Code Mixing of User Reviews in E-Commerce Shopee Platform: A Sociolinguistics Study

Abstract

This study investigates the patterns and sociolinguistic functions of Indonesian–English code-mixing in user reviews on the Shopee e-commerce platform. Drawing on Muysken’s (2000) typology of code-mixing, the study examines how Indonesian consumers integrate English lexical items into digital marketplace communication. Employing a descriptive qualitative approach, the research analyzed 34 code-mixed reviews selected from a larger corpus of customer reviews collected from three women’s fashion products in My Bamus Official Shop, a Shopee Mall store. The findings identified three types of code-mixing: insertion (15 instances), alternation (10 instances), and congruent lexicalization (9 instances). Insertion emerged as the most dominant type, functioning primarily as lexical enrichment and evaluative emphasis. Alternation was commonly used to express stance, future intention, and interpersonal engagement, while congruent lexicalization reflected deeper bilingual integration through the blending of Indonesian and English linguistic structures. The findings suggest that code-mixing in online consumer reviews serves not only communicative purposes but also contributes to identity construction and participation in contemporary digital consumer culture. This study contributes to the growing field of digital sociolinguistics by highlighting how bilingual language practices shape user-generated discourse in e-commerce environments.

Keywords: code-mixing; sociolinguistics; user reviews; e-commerce communication