The Constructing Teenage Identitiy Through Language A Discourse Analysis of TikTok Content
Abstract
This research was carried out to investigate the ways in which young people communicate on TikTok to form and share their social identities. The primary emphasis is on how various language elements like slang, tone, rhythm, and speaking style are untilized not merely to express meanings but also to reveal individual and collective identities within a digital community of youth. A qualitative descriptive methodology was adopted, applying a discourse analysis framework. The information was gathered from a TikTok video titled “How Language Shapes Identitiy and Development” shared by @etymologynerd, which examines how a person’s accent, language background, and upbringing contribute to identity development. This video was chosen because of its significant resonance with teenage viewers and its incorporation of language features relevant to youth , such as uptalk , casual fillers, and vivid expression. The analysis involved looking at the linguistic style of the creator and the interactions within the comments section. The result indicate that the speaker blends educational content with language cues that resonate with teenagers, while the comments reflect how young people use language to express shared identity. These findings demonstrate that TikTok is an engaging platform where language and identity come together. It is anticipated that this research will enhance the understanding of how communication in digital platforms influences and mirrors the identity of teenagers in modern society.
References
Androutsopoulos, J. (2014). Computer-mediated communication and linguistic landscapes. In S. Leppänen, E. Westinen, & S. Kytölä (Eds.), Social media discourse, (dis)identifications and diversities (pp. 19–44). Peter Lang.
Berger, P. L., & Luckmann, T. (1966). The social construction of reality: A treatise in the sociology of knowledge. Doubleday.
Brown, P., & Levinson, S. C. (1987). Politeness: Some universals in language usage. Cambridge University Press.
Bucholtz, M., & Hall, K. (2005). Identity and interaction: A sociocultural linguistic approach. Discourse Studies, 7(4–5), 585–614. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445605054407
Butler, J. (1990). Gender trouble: Feminism and the subversion of identity. Routledge.
Bucher, T., & Helmond, A. (2018). The affordances of social media platforms. In J. Burgess, A. Marwick, & T. Poell (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of social media (pp. 235-253). SAGE Publications.
Foucault, M. (1972). The archaeology of knowledge and the discourse on language. Pantheon Books.
Gee, J. P. (2014). An introduction to discourse analysis: Theory and method (4th ed.). Routledge.
Goffman, E. (1981). Forms of talk. University of Pennsylvania Press.
https://www.tiktok.com/@etymologynerd/video/7356351492573482282
Johnstone, B., & Andrus, J. (2024). Discourse analysis (4th ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
Mujahidin, M., Muchyidin, M. S., & Entusiastik, E. (2023). The Teaching of Listening Through English Podcast At Pre-Intermediate Program of Seventeen English Learning. Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris Proficiency, 5(1), 9-19. https://doi.org/10.32503/proficiency.v5i1.3285
Ochs, E. (1992). Indexing gender. In A. Duranti & C. Goodwin (Eds.), Rethinking context: Language as an interactive phenomenon (pp. 335–358). Cambridge University Press.
Pennycook, A. (2007). Global Englishes and transcultural flows. Routledge.
Setiawan, E., & Entusiastik, E. (2022). Online English Teaching by Using Google Classroom and Its Challenges During Covid-19 Pandemic at Sman 1 Gedeg Mojokerto. Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris Proficiency, 4(1), 10-21. https://doi.org/10.32503/proficiency.v4i1.2244
Tagg, C., Seargeant, P., & Brown, B. (2017). Taking offence on social media: Conviviality and communication on Facebook. Palgrave Macmillan.
Tagliamonte, S. A., & Denis, D. (2021). Discourse and Variation in the Digital Age: A Study of Language on Twitter. Cambridge University Press.
TikTok. (2023, February 4). How language shape identity and development [Video]. TikTok.
Van Dijck, J., Poell, T., & De Waal, M. (2018). The platform society: Public values in a connective era. Oxford University Press.
