Sociolinguistic Analysis of the use of English in Contemporary Iranian Daily Communication: A Study Based on YouTube and Instagram Content

This thesis examines the use of English in contemporary Iranian daily communication through a sociolinguistic perspective. The study focuses on spoken and written language used by Iranian content creators on YouTube and Instagram. By analyzing full transcriptions of selected YouTube videos and the captions of Instagram posts, the research aims to identify the most common English borrowings, the contexts in which they occur, and the possible historical and socio-political motivations behind their use. The data will be collected from channels that represent informal, everyday communication. The analysis looks at the frequency of English words, the surrounding context, and the reasons why speakers choose English instead of Persian in specific moments. The goal is to understand how social media influences language use in Iran and how English has become a visible part of daily urban speech. This study contributes to a better understanding of language contact, code-mixing, and the role of English in modern Iranian society.