| dc.description.abstract | In recent years, the rise of social media platforms has transformed communication
patterns and language use across the globe. Among these platforms, X (formerly
known as Twitter) stands out as one of the most influential, having witnessed the
emergence and widespread adoption of abbreviated neologisms. This study conducts
a morphological analysis of abbreviated neologisms used by Kenyans on X. The
objectives are threefold, to: describe the morphological structures of these abbreviated
neologisms; second, to examine the correlation of non-linguistic variables and
demographics on the use of abbreviated neologisms among Kenyans on X; and analyze
these abbreviated neologisms within social media discourses using the natural
morphology framework (NMT) propounded. NMT is a functionalist theory that
explains word formation based on cognitive, phonological and pragmatic principles,
with emphasis on naturalness, economy, iconicity, productivity, adaptability and
universality. These tenets provide the framework through which the abbreviated
neologisms were evaluated. Regardless of this increasing linguistic trend, scarce
research studies have been done on morphological frames of abridged neologisms,
especially in the Kenyan cyberspace. Data in the study was obtained using systematic
sampling based on posts publicly posted on X by Kenyans. Posts were recorded
through taking screenshots of abbreviated neologisms, and this led to a corpus of 150
items. The neologisms that look to be the shortened forms were defined and
characterized using the context. Subsequently the data was categorized on the
morphology of the neologisms and included the type of abbreviation, source words or
roots and other morphemes. This category gave an idea of the regularities and
tendencies of the application of shortened neologisms on X. The results yield valuable
information on the morphological morphs of shortened neologisms, and represent one
of the intimate details of the innovative use of language by the Kenyan X users. The
paper pinpoints the importance of social media platforms in the evolution of language
that proves the technological impact on the formation process of words. The result of
the investigation was that initialisms, clipping and contraction are used to create
abbreviated neologism. The analysis revealed that young people were more prone to
use abbreviations as compared to the old. Also, restrictions to technological constrains
like character length of that platform, and the platform interaction have a big role in
influencing the use of word formation on X as it fosters creativity among the KOX in
their use of language. Moreover, the study means a lot because it would document the
changes in modern language and will be of benefit to language education and
lexicographic practice in the digital era. These observations highlight the wider
perception of language variation and change through social media platform.. | en_US |
