Language and Technology

AS English LanguageENGB1B Language and TechnologyBy the end of this session you will be able to:modify your language to be suitable for a variety of contextsidentify how extracts vary according to contextmatch extracts to contexts and identify significant linguistic characteristics

IntroductionToday we are going to begin working on one of the topics for the summer exam: Language and Technology. We will work on this topic in this session each week up until the exam on 18th May.

This whole module is called Language and Social Contexts and you will need to be able to exemplify and explain how language varies based on the context in which it is being used. This basic question you will be answering is how does the medium (the method of communication) affect the message (the language choices made by the participant(s)).

a) a text message to a boy/girlfriendb) an answer phone message for a parentc) a facebook post on a friends wall

d) an email to a teacher/bosse) a letter to an adult

Activity 1GrammarLexisPragmaticsText messageAnswer phoneFacebook wallEmailLetterActivity 2Text 1

Hey Gems,howru?How was last nite?Hope u had a gd time..;)I herd the party was rele bad...ppl had an awful time!Iguess I shud b glad I didnt go afta all...tbXxActivity 3Text 2

Hi Miriam and SamThats great to know (sarcasm!) :~)Hope your all doing well, winter drawing in an all that!Enjoy the dinnerMuch LoveMelActivity 3Text 3Liverpool have a good recent record here in their yellow shirts with their black shorts and straightaway Scholes falls over from the kick-off so clearly the rains had a little bit of impact here and and now Liverpool playing towards the Stretford end away to our left.Activity 3Text 4A: Good Morning, Youre through to XX customer service and my name is Adam. How may I help you?B: Ah hello, its about a redirection request that seems to be causing a few problems.

Activity 3Text 5A: wu biatch! Thx 4 ur help bt woz 2l8B: Shit! Wanna invite Chloe in?A: K bt dont tok bout Kev lol!

Activity 3Text 6Its Tony Adams (5) David Seaman says he doesnt really like the kit he has to play in tonight (1) I cant exactly blame him (6) toiuch by Gascoigne this is McManaman (4) Shearer far post Sheringham even wider (1) for Pearces crossActivity 3Text 7Hi Susan. Its Jan. I was just letting you know that I next week will be fine. Ive spoken to Tom and he says he can pick it up so that is fine. Right well Ill speak to you soon. See you.Activity 3Text 8A: Right hello RachelB: Hi VinceA: So what can we help you with?B: Well, Im sitting my exams soon and I cant sleep but I dont want to take pills so I was wondering if there are any foods or herbal remedies which could help?

Activity 3On Moodle you will find a reading by David Crystal called The Effect of Technology taken from his 2002 book The English Language.

Read the text and answer the questions on Moodle.

Email your completed reponses to me at a.kay@blackburn.ac.uk by the given deadline.

HomeworkBy the end of this lesson you will be able to:define text messagelist advantages and disadvantages of text messagesdefine and exemplify vowel deletion, initialisms, letter homophone, number homophone, phonetic spelling and key bindingidentify, define, exemplify and analyse characteristic features of text messages

Text Messages1. What does SMS stand for?Short Messaging Service

2. In what year was the first text sent?1992

3.What did it say?Merry Christmas

Quick quiz4. In what year was text messaging commercially launched in the UK?1994

5. How many characters could be written in the first text messages?160

6. What is Blackberry thumb?RSI from texting too muchQuick Quiz7. To the nearest million, how many text messages were sent on Christmas day 2009?441,805,870

8. On average, how many texts messages are sent worldwide every second (Oct 2010)?200,000

9. Which political figure was the first to host a text Q&A session?Tony Blair

Quick Quiz10. What was the first TV programme to use text messaging in a storyline?Eastenders

So are you an SMS-smarty or a text-tard?Quick QuizMethod of written communication between two phones or a phone and a computerUses alphanumeric keypadLimited to screens of 160 characters although messages can go over into multiple screens

What is text messaging?AdvantagesDisadvantagesActivity 5: The pros and cons of textingAdvantagesDisadvantagesQuickCheapMost people have a mobileGlobal networkEasyCan do whilst doing other thingsPromotes literacy in childrenInstantCan ignore if desiredCreative language useActivity 5: The pros and cons of textingAdvantagesDisadvantagesQuickCheapMost people have a mobileGlobal networkEasyCan do whilst doing other thingsPromotes literacy in childrenInstantCan ignore if desiredCreative language use

DistractingMay harm literacy developmentCyber bullyingSurveillance/spyingCan be misinterpretedAlways contactableCan pretend you didnt get itActivity 5: The pros and cons of textingThroughout this unit it is important to keep in mind that technology augments (adds to), constrains (limits or restrains) and simulates (acts as an imitation or substitute) person-to-person and face-to-face communication so you need to be aware of how it is being used and why at all times. Vowel deletionVowels are omitted e.g. bt, xlnt, txt

InitialismCommon phrases are compressed to only the initials of the wordse.g. brb, omg, tb

Letter homophomesLetters which can replace whole wordse.g. U, C, B, YTerminologyNumber homophonesNmbers which can replace whole wordse.g. 1,2,4,8

Phonetic spellingSpelling s the words are pronouncede.g. luv, wot, bak

Key bindingCombination of letter and number homophonese.g. cul8r, w84me, ne1, ilbl8TerminologyLinguistic MethodCharacteristicsPhonologyPhonetic spellingDetails indicating intended pronunciation/intonation

GrammarCompressed grammar many closed class words omitted.Ellipsis

LexisAbbreviationsNumber/letter homophonesKey bindingInitialisms of common idiomatic phrases

How does the medium affect the message?Linguistic MethodsCharacteristicsOrthographyNon-standard but not random spellingCapitalisationEmoticonsRhetorical punctuation, not grammatical.

PragmaticsFollows conversational patterns and maximsAllows time to consider responseOften composed in the midst of other activities so greater focus is placed on the message and there is less evaluation of writers aptitude and ability to use languageCovert prestige associated with features of UK youth sociolectParticipants are prepared to use ore characters than necessary to simulate prosodic effects of speech

DiscourseDyadicRestricted by space (160 characters per message)Instant natureHow does the medium affect the message?The extract below is a selection of Valentines Day that Guardian readers sent in by text message for publication on the newspapers website on 14th February 2005. Use the table above to analyse the data for features characteristic of text messages.

What can we immediately infer about the context of these discourses from the information we are given?Activity 6to wonderwoman from dadblog thx for sharing yr teasmade with me! Love u more than ever xxxto my amazing husband, on our 1st married Valentines day! U make me happier than ever b4 and I love u so much. From yr snow puma xxHOT STUFF, KEEPING THOSE COLD TOOTSIES WARM FOR YO. LERV, BOYSEY.chris cole thanx 4 10 great yrs luv always ginaxxxxxxxxxxxxActivity 6TO THE FINEST BIRD IN THE LAND FOREVER BE MINE. YOURS4EVA. THE MOO FATHERTo Clare, this I slove 4 all time ;-) N xxxLUSM.CWBWU2Nite.LU4E.KIRdear lambie i love u n ur air geetar wiv all my