New profiles of “hika” users in social networks and significant change in intermittent treatment. A case study

Kasu baten azterketa

Abstract

This study seeks to examine the reasons behind the occasional switches to the Basque informal address form "hika" when the speaker is mainly using the formal "zuka". We chose a very specific context for that: texts written in social networks by a young woman who is not a regular "hika" user. We analysed 1,870 Instagram chat conversations written over six years, and we focused on the use of "hika". We applied to our findings two contributions with a long research tradition: Jakobson’s language functions and different proposals to classify code-switching typologies. We observed that these two areas may be a productive foundation to classify the typologies of the expressive use of "hika". As a conclusion, we suggest some ideas that could be considered when implementing activities to revitalise the use of "hika", but it is also true that this study is restricted to the analysis of form, while more qualitative analyses may be needed in order to delve deeper into issues related to the function of this "hika" use.