Attitudinal Stance and Code-Switching as Persuasive Tools in Malaysian Digital Activism: A Corpus-Assisted Discourse Analysis of Mobilisation Discourse
Abstract
This study explores the mobilisation discourse surrounding the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement on social media. It investigates the linguistic strategies employed by Malaysian influencers, identified as digital activists, focusing on their persuasive tactics. This research particularly examines attitudinal stance and code-switching in online mobilisation discourse. We consider how rhetoric may have evolved, or remained consistent, in the age of social media, algorithm surveillance, and digital technology. Employing a corpus-assisted critical discourse analysis methodology, which integrates corpus linguistics techniques with a critical discourse analysis approach, we examined 30 posts from Malaysian TikTok activists to understand the characteristics and features of the persuasive language used by them. The study found that these digital activists evaluate Israel mostly using judgment rather than affect or appreciation based on the attitude system. Additionally, code-switching was widely used, with motivations for marked code choice including avoiding social media monitoring, negotiating identities, and connecting with diverse groups. These activists also employed coded language and focused on information sharing rather than engaging in blatant criticism of the Zionist movement. This study argues that social media discourse, particularly digital activism responding to humanitarian crises like the genocide in Palestine, offers a significant area for understanding public mobilisation. By utilising corpus linguistics techniques, this research uncovers interesting language patterns and sheds light on language's crucial role in contemporary mobilisation and activism movements.
Keywords: corpus-assisted discourse analysis; attitudinal stance; code-switching; Tik Tok; digital activism
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Abimbade, O., Olayoku, P., & Herro, D. (2022). Millennial activism within Nigerian Twitterscape: From mobilisation to social action of #ENDSARS protest. Social Sciences & Humanities, 6(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2021.100222
Adams, D. M., Bedard, J. R., Blatt, S. H., Faisal, E., Goliath, J. R., Gregory-Alcock, G., & Whitelaw, H. (2024). Speaking truth to power: Toward a forensic anthropology of advocacy and activism. Humans, 4(1), 66-90. https://doi.org/10.3390/humans4010005
Ali, F. Z., Smets, K., & De Cleen, B. (2024). Pakistani transgender activists on Instagram: The politics of postcolonial language appropriation and abrogation. International Journal of Media & Cultural Politics, 20(1), 91-113. https://doi.org/10.1386/macp_00092_1
Anisah, N., & Nasrullah, N. (2023). Code-Switching in English as a Second Language (ESL) Classroom Settings: A Strategy or a Problem? Asatiza: Jurnal Pendidikan, 4(3), 137-155. https://doi.org/10.46963/asatiza.v4i3.859
Anthoney, M., Saad, N. M., & Yee, C. Y. (2025). Investigating The Necessity of Learning Modules for Japanese Language Acquisition Among Learners at USIM. Al-Azkiyaa: International Journal of Language and Education, 4(1), 165-173. https://doi.org/10.33102/alazkiyaa140
Arfan, S. I., & Salam, S. N. A. (2024). Media Jihad: Interpretation of Palestinian Resistance Through Semiotic Studies. RETORIKA: Jurnal Ilmu Bahasa, 10(2), 603-618.
Awad, R. (2021). BDS as the baseline of solidarity: toward a model of co-struggling with Palestinians in their movement for justice and liberation. Human Geography, 14(3), 362–373. https://doi.org/10.1177/1942778620972354
Bara, A. (2025). Code-Switching in Saint Levant’s Trilingual Music: Language, Identity, and Cultural Expression. Zeszyty Naukowe Wyższej Szkoły Bankowej w Poznaniu, 106(3), 121-142. https://doi.org/10.58683/dnswsb.2000
Be, N. I. M. N., Sabri, M. A. Z., Adnan, A. C., & Ahmad, N. A. (2022). The impact of code switching in Starbucks service encounters. International Journal of Social Science Research, 4(2), 161-169.
Beiler, I. R. (2021). Marked and unmarked translanguaging in accelerated, mainstream, and sheltered English classrooms. Multilingua, 40(1), 107-138. https://doi.org/10.1515/multi-2020-0022
Cannon, E. (2019). The BDS and anti-BDS campaigns. Jewish Political Studies Review, 30(1/2), 5-64.
Catt, C. C., & Shuler, N. R. (2020). Woman suffrage and politics: The inner story of the suffrage movement. Courier Dover Publications.
Chambers, B. (2024, February 27). Censoring Palestine: Malaysia's pushback can cause a ripple effect. TRT World. https://www.trtworld.com/asia/censoring-palestine-malaysias-pushback-can-cause-a-ripple-effect-15638355
Christensen, D. M., Jin, H., Lee, J. A., Sridharan, S. A., & Wellman, L. A. (2024). Corporate political activism and information transfers. The Accounting Review, 99(3), 87-113. https://doi.org/10.2308/TAR-2021-0254
Darwis, N. (2024). Code Switching as Politeness Strategies in EFL Classroom Interaction. English Review: Journal of English Education, 12(2), 821-832. https://doi.org/10.25134/erjee.v12i2.10195
Enke, N., & Borchers, N. S. (2019). "Social media influencers in strategic communication: A conceptual framework of strategic social media influencer communication." International Journal of Strategic Communication, 13 (4): 261–277. https://doi.org/10.1080/1553118X.2019.1620234
Etaywe, A. (2024). Compassion as appraisal, performative identity and moral affiliation: A corpus perspective and digital activist strategic communication analysis. Language, Context and Text, 6(1), 88-121. https://doi.org/10.1075/langct.00066.
Fairclough, N. (1995). Critical discourse analysis: the critical study of language. Longman Publishing.
Farag, H. E. (2023). Language, identity, and Syrian political activism on social media. Journal of Arabic Sociolinguistics, 1(1), 123-127. https://doi.org/10.3366/arabic.2023.0008
Fourcade, M. (2021). Sociolinguistics of Youth Activism: Implications for The Future of Political Language. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, 10(6), 1-15. http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.10n.6p.1
Fuentes, M. A. (2025, February 3). digital activism. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/digital-activism
Gardner, C. J., Thierry, A., Rowlandson, W., & Steinberger, J. K. (2021). From publications to public actions: the role of universities in facilitating academic advocacy and activism in the climate and ecological emergency. Frontiers in Sustainability, 2, 1-6. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2021.679019
Grasso, M., & Giugni, M. (2021). The Routledge handbook of environmental movements. Routledge.
Hitchcock, J. (2016). Social media rhetoric of the transnational Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement. Social Media+Society, 2(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1177/205630511663
Hutter, S., & Weisskircher, M. (2022). New contentious politics. Civil society, social movements, and the polarisation of German politics. German Politics, 32(3), 403–419. https://doi.org/10.1080/09644008.2022.2044474
Johnston, M. (2025). Global reaction to the war. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Israel-Hamas-War/Global-reaction-to-the-war
Kemp, S. (2024, February 23). Digital 2024: Malaysia. Data Reportal. https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2024-malaysia
Luna, D., & Peracchio, L. A. (2005). Advertising to bilingual consumers: The impact of code-switching on persuasion. Journal of Consumer Research, 31(4), 760-765. https://doi.org/10.1086/426609
Lustick, I. S., & Shils, N. (2022). The Palestinians, Israel, and BDS: Strategies and struggles in wars of position. Israel Studies Review. 37. 28-57. https://doi.org/10.3167/isr.2022.370303.
Mahmood, S. S., & Ali, A. M. (2021). Marked Code-Switching and Its Functions in the Pakistani Fashion Journalism. Pakistan Social Sciences Review, 5(1), 1029- 1043.
Martin, J. R., & White, P. R. R. (2005). The language of evaluation: Appraisal in English. Palgrave Macmillan.
Mason, A. (2025, April 11). Descript. https://www.descript.com/.
Metrouh, F., & Mebtouche, F. Z. N. (2022). Multilingual Code Switching in Algerian Rap Song Lyrics: A Functional Approach. 3L: Language, Linguistics, Literature: The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies, 28(3), 98- 115. http://doi.org/10.17576/3L-2022-2803-07
Mohd Nor, M. R., Latif, K., Ismail, M. N., Nazri, M., & Qureshi, M. I. (2021). An analytical repertoire approach for review of the BDS campaign and Palestinian solidarity. Journal of Contemporary Issues in Business and Government, 27(3), 2725- 2733.
Mohd Sofee, S. F., Abdul Aziz, A., & Mohamed, S. (2022). Redefining social activism through the transition towards user generated content in Malaysia. Journal of Media and Information Warfare 15(3), 54-67.
Moody, S., & Eslami, Z. R. (2020). Political discourse, code-switching, and ideology. Russian journal of linguistics, 24(2), 325-343. http://doi.org/10.22363/2687-0088-202024-2-325-343
Morais, E. (1995). Codeswitching in Malaysian business and its role in the management of conflict. Journal of Modern Languages, 9(1), 29-47.
Mutmainnah, F. A. (2024). The Influence of Social Movements on the International Legal Process: A case study of the Israeli- Palestinian Conflict in the International Court of Justice. Politea: Jurnal Politik Islam, 7(2), 62-109. https://doi.org/10.20414/politea.v7i2.11086
Myers-Scotton, C. (1993). Social motivations for codeswitching: Evidence from Africa. Oxford University Press.
Ozkula, S. M. (2021). What is digital activism anyway? Social constructions of the “digital” in contemporary activism. Journal of digital social research, 3(3), 60-84. https://doi.org/10.33621/jdsr.v3i3.44
Pelclová, J., & Lu, W. L. (2018). Persuasion in Public Discourse: Cognitive and functional perspectives (Volume 79). John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Poplack, S. (2001). Code-switching (linguistic). In Smelser, Niel and Baltes, Paul (eds.), International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioural Sciences. Elsevier Science Ltd. 2062- 2065
Riboni, G. (2024). “Flip the Script” on Transracial Adoption: Counter Discourse Activism on Social Media. DE GENERE, 10, 121-138.
Steen, E., Yurechko, K., & Klug, D. (2023). You can (not) say what you want: Using algospeak to contest and evade algorithmic content moderation on TikTok. Social Media+ Society, 9(3), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051231194586
Sutrisno, A. (2024). International legal analysis of the boycott products suspected of supporting genocide. Iblam Law Review, 4(1), 497-504. https://doi.org/10.52249/ilr.v4i1.328
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17576/3L-2025-3103-28
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
eISSN : 2550-2247
ISSN : 0128-5157