Contextual Misalignment and Meaning Distortion in Brand Use of Internet Slang

Abstract

Internet slang has become increasingly common in brand communication, especially on social media where brands are expected to appear informal, responsive, and culturally aware. Yet the meaning of slang is rarely stable or self-contained. It is often tied to a particular group, moment, tone, or interactional setting. When brands move these expressions into commercial discourse, the original context may no longer hold, and the result can be a change in tone, meaning, or social position. This paper examines contextual misalignment and meaning distortion in brand use of internet slang. It focuses on the relationship between brand identity, the original social context of slang, and the commercial purposes that reshape its meaning after recontextualization. Particular attention is given to cases in which shared humor becomes promotional formula, ironic or attitudinal meanings are weakened, and community-based expressions are turned into marketing resources. The paper argues that the effectiveness of internet slang in brand communication depends less on whether a brand uses fashionable language than on whether the expression remains appropriate to the speaker, audience, and communicative situation. Misalignment can make brand language appear forced or intrusive, while careful recontextualization may preserve the social meaning that gives slang its communicative value in the first place.