Investigating Facebook users' Nicknames in Algerian from a Sociolinguistics perspective

Abstract

The present work attempts to investigate “Facebook user’s nicknames” within the Algerian speech community and taking Tiaret speech community as a case of study. It mainly focuses on the basis of choosing nicknames as “Facebook user names” and the reasons behind their choices, and whether these preferences are affected by gender differences. For the methodology, this research adopts mixed methods of research instruments; both quantitative and qualitative, in which there was an online questionnaire that was given to fifty one (51) Master students at Ibn Khaldoun University; both levels and specialties (linguistics and didactics) and an email interview that was carried out with ten master students. This study reveals that the majority of the respondents prefer to be unknown for social, privacy, and cultural concerns. Also, the findings prove that females use nicknames more than males. Furthermore, the findings indicate other motives that participants rely on to create their nicknames such as childhood nicknames, the abbreviation of their real names, the combination of their first initial names letters, and the last of their beloved ones. Therefore, the main results indicate that the nature of the society, cultural influence, and learning a foreign language, in addition to gender differences are the most important variables that have a greater impact on Facebook users’ choices of nicknames.