Abstract:
Supervernaculars emerge as semiotic codes which form a sociolinguistic system as a
result of the processes of globalization in a technologically-driven world. This very
creation of supervernaculars challenges the traditional notion of speech community of
early sociolinguists, where language functioned within a particular territory, adhering
to the norms and rules of a given community. With the emergence of
supervernaculars, the concept of speech community is challenged with the formation
of de-territorialized and trans-idiomatic communities on the virtual platform. The
current study engages in an analysis of the language used in online gaming to
emphasize the ways in which language functions as a supervernacular on a virtual
platform. The paper provides multiple case studies which illustrate how the English
language functions as a Supervernacular. In doing so, it presents a form of English
that actually occurs in use, which deviates from the imagined standard of English. A
purposive sampling method was used for data collection, and the data was analysed
using thematic analysis. Cyber ethnography has been employed as the primary
method of data collection. Findings suggest that, on the virtual platform, supergroups
are created through the sharing of linguistic resources irrespective of cultural, social,
and geographical backgrounds. In addition, world Englishes, rather than the imagined
standard of English, function as supervernaculars, thus highlighting the role of
dialects of languages. This leads to the formation of super speech communities in
segments of the virtual platform, such as in the instance of online gaming, where
individuals across the globe,irrespective of boundaries, use the global language of
English as a supervernacular for communication and social interaction.
