Language and Identity in Cyberspace_A Multidisciplanary Approach_2017.pdf (original) (raw)
"OUR PEOPLE" ONLINE. THE USE OF A NON-STANDARDIZED VARIETY OF ROMANIAN ON SOCIAL NETWORKS
Revue roumaine de linguistique, 2025
The paper analyses the written use of a non-standardized, mostly oral variety of Romanian on social networks, before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This variety is spoken by the Daj Nostri ("Our People") diaspora in the Germanspeaking countries Western Europe. Daj Nostri, who originate from Central and Eastern Serbia, form real and virtual networks and are actively using their language on the Facebook group and TikTok channel the analysis focuses on. The paper investigates the different spellings and code-switching the group members use, the topics that target the use of the variety, pointing to the emerging vernacular literacy, and also the language ideologies that emerge from the online comments. The author concludes that the enduring use of this non-standardized variety of Romanian, more than half a century after the first generations migrated from Serbia to Western Europe, is proof of the crucial role language plays in the ethnic identity of "Our People", while its current online use makes it appealing to younger generations of speakers.
The Virtual Me. A New Way and Practice of Identity Construction and Language Use
The paper is based on a sociological research (2009) focused on the population of a social networking site in a smaller East European town (Miercurea Ciuc, Romania). 1327 iWiW accounts were chosen by sampling and a database was created based on the visible data from each account. Using this database, we can draw a picture about this town's iWiW users: along what kind of socio-demographic parameters we can describe its population, what they present about themselves, how many connections they have, how much information they share, what they say about themselves and in what way. Besides the database, content analysis was used as well. This was applied in two main categories: (1.) about myself: given answers to the open questions of the profile page: length (whether there are short or long phrases), language (Hungarian or other), spelling (correct, incorrect, use of emoticons), originality (own words or quotations), style (sober or funny, likely or unlikely valid), and (2.) the photographs they share, along five aspects: character(s) (presented on the picture), theme (of the profile picture), place, subtitle (whether there are any or none, metaphoric or simple ones, in which language, whether there are any emoticons used) and design (whether they are " original " or " edited "). A comparison was also made between younger and older users (under the age of 20 and older than 20), with regard to the major differences between different age-groups: the younger users' " behavior " was very dissimilar to that of all the other users.
IDENTITY MANIFESTATION IN REAL, VIRTUAL AND HYBRID COMMUNICATIVE ENVIRONMENTS
IDENTITY MANIFESTATION IN REAL, VIRTUAL AND HYBRID COMMUNICATIVE ENVIRONMENTS, 2023
The dynamic development of the Internet, social networks, platforms, software and applications create, on the one hand, conditions for quick access to information resources and as a result identity manifestations can inhabit relatively new user environments. On the other hand, there are new communicative situations that result from the development of artificial intelligence and a person being an active participant in virtual communication using digital tools. The hypothesis is that the dialogue is now not only on social networks, virtual forums, echo chambers, etc., but it is between human and chatbot, between chatbot and user, even between chatbots in different micro communities in a virtual environment. This raises the question of the identity of the individual and it can be a subject of research through an interdisciplinary approach. The focus of this paper is on presenting directions for future research on the identity of the individual while delineating new research fields on linguistic and communicative levels. Research methods for cyberethnographic observation and content analysis are suggested as adequate to the proposed study.
On the linguistic nature of cyberspace and virtual communities
Virtual Reality, 1998
This paper argues for a linguistic explanation of the nature of Virtual Communities. Virtual Communities develop and grow in electronic space, or 'cyberspace'. Authors such as Benedikt Meyrowitz and Mitchell have theorised about the nature of electronic space whilst Lefebvre, Popper, Hakim Bey (aka Lamborn Wilson) and Kuhn have theorised more generally about the nature of space. Extending this tradition and the works of these authors, this paper presents a language based perspective on the nature of electronic spaces. Behaviour in cyberspace is based on and regulated by hardware, software tools and interfaces. A definition of electronic space cannot be given beyond its linguistic characteristics, which underlie and sustain it. The author believes that the more users and developers understand the relationship between language and cyberspace, the more they will be able to use specific metaphors for dwelling and inhabiting it. In particular, MUDs/MOOs and the Web are interesting places for testing and observing social behaviours and dynamics.
Digital communication technologies both complexify and help to reveal the dynamics of human communicative activity and capacity for identity performance. Addressing current scholarship on second language use and development, this review article examines research on identity in digital settings either as a design element of educational practice or as a function of participation in noninstitutionally located online cultures.We also address new frontiers and communication in the digital wilds, as it were, and here we focus on cultural production in fandom sites and the processes of transcultural authoring and community building visible in these settings.
The Expression of Self-Identity and the Internet
Journal of Educational and Social Research, 2013
This article examines and analyzes how gypsies express their identity on the internet, as opposed to real life. Throughout history, Gypsies, who were seen as ''the different" have established tight connections with the countries and became component of the country they lived. By the help of internet, they are not ''the different" or "the other" anymore and they became the citizens of McLuhan's global village. Gypsy identity and advocacy use and focus on internet as a community platform. They express themselves comfortably and more people understand, share their problems. One of their web addresses is cingeneyiz. org (We are Gypsies. org), in which they say their first aim is to solve the problem of incomprehension between Gypsies and people living together with them. First part of this study analyses communication and self-expression of Gypsies through new technologies by giving cingeneyiz.org example, how they get in touch and organize, and the importance of hypertext, the links and e-mails are analyzed. In the second part of the article, the analysis of in-depth interview with ten gypsies (five male, five female) on their self identity is made.
Reflective of both changing times and transforming communicative practices, Ciberpragmática 2.0 is a timely and profound revision of Yus' original book, Ciberpragmática (Yus, 2001). Included with revised versions of the original five chapters are three additional chapters which reflect changing discursive behaviors occurring in digitally mediated spaces. These include pragmatic analyses of blogs, social networking sites (e.g., Tuenti), and microblogging (e.g., Twitter), as well as avatar-mediated communication. The book concludes with a chapter examining the future of pragmatic analysis of digitally mediated discourse. Ciberpragmática 2.0 remains the first volume of its kind written in Spanish and, as predicted by Bonilla in his 2003 review of Ciberpragmática, is ''universally recognized. . .as a classical reference work on the language of computerized communication'' (p. 639). Overall, the volume is well written, comprehensive, global, and reflective of the type of pragmatic considerations relevant to evolving human communication in both digitally mediated and non-mediated contexts. The book reflects a strong foundation in cognitive models of pragmatic analysis, specifically Relevance Theory (Sperber and Wilson, 1995), as well as innovative thinking related to the consideration of digitally mediated discourse.