Analysis of the Influence of the Use of Twitter Registers in the Formal Language of Grade 12 Students

Abstract

This study identified the predominant registers employed by Grade 12 students on Twitter and assessed the influence of these commonly used registers on their utilization of formal English language. A two-part survey was used to elicit the needed data and mean, and Pearson’s r was applied to obtain results. The findings of the study revealed that the most frequently used registers are dialect registers and the least employed are facetious registers. Further, the participants recognized that their proficiency in formal language is impacted by their utilization of vocabulary specific to Twitter. This suggests that most students face challenges in engaging in formal communication, possibly due to excessive exposure to informal language used on Twitter. Moreover, there exists a notable correlation between the frequency of Twitter usage and the formal English language usage among Grade 12 students. This demonstrates that employing linguistic registers in interacting with X or Twitter may result in a deterioration of their proficiency in formal communication. The study recommends a comprehensive intervention program that language teachers may use to mitigate the impact of the use of informal twitter registers on the language proficiency of the students.