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Language plays an intrinsic part in the construction of identity; it is therefore inevitable that groups of people will adapt language to create a sense of a collective identity. It could be argued that a sense of unity will be strengthened in the alienation and exclusion of others and this is easily achieved through the development of a specific, sometimes unrecognisable, language. Likewise, popular modes of language use will also have a direct impact on a social group’s creation and use of language. There is evidence that some social groups create completely new lexemes which, consciously or not, give a group a collective identity. This is exemplified in the data which shows the construction of the neologisms “fleek” and “bae”. These lexemes appear to have no etymological connections to their meanings and thus completely alienate those without prior knowledge. Arguably this formation of slang is symptomatic of young peoples’ language use and arises out of, according to Klerk, “linguistic freedom”. She states that young people have the freedom to challenge norms and do so to be seen as “modern, cool, fashionable and up to date”. So, in using the neologisms/slang, a person will be easily identified as a member of that social group; in this case, young people. Those that don’t have the understanding will be kept out.Arguably this creation of a language that includes those that use it, paradoxically excludes those that don’t understand. But perhaps this is the aim for specific social groups? The data offers clear examples of sematic variation in “thirsty” and “deadout”, where seemingly familiar words have changed from the universal and recognised denotation. Arguably this leads to isolation for those that don’t understand and must attempt to decode the language. Like Klerk, Eckert suggests that the creation of slang is to create an identity amongst young people. However, Eckert goes on to explain that this is a conscious shift away from societal norms and those that represent it – adults and the older generation. Eckert would see this semantic variation as a direct attempt to alienate those who don’t understand it. Like an act of rebellion.Although language is intrinsically linked to the construction of social group identities, it would be a simplistic view if we did not consider the impact of the electronic mode on language usage and how social groups use this. Within the data there are clear examples of abbreviations, or specifically initialisms for example “FOMO” and “NSFW”.Some studies and mainstream media may present this use of language as detrimental and link to the decline in literacy amongst the younger generation – those that predominately use electronic modes of communication. An older generation may feel excluded and kept out, but arguably this more to do with the advancing technology of the mode, than the actual language itself. This language lends itself to efficiency and speed. Being that electronic modes bridge the gap between writing and spontaneous speech this evolution of language seems inevitable. Seeing as text messaging is a key mode of communication for young people (or what Swales would identify as discourse community) it seems obvious that the language would change to assist in the efficiency of communication. Giles’ ‘accommodation theory’ supports this notion and he suggests that speakers adapt their language to suit their audience and improve communication. In contrast, some speakers may use language to distance and distinguish themselves from others. In this instance, the abbreviations do both – they unify the social group, but in turn exclude those that don’t have the understanding.Whether consciously, or unconsciously, social groups’ interaction will inevitably lead to a language that feels exclusive. This could be positive in the unification of the group and, in this case, aid the efficiency of communication. However, both lead to some sense of exclusion, for those that must decode the language, which could be viewed as negative. ................
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