Netspeak in Students’ Academic Writing: A Case in the Philippines
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Abstract
The study explored the presence of Netspeak in senior high school students’ academic writing. Several studies have revealed that students’ writing in a face-to-face setting has been observed to be declining, and a limited body of literature explored this phenomenon during a pandemic where classes were largely done virtually. With teachers complaining on the dominance of Netspeak on students’ written communication skills, the study explored whether this phenomenon becomes more evident during the pandemic. The researchers analyzed their academic writing outputs and examined the presence of Netspeak. A total of six (6) writing prompts was completed by 62 students and was given weekly through Canvas, the school’s learning management system. Through discourse analysis, the study revealed that students’ written communication responses showed forms of Netspeak which can be categorized into orthographic deviations, neosemanticism, neologism, and social media expressions. The researchers further argued that the presence of Netspeak could be attributed with so much language creativity and freedom that students enjoy over the Internet amplified by the pandemic. With so many factors involved in the conduct of the study, further studies should explore how students can lessen the use of Netspeak, especially in the field of academic writing.
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References
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