Indonesian Users' Self-expressions on X: A Case Study
Abstract
English has been an important international language for Indonesians to learn since they were children and seen as a major factor of future success in global competition. The wide scope of English language usage has led to the incorporation of English language into Indonesian people's expressions on social media, especially X (previously Twitter). Many Indonesian X users choose to express themselves in English rather than in Indonesian. The aim of this research is to investigate why Indonesian users prefer to use English in their heartfelt self-expressions on X. A qualitative case study, consisting of document gathering and interviews, is adopted in the data collection process. The data includes 8 top replies of the X thread of concern and follow-up interviews with the repliers. The result of this study shows that most participants felt awkward when expressing themselves in Indonesian. Additionally, they prefer utilizing the English language because of its extensive vocabulary and sense of propriety.
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