Textuality on the Web

This chapter focuses on computer mediated communication from a linguistic perspective, exploring aspects of textuality which have been impacted by the pervasive spread of the hypertext. Central features in the construction of texts are the notions of cohesion and coherence, originally tailored on linear time-based modes of communication, where both the elements and their sequentiality – fully controlled by the author – contribute to meaning making. In light of the disruption of linear sequentiality brought by the space-based logic of the hypertext, this chapter aims to understand how cohesion and coherence work in the website environment, with specific regard to genres characterised by an argumentative drive, which potentially suffer more than other text types from the loss of the author’s control on the linear dispositio of arguments. The analysis identifies different patterns for the construction of cohesion and coherence in argumentative websites, which accommodate traditional standards of textuality into the new environment.

Analyzing Blending Social and Mass Media Audiences through the Lens of Computer-Mediated Discourse

This study illustrates advantages and applications of a mixed-method approach that includes quantitative computer-mediated discourse analysis (CMDA) and automated analysis of content frequency. To evaluate these methodologies, audience comments consisting of Facebook comments and SMS mobile texting to Italian radio-TV station RTL 102.5 were analyzed. Blended media contents through computer-mediated discourse analysis expand horizons for theoretical and methodological audience analysis research in parallel to established audience analysis metrics.

Critical Electronic Discourse Analysis

This chapter investigates and endorses the integration of two existing research traditions, electronic discourse analysis (EDA) and critical discourse analysis (CDA), into a more powerful and comprehensive form of analysis of electronic discourses, Critical Electronic Discourse Analysis (CEDA). It sets this analytic project against the massive, unpredictable changes in culture and society which are associated with the electronic media revolution. It argues for innovative forms of analysis, in which ‘electronic discourse analysis’ acquires two over-lapping interpretations: electronically enabled analysis of discourses in all media; and all forms of analysis of electronic discourses and the social forms they express. It uses McLuhan and multi-modality theory to argue for major continuities and significant breaks in semiotic modes over long periods. It argues that powerful innovations in analysis and technology need to recognize and incorporate the two fundamental semiotic modes, digital and analogue, and not seek to replace one with the other.

Bridging the Gap

In this chapter, the researchers used an ethnographic stance to demonstrate how conversation evolved within a social media platform. They investigated the online discussions and face-to-face dialogues between teacher educators and pre-service teachers. They compared the participants’ reciprocal conversations within this case study to analyze patterns in the language used in each forum in order to identify the affordances and constraints of perceived understanding. Through this discourse analysis the authors sought to identify indicators of each participant’s metacognitive development while engaging in an online book discussion through a social media platform. Data analysis indicated that there was metacognitive growth when comparing the initial reciprocal conversations with the final conversations.

Conversation Analysis and Electronic Interactions

This chapter proposes that, as a method which has engaged with interaction in other contexts, conversation analysis (CA) should be used to analyze electronic interactions. The adoption of CA leads to a number of methodological pointers and this chapter reviews some of these. The authors firstly overview previous research on electronic discourse, including work which has also applied CA to electronic interactions. The authors then describe the main elements of CA, and also briefly discuss the closely related approach of discursive psychology. Using a corpus of quasi-synchronous instant messaging chats, the authors show how data can be collected which captures how users actually conduct online interactions. The authors discuss the ethical issues inherent in collecting such data. Finally, using examples from the corpus, the authors demonstrate the importance of making timed transcripts and working with screen capture data.

Inter-Animation between Utterances in Collaborative Chat Conversations

With the wide adoption of instant messaging, online discussion forums, blogs and social networks, online communication has shifted from narration to highly collaborative discussions with multiple authors and discussion threads. However, the theories and methodologies for analyzing this new type of discourse which is different from narration, but also from dialogue, have remained mostly the same. The authors propose a new method for the analysis of this type of discourse, designed especially for multi-party chat conversations where parallel discussion floors and threads exist at the same time. The theoretical underpinning of the inter-animation framework is the detection of links between utterances in order to build a conversation graph that may be used to discover the discussion threads. The framework has been used for analyzing chat conversations of students in Computer Science in order to assess the involvement of each student, the inter-animation of the conversation and the degree of collaborative discourse.

Interactive Advertising

Recent attempts to theorize identity using sociolinguistic, discourse analytic, and conversation analytic frameworks have focused on discursive constructions of speakers’ identities, especially emphasizing the point that identities are constructed moment by moment through social interaction. Although such frameworks arguably are designed with face-to-face, synchronous interaction in mind, it is well known that other types of discourse, traditionally thought of as distant, asynchronous, and solitary (or non-interactive), are being used in new ways, due to rapid developments in technology. These developments suggest that all language use is inherently interactive, if not interactional (i.e., synchronous). In this chapter, the author uses insights from social semiotics and frameworks grounded in the analysis of spoken interaction to analyze a commercial in conjunction with unelicited comments from people who viewed the commercial on YouTube. The author’s analysis focuses on the multimodal expression of meaning potentials as well as their uptake and the stances displayed in response.

Writing to Meet Your Match

After ten years, Internet dating has become mainstreamed with members producing and consuming a great deal of written text before meeting face-to-face. Through a twenty-one-prompt questionnaire and follow up interviews, four case study participants describe their efforts at self-reflection, self-representation, and interaction with other members. The following chapter analyzes email questionnaire responses and interview excerpts that discuss each participant’s perceptions of the rhetorical process of writing profiles, interpreting others’ profiles, and exchanging emails to facilitate courtship. In addition, this chapter analyzes the discourse of participants’ self-presentations in comparison with their reported self-perceptions and impression management strategies. Findings suggest that more effective members composed their e-texts after a methodical process of understanding the communication genre, the expectations and behaviors of their target audiences, and their own relationship objectives. Further, participants with greater experience with cyber dating have more positive experiences, which led to positive attitudes and greater satisfaction with e-dating.

Second Language Learners’ Spoken Discourse

This chapter examines the use of Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) technology in the context of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) and language learning and teaching research. A brief introduction to ASR is first provided, to make it clear why and how this technology can be used to the benefit of learning and development in second language (L2) spoken discourse. This is followed by an overview of the state of the art in research on ASR-based CALL. Subsequently, a number of relevant projects on ASR-based CALL conducted at the Centre for Language and Speech Technology of the Radboud University in Nijmegen (the Netherlands) are presented. Possible solutions and recommendations are discussed given the current state of the technology with an explanation of how such systems can be used to the benefit of Discourse Analysis research. The chapter concludes with a discussion of possible perspectives for future research and development.

Learning on the Move in the Web 2.0

This work aims at presenting the current state of the art of the m-learning trend, an innovative new approach to teaching focused on taking advantage of mobile devices for learning anytime, anywhere and anyhow, usually employing collaborative tools. However, this new trend is still young, and research and innovation results are still fragmented. This work aims at providing an overview of the state of the art through the analysis of the most interesting initiatives published and reported, studying the different approaches followed, their pros and cons, and their results. And after that, this chapter provides a discussion of where we stand nowadays regarding m-learning, what has been achieved so far, which are the open challenges and where we are heading.