This is an unedited manuscript accepted for publication and provided as an Article in Press for early access at the author’s request. The article will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and galley proof review before final publication. Please be aware that errors may be identified during production that could affect the content. All legal disclaimers of the journal apply.
Mansiba Sarvaiya,
- PhD Research Scholar, Department of English , Gujarat University, Gujarat, India
Abstract
The digital revolution has fundamentally transformed linguistic practices, precipitating what we term “linguistic minimalism”—the systematic reduction of language to essential semantic components in hyper-speed communication environments. This research examines how contemporary digital platforms have catalyzed a contraction in linguistic expression through abbreviations, semantic compression, emoji symbolism, and strategic silence. Drawing on discourse analysis, pragmatics, and social semiotics, this study explores four interconnected dimensions: emojis and GIFs as primary meaning carriers, grammar erosion in instant messaging, the emergence of context-dependent language, and the replacement of extended discourse with micro-utterances. The novelty of this research lies in reconceptualizing linguistic reduction not as degradation but as sophisticated communicative efficiency—where meaning emerges through absence, reduction, and non-verbal symbols rather than explicit verbal articulation. Employing frameworks from Jakobson’s communication functions, Grice’s cooperative principle, and contemporary digital discourse analysis, this paper demonstrates that linguistic minimalism represents an adaptive linguistic evolution responding to technological affordances, time pressures, and the economics of attention in digital spaces. Understanding this phenomenon illuminates fundamental principles through which humans adapt language to new communicative ecologies.
Keywords: linguistic minimalism, digital communication, semantic compression, emoji semiotics, micro-utterances
Mansiba Sarvaiya. Linguistic Minimalism in Digital Communication: The Shrinking of Language in Hyper-Speed Communication Environments. OmniScience: A Multi-disciplinary Journal. 2026; 16(01):-.
Mansiba Sarvaiya. Linguistic Minimalism in Digital Communication: The Shrinking of Language in Hyper-Speed Communication Environments. OmniScience: A Multi-disciplinary Journal. 2026; 16(01):-. Available from: https://journals.stmjournals.com/osmj/article=2026/view=236238
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OmniScience: A Multi-disciplinary Journal
| Volume | 16 |
| 01 | |
| Received | 08/01/2026 |
| Accepted | 19/01/2026 |
| Published | 22/01/2026 |
| Publication Time | 14 Days |
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