Computer-Mediated Discourse
To appear in the Handbook of Discourse Analysis, edited by Deborah Tannen, Deborah Schiffrin, and Heidi Hamilton. Oxford: Blackwell.
Computer-Mediated Discourse
Susan C. Herring
1 Introduction
1.1 Definition
Computer-mediated discourse is the communication produced when human beings interact with one another by transmitting messages via networked computers. The study of computer-mediated discourse (henceforth CMD) is a specialization within the broader interdisciplinary study of computer-mediated communication (CMC), distinguished by its focus on language and language use in computer networked environments, and by its use of methods of discourse analysis to address that focus. Most CMC currently in use is text-based, that is, messages are typed on a computer keyboard and read as text on a computer screen, typically by a person or persons at a different location from the message sender. Text-based CMC takes a variety of forms (e.g., e-mail, discussion groups, real-time chat, virtual reality role-playing games) whose linguistic properties vary depending on the kind of messaging system used and the social and cultural context embedding particular instances of use. However, all such forms have in common that the activity that takes place through them is constituted primarily -- in many cases, exclusively -- by visually-presented language. These characteristics of the medium have important consequences for understanding the nature of computer-mediated language. They also provide a unique environment, free from competing influences from other channels of communication and from physical context, in which to study verbal 1 interaction and the relationship between discourse and social practice.
1.2 A brief history of CMD research
Human-to-human communication via computer networks, or interactive networking, is a recent phenomenon. Originally designed in the United States in the late 1960's to facilitate the transfer of computer programs and data between remote
Computer-Mediated Discourse
Susan C. Herring
1 Introduction
1.1 Definition
Computer-mediated discourse is the communication produced when human beings interact with one another by transmitting messages via networked computers. The study of computer-mediated discourse (henceforth CMD) is a specialization within the broader interdisciplinary study of computer-mediated communication (CMC), distinguished by its focus on language and language use in computer networked environments, and by its use of methods of discourse analysis to address that focus. Most CMC currently in use is text-based, that is, messages are typed on a computer keyboard and read as text on a computer screen, typically by a person or persons at a different location from the message sender. Text-based CMC takes a variety of forms (e.g., e-mail, discussion groups, real-time chat, virtual reality role-playing games) whose linguistic properties vary depending on the kind of messaging system used and the social and cultural context embedding particular instances of use. However, all such forms have in common that the activity that takes place through them is constituted primarily -- in many cases, exclusively -- by visually-presented language. These characteristics of the medium have important consequences for understanding the nature of computer-mediated language. They also provide a unique environment, free from competing influences from other channels of communication and from physical context, in which to study verbal 1 interaction and the relationship between discourse and social practice.
1.2 A brief history of CMD research
Human-to-human communication via computer networks, or interactive networking, is a recent phenomenon. Originally designed in the United States in the late 1960's to facilitate the transfer of computer programs and data between remote