Thesis (M.S.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 2004. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 80-87).

With the rise of the internet, researchers have begun to examine how this new medium is used and how it changes our lives. There has been particular interest (as well as concern), both in academic circles and in popular culture and media, in the linguistic forms found online, such as emoticons and specialized abbreviations (e.g. 'LOL' for 'laughing out loud'). However, while there are many studies to be found on emoticons, these well-known forms are only a very small subset of the wide variety of specialized forms found online, and studies examining other types of online forms are few and far between. Many of these forms, like emoticons, can convey facial expressions, but they can also communicate sounds and other actions, forms of expression that, in face-to-face interactions, are usually the domain of studies in nonverbal communication. Because of the correlation between these two areas, I suggest that the vast store of literature on traditional nonverbal communication can help us to understand online correlates of nonverbal behavior by providing a starting point for future studies into the intricacies of online forms. / text

In this essay we describe the characteristics of the internet language used by senior-level school pupils. Our primary question formulation is: ”Which are the significant features of the youth’s internet language on a morphological, lexical, syntactical and orthographical level?” In order to answer this question we have analyzed 45 text ex-amples which is brought from two different internet forums, Bilddagboken.se and Un-gdomar.se, forums which are widely used by youths. The analysis has been made on a morphological, lexical, orthographical and syntactical level. We have also another question formulation which is: “How is emoticons used in youth’s internet conversa-tions?” Thereby we also study the use of emoticons in the examples we have analyzed.Our conclusion in this essay is that the youth’s internet language is a language that in many cases should be seen as an own language; it should be seen as an entirely new and unique way of communication. Therefore it should not be placed in any of the cat-egories you use to talk about when it comes to linguistic studies.

Thesis (M.S.)--Florida State University, 2005. / Advisor: Dr. Susan Carol Losh, Florida State University, College of Education, Dept. of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Sept. 29, 2005). Document formatted into pages; contains ix, 37 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

O presente trabalho avalia o uso de dois emoticons (pequenos ícones que supostamente denotam emoções) no universo virtual, particularmente em Mensagens Instantâneas (MI) de interações ocorridas no MSN. O trabalho conta como sujeitos com um grupo de 67 indivíduos entre 17 e 23 anos residentes do Rio de Janeiro que pertencem ao mesmo nível social e não possuem nenhuma diferença hierárquica. As interações foram transformadas em txt e tratadas através da ferramenta Wordsmith 5.0 (Scott, 2008) para organizá-las, quantificá-las e prepará-las para análise. Após separadas as linhas com emoticons, essas foram classificadas de acordo com a Teoria da Polidez com vistas a verificar se o emoticon teria função polida no discurso e se poderia mitigar um AAF (Ato Ameaçador de Face). Lançou-se mão também do conceito de atos de fala para explicar aqueles emoticons que a Teoria da Polidez não deu conta. A pesquisa ocorreu com material autêntico doado pelos participantes e coletado ao longo do ano de 2011. O presente trabalho levantou dados de como os emoticons eram usados, por quem, e qual sua frequência e preferência, inclusive por parte de gênero. Os resultados apontam para uma restrição da aplicação da Teoria da Polidez para explicar os emoticons: esses parecem desempenhar múltiplas funções além daquelas de polidez e mitigação. Apontam também para uma preferência por parte de cada sexo por uma função específica para os emoticons investigados / The present project evaluates the use of two emoticons (little icons that supposedly denote emotions) in the virtual world, particularly in Instant Messages (IM) of interactions that happened on MSN. The project uses as subjects a group of 67 individuals between the ages of 17 and 23 years old, residents of Rio de Janeiro, who belong to the same social level and have no hierarchical difference. The interactions were transformed into txt and treated through the Wordsmith 5.0 tool (Scott, 2008) to organize them, quantify them and prepare them for analysis. After separating the lines with emoticons, they were classified according to the Politeness Theory to verify if the emoticon could have the function of politeness in the discourse and if it could mitigate an FTA (Face Threatening Act). The concept of speech acts was also used to explain those emoticons that could not be explained by the Politeness Theory. The research used authentic material donated by its participants and collected throughout the year 2011. The present work researched how emoticons were used, by whom and its frequency and preference, including in terms of gender. The results point to a restriction of the application of the Politeness Theory to explain emoticons: they seem to have multiple functions besides politeness and mitigation. The results also point to a preference by each gender for a specific function of the investigated emoticons.

O presente trabalho avalia o uso de dois emoticons (pequenos ícones que supostamente denotam emoções) no universo virtual, particularmente em Mensagens Instantâneas (MI) de interações ocorridas no MSN. O trabalho conta como sujeitos com um grupo de 67 indivíduos entre 17 e 23 anos residentes do Rio de Janeiro que pertencem ao mesmo nível social e não possuem nenhuma diferença hierárquica. As interações foram transformadas em txt e tratadas através da ferramenta Wordsmith 5.0 (Scott, 2008) para organizá-las, quantificá-las e prepará-las para análise. Após separadas as linhas com emoticons, essas foram classificadas de acordo com a Teoria da Polidez com vistas a verificar se o emoticon teria função polida no discurso e se poderia mitigar um AAF (Ato Ameaçador de Face). Lançou-se mão também do conceito de atos de fala para explicar aqueles emoticons que a Teoria da Polidez não deu conta. A pesquisa ocorreu com material autêntico doado pelos participantes e coletado ao longo do ano de 2011. O presente trabalho levantou dados de como os emoticons eram usados, por quem, e qual sua frequência e preferência, inclusive por parte de gênero. Os resultados apontam para uma restrição da aplicação da Teoria da Polidez para explicar os emoticons: esses parecem desempenhar múltiplas funções além daquelas de polidez e mitigação. Apontam também para uma preferência por parte de cada sexo por uma função específica para os emoticons investigados / The present project evaluates the use of two emoticons (little icons that supposedly denote emotions) in the virtual world, particularly in Instant Messages (IM) of interactions that happened on MSN. The project uses as subjects a group of 67 individuals between the ages of 17 and 23 years old, residents of Rio de Janeiro, who belong to the same social level and have no hierarchical difference. The interactions were transformed into txt and treated through the Wordsmith 5.0 tool (Scott, 2008) to organize them, quantify them and prepare them for analysis. After separating the lines with emoticons, they were classified according to the Politeness Theory to verify if the emoticon could have the function of politeness in the discourse and if it could mitigate an FTA (Face Threatening Act). The concept of speech acts was also used to explain those emoticons that could not be explained by the Politeness Theory. The research used authentic material donated by its participants and collected throughout the year 2011. The present work researched how emoticons were used, by whom and its frequency and preference, including in terms of gender. The results point to a restriction of the application of the Politeness Theory to explain emoticons: they seem to have multiple functions besides politeness and mitigation. The results also point to a preference by each gender for a specific function of the investigated emoticons.

The lack of physical communication cues, such as facial expressions, in text-only communication has prompted the creation of emoticons to represent feelings. Moreover, the emoticon has become a new “cultural” language adopted by a community of users who find emoticons useful for expressing an emotional state during their online communication. Using emoticons in computer-mediated communication (CMC), which includes any means of communication on the Internet, especially instant messaging (IM) programs, helps users convey and enhance the underlying emotional aspects of their communication facilitating user communication by providing non-verbal cues and clues to clarify a message. Although many researchers have studied the differences in the use of emoticons between males and females and different age groups and some even report cross-cultural differences and similarities between CMC and face-to-face (FTF) communication such research is not sufficient to understand the effective use of emoticons. The current research explores three categories of emoticons - textual, pictorial, and animated emoticons – to ask the broad question: Do North Americans and South Koreans use emoticons differently? The research examines the cross-cultural differences involved in using emoticons, focusing on the visual aspect of online communication that provides emotional cues to understand the differences in their use. Textual emoticons and pictorial emoticons of MSN messenger are used in this study's questionnaires. The results indicate the cross-cultural differences of emoticon use and recognition between North Americans and South Koreans.

Detta examensarbete behandlar användandet av smileys och deras roll i kommunikation mellan ungdomar över det digitala mediet. Hur ser användandet av smileys ut bland ungdomar? Vilken mening lägger sändare respektive mottagare i användandet av smileys? Går det att kategorisera och gruppera användarna av smileys utifrån ålder och kön? Denna uppsats behandlar chatt och det chattspråk (innehållande smileys, förkortningar och asterisker) som dagens ungdomar - generation Z, använder sig av dagligen framför sina datorer. En enkätundersökning bland elever vid två år 6-9 skolor och en undersökning via två diskussionsfora på Internet, ligger till grund för resultaten till denna uppsats. Resultaten visar att smileys används som ett uttryck för känslor, sinnesstämningar, ansiktsuttryck, kroppsspråk och tonfall.

Various cultures interpret visual rhetoric differently; therefore, technical communicators must adjust their rhetoric accordingly by creating effective visual rhetoric for their international and multicultural audiences. Although there is a great deal of research in the field regarding how to create effective visual rhetorical rhetoric, this research often fails to take into international and multicultural audiences into consideration. Many visual rhetoric solutions proposed in technical communication involve 'catch all' approaches that do little to communicate to people of non-Western cultures and can even serve to offend or confuse international and multicultural audiences. These solutions are generated by a globalization mindset, but are not realistic when we acknowledge how varied technical communication audiences are with regard to culture. The globalization approach also fails unless technical communicators intend to limit the reach of their communication to certain types of Western audiences. To create the most useful visual rhetoric, technical communicators must learn to use color, graphics, icons/symbols, and layouts (web and print) appropriately for audiences. They must learn more about different types of cultures (individualistic or collectivistic, universalist or particularist, high-context or low-context, high uncertainty avoidance or low uncertainty avoidance, monochronic or polychronic, linear thinking or systemic thinking, masculine or feminine), and they must address these different cultural expectations accordingly.

Den här uppsatsen undersöker de stilistiska uttryck som går att återfinna på Gina Tricots och Acne Studios Facebook-sidor. Studien utgår från teorier om eWOM, marketing management och consumer communities för att skapa en förståelse för hur och varför konsumenter och varumärken uttrycker sig som de gör på varumärkenas Facebook-sidor.Studien har genomförts med en netnografisk datainsamling av de båda varumärkenas Facebook-sidor under en tremånadersperiod, och analyserats med hjälp av en stilistisk textanalys. De huvudsakliga analyspunkterna har varit funktion, drivkraft, syfte, disposition och stilmarkörer, och studien har analyserat både varumärkes- och konsumentinlägg.Genom metoden har denna studie kommit fram till att det finns tydliga skillnader i hur de båda varumärkena använder sina respektive Facebook-sidor. Ett varumärke som Acne Studios använder sin Facebook-sida som ett medium för att dela nya plagg och kollektioner, medan Gina Tricot istället använder detta medium för att skapa interaktion med sina konsumenter och få återkoppling om vad som kan anses vackert eller gräsligt. Dessa skillnader kan ha sitt ursprung i den positionering som varumärkena valt på marknaden, och studien återkopplar till dessa och försöker med hjälp av teorin förklara varför det inte finns en korrekt användning av Facebook. Studien tar även upp de stilmarkörer som används av konsumenterna, för att se om det finns några kopplingar mellan varumärkets och konsumenternas eWOM. / This study aims to analyze the stylistic expressions that exist on the Facebook pages of Gina Tricot and Acne Studios. The study is based on theories of eWOM, marketing management and consumer communities to create an understanding on how, and why, consumers and brands choose to express themselves in a particular way on Facebook.The study has been operationalized through a netnographic data collection of the brands’ Facebook pages during a period of three months, and which have been analyzed through a stylistic textual analysis. The main aspects of the analysis have been function, incentive, purpose, disposition and the characteristics of the textual style. The study has focused on posts made by both consumers and the brands themselves.Through this method the study concluded that there are significant differences in how the two brands choose to use their Facebook pages. A brand like Acne Studios uses their Facebook page as a medium for sharing new garments and collections, while Gina Tricot uses their Facebook page to create interaction with consumers, and to receive feedback on what the consumers consider to beautiful or hideous. These differences could originate from the positioning that the brands have chosen on the fashion market, and the study reconnects with the theories regarding fashion market positioning to explain why there is not one singular correct way to use a Facebook page. The study also addresses and compares the stylistic expressions of both the consumers and the brands, to see if there are any connections between the stylistics of the two.