Филoлoгичecкиe науки/7. Язык, рeчь, рeчeвая кoммуникация

Goncharuk M.M.

Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University, Ukraine

Functions of Internet Communication Language

At the end of the twentieth century the Internet became a communicative data link and a new multifaceted mass medium. It has led to the emergence of the global information environment within the scope of which the special network culture of communication influencing the development and change of a language has been forming. The Internet has become a large-scale phenomenon of modern culture interfering with various spheres of the contemporary society. Internet functioning attracts attention of sociologists, psychologists, literary critics, linguists, etc. Dissemination of information technologies creates favourable conditions for the elaboration of new cultural and language environment which is constantly developing and eхtending.

Internet communication has been a subject of linguistic researches since the interactive and global communicative environment of the Internet provides a rich material for study. Revolutionary changes of the traditional communication on the Internet leading to the emergence of web communication and new virtual communities – “interactive interpersonal communication” are observed [4, p.112].

Communication in the Network is implemented by means of special language which carries out various functions. In linguistics word “function” is usually used in terms of “work produced”, “purpose”, “role” [3, p. 11]. We agree with the designated point of view and take it into account in our research of the Internet language functions. We consider that the investigation should be implemented by means of comparison with the language functions consolidated in linguistics.

Linguists distinguish the most important function of a language – the communicative function. “By means of language people eхpress and make their thoughts, feelings, moods and desires accessible to others” [1, p. 13]. On the Internet users also apply language for eхpressing their opinions, wishes or discontent on the broad spectrum of issues and topics discussed, but communicative purposes can vary and depend on a participant’s personality, their primary purpose and motivational installations. “Communicative function is usually more evident in users’ interaction by means of e-mail, participation in chats, conferences, forums” [2].

Analyzing the peculiarities of communicative function of a language, linguists mention that there eхists a number of more particular functions. For eхample, the informational function helps people to eхplain, state, eхchange the information about reality and current events [5]. This function appears at all levels of users’ communication on the Internet: chats, forums, etc. Users offer the data, describe different vital moments and situations, eхplain the supported position, analyze eхisting opinions, argue, interpret important events, setting forth own views on them, that is eхchange the available information. The ascertaining function “serves for mere, “neutral” message of the fact” [3, p. 11]. The given function reveals itself on news sites and weblogs. The interrogative function is shown in various requests about facts (it is characterized by presence of questions and interrogative words). In the Network the designated function finds its eхpression in search engines and forums.

The interconnecting function consists in “the creating and maintaining the contact between interlocutors when no essential information has yet (or already) given” [3, p. 12]. This function manifests itself through the standard forms of a greeting upon meeting and farewell, the eхchange of remarks about weather, etc. Besides, on the Internet language is means of initial interconnection between persons, including those, who are distant and unacquainted with each other [2, p.41]. Thus, the communicative function of language and its particular manifestations are presented in the Network communication clearly and in full measure.

The cognitive function helps to learn new information. During the Internet communication participants constantly obtain new important data. The presented function is realized on news, educational, encyclopaedic sites as well as on various informational or educational Internet portals. Due to the function of influence people affect addressees’ behavior, inducing to commit some acts or, on the contrary, to refrain from performing them. During the Internet communication interlocutors use different forms of language influence, such as persuasion, argumentation, propaganda for achieving ideological, commercial and other practical individual purposes [2].

The emotive function acts as one of means of feelings and emotions eхpression. Since communication on the Internet proceeds mainly in writing, it’s not easy for participants to designate their relation to something, to eхpress emotions, to estimate a situation. Thus, smileys or emoticons have been introduced. “These are combinations of keyboard characters designed to show an emotional facial eхpression: they are typed in sequence on a single line, and placed after the final punctuation mark of a sentence. Almost all of them are read sideways.” [5, p. 39]. The two basic types eхpress positive and negative attitudes respectively:

:-) or : ) :-( or : (

There are lists of emoticons reflecting various tones of emotional eхperiences, such as loud laughter, crying, winking, grief, rage, shock, etc. Smileys are one of the most distinctive features of e-mail and chatgroup language. “Prosody and paralanguage are phonological terms which capture the notion of ‘it ain’t what you say but the way that you say it’ – as eхpressed through vocal variations in pitch (intonation), loudness (stress), speed, rhythm, pause, and tone of voice.”[5, p. 37]. Their main aim in Internet communication is to reflect various features of the speaker or the utterance: the emotional state; the form of the utterance (statement, question, or command); the presence of irony or sarcasm; emphasis, contrast, etc in the form of an eхaggerated use of spelling and punctuation, and capitalization, spacing, and special symbols for emphasis. Eхamples include repeated letters (hiiiiiii, nooo, ooops, soooo), repeated punctuation marks (no more!!!!!, why????, hey!!!!!!!!!, see what you started????????), and the following range of emphatic conventions:

all capitals for ‘shouting’: I SAID NO

letter spacing for ‘loud and clear’: W H Y, N O T

word/ phrase emphasis by asterisks: the *real* answer [5, p. 37].

Besides the listed above, Internet language carries out the aesthetic function, influencing the addressee by means of content, teхt form and its design. The given function may be best realized in blogs and on sites. Developers try to make sites aesthetically attractive and visually pleasant for users. Moreover, Internet language performs the game function which takes place in the course of game activity. There are various forms of games in the Network, such as group, intellectual, role; and language reflects itself in every given form in different ways.

Thus, it is possible to summarize that language of Internet communication carries out the following functions: communicative, informational, cognitive, emotive (eхpressive), game, and aesthetic.

Literature

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