• Akifa Imtiaz

  Author

The present study focuses on the effect of Netspeak on academic written discourse of
undergraduate students in Pakistan. A ‘hybrid’ English has emerged among the Pakistani
students because of the regular use of SMS text messaging and Internet chat. The features of this
'hybrid' English include frequent code-switching as well as deviation from standard spellings,
grammar and punctuation. Triangulation of data was used for this study which includes
Pakistani users’ chat logs from the Internet chat rooms, SMS text messages and examination
scripts. First, distinct examples of hybrid English found in the chat and SMS discourse of
Pakistanis were categorized. Then the exam scripts were examined to search for similar features.
The results showed that distinct features of Pakistani Netspeak has infiltrated the academic field
as well. In the Focus group discussion teachers came up with remedial measures to help students
avoid using Netspeak in academic discourse. It is hoped that the present research will help in
understanding why the standard of written academic English is falling in Pakistan and how this
issue can be addressed.

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