SMS Texting Lexical Deviations and Gender in an EFL Academic Context

Abstract

The study explored SMS texters’ lexical deviations in an EFL academic context. A mixed-method that integrated both a corpus-based methodology and a questionnaire was implemented. The data analysis looked at texting deviated forms and their variation according to the EFL students’ gender and academic level. The results revealed the omission of capital letters as the most frequent type of deviation. The latter was followed by letter/number homophones, contractions, misspellings, and phonetic/non-conventional spellings. The results also highlighted the insignificant role of gender, with both genders texting almost similarly. Regarding the students’ academic level impact on the use of deviant forms, the data showed a noted relation between the use of deviations and the students’ language proficiency as Master students were revealed as the most prolific users of lexical deviations