In this thesis, some of the functions of punctuation marks in digital discourse are explored. A theoretical model of punctuation mark function was generated specifically for this project and is based in rhetorical theory. According to this model, punctuation marks can function in three ways: First, they can build or damage the credibility of the writer; second, they can clarify the meanings of texts in a number of ways; and third, they can convey emotional and relational meaning. Two empirical studies are presented in this thesis. The first uses data from text-messages and the second uses data from message boards. For the text-message study, a new method of data collection was employed: Respondents were given Discourse Completion Tasks that asked what text-message they would send in a series of four respective hypothetical contexts; they were then asked to type out and send their responses, in text-messages, to email addresses. For the second study, data was taken from Reddit message boards on the Internet. In the analysis sections of the thesis, punctuation marks are examined in the collected data according to the rhetorical model with special attention being paid to how punctuation marks can convey emotional and relational meaning; and they are also examined according to how they influence speech acts. It is concluded that different punctuation marks can function in a variety of ways, and that punctuation marks can exert a powerful influence on speech acts. It is furthermore concluded that the thesis’s rhetorical model is effective both as a description of the ways punctuation marks can function and as a guide for analysis.

The size of the blogosphere has long been a contentious issue amongst people researching the social media as it cannot be accurately determined. Bodies (BlogPulse, BlogScope, Technorati, etc.) which used to track the growing phenomenon across the world were careful with their choice of words when reporting on its size, such as Sifry’s Technorati report which said, “On July 31, 2006, Technorati tracked its 50 millionth blog” (Sifry, 2006, August 6). However, as Rosenberg (2006, August 9) points out, “… it doesn’t really matter. There’s still a revolution going on.” This ‘revolution’ is dominated by young people and in Malaysia, it was found that 74% of the bloggers in Malaysia were below 25 years old (Windows Live Spaces, 2006) but there is limited study on the phenomenon of casual blogging amongst this age group in Malaysia and the use of English in the blogs. The current study contributes to this body of literature, drawing from works on blogging, linguistic analysis, identity, and varieties of English. It adopts the social-constructivist framework and postulates that blogging is a social action which causes the blogosphere to be in a state of constant revision where “individuals create their own subjective meanings of their experiences through interactions with each other and their surrounding environment” (Hartas, 2010:44). This study used mixed methods in order to answer the research questions using three instruments: survey, interview, and weblog analysis to yield the data needed to investigate the content and interactive blog communication of selected young Malaysian casual bloggers who blog in English. The survey data yielded information about their blogging habits and content; the interview data yielded information about their language learning endeavours which influenced their choice of language or varieties of language in their blogs; and the in-depth analysis of one blog yielded information on how language was used in the blog to achieve communicative intent. The findings reveal the blogging habits of young Malaysian bloggers, and how their attitude towards their identity as Malaysians using English and socio-cultural factors influence their choice of language and/or varieties of English in their blog communication. It discovers the unconventional manner of using an existing language to achieve communicative intent among those in the same blogospheric region. This study makes both the bloggers and their blog texts the focus of its research.