Morphosemantics of slang expressions by students in a Nigerian university

Abstract

ABSTRACT Previous research has focused on thematic and semantic descriptions of slang expressions in the Nigerian educational context. Morphological and semantic analyses of slang expressions have received little attention. This study addresses this gap by identifying different slang expressions used by students of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, accounting for the morphological processes involved in their formation, and exploring how the meanings of these slang expressions are derived. The microethnography research design was adopted, and data were drawn from participant observation and semi-structured interviews involving 50 students. Data are analysed descriptively following linguistic analytical procedures. The analysis indicates that slang expressions used by students in the study population are formed using these morphological processes: abbreviation/acronym, clipping, borrowing, calquing, reduplication, compounding, back-formation, and blending. The study shows that the meaning of slang words is manipulated through generalisation, particularisation, and pejoration. This study contributes to the literature on slang usage by establishing that calquing and reduplication are also morphological processes involved in slang formation. This article contributes to the understanding that slang expressions can also be borrowed from languages within a country and not necessarily from outside.