CODE-SWITCHING AS A MARKER OF DIGITAL IDENTITY: A SOCIOLINGUISTIC STUDY OF MULTILINGUAL USERS IN ONLINE SPACES
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Abstract
This study examines how multilingual users in Uzbekistan employ Uzbek, Russian and English across Instagram, Telegram and TikTok, and how platform-specific affordances shape code-switching practices. A corpus of 500 publicly accessible posts collected in 2025 was analysed through the lens of interactional sociolinguistics, indexicality theory and digital discourse research. The findings show clear platform-related distinctions: Instagram encourages English as a stylistic and stance-taking resource; Telegram supports pragmatic Uzbek–Russian alternation that indexes interpersonal alignment and communicative efficiency; and TikTok fosters playful hybridity and multimodal performance linked to rhythm, humour and meme-based creativity. Across platforms, code-switching functions as a contextualisation cue that frames meaning and contributes to identity construction, reflecting both globalised digital trends and regional multilingual norms. The study provides empirical insight into a trilingual digital ecology that remains underexplored in Central Asia and highlights the importance of accounting for platform vernaculars in analyses of online multilingual behaviour. Implications for digital literacy and language education are also outlined.
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References
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