The language requirements in the digital communication : A quantitative study about attitudes about language requirement in digital communication

In the digital communication channels, the language is often described as more liberated and informal than the language used for other forms of writing. On the other hand, research has shown that the languages and the way it's used, are not detached from the commonly accepted norms that exist. This thesis aims to investigate what aspects and characteristics that are perceived as important when communicating through digital texts and chat conversations. The study further illustrates how respondents perceive their own language and how it may vary throughout various age groups. Previous research exhibits that there is an accommodation in the language based upon the receiver and situation. Furthermore, it also shows that what language is being used, is closely connected to a person’s identity. With this serving as a foundation, this paper examines how the elder respectively younger age group perceive their speech and language characteristics and what demands they possess on what language that is being used. This study has been carried out through a quantitative method. More specifically, a questionnaire focused on respondents’ attitude of the language used in digital communication channels has been sent out. The sample was selected by a random sample strategy where the essay was shared on Facebook. To execute a comparative analysis, the respondents have been divided into two age groups; these two are “Respondents born 1991 or later” and “Respondents born 1990 or before”. This paper has successfully concluded that language norms and rules such as spelling, word order, punctuation marks and complete sentences, are perceived as important in texts and chat conversations. While both age groups consider the language norms and rules to be important, they do however differentiate to what degree. The elder age group perceive norms and rules as being more important than the younger age group. The characteristic that is the most important, in both age groups, is correct spelling. The study shows that there is a wider dispersion within the younger age group in comparison to the older age group, which is more cohesive and considers the rules and norms to be more important