Language Choices and Digital Identity of High School Student Text Messages in the New Capital City of Indonesia: Implication for Language Education

This research investigates the language choices and digital identities represented in text messages exchanged by high school students in the New Capital City of Indonesia (Ibu Kota Nusantara/IKN) and the implications of these linguistic practices for language teaching. Using a corpus of messages transmitted via WhatsApp collected from 100 high school students, this study produced 2.1 million tokens of 83,414 word types. This study uses corpus linguistic analysis to investigate the distinctive features of language usage, lexical changes, and communication trends in the digital discourse of IKN high school students. Data analysis utilizes features from AntConc corpus tools, including word lists, collocations, concordances, and N-grams. Concerning the features uncovered the subtle nuances that contribute to the unique linguistic identity of the student authors. This research highlights how digital language patterns attribute individual identity within the context of IKN high school students. The data analysis discovers three linguistic patterns in the electronic texts produced by IKN High School students, reflecting their general digital identity as language users in IKN, namely (1) lexical choice, (2) orthographic selection, and (3) lexical bundles. Furthermore, the study reveals the complex construction of digital identity through language, with students negotiating social positions, connections, and personal identities via their linguistic choices in electronic texts. The research findings contribute to the implications of language teaching in the IKN area and a deeper understanding of how students within the IKN area express themselves through language in the virtual realm, thus shaping their digital identities. © 2024, Universitas Negeri Makassar- Faculty of Languages and Literature. All rights reserved.