A Study on Japanese Youth Language (Wakamono Kotoba) Use on Social Media X

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-438-9_8How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Japanese Language; Media Social; Wakamono Kotoba; Youth Language

Abstract

This research aims to understand the forms and usage of youth language (wakamono kotoba) using data sourced from tweets by 100 Japanese accounts on social media X during the year 2024. Data in this study was collected using the observation method and conversational scrap technique. The classified data was then analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. The study found 282 instances of wakamono kotoba spread across the 100 X accounts. The study discovered that the wakamono kotoba found on social media X was dominated by the shouryaku (words shortening), which involves creating words by omitting certain parts. Additionally, the wakamono kotoba found included forms such as oto no henka (pronunciation change), iikae (converting Japanese into English), konkou (word combination), kashirajika (acronymizing), meishi no haisei (noun affixation), keiyoudoushi no hasei (prefix and suffix additions to adjectives -i), doushi no fukugo (adding suffix -suru to nouns), touchi (word reversal), and other forms. Among all the data found, there were instances of wakamono kotoba experiencing changes in meaning, while others underwent an expansion of meaning. Lastly, wakamono kotoba on social media X was used as a form of creative and emotional expression, creating a more familiar and relaxed atmosphere, and some wakamono kotoba were used to simplify the depiction of an event. Thus, wakamono kotoba is not just the language of the youth, but also an important tool in social interaction and self-expression among young people.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Devi Haryanti Oktavia
AU  - M. Ramadanil Akbar
AU  - Nuria Haristiani
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/07/28
TI  - A Study on Japanese Youth Language (Wakamono Kotoba) Use on Social Media X
BT  - Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Language, Literature, Culture, and Education (ICOLLITE 2024)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 70
EP  - 79
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-438-9_8
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-438-9_8
ID  - Oktavia2025
ER  -