Abstract
The social media since its emergence has been a site for linguistic evolution. Ever since, language features that are peculiar to the Internet have beencontinuously evidenced in online interactions. This study, therefore, examines evolving linguistic trends in NigerianEnglish usageon Facebook, focusing on how social media interactions evince morphological and syntactic creativity among users.The data, which were selected purposively from relevant Facebook Posts through screenshots, were subjected to a qualitative analysis. Using the descriptive design,the research adopts the theoretical categories in Halliday’s Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG) to account for word formation and sentence formation processes in online discoursesand how they reflect meaning, context and social relations. Findings reveal that clipping, reduplication, affixation, infixation and blending are common morphological processes, illustrating users’ linguistic innovation and preference for brevity in digital communication. At the syntactic level, features such as arankshifted sentence in a nominal group, independentclause ellipsis in a complex sentence, and subject deletion in a simple sentenceare found. This reflects the informal and context-dependent nature of online interaction. Nigerian Facebook users deploy these morphological and syntactic strategies not merely as linguistic deviations but as dynamic tools for creativity, identity, expression and social engagement. The study thus highlights the adaptability of Nigerian English in digital spaces and underscores its role in shaping contemporary patterns of online communication.
Keywords: NigerianEnglish, Facebook discourse, Syntax, Computer-mediated communication, Internet language
DOI: www.doi.org/10.36349/sojolics.2025.v01i01.026
author/Afeez Kolawole Ayinde
journal/Sokoto JOLICS 1(1) | June 2025 |
