Here Comes the Acehnese Gen-Z! Language and Identity in Social Media Communication

The use of social media amongst the Acehnese Gen-Z has prompted some variations in their language uses, communication styles, and identity shifts. Some argued that this is the outcome of how social media platforms shape and construct the Acehnese Gen-Z’s identity direction. This book chapter primarily analyzes how Acehnese Gen-Z language use influences their individual and speech community identities. It is also aimed to scrutinize their language attitudes towards their native language and their own social media language on the Twitter platform by using qualitative critical sociolinguistics and critical discourse analysis approach. The data show that numerous idiosyncratic uses of slang and Jargon, abbreviation and acronym inventions, constant code-switching and code-mixing practices, and the intensified use of moderated sarcasm to hyperbolic and euphemism expressions have a significant impact on the Acehnese Gen-Z online culture. The Acehnese Gen-Z search for identity in social media interaction is also marked by their ironical positive language attitude towards their native Acehnese language. This phenomenon is also paired with their polarized language attitudes (positive and negative) towards social media language uses in Twitter.