisemiotic resources, indicating a strategic blending of languages and modes to effectively navigate communication. Three turn positions are identified, ranked in order of frequency: single turn, turn medial, and turn initial. Furthermore, translanguaging in requests serves multiple functions, including interpersonal, expressive and textual purposes. This study contributes to a better understanding of how Chinese international students in the UK employ translanguaging in their online requests, offering new insights into the intersection of language, culture, and technology in an international academic context.

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