Linguistics, Literature, and Digital Media: Contemporary Approaches to Language, Identity, and Cultural Representation in Globalized Society
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70062/gllr.v1i2.204Keywords:
Cultural Identity, Digital Media, Globalization, Linguistics, LiteratureAbstract
This study examines the relationship between linguistics, literature, and digital media in shaping cultural identity and representation in a globalized society. The research addresses the problem of how language and literature interact within digital spaces to construct, negotiate, and express cultural identities. The objective is to analyze the ways in which linguistic practices, literary works, and digital platforms collaboratively create cultural narratives. The study employs an integrated methodology combining Critical Discourse Analysis to explore language use on social media and digital platforms, and a digital humanities approach to analyze literary works published or adapted in digital formats. The objects of research include digital texts from social media, online literary platforms, and other digitally mediated literary content. Findings indicate that digital media expands the avenues for literary expression through blogs, e-literature, fanfiction, and interactive platforms, representing cultural identities more fluidly, dynamically, and inclusively. Language serves as a key tool for negotiating identity across global communities, while digitalization enables minority narratives to gain wider visibility. Challenges such as cultural homogenization, cultural appropriation, and algorithmic biases are also highlighted. Overall, the integration of linguistics, literature, and digital humanities offers new theoretical perspectives on cultural globalization, provides practical frameworks for critical and inclusive digital literacy, and demonstrates that digital media actively shapes contemporary cultural identities while broadening the expressive potential of literature.
References
[1] E. Szczęsna, “Literature genome and its media and discourse modelling,” Pr. Filol. Lit., vol. 14, pp. 269–289, 2024, doi: 10.32798/pflit.1157.
[2] H. Y. Shukur, N. T. Mohamad Ameen, and H. M. Mohammed Awad, “Literature challenges in digital platforms: The Wattpad platform as a model,” Dirasat Hum. Soc. Sci., vol. 51, pp. 130–142, 2024, doi: 10.35516/hum.v51i1.10042.
[3] N. Klushina, “Communicative culture on the internet and media linguoecology,” Jazyk. Časopis, vol. 73, no. 1, pp. 78–85, 2022, doi: 10.2478/jazcas-2022-0029.
[4] Z. Bódi, “Digital identity, language identity, and digital communication environment,” Inf. Társad., vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 7–26, 2020, doi: 10.22503/INFTARS.XX.2020.3.1.
[5] A. Rojas, “Philosophical reflection on cultural identity formation in the era of globalization,” Cult. Int. J. Philos. Cult. Axiology, vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 590–606, 2025.
[6] K. Iwabuchi, “Globalization, digitalization, and renationalization: Some reflections from Japanese cases,” Situations, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 1–22, 2019.
[7] D. Li, J. Wang, and W. Wei, “Effects of digital communication between cultures based on intelligent internet platforms,” in Lecture Notes on Data Engineering and Communications Technologies, 2022, pp. 699–706. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-89508-2_90.
[8] D. Grenfell, “Humanitarian interventions and globalization,” in Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance, 2018, pp. 3153–3159. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-20928-9_1236.
[9] M. Danesi, “Forging a linguistic identity in the age of the internet,” Forum Ital., vol. 48, no. 2, pp. 227–237, 2014, doi: 10.1177/0014585814529223.
[10] S. L. Thorne, S. Sauro, and B. Smith, “Technologies, identities, and expressive activity,” Annu. Rev. Appl. Linguist., vol. 35, pp. 215–233, 2015, doi: 10.1017/S0267190514000257.
[11] I. András and G. Balázs, “Representation, virtuality, and cognition: Rethinking language in the digital attention economy,” Magy. Nyelvőr, vol. 149, no. 5, pp. 637–648, 2025, doi: 10.38143/Nyr.2025.5.637.
[12] R. Taiwo, “The dynamics of sociocultural and multicultural meanings in online discussion: A general overview,” in Sociocultural and Multicultural Meanings in Online Communication, 2025, pp. 1–22. doi: 10.4018/979-8-3693-7934-9.ch001.
[13] L. Li and J. Huang, “The construction of heterogeneous and fluid identities translanguaging on WeChat,” Internet Pragmat., vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 219–246, 2021, doi: 10.1075/ip.00046.li.
[14] N. Saraeva, N. Pachina, A. Saraev, M. Razomazova, J. Gorodova, and G. Pachin, “Adaptation resources of digital language platforms in the field of linguistic identity modeling,” in Proceedings of the 2024 6th International Conference on Control Systems, Mathematical Modeling, Automation, and Energy Efficiency (SUMMA), 2024, pp. 760–764. doi: 10.1109/SUMMA64428.2024.10803863.
[15] Z. Makatov, “Digital performativity: New horizons of identity in the algorithmic era,” in Proceedings of the International Conference on Engineering Management of Communication and Technology (EMCTECH), 2024. doi: 10.1109/EMCTECH63049.2024.10741632.
[16] S. Ashraf, “Between a banker and a Barbie: The illusions of social media (abstract),” in Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science, 2020, pp. 3–4. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-39165-2_2.
[17] E. Pierazzo and P. Stokes, “The new textual technologies,” in A Companion to the History of the Book, vol. 2, 2019, pp. 677–689. doi: 10.1002/9781119018193.ch45.
[18] P. Viires, “New creative practices on the Internet: Some remarks on social media literature,” Methis, vol. 21, no. 26, pp. 217–236, 2020, doi: 10.7592/methis.v21i26.16917.
[19] S. Koshy, “Minority cosmopolitanism,” PMLA, vol. 126, no. 3, pp. 592–609, 2011, doi: 10.1632/pmla.2011.126.3.592.
[20] J. Stern, “Garret Hongo: An interview with a Hawaiian Japanese American poet,” in The Asian Pacific American Heritage: A Companion to Literature and Arts, 2012, pp. 445–446. doi: 10.4324/9780203344590-59.
[21] C. Muthusamy, R. Marimuthu, and E. Sabapathy, “Effects of teaching literature on culture learning in the language classroom,” Am. J. Appl. Sci., vol. 8, no. 8, pp. 789–795, 2011, doi: 10.3844/ajassp.2011.789.795.
[22] A. Gonçalves Matos, “Literary texts: A passage to intercultural reading in foreign language education,” Lang. Intercult. Commun., vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 57–71, 2005, doi: 10.1080/14708470508668883.
[23] E. I. Zhuravleva, “Epistemic promises of digital humanities,” Vopr. Filos., no. 9, pp. 91–97, 2014.
[24] J. H. Kroeze, D. L. Scheuermann, D. L. Cockshut, W. Spickermann, and N. Hassan, “Digital humanities and information systems: Strengthening a tradition of innovation,” in Proceedings of AMCIS 2017: Americas Conference on Information Systems, 2017.
[25] L. Meneses and R. Furuta, “An introduction to digital humanities,” in Proceedings of the ACM/IEEE Joint Conference on Digital Libraries, 2018, pp. 417–418. doi: 10.1145/3197026.3201781.
[26] R. Martínez-Gamboa, “Big data en humanidades digitales: De la escritura digital a la ‘lectura distante,’” Rev. Chil. Lit., vol. 94, pp. 39–58, 2016, doi: 10.4067/S0718-22952016000300003.
[27] E. R. Kirchof, “How to read literary texts in the age of digital culture?,” Estud. Lit. Bras. Contemp., no. 47, pp. 203–228, 2016, doi: 10.1590/2316-40184710.
[28] K. Elliott, “Bite-sizing digital literature in the twenty-first century,” Adaptation, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 116–137, 2023, doi: 10.1093/adaptation/apad012.
[29] E. Moula, “Teaching literature within the frame of changed cultural conditions: The challenge of the digital era,” Int. J. Humanit., vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 101–111, 2010, doi: 10.18848/1447-9508/cgp/v08i03/42871.
[30] M. Debnár, “Reading second hand,” World Lit. Stud., vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 87–97, 2017.
[31] M. Yao, “The study of the effects of digital media applications in cross-cultural communication in the construction of cultural identity,” Acta Psychol. (Amst.), vol. 258, p. 105247, 2025, doi: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105247.
