IMPACT AND INFLUENCES OF CMC IN INTERNET
LINGUISTICS
Computer-mediated communication (CMC) is defined as any
human communication that occurs through the use of two or more
electronic devices. While the term has traditionally referred to
those communications that occur via computer-mediated formats
(e.g., instant messaging, email, chat rooms, online forums, social
network services), it has also been applied to other forms of text-
based interaction such as text messaging. Research on CMC
focuses largely on the social effects of different computer-
supported communication technologies
Benefits
The nature of CMC means that it is easy for individuals to
engage in communication with others regardless of time, location,
or other spatial constraints to communication.When
communicating through an electronic medium, individuals are less
likely to engage in stereotyping and are less self-conscious about
physical characteristics. The role that anonymity plays in online
communication can also encourage some users to be less
defensive and form relationships with others more rapidly.
Disadvantages
- the virtual distance that is fundamental to computer-mediated
communication can create a psychological and emotional sense of
detachment, which can contribute to sentiments of societal
isolation
HOW DIGITAL MEDIA IS CHANGING THE WAY WE TALK
“Digital media has become so crucial to our communication that it
has created a new type of language.” - Agnes Veszelszki
“Digilect is the language variety (type) of digital media, which is
typically used during communication taking place on computers or
other digital devices,” Veszelszki explains. “It has many special
characteristics in terms of form, spelling, grammar, and style.” For
her book, Veszelszki indexed these characteristics based on
findings from two surveys and several analyses of digital,
handwritten, and printed texts, offering a wealth of linguistics
innovations in English, German, and Hungarian.
ENTER THE EMOTICON
An emoticon is a visual representation of an emotion, object or
symbol. Emoticon can are in modern communication apps such as
your smartphone’s text messaging or social networking apps such
as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tiktok and Messenger.
Facebook recently improved the Like button by providing new
emotions such as Happiness, Laughter, Anger, Sadness, and
Love. Users can activate these responses by holding down on the
Like link for a few seconds, which then displays a strip of these
emotions you can choose from.
The Messenger app provides a gallery of larger emoticons that
can be used predominantly in your conversation.
The app also provides access to a store where you can
download additional emoji with unique personalities. Tap the plus
icon then choose from the list of emoji’s available.
The use of emoticons—spelling variants and writing in a style
similar to spoken language—is central to digilect. “But the most
striking innovations relate to vocabulary,” Veszelszki says. “For
example, many new abbreviations and Internet-specific acronyms
are used for simplification and time-saving purposes.”
“Who has not been guilty of shooting an email to a colleague
sitting on the other side of the room to avoid having to walk over?”
FROM THE VIRTUAL TO THE ANALOG
Digilect is most notable in online communication, specifically in
instant messaging conversations and on social media sites like
Twitter and Facebook. Especially the latter platform has an
important influence on our public and private conversations. “Just
think about it: Facebook is still showing a growing trend with nearly
half a million new users registering each day,” Veszelszki says.
“Every six seconds, six new Facebook profiles are created.”
However, Veszelszki also found that these linguistic
innovations have begun to influence the way teenagers formulate
messages when they write by hand. Interestingly, when she asked
them to fill in a paper questionnaire about their language use, “it
was an unexpected outcome that the answers to open-ended
questions included many digilectic forms, like abbreviations and
smileys. Interestingly, they wrote smileys as if typed on a keyboard
and not rotated by 90 degrees to better represent the human face.”
To illustrate, they wrote ‘:-)’ or ‘XD’ instead of ‘ ’.
Example Emojis
Sad - ಥ‿ಥ ༎ຶ‿༎ຶ (╥﹏╥)
Smiling- (•‿•) ◕‿◕
(• ∀・)
Love- (◍•ᴗ•◍)( ω )
Classic- :-) :,-) 8-) ^_^:^) (TT) :-X :-( :'( :-* :-O :-[
“I was interested to learn whether the new abbreviations invented
in digital communication also have an impact on note-taking. The
answer is a clear yes.”
Additionally, Veszelszki also found examples of digilect in spoken
language, such as those in made-up quotes like this one: “Oh em
gee, I lol’d so hard!” (fans of the Kardashian family may be familiar
with these). Respondents to her survey said they had used
abbreviations like “asap” and “brb” in conversations, as well as the
netologisms “lájkol” (“like”) and “lávol”, which means “love” and
was inspired by the pronunciation of that English word.
Example Abbreviation
Tbh- to be honest.
Lol- laughing out loud.
Smh- so much love.
Otw- on the way.
Rt- real talk.
Rk- rich kid.
Bts- behind the scene.
Btw- by the way.
Ikr- I know right.
Idc- I don't care.
POST-LITERACY: BACK TO AN ORAL CULTURE?
As mentioned earlier, digilect is heavily influenced by oral
communication. For example, digital communication resembles
dialogue, is less structured than written text, and has looser
spelling and grammar rules. This may have notable
consequences, given the ubiquity of digital communication, as
Western society is heavily based on text.
Veszelszki thinks the evolution of digilect can help offset the
constraints that literacy imposes on society. “Some say that the
emergence of literacy became a barrier between people, as literate
societies lack the spontaneity of orality, and therefore people living
in literacy-based cultures have separated from each other both
psychologically and emotionally. Today, however, orality seems to
have gained ground against literacy, so these ‘values’ are making
their way back to society.”
In the post-literacy world of today, literacy has lost its absolute
power in favor of spontaneous discourse, which is characterized
by immediacy, emotional directness, and vitality. “Planned
communication is no longer considered ideal, not even in
literature,” notes Veszelszki. An example of this is the cell phone
novel, a literary format particularly popular in Japan and China,
which is made up of short chapters sent to subscribers via e-mail
or SMS message.
What is post literacy?
The term «post-literacy» has come to have different meanings in
various educational systems. In some Member States the term is
used very loosely to include all forms of education which follow on
after the achievement of basic literacy.
Literacy
This is generally to mean the ability to read, write and apply
numeracy skills
Oral Culture or Oral Tradition
The spoken relation and preservation, from one generation to the
next, of a people's cultural history and ancestry, often by means of
storytelling.
On the verges of orality and literacy
The examination of the language of new medium once again
raised the issues of language varieties, literacy and orality.
THE INTERNET AND THE LANGUAGE CHANGE
The Internet has changed the way we communicate, the way we
do organize our everyday life including the way we work out.
Besides, all of these changes none might be as influential as
language change. One can say that the Internet, obviously,
created the Internet Language and therefore caused a new
chapter of language change.
“The emergence of new technologies usually causes new words.
In the case of computer and the Internet many existing words got
new meanings, too, for example, the verbs ‘to browse’ or ‘to surf’”
(Greiffenstern 2010: 122).
The growth of Existing words with a new meaning
Technological change, as we know very well, tends to provoke
linguistic and cultural change, too.
It's the reason why, several times a year, dictionaries trumpet the
addition of new and typically very trendy words.
But more interesting than the new words are the old words that
have gotten new meanings: words such as "cloud" and "tablet" and
"catfish", with very long pre-internet histories.
-TROLL
Then: "a dwarf or giant in Scandinavian folklore inhabiting caves or
hills."
Now: "a person who sows discord on the internet by starting
arguments or upsetting people."
-BLOCK
Then: "a dwarf or giant in Scandinavian folklore inhabiting caves or
hills."
Now: "a person who sows discord on the internet by starting
arguments or upsetting people."
-CATFISH
Then: "a dwarf or giant in Scandinavian folklore inhabiting caves or
hills."
Now: "a person who sows discord on the internet by starting
arguments or upsetting people."
-CLOUD
Then: "a dwarf or giant in Scandinavian folklore inhabiting caves or
hills."
Now: "a person who sows discord on the internet by starting
arguments or upsetting people."
-MEME
Then: "a dwarf or giant in Scandinavian folklore inhabiting caves or
hills."
Now: "a person who sows discord on the internet by starting
arguments or upsetting people."
WORD PLAY
For English speakers there are cult websites devoted to cult
dialects - "LOLcat" - a phonetic and deliberately grammatically
incorrect caption that accompanies a picture of a cat, and
"Leetspeak" in which some letters are replaced by numbers which
stem from programming code.
In olden times (…) it would take several years before a new word would
achieve a sufficiently high community profit to appear in print, be
picked up by lexicographers, and come to be recorded in dictionaries.
Today, a new word can achieve a global profile within hours. It seems
likely that the Internet will speed up the process of language change.
NEW WORDS CREATED
The English language is a flexible creation. It changes over time. New
words come into being and old words disappear into obscurity. The
power and reach of the internet have accelerated the process of creating
and spreading new words (and old words with new meanings) far and
wide across the globe.
-Internet
The word “internet” dates back to the early 1970s. It describes the vast
network of computers, websites, and technology that now lets us send
tweets, buy items online, and spend way too much time on Facebook.
-Woot
In 2011, the Concise Oxford Dictionary, a pared down version of the
great-grandaddy Oxford English Dictionary, recognized “woot” as a
word. “Woot” is usually used as a joyful outburst, an exclamation of
enthusiasm. The word’s origin as internet slang is murky, but it seemed
to first emerge in the 1990s.
-Noob
The word “noob” entered the Concise Oxford Dictionary in the same
year as “woot.” It refers to a new person who doesn’t know what he or
she is doing. It often appears in reference to gaming or for computing
activities. The word derives from the term newbie and is sometimes
spelled as “newb” or “n00b” with two zeroes, particularly in the gaming
world.
-Here are concerns from the influence of technology in language. It is
said that individuals will no longer know how to speak and write the
standard English due to the emergence of the Internet slang.
Consequently, this could lead to an increase in grammatical errors among
students.
-David Crystal, (a
renowned linguist, in an interview to Macmillan Education ELT)
According to Christopher Poole, founder of anarchic image message
board 4Chan.
The internet is an amazing medium for languages.”
"Language itself changes slowly but the internet has speeded up the
process of those changes so you notice them more quickly.“
"It's like any badge of ability, if you go to a local skatepark you see kids
whose expertise is making a skateboard do wonderful things.
"Online you show how brilliant you are by manipulating the language of
the internet."
It may not need any discussion to agree that several neologisms only
exist because the Internet made them.
HOW IS CMC INFLUENCE OUR LIVES?
The emergence of Computer-Mediated Communcation (CMC)
When you think about important inventions in 20th Century which
had a profound effect on our life, the Computer and then later the
Internet comes to our mind. Most people agree that computer and
the internet have changed and are still changing many aspects of
our life. Communication is one of the important areas in our life
that has changed due to the rising number of the computer and the
Internet uses. Positive and Negative Effects Most people agree
that, for example, online shopping, online banking and e-
government have positive effects that they can save us time and
make things easier. But when it comes to more and more used
forms of communication like: Emails Instant messages Chat rooms
Text messages you find a kaleidoscope of more or less well
founded opinions.
Influence in the use of Language
Some people worry that especially young people might no longer
know the correct spelling and grammar. > Other praise the
creativity which is applied in the creation of these new language
features, which are mainly found in English today, and fact that
people communicate more frequently.
Linguistic Study about CMC
Naomi Baron conducted several studies about CMC. She saw that
CMC has an impact on language and communication habits
because people communicate more and more with the help of
computers instead of speaking face-to-face or writing letters.
Influences of CMC
Physical activity
Sedentary screen-time behavior - Use of CMC was identified as
having an impact on the time that everyone now has a cell phone
and computer and so people are less active.
Regulator of fitness - With smartphone technology and the
advance of digital applications (apps) for health, the relationship
between our devices and health is extended beyond
communication.
Emotional and mental disturbance
Engaging in distressing interactions with others. The use of CMC
to connect with others evoked distressing negative emotions. With
the use of CMC, the ease of conversation resulted in hurtful
interactions.
No emotional support provided. Negative communication not only
caused mental distress for participants, but also was not always
felt to be effective for providing support to others
Mindfulness
Lack of engagement with surroundings - Lack of mindful behaviour
or lack of focus on other tasks after receiving important news
through methods such as text messaging.
Escape from reality or escape through electronics. Disengaging
from the present moment through CMC was a way of coping and
bringing joy or a sense of calm to the youth when their
environment was unhealthy or painful.
Relationships –
Connects individuals. The use of CMC also provided benefits
through allowing youth to keep in contact with family who [do] not
live close. These modern media also enabled connection to others
beyond the young person’s physical social network.
Absence of social cues - CMC were lacking in comparison to face-
to-face contact. Via text message … you don’t know what their
voice is like. Without hearing tone of voice, a barrier was created in
the effectiveness of the overall communication and support given
to one another. With the potential for misunderstanding when
engaging in CMC, this method of communication made
conversation more difficult.
Reduced face-to-face communication - A lack of conversing with
people in the physical environment can potentially influence the
relationships between individuals and their ability to connect. The
use of devices in a way that hinders communication was identified
as an obstacle to growing closer and building relationships.
3.1 Asynchronous vs. Synchronous Communication Media
It is not against expectation that the wide range of computer-
mediated communication has many facets to offer. In terms of
categorizing this communication type with the aim of
understanding it better, one has the option to divide the spectrum
into asynchronous and synchronous communication and
investigate both contingencies. In addition to those two categories
N. Baron (Baron 2010: 14) asks the following questions:
1. “Does the communication happen in real time (synchronous), or
do senders ship off their messages for recipients to open at their
convenience (asynchronous)?”
2. “Is the communication intended for a single person (one-to-one)
or for a larger audience (one-to-many)?”
According to Naomi S. Baron: Always on: Language in an Online
and Mobile World (p. 14)
To make these categories more plausible, examples – according
to N. Baron (Baron 2010: 14) – are given in the following to make
distinguishing easier:
One-to-One: Asynchronous
Email
This explanation leads us back to the first question from above:
“Do senders ship off their messages for recipients to open at their
convenience?” This question already draws the attention to the
flexibility of emailing. It is barely common or possible that one gets
an immediate response after sending an email. However, Baron
clarifies its affiliation to asynchronism by saying: ”Senders and
recipients are free to broadcast messages as they see fit, either
publicly or sub rosa” (Baron 2010: 16).
One-to-One: Synchronous
Instant Messaging
With instant messages it is the other way around, they belong to
the category of synchrony. As the term “instant” already implies,
those messages are only sent “(…) when I know you are online
and there is good reason to anticipate a boomerang reply” (Baron
2010: 17).
One-to-Many: Asynchronous
Blogs (= Web Logs)
Nowadays blogs are very common and popular. The way they
work is very simple: One posts articles about topics of interest and
others react by writing comments. This medium belongs to the
category of asynchronism because, as well as with emails,
comments are not answered immediately and this is also nothing
that is usually expected. Blogs mostly work as “encouraging
teenage girls to keep online diaries” (Baron 2010: 20).
REFERENCES :
https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-
9780199756841/obo-9780199756841-0160.xml#:~:text=Computer
%2Dmediated%20communication%20(CMC),%2C%20and%2For
%20video%20messages.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer-mediated_communication
GROUP MEMBERS :
1. BUIZA, Roselyn
2. ORTIZ, Samantha
3. NAVARRO , Nichole
4. DEL RIO, Jezreel
5. QUIZANA, Paula
6. DIGNUM, Christine
7. RACSAG, Ryan
