Keyword – digital media

Parapatics, Andrea:

Regional language features and their judgement in social media

This study investigates social media as a possible linguistic data source of empirical research. Since the paper draws attention to the existence of linguistic data that can be collected by passively observing digital communication, the studied sample is random and not representative. However, the information not affected by the presence of the researcher has an enormous role (beside other data garnered via different methods). This kind of reliable data is provided by the quasi faceless, oral-like, and less reflected language use on social media platforms. The study presents a great number of self-collected objective and subjective data (language facts and attitudes), highlighting that the sample shows prescriptive, one-norm language view of the users who judge and correct phonetical, syntactical and lexical regionalisms and the users of them. The paper also draws attention to the role of social media in developing metalinguistic awareness and forming attitudes by users and by direct science communication.

Keywords: dialect, dialectology, digital media, language attitude, language myths, metalinguistic awareness, mother tongue, social media, regionalism, sociolinguistics