271CLAC 102 (2025): 271-282
The ela ionship be ween Wha sApp
ex isms and he spelling o Spanish
adolescen s: A case s udy
h ps://dx.doi.o g/10.5209/clac.84780 Recei ed: 22 No embe 2022 • Accep ed: 6 Ma ch 2023
Abs ac : The ins an messaging applica ion Wha sApp is cu en ly he mos widely used means o
communica ion among young Spania ds. This applica ion, along wi h o he s o he same ype, has a ou ed
he c ea ion o a new w i en code: digi alk o ex ese, cha ac e ised by he use o ex isms, a digi al no m
ha in en ionally depa s om he academic no m. The aim o his esea ch is o explo e he ela ionship
be ween he ex isms o Spanish eenage s on Wha sApp and he no ma i e spelling o hei academic
ex s. I is p oposed as a no el s udy o pa icula ele ance in he Spanish con ex . The s udy was ca ied
ou wi h 43 hi d- and ou h-yea s uden o seconda y educa ion in Se ille (Spain). Th ough a desc ip i e
s a is ical analysis, he cha ac e is ics o he digi al no m o adolescen s on Wha sApp we e sough and i
was obse ed ha he mos common ex ism is wo d sho ening, ollowed by o he s such as he omission
o accen s and he omission o punc ua ion ma ks. On he o he hand, i has been obse ed ha he use o
ex isms in Spanish does no ha m he academic spelling o adolescen s. Finally, i has been obse ed ha
he e a e some di e ences in he use o ex isms be ween males and emales, wi h emales using a g ea e
numbe o mul imodal elemen s han males.
Keywo ds: c i ical discou se analysis; ex messaging; digi al communica ion; Spanish spelling.
Con en s: 1. In oduc ion. 1.1. Ins an Messaging and Digi alk. 1.2. Li e a u e e iew. 2. Me hod. 2.1. Con ex
desc ip ion; 2.2. Pa icipan s; 2.3. Ins umen and da a collec ion; 2.4. Da a coding; 2.5. Da a analysis.
3. Resul s. 4. Discussion. 5. Conclusions. Acknowledgmen s. CREDiT Au ho ship Con ibu ion. Re e ences.
How o ci e: Gómez-Camacho, A. Núñez-Román, F.; Conde-Jiménez, J.; Pe ea-O ega, Mª. Á. (2025). The
ela ionship be ween Wha sApp ex isms and he spelling o Spanish adolescen s: A case s udy. Cí culo de
Lingüís ica Aplicada a la Comunicación 102 (2025), 271-282. h ps://dx.doi.o g/10.5209/clac.84780
1. In oduc ion
1.1. Ins an Messaging and Digi alk
The communica i e p ac ices o con empo a y socie y a e shaped by he widesp ead p esence o
compu e -media ed communica ion (CMC). This communica i e eali y is con igu ed h ough compu e -
media ed discou se (CMD), unde s ood as “ he communica ion p oduced when human beings in e ac wi h
one ano he by ansmi ing messages ia ne wo ked o mobile compu e s” (He ing & And ou sopoulos,
2015, p. 127). The main ea u e o compu e -media ed discou se (CMD) is mul imodali y (He ing, 2019), by
which CMC can suppo he simul aneous p esence o di e en modes o ansmission including no only
ex , bu also oice, audio, ideo, and g aphics. As Cande o s S æh e al. (2019, p. 171) highligh , “people
a e al eady socialized in a communica i e eali y wi h many possibili ies o in e pe sonal communica ion
ac oss online and o line con ex s h ough di e en modes o in e ac ion”. In his sense, sma phone
messaging is one o he mos popula and ex ended ways o in e ac ion wi hin he la ge spec um o
possibili ies o e ed by CMC (Yus, 2022).
Cí culo de Lingüís ica Aplicada a la Comunicación
ISSN-e: 1988-2696
ARTÍCULOS
Alejand o Gómez-Camacho
Uni e sidad de Se illa, España
F ancisco Núñez-Román
Uni e sidad de Se illa, España
Jesús Conde-Jiménez
Uni e sidad de Se illa, España
Ma ía de los Ángeles Pe ea-O ega
Uni e sidad de Se illa, España
272
Gómez-Camacho, A. Núñez-Román, F.; Conde-Jiménez, J.; Pe ea-O ega, Mª. Á. CLAC 102 (2025): 271-282
Acco ding o da a om IAB Spain-Elogia (2022), 92% o adolescen s be ween 12 and 17 yea s o age
egula ly use Wha sApp as an ins an messaging (IM) p og am. Wha sApp has hus become he mos
used social media in his age g oup, su passing o he pla o ms such as Ins ag am (83%), TikTok (77%) o
Facebook (39%). This is he i s ully connec ed gene a ion, hal way be ween he so-called Gene a ion Z and
Gene a ion Alpha, which has a comple e mas e y o digi al in e ac ions and o whom he use o echnological
de ices is conna u al o hei pe sonal and cogni i e de elopmen , leading hem o show a “ ascina ion wi h
elec onic de ices” (Cas o e al., 2020).
The wide di usion o his ype o ins an messaging p og ammes among eenage s has a ou ed he
c ea ion o a new w i en code called digi alk (Tu ne , 2010) o ex ese (Johnson, 2015), cha ac e ised by
he ac ha i di e s om he s anda d w i ing no m. Digi alk combines elemen s o w i en discou se
wi h ea u es o o ali y in an a emp o ep oduce he “ oice o he speake ” (Tu ne , 2010, p. 43) h ough
c ea i i y and communica i e language p o iciency. In ac , i has some imes been de ined as “o alised
w i ing” (Ma ín Gascueña, 2016), “o alised w i en ex ” (Yus, 2010) o “w i en spoken language” (Mance a
Rueda & Pano Alamán, 2013).
One o he main cha ac e is ics o digi alk is he use o ex isms, “con ac ions and non-s anda d
spellings speci ically de eloped o educe he leng h o wo ds o as and cos -e ec i e ex messaging”
(De Jonge & Kemp, 2012, pp. 49-50). Tex isms can also include ea u es speci ic o he digi al medium, such
as he use o mul imodal elemen s like emo icons, emojis, images, ideos, o s icke s, among o he s (Aull,
2019; Can amu o & Vela Del a, 2019; König, 2019), which ul ill di e en p agma ic and s ylis ic unc ions in
CMC (Padilla, 2023; Sampie o, 2019; Vela Del a, 2020). The digi alk is especially sensi i e o echnological
ad ances, so ha “i becomes quicke and easie o ype messages” wi hou any changes in a i udes abou
he app op ia eness o o he wise o he use o ex isms (Kemp & G ace, 2017, p. 96).
Table 1. Ca ego isa ion o ex isms (based on Gómez-Camacho e al., 2018)
Tex isms a he g aphophonemic le el
Empha ic Repe i ions
-Repe i ion o closing ma ks — Q no a e ha pues o en el abajo??’
-Repe i ion o one o mo e le e s — en p incipio siii, Sisi g aciiiassss
-Empha ic epe i ion in e jec ion o onoma opoeia — Bueno bueno, sisis, ouuch
Dele ions and omissions
— In en ional wo d me ging — xdio, Qsi he es udiado
— Wo d sho ening by emo ing le e s o syllables — Es q no me acue do mu bien
— Omission o punc ua ion ma ks — Q an aio los eyes?
— Omission o ildes — Es as p epa ada pa a mañana?
— In en ional omission o H — Sii ya le emos dao el egalo
— Loss o he in e ocalic D — Y encima se a ol idao la mochila
Non-no ma i e g aphemes
— K-Tex isms
— X- ex isms
— S- ex isms
— Z- ex isms
— SH ex isms
— TX- ex isms
— W- ex isms
— Y- ex isms
— Non-no ma i e use o capi al le e s
— Tex isms o numbe s and symbols wi h hei phone ic alue
— no pdo kea
— xu a, muxo
— g asia g asia
— ez’, zi, paza
— Ashe iooo
— xika
— Weno e dejo ads xD, wuape ona
— iya n
— Xq?, X a
— NECESITO q pongan ya las lis as
Lexical-seman ic ex isms
— Dialec alisms
— T ansc ip ion o dia opic, dias a ic and diaphasic a ie ies
— C ea ion o new wo ds, non-no ma i e onoma opoeias o
in e jec ions, amalgams, o conglome a es
— Mia ma
— Oma quie o o illa
— awwww
— lol, ese gym es a wuapo o q?
— n (no e alles), oka
— Fo eign wo ds
— Non-no ma i e ac onyms, abb e ia ions, and ac onyms
Mul imodal elemen s
Emo icons, images, audios, ideos, s icke s
’
In ela ion o he Spanish language, digi alk has been desc ibed in de ail o e he las decade. Nume ous
s udies de ail he cha ac e is ics o digi alk, bo h wi h espec o Eu opean Spanish (Cale o, 2014; Cau cel
Díaz e al. 2013; Iba a Mu illo, 2019; Mance a Rueda, 2016; Mance a Rueda & Pano Alamán, 2013; Mas
Ál a ez & Zas Va ela, 2012; Vázquez-Cano e al, 2015) as well as i s use in some o he a ie ies o Ame ican
Spanish (Can amu o, 2018, 2019; Can amu o & Vela Del a, 2018; Flo es-Salgado & Cas inei a-Bení ez,
2018; Gi aldo Gi aldo e al., 2018). Acco ding o Mance a Rueda (2016), digi alk is cha ac e ised by he
273Gómez-Camacho, A. Núñez-Román, F.; Conde-Jiménez, J.; Pe ea-O ega, Mª. Á. CLAC 102 (2025): 271-282
p esence o elemen s ha can be classi ied in o wo main ca ego ies: an io hog aphy (Palazzo, 2005)
and he e og aphy (Ma ínez de Sousa, 2004) o dyso hog aphy (Gómez-Camacho, 2007). The i s g oup
includes unin en ional de ia ions om he o hog aphic no m, i.e. spelling mis akes (e o s in accen ua ion
o in he use o le e s) caused by igno ance o insu icien knowledge o he linguis ic no m on he pa o
he speake . Fo hei pa , he e og aphies o diso hog aphies a e phenomena speci ic o digi alk, inso a
as hey a e in en ional and conscious de ia ions om he o hog aphic no m wi h an exp essi e unc ion in
he digi al communica i e con ex .
Gómez-Camacho e al. (2018, p. 94) o e a ca ego iza ion o ex isms in Spanish. This classi ica ion can
be o ganized in o h ee le els: g aphophonemic, lexical-seman ic, and mul imodal ex isms, al hough hese
ex isms can appea simul aneously in a single elemen (Table 1). The g aphophonemic le el includes hose
ex isms based on he disc epancy be ween phoneme and g apheme, such as he phenomena o wo d
sho ening o educ ion, he use o non-no ma i e g aphemes, o he epe i ion and omission o g aphemes,
punc ua ion ma ks, o capi al le e s. Tex isms a he lexical-seman ic le el include he use o dialec alisms,
he c ea ion o new wo ds, and he use o o eign wo ds. Finally, he mul imodal le el con ains he use o
emo icons, images, ideos, audios, o s icke s. Table 1 shows he e o mula ion o Gómez-Camacho e al.
(2018) ypes o ex isms wi h examples ex ac ed om he co pus analized.
1.2. Li e a u e e iew
The sp ead o digi alk has gene a ed ex ensi e deba e abou i s in e ac ion wi h he s anda d w i ing no m and
i s possible nega i e in luence on he li e acy o child en, adolescen s, and adul s (Zeb o , 2018). Resea ch
shows ha he in luence o digi alk and ex isms on li e acy can be associa ed wi h ce ain ac o s and does
no a ec all language skills equally. Be nico e al. (2014) a gue ha ac o s ha may in luence he way in
which digi alk in e ac s wi h g amma ical compe ence a e: he ype o spelling (no ma i e o usage), he le el
o w i en compe ence (skilled s. less-skilled), he du a ion o p ac ice wi h digi alk, o he ype o ex isms
used. This would jus i y he e y dispa a e and con as ing esul s obse ed in he li e a u e.
In addi ion, he age and gende o use s also de e mine he way in which digi alk is used; in his ega d,
se e al s udies show ha younge use s use mo e ex isms han olde use s (Hil e e al., 2017; Ve heijen,
2018) and ha women inco po a e mo e ex isms and mul imodal elemen s in hei digi al communica ions
(G ace & Kemp, 2015; Rosen e al., 2010; Tossell e al., 2012).
On he one hand, nume ous s udies show a nega i e co ela ion be ween he use o ex isms and ce ain
aspec s o communica i e compe ence, such as mo phological awa eness (De Jonge & Kemp, 2012), eading
accu acy (D ouin, 2011; D ouin & D i e , 2014) o ocabula y (D ouin & D i e , 2014).
O he esea ch, howe e , has clea ly shown a limi ed o e en posi i e in luence be ween he use o
ex isms and li e acy skills in di e en languages, highligh ing ha “ he use o g amma ical iola ions does
no appea o be linked o changes in g amma ical skills o e ime” (Wood e al., 2014, p. 427); hese s udies
conside ha digi alk is no a h ea in he language skills o child en, adolescen s, o adul s. Van Dijk e al.
(2016) obse e ha wo d omission in digi al w i ing is closely linked o g amma pe o mance in Du ch, in ha
“ he mo e wo ds child en omi ed in hei ex messages, he be e hei g amma pe o mance” (Van Dijk
e al., 2016, p. 16). Simila ly, a posi i e co ela ion has been obse ed be ween he use o ins an messaging
applica ions and highe spelling pe o mance in Du ch (Ve heijen e al., 2020; Ve heijen & Spoo en, 2021)
and English (Ples e e al., 2009; Wood e al., 2011). Lanchan in e al. (2015, p. 21) highligh , in hei s udy
wi h F ench speake s, ha “adolescen s ely on hei li e acy knowledge o no ice wha could be dele ed o
eplaced in a DWIM [Digi al W i ing in Ins an Messaging] p oduc ion”, con i ming ha he pa icipan s in hei
esea ch showed a high mo phemic awa eness ha induced hem o dele e mo phemes wi hou phone ic
alue in hei digi alk and o keep hem in hei adi ional w i ing.
Finally, in e ms o he ela ionship be ween ex isms and spelling compe ence, Be nico e al. (2014)
showed how he ype o ex ism used became a de e mining ac o . Thus, ex isms and adi ional spelling
could be nega i ely, neu ally, o posi i ely co ela ed, depending on whe he he ex ism b oke o coincided
wi h he ela ionship be ween g aphemes and phonemes es ablished by he s anda d w i ing no m. Based
on hese s udies, we can conclude ha IM app use s a e awa e ha digi alk and s anda d w i ing a e wo
di e en codes, “whose acquisi ion is dependen on he same symbolic abili ies” (Be nico e al., 2014, p.
570), bu which allow “a willing play ul engagemen wi h language” (Ples e e al., 2011).
In he con ex o he Spanish language, esea ch has ocused on he analysis o s uden s’ o p ese ice
eache s’ pe cep ion o he in luence o ins an messaging on hei own o adolescen s’ spelling compe ence.
Al hough he esul s show, in gene al, a nega i e pe cep ion o digi alk o e s anda d w i ing (C emades e al.,
2021; Gi aldo Gi aldo e al., 2018), some s udies e eal a g ea e ole ance among young IM use s owa d h ee
ypes o ex isms ha do no con adic he academic no m, i.e., ex isms based on mul imodal elemen s
(Gómez-Camacho e al., 2018), hose ha do no al e he ela ionship be ween phonemes and g aphemes
(Hun -Gómez e al., 2020) and hose based on he c ea ion o neologisms (Núñez-Román e al., 2021).
Despi e a conspicuous amoun o esea ch in o he languages, in he con ex o he Spanish language,
esea ch compa ing eal ex s om he seconda y school class oom and in e en ions aken di ec ly om
he Wha sApp cha s o 14-16 yea s-old is sca ce. The e o e, he aim o his esea ch is o desc ibe he
cha ac e is ics o he digi al no m o Spanish adolescen s in hei in e ac ions h ough Wha sApp and o
explo e he ela ionship be ween he use o ex isms and he no ma i e o hog aphy o hei academic ex s.
I will also analyze he exis ence o possible di e ences in ela ion o he use ’s gende . Thus, i is a no el
s udy o pa icula ele ance in he ield o Spanish. To his end, a seconda y school in ol ed in educa ional
274
Gómez-Camacho, A. Núñez-Román, F.; Conde-Jiménez, J.; Pe ea-O ega, Mª. Á. CLAC 102 (2025): 271-282
esea ch p ojec s a he uni e si y, na ional, and Eu opean Union le el was selec ed o he case s udy. I is
also in ol ed in educa ional ac ion esea ch p ojec s in which seconda y school eache s pa icipa e, and
in educa ional inno a ion p ojec s o inco po a e ICT in o language eaching. The esea ch ques ions o be
add essed a e as ollows:
RQ1. Wha a e he cha ac e is ics o he digi al no m used by adolescen s on Wha sApp?
RQ2. Wha is he ela ionship be ween ex isms in Wha sApp cha s and misspellings in
adolescen s?
RQ3. A e he e gende di e ences in he digi al no m used in Wha sApp and i s ela ion o
academic spelling?
2. Me hod
The case s udy is selec ed as he me hod o de elop his esea ch, as i allows he knowledge o he pa icula
o idiosync a ic, as opposed o he gene al. This me hod aims o de ec wha is cha ac e is ic and no ewo hy
ha mus be lea ned om a speci ic and simple case (S ake, 1995). The selec ion o a speci ic case would
allow he connec ion o he same, documen ing he speci ici y, allowing o go u he (Walke , 1983), which
would gi e ise o he gene a ion o subs an i e heo ies, disc imina ing be ween he common and he
pa icula o he case unde s udy.
2.1. Con ex desc ip ion
In his s udy, he Seconda y School IES Jesús del G an Pode loca ed in Dos He manas (Se ille, Spain) was
selec ed on he basis o he ollowing c i e ia:
— This seconda y school was used as a pilo cen e in he esea ch p ojec “The digi al w i ing o
adolescen s in Andalusia and i s educa ional implica ions” (US-1380916) o he Uni e si y o Se ille,
co- unded by he Eu opean Union ERDF Ope a ional P og amme 2014-2020 and by he Depa men
o Economic T ans o ma ion, Indus y, Knowledge and Uni e si ies o he Andalusian Regional
Go e nmen (Spain). The da a om his cen e we e he i s o be collec ed in he p ojec and we e
used o alida e he da a collec ion ins umen .
— A he same ime, he school is coo dina ing an educa ional esea ch p ojec unded by he call
o Resea ch P ojec s, Inno a ion, and Cu icula Ma e ials o he Depa men o Educa ion o he
Andalusian Regional Go e nmen en i led “The digi al w i ing o Seconda y Educa ion s uden s in
Andalusia. Educa ional implica ions o ins an messaging” (41701857).
— The school pa icipa es in a Digi al T ans o ma ion in Educa ion P ojec o he egional Depa men o
Educa ion, one o whose objec i es is o inco po a e ICT in he eaching o languages in seconda y
educa ion.
— I is a small seconda y school in a me opoli an a ea, close o he capi al ci y, wi h a medium
socioeconomic le el. I he e o e has no cha ac e is ics in e ms o he a ie ies o he Spanish
language o socioeduca ional le el ha would a ec he esul s o he s udy.
2.2. Pa icipan s
The sample o pa icipan s, which makes up he case s udy, consis s o 43 s uden s, o which 75% a e emale
and 25% a e male. Pa icipan s a e en olled a IES Jesús del G an Pode in Dos He manas (Se ille, Spain).
Speci ically, 70% o he sample is in he hi d yea o compulso y seconda y educa ion and 30% is in he
ou h yea o compulso y seconda y educa ion, le els a ended by s uden s aged 14 o 16.
2.3. Ins umen and da a collec ion
The da a we e collec ed h ough eal ex s p o ided by he s uden s pa icipa ing in he s udy collec ed, on
he one hand, om ins an messaging applica ions on hei sma phones (in his case Wha sApp) and, on he
o he hand, om academic ex s p oduced as an ac i i y in he seconda y school class oom.
A esea ch eam composed o 30 ac i e language eache s o seconda y educa ion belonging o he p o-
jec “Digi al w i ing o seconda y educa ion s uden s in Andalusia. Educa ional implica ions o ins an mes-
saging” collec ed he ex s as a class oom ac i i y and as pa o he syllabuses o seconda y educa ion lan-
guage subjec s1. The pa icipa ing s uden s selec ed an unco ec ed handw i en ex ha hey conside ed
ep esen a i e o hei way o w i ing in class (no es, essays, e c.). A he same ime, he pa icipa ing s uden s
selec ed Wha sApp messages, also unco ec ed and unmodi ied, which hey conside ed ep esen a i e o
hei way o w i ing h ough his applica ion, and which had been sen in he con ex o digi al communica ion
wi h o he adolescen s, p e iously elimina ing any pe sonal e e ence o con iden ial da a.
The in e en ions in Wha sApp o he 43 pa icipan s in he s udy we e analyzed, conside ing as in e en-
ion he ex w i en by he subjec p eceding he click on he Send bu on in he App. An a e age message-
in e en ion in he social ne wo k o 20.14 (SD=2.406) was ob ained. The message a e anged om a mini-
mum o 13 in e en ions o a maximum o 33. In o al, 866 in e en ions we e collec ed.
1 Da a collec ion had he au ho isa ion o he School Council and he Educa ional Adminis a ion and complied wi h he e hical
s anda ds o educa ional esea ch o he Regional Minis y o Educa ion o Andalusia and he Uni e si y o Se ille.
275Gómez-Camacho, A. Núñez-Román, F.; Conde-Jiménez, J.; Pe ea-O ega, Mª. Á. CLAC 102 (2025): 271-282
2.4. Da a coding
E e y Wha sApp single in e en ion was coded by wo e alua o s om he p ojec “Digi al w i ing o
adolescen s uden s in Andalusia. Ins an messaging and i s educa ional implica ions”, acco ding o he
ex isms es ablished by Gómez-Camacho e al. (2018) (Table 1) o he Spanish language in a p e ious
s udy o his esea ch. These ca ego ies we e alida ed by six esea che s who independen ly coded he
collec ed ma e ial, uni ied he c i e ia, and made decisions ela ed o di e gen elemen s, hus es ablishing
he inal ca ego ies o he analysis (Table 2). The esul s ob ained we e pooled, disc epancies we e esol ed
acco ding o he uni ied c i e ia es ablished by he six esea che s, and a single inal coding was ca ied ou .
Table 2. Ca ego ies o analysis o ex isms
Code Va iables
1_ ex Repe i ion o closing ma ks?! (i.e., kiya!!!!!)
2_ ex Repe i ion o one o mo e le e s (i.e., QUEEE?)
3_ ex Empha ic epe i ion in e jec ion o onoma opoeia (i.e., jajajaja)
4_ ex In en ional wo d me ging (i.e., Holaquehaces)
5_ ex Non-no ma i e use o capi al le e s
(i.e., e NECESITO ana)
6_ ex Wo d sho ening by emo ing le e s o syllables (i.e., a bn)
7_ ex Omission o punc ua ion ma ks (i.e., Ke pasa? no e is o)
8_ ex Omission o ildes (i.e., ke paso)
9_ ex Loss o he in e ocalic D (i.e., comío)
10_ ex K-Tex isms (i.e., e kie o)
11_ ex X- ex isms (i.e., ola a odxs)
12_ ex S- ex isms (i.e., ké ases)
13_ ex Z- ex isms (i.e., ca pazaoooo)
14_ ex SH- ex isms (i.e., shica)
15_ ex TX- ex isms (i.e., xica)
16_ ex W- ex isms (i.e., weno)
17_ ex Y- ex isms (i.e., kiya)
18_ ex In en ional omission o H (i.e., ke a pasao)
19_ ex Tex isms o numbe s and symbols wi h hei phone ic alue (i.e., cansa2, no ngo +)
20_ ex Wo ds in English, o he languages o in en ed wo ds (i.e., s y b o he )
21_ ex Mul imodal elemen s: emojis, s icke s, e c. (i.e.,
👏
👏
👏
👏
)
The academic ex s we e coded acco ding o he o hog aphic ca ego ies es ablished by he Royal
Academy o he Spanish language in he O hog aphy o he Spanish Language (Real Academia Española,
2010, pp. 72-160) (Table 3).
Table 3. Ca ego ies o o hog aphic analysis (RAE, 2010)
Código Va iables
1_o Diac i ical e o s (i.e., exámen, ol eis, agüa)
2_o Omission o he le e h— (i.e., a enido)
3_o E o s in phoneme /b/ (i.e., i a, ba)
4_o E o s in phoneme /g/ (i.e., agüa, ágila)
5_o E o s in phoneme /j/ (i.e. conduge, gi a a)
6_o E o s in phoneme /ll/ (i.e.,yamame)
7_o E o s in phoneme /z/ (i.e., consecuensia, sepillo)
8_o E o s in phoneme /s/ (i.e., concecuencia, es año)
9_o E o s in phoneme /k/ (i.e., quan o)
10_o E o s in phoneme / / (i.e.,En ique)
To p ocess he da a, wo eco d shee s a e c ea ed in GoogleFo m, one o he analysis o ex isms ha
appea in s uden messages pos ed on he Wha sApp social ne wo k and he o he o he analysis o spelling
e o s ha appea in academic ex s.
All a iables a e scale a iables. In addi ion, a o al a iable is gene a ed in each o he cases ha
co esponds o he o al numbe o spelling e o s made in academic ex s and he o al numbe o ex isms
in Wha sApp messages.
276
Gómez-Camacho, A. Núñez-Román, F.; Conde-Jiménez, J.; Pe ea-O ega, Mª. Á. CLAC 102 (2025): 271-282
2.5. Da a analysis
The ex isms and misspellings o each pa icipa ing s uden we e analysed by wo e alua o s om he p ojec
“Digi al w i ing o adolescen s uden s in Andalusia. Ins an messaging and i s educa ional implica ions”,
acco ding o he ca ego ies desc ibed in Tables 2 and 3.
To answe he i s and second esea ch ques ion, s a is ical analyses we e pe o med o he desc ip i e
esul s o cen al endency (mean) and dispe sion (s anda d de ia ion, he ea e SD; and minimum and
maximum). Bi a ia e co ela ion analyses we e also ca ied ou by applying Pea son’s coe icien o check
he deg ee o ela ionship be ween he scale- ype a iables analysed.
Subsequen ly, he ex ism densi y pa ame e coined by D ouin (2011) and De Jonge and Kemp (2012) was
calcula ed by di iding he o al numbe o ex isms by he o al numbe o wo ds in he sample ex s (Kemp e
al., 2021). E e y ex ism appea ing in each in e en ion was quan i ied, excep o ex isms om he ca ego y
Empha ic Repe i ions (Table 1), which we e compu ed as a single occu ence in each in e en ion. The same
p ocedu e was used o calcula e he densi y o spelling e o s in academic ex s.
To answe he hi d esea ch ques ion, in e en ial analyses we e also ca ied ou acco ding o gende .
The KS and Shapi o Wilk es de e mined he no mali y o he dependen a iables, S uden ’s - es (p e ious
Le ene’s es o de e mine equali y o a iance) was applied o pa ame ic a iables and he Mann Whi ney
U- es o nonpa ame ic a iables. IBM SPSS .26 so wa e was used o s a is ical analysis and GPowe
so wa e was used o calcula e he e ec size.
3. Resul s
To answe he i s esea ch ques ion, a desc ip i e s a is ical analysis o he ex isms appea ing in he sample
was ca ied ou . The ex messages analysed had an a e age o 103 wo ds (SD=37.07), anging om 35 o 184
wo ds; speci ically, an a e age o 41 ex isms (SD= 16.98) appea ed pe ex message w i en on Wha sApp,
anging om a minimum o 13 o a maximum o 81. The densi y o ex isms eached a alue o 0.43.
Wo d sho ening ( 6_ ex ) is he mos equen ly occu ing ex ism (Examples 1-3), eaching an a e age
alue o 14.77 (SD= 12.40). I is ollowed, al hough wi h some dis ance, by he omission o ildes ( 8_ ex ;
Examples 4-5) and punc ua ion ma ks ( 7_ ex ; Examples 6-7), wi h a e age alues o 5.35 (SD= 3.16) and 3.88
(SD= 2.42), espec i ely (Figu e 1).
Figu e 1. Desc ip i e s a is ics: ex isms
(1) Yo engo q da lo mb [Yo engo que da lo ambién = I ha e o gi e i oo]
(2) nse la q a i mas gus e [No sé, la que a i más e gus e = I don’ know. The one you like he mos ]
(3) no pdo kea [No puedo queda = I can’ hang ou ]
(4) cuando es e llegando [Cuando es é llegando = When I am/she/he is a i ing]
(5) Ab eme, no? [Áb eme, ¿no? = Open up, won’ you?]
(6) Qué amos a hace hoy?? [¿Qué amos a hace hoy? = Wha a e we going o do oday?]
(7) hoy ala b3!!!!!! [¡Hoy a la B3! = Today in class oom B3!]
Wi h mean occu ence alues sligh ly abo e 2, we ind ex isms by epe i ion o one o mo e le e s ( 2_
ex , x=2.21, SD=2.45; Examples 8-9) and empha ic epe i ion o in e jec ions o onoma opoeias ( 3_ ex ,
x=2.05, SD=2.05, Examples 10-11).
(8) Sisi g aciiiassss [Sí, sí, g acias = Yes, yes, hank you]
(9) Hoy saleees? [¿Hoy sales? = Do you go ou oday?]
(10) Jajajajaja ale pues a ísame [ja, ja, ja, ale, pues a ísame = ha, ha, ha, ha, okay, so le me know]
277Gómez-Camacho, A. Núñez-Román, F.; Conde-Jiménez, J.; Pe ea-O ega, Mª. Á. CLAC 102 (2025): 271-282
(11) Ayyyyy q quie eeee [¡Ay! ¿Qué quie es? = Ouch! Wha do you wan ?]
Wi h low a e age equency alues, be ween 1 and 2, he e a e low equency alues o ex isms
a ec ing he non-no ma i e use o capi al le e s ( 5_ ex , x=1.58, SD=1.89; Example 12), mul imodal
elemen s ( 21_ ex , x=1.53, SD=3.78; Example 13-14), lexical-seman ic ex isms ( 20_ ex , x=1.33,
SD=2.16; Example 15-16) and he in en ional loss o he in e ocalic <-d-> ( 9_ ex , x=1.09, SD=1.96;
Example 17-18). The emaining ex isms appea wi h a e age sco es below 1 in equency o occu ence
and a e he e o e i ele an o his s udy.
(12) Li la se ie es IGUAL [Li e almen e, la se ie es igual = Li e ally, he TV show is he same]
(13) Va [Va bien = I ’s ok]
(14) una ies uki:D [Una ies uqui = A pa y]
(15) Es oy anca mi abuela [Es oy en casa de mi abuela = I am a my g andmo he ’s house]
(16) Anyways e a eso hanks [De odas o mas, e a eso, g acias = Anyway, ha was i , hank you]
(17) Toda ia ni nos hemos comio la a a [Toda ía ni nos hemos comido la a a = We ha en’ e en ea en
he cake ye ]
(18) xq q pesai o cn la bici qillo [Po que qué pesadi o con la bici, chiquillo = Because you’ e such a pain in
he ass wi h he bike, kiddo]
The analysis o he co ela ions be ween he di e en ex isms using Pea son’s coe icien o e s some
signi ican esul s o answe he i s esea ch ques ion (Table 4). Fi s ly, he e is a signi ican and in e sely
p opo ional co ela ion be ween he o al numbe o wo ds on Wha sApp and he densi y o ex isms (-.536),
sugges ing ha in sho e ex s, wi h mo e in e en ions, he w i ing no m is u he away om academic
spelling. On he con a y, longe in e en ions ha de elop mo e complex syn ac ic s uc u es end o
ep oduce s anda d Spanish w i ing.
Table 4. Co ela ion be ween ex isms
5_
ex 6_
ex 7_ ex 10_
ex 17_ ex 18_
ex 19_
ex 20_
ex
Numbe o
Wha sApp
Wo ds
Numbe
o
ex isms
3_ ex -.323*
4_ ex .673** .413** .782**
5_ ex -.313* -.327*
6_ ex .403** .865**
9_ ex .419** .320* .478**
17_ ex .354* -.308* .685** .368*
21_ ex .671** .367*
Numbe o
Wha sApp
Wo ds .337* .304*
Tex ism
densi y .496** .421** .492** .438** -.536**
** Co ela ion is signi ican a he 0.01 le el.
* Co ela ion is signi ican a he 0.05 le el.
Secondly, he esul s show he ela ionship be ween he ex isms ha a e associa ed wi h he dialec al
p onuncia ion o he pa icipan s in he s udy. Fo example, in he loss o in e ocalic <-d-> ( 9_ ex ), he use
o <y> o ep oduce he Andalusian adolescen s’ p onuncia ion o yeismo ( 17_ ex ), and wo d me ging and
wo d sho ening ( 4_ ex , 6_ ex ). Mo eo e , he signi ican co ela ion o hese ex isms wi h he densi y
o ex isms o each speake con i ms ha he e is a e y in e es ing ela ionship be ween he a ie ies o
spoken Spanish and he digi al no m o Wha sApp messages in he sample o his s udy.
The lexical-seman ic le el ex isms such as he use o English wo ds ( 20_ ex ) and he mul imodal
le el ex isms ( 21_ ex ) es ablish a mode a e co ela ion, sugges ing ha o he communica ion codes ha
adolescen s use o communica e in addi ion o Spanish also in luence he way hey w i e on Wha sApp.
In he same sense, he co ela ion be ween numbe s and symbols wi h hei phone ic alue ( 19_ ex ) wi h
wo d sho ening ( 6_ ex ) also poin s o he idea ha non- e bal languages in luence he digi al no m o
he sample analysed.
Finally, he co ela ion be ween he in en ional wo d me ging ( 4_ ex ), wo d sho ening ( 6_ ex ) and
ex isms o numbe s and symbols wi h hei phone ic alue ( 19_ ex ), he i s wo cases being a posi i e
co ela ion wi h mode a e in ensi y and he hi d mode a e-high ( =,685), accu a ely desc ibes he
mechanisms p e e ed by he pa icipan s in he sample when sho ening messages by omi ing g aphemes
and con en ions o s anda d Spanish w i ing.
In o de o answe he second esea ch ques ion, he spelling o he academic ex s in he sample was
analysed, wi h an a e age o 214 wo ds, anging om 38 o 456 wo ds. An a e age o 5 spelling e o s (SD=
5.99) a e made pe academic ex , anging om a minimum o academic w i ings con aining no e o s a all
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Gómez-Camacho, A. Núñez-Román, F.; Conde-Jiménez, J.; Pe ea-O ega, Mª. Á. CLAC 102 (2025): 271-282
o o he s wi h a maximum o 30. The whole sample analysed has a spelling e o densi y o 0.03 compa ed
wi h a ex isms densi y o 0.43 in he same speake s.
As can be seen in Figu e 2, he only spelling mis ake ha is signi ican ly epea ed in he academic ex s
analysed is he omission o ildes ( 1_o ; Examples 19-21) wi h a speci ic mean alue o 5.05 (SD=6.95). The
es o he spelling mis akes a e occasional and o no in e es o his s udy.
Figu e 2. Desc ip i e s a is ics: Spelling e o s
(19) La pelicula que i aye me encan o [I lo ed he mo ie I saw yes e day]
(20) ¿Que hay en el pozo? En el hay agua [Wha is in he wa e well? The e is wa e in i .]
(21) C eian que la mision de los gobe nan e e a el bienes a de sus súbdi os [They belie ed ha he
mission o leade s was he wellbeing o hei subjec s.]
Bi a ia e co ela ion analysis using Pea son’s coe icien showed no ela ionship be ween misspelling
densi y and ex isms densi y. Al hough we de ec ed a e y low and non-signi ican desc ip i e endency ( =
—0.211; p = 0.174) o he o al numbe o ex isms o be in e sely ela ed o he o al numbe o misspellings,
ou esul s do no allow us o ela e ex isms and misspellings in gene al.
Howe e , wo ex isms p esen a dis inc ela ionship wi h misspellings ha dese es special a en ion.
Fi s , we ound a signi ican co ela ion (p= 0.003 ≤ 0.05) wi h mode a e s eng h ( = 0.447) be ween he
in en ional omission o ildes ( 8_ ex ) in Wha sApp messages and he omission o ildes as a misspelling o
academic ex s collec ed in diac i ical e o s ( 1_o ). This induces an inc ease in he numbe o missing ildes
when w i ing on Wha sApp in hose subjec s who make spelling e o s o a diac i ical na u e, especially he
absence o imp ope use o ildes.
In he same sense, al hough he e is no di ec ela ionship be ween he use o ex isms and he densi y o
spelling mis akes, we ound a signi ican co ela ion (p= 0.009 ≤ 0.05) wi h mode a e-low s eng h ( = 0.391)
be ween he in en ional omission o <h> ( 18_ ex ) and he densi y o spelling mis akes in hei academic
ex s. Howe e , we ound no ela ionship be ween he omission o <h> in Wha sApp and in academic ex s.
To answe he hi d esea ch ques ion, we pe o med he pa ame ic in e en ial S uden ’s - es (p io
Le ene’s es assuming equali y o a iance, since p- alue >,05). This es is applied o all he a iables o
ex isms ha u n ou o be pa ame ic; only he a iable 21_ ex does no i he no mal. Th ough his es , no
signi ican di e ences we e ound in any o he p oposed ex isms acco ding o he gende a iable.
Howe e , he desc ip i e da a ob ained sepa a ed by gende shows a highe p e alence in he use o
mul imodal elemen s ( 21_ ex ) and English wo ds ( 20_ ex ) in women. Speci ically, none o he male
pa icipan s used mul imodal elemen s mo e han once in hei Wha sApp messages (Example 22), compa ed
o 34.4% o women who inse ed wo o mo e mul imodal elemen s in hei ex s (Examples 23-24).
(22) nomesi e [No me si e = I does no wo k o me]
(23) mañana x la a de [Tomo ow a e noon]
(24) qe cu e [How cu e!]
This is con i med by he Mann Whi ney U es o non-pa ame ic a iables (U= 109.000, Z=-2.087 and
p- alue =,037). The e ec size wi h Cohen’s D is 0.59. Looking a he mean anks, males wi h 15.91 and emales
wi h 24.09 make less use o mul imodal i ems.
279Gómez-Camacho, A. Núñez-Román, F.; Conde-Jiménez, J.; Pe ea-O ega, Mª. Á. CLAC 102 (2025): 271-282
4. Discussion
Wi h espec o he i s esea ch ques ion, he mos equen ly used ex isms a e he wo d sho ening,
he in en ional wo d me ging, he omission o ildes and he omission o punc ua ion ma ks. The empha ic
epe i ion o in e jec ions o onoma opoeias and he epe i ion o one o mo e le e s a e also e y ele an .
These da a coincide wi h hose ob ained by Vázquez-Cano e al. (2015) and Yus (2022) o Spanish, which
also show a high speci ici y o hese ex isms, and by Ples e e al. (2009) o English. The digi al no m used
by he pa icipan s in he s udy is consequen ly cha ac e ised by he coexis ence o ex isms ha sho en
w i ing oge he wi h empha ic epe i ions e lec ing emo ions and eelings. I is he e o e no a no m aimed
a language economy bu a new way o w i ing ha se es a pa icula communica i e pu pose (De Jonge &
Kemp, 2012; Van Dijk e al. 2016).
Ano he dis inc i e ea u e o he digi al no m used by he pa icipan s in he s udy was he use o ex isms
ha ep oduce ea u es o Andalusian speech. The loss o in e ocalic <-d->, he sho ening and apocopes
a he end o he wo ds o he o hog aphic yeismo ha eplaces he dig aph <ll> show he in en ional
ep esen a ion o he dis inc i e ea u es o he local speech o he pa icipan s in he sample in he w i en
no m o hei Wha sApp messages. This is a ea u e ha con i ms he close ela ionship be ween digi alk and
o ali y, a ac o ha allows o a g ea e p esence o dia opic a ie ies o he language in IM in con as o o he
w i en a ie ies ha a e mo e condi ioned by he s anda d w i ing no m (Ma ín Gascueña, 2016).
Finally, he ele ance in he digi al no m o he adolescen s pa icipa ing in he s udy o he use o numbe s
and symbols wi h hei phone ic alue, he ex isms o he lexical-seman ic le el and he ex isms o he
mul imodal le el con i m he in luence o he non- e bal languages used by adolescen s in his ype o
w i ing. These da a a e consis en wi h hose ob ained by Vázquez-Cano e al. (2015).
The second esea ch ques ion in es iga ed he ela ionship be ween ex isms and misspellings. The
pa icipan s in he s udy mul iply by i een he densi y o ex isms wi h espec o he densi y o misspellings
in hei ex s. The densi y o ex isms in ou s udy is simila o ha ob ained by Be nico e al. (2014) and highe
han ha collec ed by Ples e e al. (2011). These da a con i m ha he disc epancies wi h he academic
spelling no m in Wha sApp we e in en ional and in no way can hey be conside ed spelling mis akes.
Academic ex s a e cha ac e ised by co ec spelling o he inal yea s o compulso y educa ion in Spain,
excep o mis akes in he use o he ilde accen , in con as o he sys ema ic use o ex isms in messages
sen wi h sma phones. The academic ex s p oduced by he pa icipan s in his s udy p esen ew spelling
mis akes which a e epea ed many imes, so ha he as majo i y o spelling mis akes ca ego ised in ou
da a collec ion ins umen (whe e all possible heo e ical spelling mis akes in Spanish a e collec ed) do
no appea . These indings indica e ha he e is no e idence o a di ec ela ionship be ween he use o
ex isms and a highe occu ence o misspellings in he sample analyzed. These esul s a e in line wi h o he
s udies ca ied ou in o he languages, which con i m ha he e is no nega i e ela ionship be ween he use
o ex isms and adolescen li e acy (Ples e e al., 2009; Ve heijen & Spoo en, 2021; Ve heijen e al., 2020;
Wood e al., 2014). Con e sely, some da a sugges ha hose who use mo e ex isms make ewe spelling
e o s, al hough his is no a inding o ou esea ch.
As expec ed, he use o he ilde is he ecu en p oblem among p o icien speake s o Spanish who
comple e compulso y educa ion, while misspellings o le e s and dig aphs a e ce ainly a e. In pa allel,
ex isms ha al e he adi ional ela ionship be ween phonemes and g aphemes in Spanish o hog aphy
a e he leas used in digi al communica ion, in line wi h he esul s ob ained by Be nico e al. (2014) o he
F ench language, while he in en ional omission o ildes is one o he mos equen ex isms.
In his con ex , we ound a mode a e co ela ion be ween he absence o ildes in Wha sApp ex s
and in academic ex s. This esul can be in e p e ed in wo ways; ei he some ildes a e omi ed in digi al
communica ion ou o igno ance and should be conside ed misspellings and no ex isms, o his pa icula
ex ism is ela ed o misspellings. This conclusion is consis en wi h ha ob ained by Be nico e al. (2014) in
hei s udy o he F ench language, in he sense ha some ule-based ex isms can be ela ed o misspellings.
Howe e , a limi a ion o ou s udy would be he impossibili y o dis inguish in Wha sApp messages in which
cases he omission o ildes was in en ional ( ex isms) and in which cases his omission was due o ina en ion
o igno ance (misspellings). Fu u e esea ch should del e deepe in o he omission o ildes in he digi al
con ex and i s ela ionship wi h misspellings o he same ype in academic ex s, beyond his case s udy.
Wi h ega d o he hi d esea ch ques ion on he in luence o gende on he use o he digi al no m, i can
be seen ha emale s uden s pa icipa ing in he s udy used mo e mul imodal elemen s on Wha sApp. These
esul s a e consis en wi h hose ob ained by G ace and Kemp (2015), Kemp and G ace (2017), Rosen e al.
(2010) and Tossell e al. (2012) in he con ex o SMS. In any case, as poin ed ou in he esul s o he s udy by
Adams e al. (2018), he di e ences a e no s a is ically signi ican a he gene al le el, so gende canno be
conside ed a p edic o o ex isms use in he adolescen s in ou s udy sample.
5. Conclusions
The pu pose o his s udy was o analyse he use o he digi al no m in he Wha sApp cha s o Spanish
adolescen s in he hi d and ou h yea s o Compulso y Seconda y Educa ion and i s ela ionship wi h he
s anda d o hog aphy o Spanish, as well as in es iga e he possible di e ences depending on he use ’s
gende .
The esul s o his case s udy show a ypical adolescen compe en in bo h academic and digi al no ms, who
sho ens wo ds (o en as a ansc ip ion o hei dialec al speech) and inco po a es empha ic epe i ions, signs,
symbols, and mul imodal elemen s in o hei ex s ha a e o eign o he adi ional ela ionship be ween phonemes
