A SOCIOLINGUISTIC STUDY OF THE LANGUAGE AND IDENTITY

The purpose of this study is to examine how Nigerian TikTok creators employ language as a tool for identity construction and performance in digital spaces. As social media becomes an increasingly significant arena for self-expression, this study seeks to explore the linguistic choices, code-switching patterns, accents and discursive strategies Nigerian TikTok users deploy to project and negotiate multiple facets of their identities including ethnic, gendered, regional, religious, and socio-political identities. The study aims to uncover how these linguistic performances reinforce, subvert, or reimagine existing societal norms.