Online English And Computer-mediated Social Communication

The entry of Internet into the everyday life of millions of people across the globe has brought forth a new approach of communication- computer-mediated communication (CMC), which is different from any means of communication that humankind has previously known. Some people have compared it to TV, a mass medium, while others have noted its shared qualities with telephone, a non-broadcast, two-way medium. Most computer users, however, conceive of it as an amalgam of all these types-synthesizing all their merits of expression through sound, pictures, and words; and demonstrating the function of human language to its utmost. It is so different from other means of communication that it does not quite fit into any existing class, and it is so inclusive and extensive that no one can ignore its existence and more and more people begin to use it, like it and notice its significance in human life.The use of computers as a medium of communication has given birth to a new language phenomenon- cyber language, whose appearance provided us with an opportunity to further study the evolution of language at large and the effect of medium on language use in specific circumstance.hi an effort to present a better understanding of CMC, its language, conventions and culture, thereby helping to find ways to develop communication competence and achieve effective communication, this thesis carries out an exploratory study of the grammatical and pragmatic use of English in CMC.It starts from a general introduction to cyber language and Netglish (Internet English). Besides some basic characteristics, two controversies are presented and then analyses are made of the impact of the emergence of cyber language on the development of natural languages and of the question of whether English will keep its dominant status on the web.The grammatical features of Netglish are mainly discussed in Chapter Two, which involves linguistic study in areas of lexis, figures of speech and style.Chapter Three and Four deal with the notion of computer -mediated communicationand CMC culture. At the end of Chapter Four, it is pointed out that the study of CMC culture concerns the study of both grammatical rules and pragmatic rules of the language used.Thereafter, the topic of the pragmatic rules of CMC-Netiquette is brought forth in Chapter Five, where some basic rules of Netiquette are enumerated and then emphasis is given to a comparative study of Netiquette and Politeness theories. It is concluded that Politeness theories are equally applicable to CMC and they even developed their necessities as CMC demonstrates its growing significance to human communication.In Chapter Six, intercultural communication in computer environment is studied and the notion of intercultural computer-mediated communication (ICMC) is introduced. It is held that ICMC process cuts through dual levels of cultural disparities-the nationality level and the cyberspace level. This chapter develops itself by touching upon the concept of communicative competence and its classification on the basis of some linguists' findings. It is emphasized once again that grammatical and pragmatic rules of Netglish play significant roles in achieving effective computer-mediated communication.Since CMC culture covers such a great variety of areas and it is undergoing continuous changes, its study goes far beyond any individual exploration. This thesis just offered some tentative ideas and initial analysis only to solicit more profound and systematic researches.