Languange Variation in the Digital Era: The Influence of Tiktok Content and Interaction on The Formation of Social Dialects Among Indonesian

Authors

  • Atika Anjani Universitas Negeri Medan, Indonesia
  • Khairunnisa Azzahra Universitas Negeri Medan, Indonesia
  • Novani Elisabeth Lingga Universitas Negeri Medan, Indonesia
  • Nurhikmah Siagian Universitas Negeri Medan, Indonesia
  • Resa Aquilera Ramadhani Universitas Negeri Medan, Indonesia
  • Meisuri Meisuri Universitas Negeri Medan, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.57235/jpkp.v1i2.7259

Keywords:

TikTok, language variation, social dialects, youth identity, sociolinguistics

Abstract

This study explores how TikTok functions as a digital linguistic arena that shapes the emergence of social dialects among Indonesian youth. Far beyond a platform for entertainment, TikTok facilitates the creation, dissemination, and reinforcement of new linguistic patterns through video content, captions, and interactive comments. Guided by Labov’s Variationist Sociolinguistics (1972), this research employs a qualitative descriptive approach by analyzing 15 TikTok videos and 100–150 user comments. The analysis focuses on linguistic features such as slang, code-switching, and identity markers that reflect youth identity and social belonging. The findings reveal that TikTok fosters rapid linguistic innovation such as slang expressions like receh banget and ngakak brutal, English borrowings such as slay and literally, and fandom or regional identity markers that demonstrate how users blend local and global influences. These linguistic practices not only strengthen community solidarity but also signify how digital spaces accelerate the evolution of language variation. Overall, the study concludes that TikTok represents a dynamic sociolinguistic ecosystem where technology, culture, and identity intersect, highlighting the platform’s crucial role in redefining Indonesian youth’s linguistic expression in the digital age

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Atmawijaya, T. D. (2023). Variation in dialect and social differences in English between rural areas in Klaten and a metropolitan city in South Jakarta. Shibgoh: Prosiding Ilmu Kependidikan UNIDA Gontor, 2, 660–674.

Halliday, M. A. K. (1978). Language as social semiotic: The social interpretation of language and meaning. London: Edward Arnold.

Ismail, D., Khotimah, R. K., Nugraha, F., Livia, A. W., & Mutiara, G. (2025). The impact of social media TikTok on the use of code mixing by Generation Z. Biantara: Journal of Language and Culture, 1 (2), 72–80.

Kandiawan, A. B. (2023). Code-switching and slang used by Gen Z Indonesians on social media. ELTR Journal, 7 (1), 47–55.

Kusyairi, H., Hikmah, & Qomariyah, N. (2024). Penggunaan variasi bahasa di media sosial TikTok pada generasi Z. Interdisiplin: Journal of Qualitative and Quantitative Research, 1 (3), 140–153.

Muqowwam, A., Rumasondi, F. A., & Hariani, A. P. (2025). External variation in language: Study of language variation based on perspective sociolinguistics. Integrative Perspectives of Social and Science Journal (IPSSJ), 2 (1), 513–518.

Nashrudina, P. G. G., Fajriyah, A. M., & Dewi, T. I. (2025). The Role of TikTok in Shaping Generation Z’s Slang: Semantic Change and Language Use in Digital Communication. Cultural Narratives, 2(3), 146–156.

Nusantara Hidayanti, N. N. A. T., & Sucipta, I. D. (2024). Variations in the Use of Indonesian in Social Media: A Case Study On TikTok. Wistara: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa dan Sastra, 5(2).

Sulistiyarini, S., & Prasetyo, G. T. (2024). Language variations of adolescents on TikTok social media. Metathesis: Journal of English Language, Literature, and Teaching, 8(1), 33–42.

Wardhaugh, R., & Fuller, J. M. (2021). An introduction to sociolinguistics (8th ed.). Wiley-Blackwell.

Downloads

Published

2025-10-21

How to Cite

Anjani, A., Azzahra, K., Lingga, N. E., Siagian, N., Ramadhani, R. A., & Meisuri, M. (2025). Languange Variation in the Digital Era: The Influence of Tiktok Content and Interaction on The Formation of Social Dialects Among Indonesian. Jurnal Pendidikan Kurikulum Dan Pembelajaran, 1(2), 128–134. https://doi.org/10.57235/jpkp.v1i2.7259

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 2 (2025): Oktober 2025

Section

Articles

Citation Check

License

  1. Authors certify that the work reported here has not been published before and contains no materials the publication of which would violate any copyright or other personal or proprietary right of any person or entity.
  2. Authors dont transfer or license the copyright of publishing to JPKP : Jurnal Pendidikan Kurikulum dan Pembelajaran Research to publish the article in any media format, to share, to disseminate, to index, and to maximize the impact of the article in any databases.
  3. Authors hereby dont agree to transfer a copyright for publishing to JPKP : Jurnal Pendidikan Kurikulum dan Pembelajaran a Publisher of the manuscript. 
  4. Authors reserve the following: 
    1. all proprietary rights other than copyright such as patent rights; 
    2. the right to use all or part of this article in future works of our own such as in books and lectures;
    3. use for presentation in a meeting or conference and distributing copies to attendees; 
    4. use for internal training by author's company;
    5. distribution to colleagues for their research use;
    6. use in a subsequent compilation of the author's works;
    7. inclusion in a thesis or dissertation;
    8. reuse of portions or extracts from the article in other works (with full acknowledgement of final article);
    9. preparation of derivative works (other than commercial purposes) (with full acknowledgement of final article); and
    10. voluntary posting on open web sites operated by author or author’s institution for scholarly purposes, but it should follow the open access license of Creative Common CC BY-NC License.