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Although the laughing remarks are purposely incorporated to lessen the offensive impact and used in a context in which the speaker seems to joke around, people will still get hurt by these insults given that the rudeness is pervasive. The laughing remarks provide advantages for the speaker (giving the impression that they are not using rude language), whereas it has adverse effects to the listener. An insult remains an insult regardless of how someone sugarcoats it. This act of rudeness and bullying can easily spiral and trigger further negative behaviours if not prevented. universal language (English), explaining the ultimate reasons for newly-developed filtering systems or abusive language detection mechanisms by researchers of multilingual countries. Another feature of intelligence-related insults worthy of discussion is the use of laughing remarks such as ‘hahahaha’, ‘lol’ and ‘kahkahkah’. Although intelligence-related insults are deemed harsh and aggressive, the use of laughing remarks helps to tone down the meaning that of the insults, as shown in the following table.

Table 7 Although the laughing remarks are purposely incorporated to lessen the offensive impact and used in a context in which the speaker seems to joke around, people will still get hurt by these insults given that the rudeness is pervasive. The laughing remarks provide advantages for the speaker (giving the impression that they are not using rude language), whereas it has adverse effects to the listener. An insult remains an insult regardless of how someone sugarcoats it. This act of rudeness and bullying can easily spiral and trigger further negative behaviours if not prevented. universal language (English), explaining the ultimate reasons for newly-developed filtering systems or abusive language detection mechanisms by researchers of multilingual countries. Another feature of intelligence-related insults worthy of discussion is the use of laughing remarks such as ‘hahahaha’, ‘lol’ and ‘kahkahkah’. Although intelligence-related insults are deemed harsh and aggressive, the use of laughing remarks helps to tone down the meaning that of the insults, as shown in the following table.

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Table 5: Bodoh using other spelling alteration/ variation/ modification C. Repetition or individual letters Of a word Repetition of individual letters of a word is one of the linguistic features that might contribute to the spelling variation of a word. In the case of the abusive word ‘bodoh’, the word itself experienced spelling variations with repetition of individual letters of a word. ‘Bodoh’ is spelled as ‘buduuusss’ in #3262 with the repetition of the vowel ‘u’ and the consonant ‘s’. Budus is a term coined by Malaysians to tone down the word ‘bodoh’ to make it more palatable. However, despite this purpose, the additional vowel and consonant signals another level of irritation and frustration of the speaker. Post #6697 below shows another individual letters repetition in the analysis.
Table 5: Bodoh using other spelling alteration/ variation/ modification C. Repetition or individual letters Of a word Repetition of individual letters of a word is one of the linguistic features that might contribute to the spelling variation of a word. In the case of the abusive word ‘bodoh’, the word itself experienced spelling variations with repetition of individual letters of a word. ‘Bodoh’ is spelled as ‘buduuusss’ in #3262 with the repetition of the vowel ‘u’ and the consonant ‘s’. Budus is a term coined by Malaysians to tone down the word ‘bodoh’ to make it more palatable. However, despite this purpose, the additional vowel and consonant signals another level of irritation and frustration of the speaker. Post #6697 below shows another individual letters repetition in the analysis.
In addition to exclamation marks, question marks are also used together with the abusive word ‘bodoh’. In tweet #1595, the question mark is used to question the situation that is perceived by the speaker as nonsensical and ridiculous, whereas the phrase ‘bodo apa’ reflects the speaker’s exasperation with the situation.
In addition to exclamation marks, question marks are also used together with the abusive word ‘bodoh’. In tweet #1595, the question mark is used to question the situation that is perceived by the speaker as nonsensical and ridiculous, whereas the phrase ‘bodo apa’ reflects the speaker’s exasperation with the situation.
Table 8: Bodoh combining Malay or English curses Tweet #3033 also uses code-mixing. However, the aggravation of ‘bodo’ is negatively intensified with the vulgar slang ‘fak fak fak’ (formally written as ‘fuck fuck fuck’). The spelling of the word ‘fuck’ itself is modified by social media users into ‘fak’. In sum, Malaysians are likely to use code-mixing or code-switching in their online communication to fit several reasons emphasised by Crystal (1987) and Maros et al. (2016). Specifically, conveying their attitude to the audience and creating rapport and social bonding among online users. In discussing social factors that may drive Malaysians to switch or mix codes, Hadei, Kumar and Jie (2016) listed 10 motives for code-switching in Malaysian society. These motives include showing of identity within a group, addressing different audiences, lacking of facility (inability to find suitable vocabulary), utilising pragmatic reasons (to call attention to the context of a conversation), lacking of registral competence (certain vocabulary is not available to a speaker in the first language [L1]), exploring semantic significance (to signal the speaker’s attitude, communicative intentions and emotions to convey linguistic and social information), to attract attention and habitual expressions (to amplify and emphasise the point and mood of the speaker).
Table 8: Bodoh combining Malay or English curses Tweet #3033 also uses code-mixing. However, the aggravation of ‘bodo’ is negatively intensified with the vulgar slang ‘fak fak fak’ (formally written as ‘fuck fuck fuck’). The spelling of the word ‘fuck’ itself is modified by social media users into ‘fak’. In sum, Malaysians are likely to use code-mixing or code-switching in their online communication to fit several reasons emphasised by Crystal (1987) and Maros et al. (2016). Specifically, conveying their attitude to the audience and creating rapport and social bonding among online users. In discussing social factors that may drive Malaysians to switch or mix codes, Hadei, Kumar and Jie (2016) listed 10 motives for code-switching in Malaysian society. These motives include showing of identity within a group, addressing different audiences, lacking of facility (inability to find suitable vocabulary), utilising pragmatic reasons (to call attention to the context of a conversation), lacking of registral competence (certain vocabulary is not available to a speaker in the first language [L1]), exploring semantic significance (to signal the speaker’s attitude, communicative intentions and emotions to convey linguistic and social information), to attract attention and habitual expressions (to amplify and emphasise the point and mood of the speaker).
Table 9: Bodoh using Malaysian English emphasis markers Regardless of the spelling variations of ‘bodoh’ such as in #4168, #6384 and #2560, ‘/a’ and ‘/ah’ are used with the intention to put an intense sentiment to the word ‘bodoh’. Lee (2015) added that the manner and the tone used in speaking can indicate a distinct meaning to a word or sentence, and it can be used to show confidence, appease a person and reflect anger. The analysis indicates that the two markers, ‘/ah’ and ‘la’, are used to emphasise a word and signal irritation. However, ‘ah’ sounds provocative and harsh to the audience (especially to the person to which it is directed), whereas ‘la’ is deemed less stimulating and subtle.
Table 9: Bodoh using Malaysian English emphasis markers Regardless of the spelling variations of ‘bodoh’ such as in #4168, #6384 and #2560, ‘/a’ and ‘/ah’ are used with the intention to put an intense sentiment to the word ‘bodoh’. Lee (2015) added that the manner and the tone used in speaking can indicate a distinct meaning to a word or sentence, and it can be used to show confidence, appease a person and reflect anger. The analysis indicates that the two markers, ‘/ah’ and ‘la’, are used to emphasise a word and signal irritation. However, ‘ah’ sounds provocative and harsh to the audience (especially to the person to which it is directed), whereas ‘la’ is deemed less stimulating and subtle.
a. Dialect Interference Findings from other intelligence-related insults also showed few incidences of code-mixing and code-switching when it involves regional dialect interference. This situation was referred to by Don (2003) as ‘dialect code-switching’. Given that Malaysia is known as a multilingual and multidialectal country, Malaysian speakers consistently choose among different languages to use when they are communicating with people of other races and those from distinct dialect areas. The options they select typically reflect a message beyond the referential meaning of a statement. The analysis disclosed numerous tweets that used this dialect code-switching approach when harassing someone online. Some examples are given halow
a. Dialect Interference Findings from other intelligence-related insults also showed few incidences of code-mixing and code-switching when it involves regional dialect interference. This situation was referred to by Don (2003) as ‘dialect code-switching’. Given that Malaysia is known as a multilingual and multidialectal country, Malaysian speakers consistently choose among different languages to use when they are communicating with people of other races and those from distinct dialect areas. The options they select typically reflect a message beyond the referential meaning of a statement. The analysis disclosed numerous tweets that used this dialect code-switching approach when harassing someone online. Some examples are given halow
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