Language Meets Technology: Word Formation Processes in Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) in Ghana

Abstract

Since the introduction of the World Wide Web in the early 90s, CMC has changed the nature of communication. Computer oriented people resort to CMC as far as their communication needs are concerned. Users are at liberty to explore the type of CMC that best suits them. Compared to the writing of letters, most of the people I interacted with cited convenience and the fast nature of CMC as some of the major reasons for choosing either synchronous or asynchronous CMC. Whether synchronous or asynchronous, CMC could be said to be a solution for effective communication across different locations (Sriker &Vakkalanka, 2012). In their communication, users employ words and structures that have undergone one word formation process or the other. Factors that account for such words and structures include creativity, the quest for speed, the informal nature of CMC as well as the lack of social rule and the absence of criticism and control. This study looks at three (3) categories of CMC, WhatsApp Facebook and SMS. While WhatsApp is purely synchronous, Facebook is both synchronous and asynchronous. The words and structures employed in these media will be studied in order to identify the word formation processes underlining them. It must be noted that the users of these words and structures do not preoccupy themselves with the word formation processes underlining these words and structures before they employ them. In fact, some users who might not be language oriented may not even be aware of what word formation processes are. Those who are language oriented hardly employ their knowledge of word formation when communicating. This study will collate some of these words and structures as used by the researcher‟s friends and their mutual friends who are basically speakers of Ghanaian English. The emphasis on Ghanaian English has become necessary since the literature on CMC has revealed that words and structures are not universal but context based.