Computer mediated discourse and turn taking devices

Šárka Ježková

doi:10.5817/DI2011-2-19

Computer mediated discourse and turn taking devices

Vol.4,No.2(2011)

Šárka Ježková

https://doi.org/10.5817/DI2011-2-19

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Abstract

The article attempts to show how turn taking strategies of using particular devices in asynchronous forums differ from face-to-face communication, how they are conditioned by the medium and also how they are inﬂ uenced by the aim of a particular discussion. The analysis, as part of bigger research, is based on comparison of two corpora of online discussions with different topics and aims, and it shows the shift of functions of typical written devices such as titles, greetings, etc. It is evident that even if interactive exchanges in asynchronous computer mediated forums tend to be linked together less tightly than in face-to-face communication, the potential confusion is prevented by adopting compensatory strategies.

Keywords:
computer mediated discourse (CMD); asynchronous communication; learners’s language; addressing strategies; adjacency pairs; informative and emotional functions of discourse

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