A Sociolinguistic Investigation of Arabic Diglossia and Codeswitching in the Media and Social Networks

Abstract

The proliferation of social networking sites in Algeria has provided an unprecedented opportunity to investigate linguistic practices within computer-mediated communication. This research aims to explore and analyse language usage and sociolinguistic practices among Algerian web users on social media, with a focus on linguistic varieties within the Algerian landscape. Attitudes assessment and corpora analysis, alongside language frequency distribution and discourse analysis, were employed to scrutinize the collected data. The findings reveal that Algerians continue to hold Modern Standard Arabic in high esteem, perceiving it as a prestigious variety, while often attaching a stigma to the use of Algerian dialect. Additionally, sociohistorical factors influence attitudes toward varieties such as French. The majority of the content under study aligns with one linguistic variety, with instances of diglossia and codeswitching representing the subtle interplay of linguistic practices in the digital space. These insights contribute to the broader academic discourse on language attitudes and practices in digital spaces, informing educational strategies, language policies, and societal understanding.