Spoken Language Differences

2. Discuss the similarities and differences in language use between e-media and spoken language.

In this assignment I am going to define e-media and spoken language. As there are multiple forms of e-media such as blogging, e-mail, instant messaging and group chats, I am going to focus specifically on the similarities and differences of spoken language against group chats. Whilst doing this I will consider the substance, use, operation and acquisition of these two modes of communication. E-media which is also known as netspeak can be defined as the informal use or written language through the internet which can contain emoticons and slang. As discussed in class, although netspeak is a separate means of communication it does contain similarities

The first noticeable difference between a group chat and spoken language is their acquisition. As discussed in class spoken language is innate, meaning it is naturally learned and progressed through hearing speech. Whereas, group chats are a result of direct teaching, it is not a natural process for humans so it must be shown to them. Noticeably speech includes paralinguistic cues which are not present in group chats. These group chats compensate for the loss of paralanguage and instead uses emoticons to express emotions, for example, as mentioned by Crystal (2006), a smiley such as  can show happiness and humour within a message. The substance of these two modes can be contrasted in their production modes as spoken language is produced by soundwaves and articulators. Differently a group chat relies on tools such as a computer and keyboard with marks on a screen. A distinct difference is how these modes of communication are perceived. Whilst speech is perceived by the ears, group chats are perceived by the eyes. As can be seen from above, there are similarities between netspeak and e-communication. However, there is evidently more differences between them as they are separate modes of communication. It can be seen that group chats would have the most similar traits to spoken language in comparison to other traditional

Discuss Brown and Levinson’s theory of linguistic politeness.

In this assignment I am going to define Brown and Levinson’s Theory of Linguistic Politeness. I will then discuss the notions of ‘Face’, ‘Face Threatening Act’ and ‘Positive Face’/ ‘Negative Face’. Through this I will show how these central concepts relate to each other. Politeness is a way in which people act in a situation of possible interactional disruption. The main goal for Brown and Levinson’s Theory of Linguistic Politeness was to provide an outline of which researchers could compare and contrast politeness found across different cultures and societies. In doing this they came up with the notion of ‘Face’. As mentioned in Yule, G. (1996), this is the self-image of a person including their emotional and social sense of self that everyone has and expects to be publically recognized. People then want their ‘Face’ to be protected from defamation which is called ‘Face Wants’. There are 2 types of ‘Face Wants’ that are used when attempting to respect and save another person’s ‘Face’. The first is ‘Negative Face’, which is a persons want to be unimpeded by and independent from others. The second is ‘Positive Face’, which Meyerhoff (2006) describes as the want to be accepted and to be seen as desirable by at least some members of the