English as a medium of online shopping: a descriptive account of 4 chats with Algerian small business Owners on Instagram

Abstract

Résumé: Online communication has been a primary coping mechanism adopted globally since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The research at hand attempts to demonstrate the potential of English as a medium of online shopping among Algerian small business owners and consumers. A netnography was conducted with 4 small business owners as case studies based on participant observation and field notes as qualitative data collection tools. Our descriptive account focused on how English was opted for by small business owners in their respective Instagram profiles and private chats. The outcomes reveal that owners' use of English is a noticeable element in both the layout of their Instagram pages and their replies in private chats as well, be them with the researcher or other consumers. At the linguistic level, their messages were almost all in English with some instances of code-switching and minor language errors. Keywords: English, Instagram, netnography, online shopping, Algerian small business.