A Tentative Study Of Nonverbal Communicative Modes In Text-based SCMC

Text-based synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) is a new topic in recent years. Similar to natural face-to-face (FtF) interaction, text-based SCMC consists of two parts: verbal (text-only) communication (VC) and nonverbal communication (NVC). Viewed from the perspective of NVC theory, this thesis makes a tentative study on the nonverbal communicative modes and their communication functions in text-based SCMC through observing and analyzing the collected materials.Computer-mediated communication (CMC) is a new emerging social phenomenon. It is one form of human communication. CMC falls into two types: asynchronous CMC and synchronous CMC. It has aroused the attentions of linguists. The researches on CMC put emphasis on VC but ignored NVC, because CMC lacks in the physical presence and social context cues, and results in missing NVC. CMC is considered as an inadequate communication. It is non-face-to-face communication. However, the researchers in recent years have found in some case studies that lacking FtF nonverbal cues doesn't mean losing NVC in CMC. The computer users develop a set of nonverbal cues which are acceptable among netizens and employ them in the ongoing conversations to compensate for the lack of nonverbal cues in CMC context.Influenced by some factors such as Internet culture, the virtual environment and the channel mediated on computer, SCMC has its own characteristics that form a set of communication norms and customs. SCMC is a real-time non-FtF communication via computer among the spatial disparate people.This study focuses on the nonverbal communicative modes in text-based SCMC, and makes a qualitative analysis of the raw materials which are collected from two forms of SCMC: instant messaging (IM - private chat) and internet relay chat (IRC - private or public chat). The writer of this thesis attempts to study the nonverbal communicative modes in text-based SCMC from the perspective of NVC theory, and explores their communication functions in the real-time online communication.When studying the nonverbal communicative modes in SCMC, the writerclassifies them into three types: graphic accents, electronic paralanguage and emoting, etc. Graphic accents fall into two kinds: emoticons and pictures. Emoticons that express the users' mood and states of mind are combined with keyboard symbols and ASCII codes. Some CMC applications also provide the users with sets of emotion icons which can convey the emotions of the communicators vividly and effectively. Pictures are content-rich picture icons or animated pictures originated from the Internet. Electronic paralanguage is a set of innovative nonverbal cues created by the communicators mainly through the strategic use of typography. Emoting refers to the narrative descriptions of the user's current emotional or physical state in the third person. This is a paradox because in this mode verbal messages serve as nonverbal communication in SCMC contexts.Nonverbal communicative modes in SCMC, mirroring to that of natural FtF communication, perform five primary functions: recreational function, expressive function, substituting function, reinforcing function and complementing function.In the text-based SCMC environments, nonverbal communicative modes are used primarily for social and recreational activities. Participants apply nonverbal cues to the ongoing conversations expressing the recreational or playful function. These nonverbal cues like pictures express special meanings themselves. When the nonverbal cues such as graphic accents, electronic paralanguage and emoting are employed in the synchronous text-based communication, they give the warmth to the context and make the Internet interpersonal communication embedded in social emotion. Also, similar to FtF interactions, NVC supplements VC in text-based SCMC to function as substituting, reinforcing and complementing. In SCMC contexts, nonverbal cues are adopted to substitute the verbal messages or accentuate the verbal cues or make a complement to verbal communication. Mimicking natural FtF communication, NVC also plays an important role in text-based SCMC.SCMC is real-time online communication via computer. The process of SCMC mirrors that of natural FtF communication. The temporal, spatial and social factors that impact the interaction in natural settings also influence the communication in the electronic environments. In text-only SCMC, with the lack of physical presence and social context cues, the exchanging of information and socio-emotion is based on the text messages typing on the terminals seen by the participants. It is...