A CORPUS-BASED STUDY OF LANGUAGE CHANGE: THE INFLUENCE OF DIGITAL COMMUNICATION ON GRAMMAR IN ENGLISH

Abstract

The rapid growth of digital communication has influenced language use, particularly in how grammar is applied in informal written contexts. This study examines the grammatical changes in English caused by the proliferation of digital platforms, such as texting, social media, and online messaging. Using data from the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) and the Cambridge English Corpus (CEC), the research analyzes shifts in sentence structure, word order, and abbreviations in digital communication compared to traditional written forms. The findings reveal that while digital communication has led to more fragmented, informal, and concise language use, many core grammatical rules remain intact. These changes reflect the need for efficiency and immediacy in online communication, with implications for both language teaching and future grammatical norms.