Digital Code-Switching, Prosodic Signals, and Identity Negotiation: How Nigerian Professionals in Europe Strategically Navigate Nigerianness and European Professionalism Across Online Communication Platforms.
Author
Adebisi, Favour Ifeoluwa
Term
4. term
Publication year
2026
Submitted on
2026-06-02
Pages
61
Abstract
This study explores how Nigerian professionals working in Europe use digital code-switching—shifting language, tone, and cultural cues across LinkedIn, email, WhatsApp, and Instagram—to manage cultural identity and workplace expectations. Using an interpretivist, social constructionist approach that sees meaning as socially constructed, it addresses gaps in four areas: code-switching research that centers on spoken conversation and overlooks digital professional life; diaspora communication studies that trace cross-border ties but rarely examine the small, everyday language choices that enact belonging; digital identity scholarship that focuses on platform features and “context collapse” but not on diaspora professionals; and workplace diversity research that documents structural discrimination against African professionals in Europe yet says little about day-to-day communicative strategies. The study is qualitative: nine purposively selected Nigerian diaspora professionals across Europe took part in semi-structured interviews. The interviews were analyzed with Reflexive Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006, 2019), looking for patterned meanings in participants’ accounts. Analysis was guided by the Platform‑Differentiated Digital Code‑Switching (PDDCS) framework developed for this project, which integrates ideas from Myers‑Scotton’s Markedness Model, Boyd’s theory of networked publics, Goffman’s dramaturgical model, Hall’s and Brah’s diaspora identity frameworks, and Bourdieu’s concepts of linguistic capital and symbolic power.
Dette studie undersøger, hvordan nigerianske professionelle, der arbejder i Europa, bruger digitalt kodeskift—at skifte sprog, tone og kulturelle markører på tværs af LinkedIn, e-mail, WhatsApp og Instagram—for at håndtere kulturel identitet og professionelle forventninger. Med en fortolkende, socialkonstruktionistisk tilgang, der ser betydning som socialt skabt, adresserer studiet huller i fire felter: kodeskiftsforskning, som primært fokuserer på talt samtale og overser digitale, professionelle sammenhænge; diasporakommunikation, som kortlægger transnationale bånd, men sjældent undersøger de små, daglige sproglige valg, der skaber tilhørsforhold; digital identitet, som ofte ser på platformes funktioner og “kontekst-sammenbrud”, men ikke på diaspora-professionelle; og mangfoldighed på arbejdspladsen, som dokumenterer strukturel diskrimination mod afrikanske professionelle i Europa, men siger lidt om de daglige kommunikative strategier, som folk bruger for at navigere i den. Studiet er kvalitativt: ni strategisk udvalgte nigerianske diaspora-professionelle på tværs af Europa deltog i semistrukturerede interviews. Interviewene blev analyseret med refleksiv tematisk analyse (Braun & Clarke, 2006, 2019) for at identificere mønstre i deltagernes beretninger. Analysen var guidet af den Platform-Differentierede Digitale Kodeskiftsramme (PDDCS), udviklet til dette projekt, som integrerer idéer fra Myers‑Scottons Markedhedsmodel, Boyds teori om netværkede offentligheder, Goffmans dramaturgiske model, Halls og Brah’s diasporarammer samt Bourdieus begreber om sproglig kapital og symbolsk magt.
[This apstract has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]