The Maxims of Werry
Christopher Werry (1996) did one of the first studies of chatrooms/IWD. A few of his findings:
-Chatrooms attempt to imitate speech: “…and almost manic tendency to produce auditory and visual effects in writing, a straining to make written words imitate speech.”
-Paralinguistic clues “create the effects of spoken delivery”
-Participants mix and match language to create a “bricolage of discursive fragments drawn from songs, TV characters and a variety of different social speech types”
Werry noted a tendency towards brevity and a minimal number of keyboard strokes. These produced the following effects:
-Short turns (avg. 6 words)
-Heavily abbreviated forms (leaving out letters, etc.)
-Words deleted (i.e., no “I” pronoun)
-Letter homophones (RU= Are you)
-‘key bindings’ of letter homophones, representing phrases (cyal8r)
‘Paralinguistic clues’ included:
-Reduplicated letters for emphasis (soooooooo slow)
-Suspension points and hyphens to break up conversation (And…)
-Capitalisation for emphasis (I AM VERY ANGRY)
-Colloquial and phonetic spelling (fx= effects)
-Actions/gestures can also be represented through ‘emoticons’
This is all taken from the text "The Language of ICT"—available from the library (I think).
Mittwoch, 31. Januar 2007
Year 12 English Language-- Language and Technology
How To Analyse E-Texts
If you're presented with task involving e-mails, instant messaging/msn, texting, etc. here's a short list of things you can look for and comment upon:
Structure/Discourse
Does the text mimic or utilise any generic conventions of discourse—the letter, the telephone call, etc.—in whole or in part? Do the participants ‘mix and match’? In synchronous CMC especially, how do the conventions of spoken discourse affect the exchange? How do spoken and written features interact? Is the exchange phatic or transactional?
Language—Semantics/ Pragmatics
A general hypothesis is that Netspeak informalises language—is this true in your case? How does the lack of face-to-face discourse affect the user’s choice of vocabulary (i.e., avoiding multiple meanings)? Do the users attempt to clarify meaning? Are there comments or items that require deictic or exophoric reference to clarify their meanings?
Is there use of taboo language—or an attempt to create covert prestige?
Phonology—Prosodics and Paralinguistics
Do the users attempt to replicate prosodic and paralinguistic features—how?
Graphology
Do users manipulate graphics or text? Is there multi-modal communication? How has the user attempted to visually represent him/herself or their emotions?
Grammar/Orthography
Does the need for speed of communication affect (i.e., limit) the range of sentence types and/or functions? Does the text utilise standard English grammar-- or do variations reflect either haste or non-standard (i.e., slang) constructions? Does speed create 'typos', or do the participants utlise non-standard spellings for group cohesion or ironic effects?
Obviously, our old friends "How" and "Why" are absolutely necessary. Having asked a question, and spotted a feature, you must offer some sort of analysis to fully develop your ideas.
You can copy/print this post and bring it to your test on Friday!
If you're presented with task involving e-mails, instant messaging/msn, texting, etc. here's a short list of things you can look for and comment upon:
Structure/Discourse
Does the text mimic or utilise any generic conventions of discourse—the letter, the telephone call, etc.—in whole or in part? Do the participants ‘mix and match’? In synchronous CMC especially, how do the conventions of spoken discourse affect the exchange? How do spoken and written features interact? Is the exchange phatic or transactional?
Language—Semantics/ Pragmatics
A general hypothesis is that Netspeak informalises language—is this true in your case? How does the lack of face-to-face discourse affect the user’s choice of vocabulary (i.e., avoiding multiple meanings)? Do the users attempt to clarify meaning? Are there comments or items that require deictic or exophoric reference to clarify their meanings?
Is there use of taboo language—or an attempt to create covert prestige?
Phonology—Prosodics and Paralinguistics
Do the users attempt to replicate prosodic and paralinguistic features—how?
Graphology
Do users manipulate graphics or text? Is there multi-modal communication? How has the user attempted to visually represent him/herself or their emotions?
Grammar/Orthography
Does the need for speed of communication affect (i.e., limit) the range of sentence types and/or functions? Does the text utilise standard English grammar-- or do variations reflect either haste or non-standard (i.e., slang) constructions? Does speed create 'typos', or do the participants utlise non-standard spellings for group cohesion or ironic effects?
Obviously, our old friends "How" and "Why" are absolutely necessary. Having asked a question, and spotted a feature, you must offer some sort of analysis to fully develop your ideas.
You can copy/print this post and bring it to your test on Friday!
Dienstag, 30. Januar 2007
Rhetoric Websites
Involved in debating? A great way to learn to speak more effectively is to learn about rhetoric-- the art of persuasive and engaging speech. The following websites are very handy:
http://www.americanrhetoric.com-- this one is brilliant, if you can deal with the exclusively American focus. Lots of speech clips for you to download, while you peruse the texts of the speeches. Plus lots of fancy-schmancy rhetorical terms you can use to impress your peers. Honest!
http://humanities.byu.edu/rhetoric/silva.htm-- lots of definitions, most derived from the original Greek sources.
These ones may also prove useful:
http://www.butterfliesandwheels.com/rhetoricprintall.php
http://stevefournier01.tripod.com/
http://uk.dir.yahoo.com/Social_Science/Communications/Rhetoric/?sort=lf
http://www.americanrhetoric.com-- this one is brilliant, if you can deal with the exclusively American focus. Lots of speech clips for you to download, while you peruse the texts of the speeches. Plus lots of fancy-schmancy rhetorical terms you can use to impress your peers. Honest!
http://humanities.byu.edu/rhetoric/silva.htm-- lots of definitions, most derived from the original Greek sources.
These ones may also prove useful:
http://www.butterfliesandwheels.com/rhetoricprintall.php
http://stevefournier01.tripod.com/
http://uk.dir.yahoo.com/Social_Science/Communications/Rhetoric/?sort=lf
Welcome to the Warehouse
Good Day, eh?
This is the first of many posts on this blog-- posts designed to make everyone's lives easier. Look for the relevant section of the website for links, additional resources, and stuff to help you in your studies.
On the other hand, I may lose interest, and this'll be all you find!
This is the first of many posts on this blog-- posts designed to make everyone's lives easier. Look for the relevant section of the website for links, additional resources, and stuff to help you in your studies.
On the other hand, I may lose interest, and this'll be all you find!
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