The grammar of text messaging - Einzelansicht

Smartphones now inhabit our domestic and professional worlds and impact how we navigate these worlds, communicate with others, and learn languages. While mobile platforms have the potential to increase our communication possibilities, little is still known about how conversational practices are adapted to these new forms. Recent studies stemming from a conversation-analytic approach to the study of mediatized communication referred to as ‘digital conversation analysis’ (Giles et al., 2015), have shown striking similarities and differences at various conversational aspects between text, instant, and chat messaging written interactions and spoken conversations.

This advanced course draws on these recent studies and provides an initial exploration of how human interaction takes place via smartphone-based messaging applications (e.g., WhatsApp). Through the methodological apparatus of Conversation Analysis and Interactional Linguistics, we will unpack real-world conversations in these media. Particular attention will be given to text-based interactions with multilingual speakers and in second language learning environments.

LEARNING OUTCOME

At the end of this course, students should be able to use conversation analytical terminology and procedures to accomplish data-driven analysis of text-in-interaction and develop research questions related to its interactional organization in order to ultimately be able to contribute to the theoretical and practical optimization of this type of talk.

Research diary