Digital Multilingualism, Identity Politics, and Language Accommodation in African Online Forums: A Sociolinguistic Study of Nairaland

Abstract

This study examines the intersection of language, identity, and politics in Nigerian online discussion through a sociolinguistic analysis of Nairaland, Nigeria's largest internet forum. Drawing on Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) and sociolinguistic theory, the research investigates how participants strategically use code-switching, Nigerian Pidgin, and local languages to negotiate identity, voice dissent, and establish community in politicised debates. Three selected threads, "Igbo Founded Ile-Ife," "Okrika Women Protest Unlawful Suspension of Fubara," and "Rivers Emergency Rule", serve as case studies for the analysis of how language works as a vehicle to convey ethnic pride, political grievance, and gendered opinion in online environments.Participants are observed to employ convergence, divergence, and maintenance strategies to show group membership, claim differences, or refuse linguistic norms. Nairaland's language options are not arbitrary but serve affective, rhetorical, and ideological functions, permitting speakers to negotiate group membership or sociopolitical grievances. The study reveals how Pidgin English and blended varieties of language are employed to construct a collective sense of identity and solidarity, particularly in protest or satirical contexts. It also discloses the gendered politics of exclusion whereby women's political voices are diminished through sexist and class-based labelling, an outcome of more profound societal biases replicated within the virtual spaces.The study contributes to the knowledge of digital multilingualism and bottom-up creativity in African online forums, highlighting the importance of ethical digital literacy and the moderation of inclusive discourses. By examining language use on Nairaland, the book enlightens readers on how Nigerians imaginatively appropriate linguistic material to shape power relations, assert their identities, and construct solidarity in the digital sphere. Relevant to scholars in sociolinguistics, digital humanities, and African studies, the book presents a case study for examining political discourse and identity creation in multilingually complex cyberspaces.