TECHNOLOGY: Key Terms and Theorists

TECHNOLOGY: Key Terms and Theorists

1. MICRO BLOGGING/SOCIAL NETWORKING

   • CRYSTAL
     • Language use is affected by the 140 character constrains, this means more use of; logograms, elliptical sentences, non-standard spelling, minor sentences, acronymy and contractions
   • One form of social networking is Twitter
     • Features include: '@', retweets, favourites, hashtags and dms.

2. EMAILS

   • WALDVOGEL
     • If the participants have high morale, the greeting and farewells are LESS formal
     • If the participants have low morale, the greeting and farewell sequence is MORE formal
   • CRYSTAL
     • The sheer diversity of email purposes makes it difficult to generalise about the language features it uses
   • A lot depends on the context eg. the formality may depend on the relationship of participants

3. TEXTING

   • Code Speech: the switching from text speech to Standard English depending on the context, linked to having a higher interlect
   • Emoji's: a form of paralinguistics to show emotion towards topic of conversation
   • Vowel Omission: pls
   • Phonetic spelling: omigod
   • Initialism: cba
   • Acronymy: lol
   • Homophonic Representation: 2L8
   • CRYSTAL
     • Text speak crosses over with normal speech as he believes that technology is turning the English Language into Non-Standard

4. RADIO

   • Editorial Guidelines: callers briefed on what they can and cannot say prior to being on air
   • Prosodic Features: paralinguistic vocal elements of spoken language used to provide emphasis- tone, pitch, stress, volume
     • Radios depend heavily on this as their is no images which can show how the speaker is feeling
     • TELEVISION COMMENTARY
       • Shares many features with radio, but wouldn't be as descriptive as a radio commentary - viewers can already see what is happening, so the commentator only offers additional information, NOT a full description
   • Pragmatic Understanding: shared prior knowledge of a certain thing or discussion topic
     • TELEVISION

5. TELEPHONE CONVERSATION

   • Phatic Speech: turns designed to maintain a sense of mutual cooperation and respect
   • Metatalk: talks which draws attention to the act of talking to end a conversation eg. 'I'd better stop talking and go and do some work'
   • Pre-closing Sequences: signals that one or both speakers wish to end a conversation
   • SCHEGLOFF
     • All phone conversations have a similar sequence; 1) Summons/Answer, 2) Identification and Recognition, 3) Greeting sequence, 4) Strengthening of shared space
       • May not be the case anymore with technological developments such as caller ID
       • Although Schegloff suggests this to be a routine, it was not common or formal. He emphasises the creative nature of discourse depending on variables of the speaker- relationship, context and purpose of the dialogue

6. Affordances: advantages of communication mode

7. Constraints: Limitations or disadvantages of mode

8. Asynchronous: immediate responses not required eg. Emails

9. Synchronous: responses are immediate eg. Telephone Conversation