Language and Identity in Intercultural Digital Communication
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33152/jmphss-10.5.8Keywords:
Digital intercultural communication, Digital identity, Translanguaging, Multimodality, Social mediaAbstract
In the current context of digital transformation in communication, intercultural interaction increasingly takes place in platformmediated environments, where language practices, cultural codes, and algorithmic mechanisms interact within a single communicative space. This necessitates a rethinking of the processes of identity formation, which acquire a dynamic and hybrid character. The aim is to identify the key mechanisms for the formation of digital intercultural identity. The study answers the question of how translingual practices, multimodality, and algorithmic visibility affect the construction of identity in social media. Qualitative secondary analysis in the format of an interpretive meta-synthesis of empirical research published between 2022 and 2026 was applied. Thematic coding and comparative analysis of peer-reviewed scientific papers on sociolinguistics, digital media, translingualism, and multimodal discourse were used. It has been established that digital platforms structurally determine language practices; translingual strategies go beyond code-switching; multimodality transforms language into one component of semiotic complexes; algorithmic systems redefine language practices as tools for achieving visibility. Identity appears as a dynamic, contextually variable construct. The originality of the study lies in the integration of linguistic, semiotic, and technological dimensions of digital communication within a single analytical model. The concept of the ”zone of fluid identity” is proposed, which allows interpreting identity as a process formed under the influence of translingual practices, multimodality, and algorithmic mediation. Digital intercultural identity is the result of the interaction of language practices, platform architecture, and algorithmic mediation. It functions as a hybrid and fluid process that is constantly reconfigured within digital communication.
References
Arshad, S., Shabir, Z., Aslam, S., & Farid, S. (2025). The impact of social media on language use and identity: A sociolinguistic analysis. Journal of Applied Linguistics and TESOL, 8(2), 871–883. https://jalt.com.pk/index.php/jalt/article/view/703
Bhabha, H. K. (1994). The location of culture. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203820551
Blommaert, J., & Rampton, B. (2011). Language and superdiversity. Diversities, 13(2), 1–21.
Bojic, L., Prodanovic, N., Samala, A. D., Cabarkapa, M., & Vukovic, V. (2026). Maintaining Journalistic Integrity in the Digital Age: A Comprehensive NLP Framework for Evaluating Online News. International Journal for Quality Research, 20(1), 201–218. https://doi.org/10.24874/IJQR20.01-13
Boumaza, D., & Baker, W. (2026). Negotiating Cultural Identity in the Trans-Digital Space: A Multi-Scalar Analysis of Translingual ELF Users’ Intercultural Communication. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 47(1), 107–126. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2025.2551127
Bucholtz, M., & Hall, K. (2005). Identity and interaction: A sociocultural linguistic approach. Discourse Studies, 7(4–5), 585–614. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445605054407
Butler, J. (2006). Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (1st). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203824979
Darvin, R. (2022a). Design, Resistance and the Performance of Identity on TikTok. Discourse, Context & Media, 46, 100591. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcm.2022.100591
Darvin, R. (2022b). TikTok and the Translingual Practices of Filipino Domestic Workers in Hong Kong. Discourse, Context & Media, 50, 100655. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcm.2022.100655
Darvin, R. (2023). Sociotechnical structures, materialist semiotics, and online language learning. Language Learning & Technology, 27(2), 28–45. https://doi.org/10.64152/10125/73502
DataReportal. (2026). Global social media statistics. https://datareportal.com/social-media-users
Daulay, S. H., Nst, A. H., Ningsih, F. R., Berutu, H., Irham, N. R., & Mahmudah, R. (2024). Code Switching in the Social Media Era: A Linguistic Analysis of Instagram and TikTok Users. Humanitatis: Journal of Language and Literature, 10(2), 373–384. https://doi.org/10.30812/humanitatis.v10i2.3837
Duna, R., & Garabet, B. (2026). Language, identity, and digital communication in youth culture. Abstract Book of the 12th International Academic Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences. https://www.dpublication.com/abstract-of-12th-iachss/languageidentity-and-digital-communication-in-youth-culture/
García, O., & Wei, L. (2014). Translanguaging: Language, bilingualism and education. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137385765
Huang, C., Clancy, L., & Austin, S. (2024, January). Language and traditions are considered central to national identity: Publics around the world divided on birthplace and religion as requirements for national belonging. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2024/01/18/language-and-traditions-are-considered-central-to-national-identity/
Hudak, K., Davidson, R., & Winters, E. (2024). Educational digital storytelling and intercultural identity management: A case study for short-term study abroad experiential learning pedagogies. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 18(2), Article 7. https://doi.org/10.20429/ijsotl.2024.180207
Jofita, K., & Haryanto, S. (2025). Functions and Patterns of Code-Switching in Social Media: A Study on Audreyfannyau’s Instagram Captions. Acuity: Journal of English Language Pedagogy, Literature and Culture, 11(2). https://doi.org/10.35974/acuity.v11i2.4248
Khan, M. (2024). Cross-cultural communication and identity in the age of english as a global lingua franca [EasyChair Preprints]. https://easychair.org/publications/preprint/hhHC
Lestari, P. I., & Prakoso, I. B. (2026). Digital multilingual practices and identity negotiation on social media from a critical discourse perspective. LIER: Language Inquiry & Exploration Review, 3(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.71435/688512
Mokodompit, I., Basalama, N., Miolo, S. T., & Muziatun. (2026). Teen Digital Language and Identity Formation: A Corpus-Driven Multimodal Linguistic Landscape Analysis on Social Media Platforms. Language, Technology, and Social Media, 4(1), 104–126. https://doi.org/10.70211/ltsm.3026-7196.321
Oktaviana, A. A. (2024). The Use of Translanguaging in Social Media: A Case Study of Gen Z [Bachelor’s thesis]. Universitas Mataram. https://eprints.unram.ac.id/44833/
Perez-Arredondo, C., Avello, D., & Cárcamo-Ulloa, L. (2025). A Multimodal Discursive Approach to Translanguaging and Identity in Chilean Social Media. Discourse, Context & Media, 68, 100951. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcm.2025.100951
Riaz, N., Sukhera, F. A., & Ahmed, I. (2025). Code-Switching Patterns in Multilingual Social Media Communities: A Comparative Analysis of Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. Social Sciences & Humanity Research Review, 3(4). https://doi.org/10.63468/
Sovhyra, T., Vytkalov, S., Volynets, V., Dykhnych, L., & Brailko, I. (2026). Golem & AI: Technologically Advanced Monsters. Culture Unbound, 18(2). https://doi.org/10.3384/cu.6265
Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In W. G. Austin & S. Worchel (Eds.), The social psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 33–47). Brooks/Cole. https://www.scirp.org/reference/ReferencesPapers?ReferenceID=757561
Thomas, J., & Harden, A. (2008). Methods for the thematic synthesis of qualitative research in systematic reviews. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 8, 45. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2288-8-45
Vytkalov, S., Petrova, I., Skoryk, A., Goncharova, O., Vytkalov, V., & Antipina, I. (2023). Establishment of Cultural Industries in Ukraine: Implementation of Foreign Practices. Journal of Law and Sustainable Development, 11(3), e813. https://doi.org/10.55908/sdgs.v11i3.813
Wei, L. (2011). Moment Analysis and Translanguaging Space: Discursive Construction of Identities by Multilingual Chinese Youth in Britain. Journal of Pragmatics, 43(5), 1222–1235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2010.07.035
Xu, X. (2022). Exploring the Impacts of Social Media Usage on a Chinese International Student’s Identity Development. Journal of Linguistics and Communication Studies, 1(1), 27–33. https://doi.org/10.56397/JLCS.2022.11.05
Yao, M. (2025). The study of the effects of digital media applications in cross-cultural communication in the construction of cultural identity. Acta Psychologica, 258, 105247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105247
Zabrodskaja, A. (2025). De-Westernizing Intercultural Communication: Power, Language, Identity, and Digital Mediation Across Contexts. Journalism and Media, 6(3), 127. https://doi.org/10.3390/journalmedia6030127
Zhang, K., & Yang, L. (2025). Analysis of Code-Switching Phenomena in the Evolution of Social Media Language—Take the Mixed Use of Chinese and English by Gen Z as an Example. Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science, 9(3), 642–647. https://doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2025.03.035
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Nadiia Senchylo-Tatlilioglu, Svitlana Nastenko, Olha Dekalo, Tetiana Kuzmenko, Liudmyla Usyk, Ganna Turchynova
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
