Having described features of a written and a spoken language, similarities and differences between them together with a new form of communication called computer-mediated communication, we turn to the language which we use on a regular basis not in real and everyday communication, but in the virtual space and on the Internet. It is worth starting this section with the point of view presented by Żydek-Bednarczuk (2004: 11) who pays attention to differences between language used in real-life conversations and this form of the language which appears on social websites. In her opinion, the most important is the goal of the communication. It is not problematic in everyday situations owing to the fact that people start conversations in order to exchange information or discuss some matters. The situation looks a bit different on the Internet since there are two kinds of communication. The first one takes place within the text when we talk to someone on instant messengers or chat rooms. In this situation we
73 usually have some precise goals which determine the way we talk. The second type of communication happens outside the text when someone write messages and comments without informing other people about it (e.g. on some websites, blogs). In this case, we cannot be sure about the real purpose of such a message since we do not know fully the intention of the author.
The language of the Internet can be described by means of the following categories:
1. monologic and dialogic character
Undoubtedly, not only is a dialogue essential in everyday conversations, but also in most situations which take place on the Internet. It is important to notice that the Internet is the only new medium which functions as the tool of communication in comparison to other new media which just convey important information without expecting feedback from the side of recipients. A great variety of social networks give us chances to maintain and develop different forms of dialogues such as commenting on videos on YouTube, talking on instant messengers, exchanging e-mails, organizing video conferences. Nevertheless, it is crucial to have in mind that sometimes messages which are left on some websites are starting to gain some monologic features. It happens when for example we do not receive feedback for the message which we wrote on a forum or when the post published by us remains without any comments. This monologic feature is typical of the language of the Internet and rather not associated with face-to-face conversations (Markham & Lindgren, 2014: 20).
2. spontaneity
Spontaneity of posts, comments, and messages can be characterized by features which are attributed to the specific genre:
Genre The level of spontaneity Features FAQ (Frequently Asked
Questions), a web guide
Very low Even if the main idea of this guide is to ask questions and answer for them, they are prepared in
74 advance on the basis of experience and users’
expectations.
Forums Not too high The moment we initiate a
conversation threading, we have in mind some certain ideas which we want to share with others. Yet, joining the discussion itself is more spontaneous.
Games high Game players need to react
very quickly.
Electronic letters Depending on the situational context
Very high in private letters, lower in public ones.
Private chats high - typical both of public and
private texts and messages.
- lack of using specific letters of the Polish alphabet (czesc, jak sie masz, gwozdz)
-literal errors
(pomieczszenie, desinged) - laconic messages, short sentences, simple vocabulary
- punctuation which has a very emotive function:
using question marks, exclamations, ellipsis.
Table 8: Genres and their levels of spontaneity (on the basis of Grzenia, 2006: 104).
75 As one can notice, the language of the Internet has quite high level of spontaneity, however, it also depends on the type of text and its functions. Some authors have not developed yet a proper linguistic competence which should be used on such social networks, others do not pay attention to some rules which ought to be obeyed, and there are still some authors who want to attract as many users as possible and by means of some strategies mentioned above they seem to be more unique and extraordinary.
The Internet creates a perfect environment for spontaneity owing to the fact that most texts and messages which are writtem there do not have to be reviewed by anyone as long as they are informal (Jagodziński, 2015; Meerman, 2010).
3. Situational context
Barak and Gluck-Ofri (2007: 411) note that most of the conversations which take place on social networks depend mainly on a situational context which need to be taken into consideration. The first situational context appears in chat rooms. Users who log in there have their nicknames which can be chosen randomly or on purpose. At the very beginning there is almost no context which could function as a background for further conversations. This situational context is created the moment we choose a particular person with whom we want to have a discussion. We ask some basic information about name, age, hobbies, and other things which are important for us. In such chat rooms, we can also choose whether we want to talk to someone by means of public forums or private messages. Sometimes we can have this context, for example, by choosing a particular chat rooms where we want to talk. By asking about age or the place of living we make a short introduction to our further conversations and at the same time we get to know to our potential interlocutors who are also logged in a particular chat room. The emphasis should be put here on the importance of linguistic elements of speech acts which determine the situational context.
In comparison to everyday conversations, in such places like chat rooms or forums these elements need to be used in order to have a context. This situational context looks a bit different in discussion groups. Before joining such a group, we pay attention to its name which gives us a general outlook on topics and matters which are brought up in a particular discussion group. It is the moment when we can either take part in such a discussion or quit it. The moment we join a particular group we can easily recognize other participants’ interests and hobbies which are strictly connected with topics which
76 are discussed. It is much easier for us due to the fact that we choose this discussion group which appeals to our views and beliefs. We also must be aware of the fact that introducing any other topics which are not connected with the main goal of the discussion group may result in us being rejected by other participants (Sakr, 2012: 121).
4. Multimedia character
The advent and the development of computers led to the evolution of the language of the Internet which started to expand on a larger scale. The most significant difference between old computers from the past and modern ones concerns changes within a text mode. In the past people created documents and files only by means of text modes without any additional supplements. Over centuries changes connected with the development of the Internet and modern technology resulted in the appearance of various types of fonts, colors and their hues, and other features such as bold print, italics or underlines. Thanks to that, nowadays we can edit texts in as many ways as we want to which was available only for printing houses in the past. Nowadays not only can we edit our texts by changing fonts or colors, but also by means of introducing some visual elements (pictures, images, gifs) we can make them more vivid, audible (music, songs, voice records) or dynamic and kinesthetic (movements, gestures, mimics) (Adamski, 2010; Jackson, 2013).
5. Hypertextuality
Hypertextuality is strictly connected with the visualization of the language due to the fact that thanks to hyperlinks which are activated by means of a mouse click or touching the screen we can easily move on to other fragments or texts which seem to be interesting. It is extremely important not only from the editorial point of view, but also the linguistic one owing to the fact that by choosing a particular hyperlink we can be redirected to many other various websites which contain similar information. In such a situation when we have different sources which come from verified websites we are able to make a comparison concerning the reliability of given information and originality. Hyperlinks may redirect us not only to other fragments of the texts, but also to some pictures, tables, charts, videos, and even records. Moreover, hypertext is
77 characterized by its openness and the lack of time limitation. Regardless of the place and time, we will always have a free access to all sources.
It is also important to mention that hypertext is not characterized by any chronological order and does not have anything in common with the linear structure of the text. Neither does it have contents page and index due to the fact that the range of potentially accessible words is still increasing and it would be impossible to gather them all together. Hypertext is perceived as one huge cobweb which is linked with hundreds of other smaller cobwebs. It is not controlled by anyone and it is generated automatically. It also gives other users opportunity to take part in discussions, exchange opinions and views. Thanks to this feature we may ascertain that hypertext takes part in interpersonal communication and at the same time helps people to change their attitude towards the written text. Since it is no more linear text, people are supposed to get used to a new organization of the text which is full of references, links, hyperlinks, and other supplements (Castells, 2003: 227).
6. Hierarchical character
Even if this feature is typical of most of the written forms, yet it is very noticeable and pointed out in computer-mediated communication, especially in some forums and chat groups.
Figure 13: Hierarchical character (Grzenia, 2006: 112).
78 This hierarchical character is noticeable in answers which appear one after another below the main topic of the discussion or the main message. In fact, this hierarchy is imposed by the structure which is typical of a specific social network and it determines its final outlook. This hierarchical character becomes pragmatic on the grounds of the fact that each user can cite previous messages sent by someone else (fragments with a sign >), take part in an active part in the discussion by means of adding comments, leave the discussion if they see that they do not receive any feedback or even introduce a totally new topic for the discussion and start it with other users (Filiciak et al, 2010:
89; Wyrwas, 2004: 55, Javed et al, 2016: 82).
7. Dynamic character
Texts which appear on the Internet are characterized by being dynamic and prone to various changes. Articles or comments which are available on websites during one day can be modified or deleted the next day; hence very often it is compulsory to mark the date of the last update. Unfortunately, this feature makes them less stable and reliable than texts which can be found in newspapers. However, having seen that either an article or the website are before the latest update, we will be more eager to come back and read it again in order to find out what was modified and what new was added. Paper newspapers or magazines do not give us such a possibility. This dynamic character is also strictly connected with previously mentioned hyperlinks, which enable us to visit other websites which are connected with the topic we are interested in. Thanks to that we can divide texts according to our wishes, expectations, and interests. Sometimes accidentally we encounter some other texts which turn out to be useful and helpful. It can be stated that texts which are found on the Internet are open both for senders and receivers. Senders can edit and modify them whenever they want to and receiversare aware that future changes and modifications will introduce something new and innovative in these texts (Grzenia, 2004: 28; Fiske, 1990: 56, Sun, 2010: 100).
8. Range
As has been noticed by Golus (2004: 36), both a spoken language and the language of the Internet have their own range. Some space limitations are the reasons why people create their own jargons and local dialects. Such varieties of a spoken language cannot
79 be a part of social networks due to the fact that the Internet has a global range, however, it is possible to come up with some environmental varieties of the language, for example:
- environment for games lovers, - environment for chat users,
- environment for discussion groups, - environment for bloggers.
9. Permanency
Apart from all these mentioned features we cannot forget about the permanency of texts which are placed on the Internet. According to Boellstorff (2015, 53), to some degree, this feature is similar to dynamic character of online messages, however, some points need to be considered in this context:
- techniques aimed at making these texts more stable, - a channel of communication,
- content of these texts,
- users’ needs and requirement.
As mentioned before, some texts may be exposed to further modifications, and the content before editing may differ a lot from the content which we receive after changes.
In order to avoid such situations we save the most important information, texts or articles on CDs, DVDs, or memory sticks. Only by saving in such a way can we be sure that our content will remain the same. Presumably, in the future new devices will replace CDs and DVDs and people will not have any problems with saving important information (Rodney 2013). Another factor which decides about the stability of our information is the channel of communication. Table 9 presents the relation between certain channels of communication and their stability.
80 The channel of communication Stability
World Wide Web (WWW) A couple of years
Letters and discussion groups A couple of years
e-mails Not many, a few years
Small talks Minimal
Table 9: The relation between channels of communication and their stability (on the basis of Grzenia, 2006: 117).
It is easy to observe that information which can be found on some websites remains there much longer than messages which we exchange in some chat rooms or during small talks. The moment we close the window of the conversation we lose all information which appeared during chatting. The last two features concern the content of messages and users’ needs and requirements. Some observations led to the conclusion that literary and scientific texts are the most popular on websites. The main aims of these observations are to monitor how often particular texts and articles are read by users of the Internet. Only by implementing these observations can we be sure about the needs of users. Sometimes unnecessary texts are deleted, sometimes they are modified and adjusted to requirements suggested by other users (Szczepaniak, 2012:90;
Clarke, 2000: 115; Couper, 2000: 184; Dillman, 2000: 48).