Multilingual Expressions on Whatsapp: Cameroonian Students’ Cultural Identity

This paper pinpoints the chemistry of culture and language that
Cameroonian students use on social media. This is done by analyzing
how Dschang University students use verbal and nonverbal language
on WhatsApp. The initial tenet is that the students use the digital
platform to brandish their multilingual and multicultural expressions.
As such, it is necessary to know the types of languages used, determine
what accounts for their use, and discuss the possible implications. To
do so, the Dynamic Model of Edward Schneider and the Social Semiotics
of Theo Van Leuween informed the analysis. Screenshots were taken
and downsized using convenient sampling from the students’ WhatsApp
groups. Results reveal that besides facilitating instant interaction in
academic peer-to-peer communication, WhatsApp posts also virtually
represent students’ identities such as tradition, costume, gastronomy,
and rituals. The study establishes that local colour, code-switching,
code-mixing and neologisms that result in language appropriation are
motivated by the multilingual background of the students. As such,
WhatsApp and other social media platforms can be used to potentially
contribute to the spread and exposure of the linguistic and cultural
landscape of Cameroon worldwide.

Keywords: Digital Culture, Language Appropriation, Online Identity,
WhatsApp Posts