The Linguistic Implications of Facebook Nicknames for Jordanian Males and Females

Abstract

Facebook allows users to easily share their thoughts and feelings with other users. This study attempts to investigate the linguistic behavior of Jordanian Facebookers' choice of nicknames in Arabic. In so doing, it gives a window onto the norms and values of the Jordanian culture in a way that interaction in most other kinds of situations does not. The data consist of 234 nicknames (71 males and 163 females), which were collected from 11 large Facebook groups. Also, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 participants to obtain their views on their use of nicknames. The results showed that the preferred category of nicknames for males is “animals reference” (23.4%), whereas “celestial bodies reference” is the least frequent type used. Females preferred using nicknames under “superiority reference” (17.3%), whereas “job reference” and “famous characters’ reference” are the least frequent types used. Overall, this study lends evidence to the view that gender influences linguistic choices, including nicknames. Significantly, the analysis also shows that both males and females tend to use terms that have a “pessimistic reference” more than those that carry an “optimistic reference”. Besides, the analysis shows that “flora reference” is a category that was often used in female nicknames. Essentially, it enriches knowledge about the Jordanian culture as it provides information about the general mentality, ways of thinking, and emotional and evaluative attitudes towards the genuineness of the people. Such knowledge can be of great benefit to learners of Jordanian Arabic as a foreign language.