Humorous Translanguaging and Playful Discourse on Indonesian Twitter: A Critical Discourse Analysis

Humor and translanguaging are increasingly prominent in digital communication; however, limited research has explored their intersection in Indonesian social media discourse, where local and global languages creatively merge. This gap leaves unanswered questions about how humorous and multilingual practices operate in online spaces, especially in contexts of cultural hybridity and diverse language contact. This study examines linguistic creativity in humorous translanguaging on Indonesian social media, specifically on the X platform (formerly Twitter). Using Fairclough’s three-dimensional model of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), the research analyzes three humorous tweets posted by the popular Indonesian account @handokotjung, focusing on spelling manipulation, wordplay, and puns. The findings reveal that users blend multiple languages, including Indonesian, English, Sundanese, and Arabic loanwords, to produce homophonic, homonymic, and semantically playful expressions that resonate with emotional, cultural, and relational themes. The playful discourse in these tweets evokes humor while also communicating messages of romantic longing, cultural belonging, and sociolinguistic negotiation. The study underscores five aspects of humorous translanguaging in digital discourse: fostering inclusivity, showcasing linguistic inventiveness, enabling emotional expression, enhancing virality, and transcending language boundaries. These insights contribute to understanding how digital users utilize hybrid linguistic resources to construct identities, critique social norms, and create shared meaning in online communities. By foregrounding intersections among humor, creativity, and multilingual expression, this research offers a nuanced lens on evolving dynamics of language use in the digital era and highlights the pedagogical and sociocultural relevance of humorous translanguaging practices.