NETSPEAK IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE COMMUNICATION IN UNIVERSITY ACADEMIC SETTINGS

Abstract

We are living in the age of digital communication as Internet has completely changed the mannerism of language communication in academic settings. This qualitative study aims to investigate the impact of Netspeak on English language communication in university settings. The purpose is to understand how Netspeak affects and alters language interactions resulting in changing the face of academic language communication for teaching and learning purposes. The study analyzes the role of Netspeak in university settings affects the language structure and academic interactions in classroom setting from formal to informal. The semi-structured interviews of English language teachers were conducted to collect data. The findings suggest that Netspeak is an informal form of communication and therefore its role in teaching and learning communication should be minimal while with the excessive use of Netspeak the case of academic communication is otherwise at present. Netspeak cannot be denied but its use must be curtailed to maintain formal communication standards in the academic world.