SECOND GRADED ASSIGNMENT: PART 1

n  Title of Article, Author, Journal, URL

• Cyber Discourse of Georgian Young Adults
• Ekaterine BAKARADZE (2012)
• Scientific Journal of Humanities, 2(2):43-50,2012

n  Purpose of Study/ Objectives

• To investigate CMD of netizens, or the main means of communication among computer users.
• To examine the worldwide accepted computer ‘cyberspeak’, as the most productive sphere of new words production among teenagers and young adults in the viewpoint of quick discourse, economy of time, space, energy and money

n  Statement of problem/Significance

•  Using the abbreviated words in the World Wide Web is considered as the most efficient way of communication, exchanging information throughout the world.

n  Research Objectives

• Ascertain the function of shortened units and other substitutes of non-verbal language in the development and enrichment of the computer ‘cyberspeak’ with new words, emoticons and smileys.
• Define types of shortening used.
• To examine frequency of their usage assess their function on virtual word-formation and their possible influence on spoken and written language.

n  Methodology

•  Forums
• Facebook instant messaging
• Skype instant messaging
• Questionnaire

n  Sampling/Population/Participants

• Georgian young adult web community / netizens (network citizens), conducted in English
• Undergraduate students at International Black Sea University, Tbilisi, aged 18-22

n  Findings & Discussion

• Shortenings and smileys can be found in every kind of Computer Mediated Discourse as SKYPE,Facebook, E-mail, etc.
• In order to give specific emotional expression, words are shortened to the initials, and sometimes only one letter is written. This symbol can be digit or punctuation mark.
• The more diversified one’s language is the higher is his/her virtual and/or social status.
• Netizens construct modern identities through the use of internet language.
• All four types of shortening: abbreviation, acronym, clipping and blending are very productive, useful and adoptable ways for the creation of new words among CMD users.

COMMENTS

Based on the journal chosen, we found that young people who have good grasp of English as a second language are able to communicate better in instant messaging (IM) with the use of symbols, smileys, acronyms etc. That hypothesis can be proven even in Malaysia, where most teenagers who have basic knowledge of English language can converse well with reduced words and emoticons with each other.

According to Bakaradze, shortened words and smileys can be found in any kind of instant messaging (IM) in, WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook, SKYPE, e-mail etc. This is true because when communicating on the Internet, people have the need to imitate real-life conversation. This can be portrayed by using a lot of reductions like abbreviations, blend words, smileys etc. to show emotions that are absent in writing. Furthermore, shortened words and abbreviations tend to be used to cut time in typing, so the message can be delivered faster.

Other than that, the journal suggested that one’s social status is shown in their diversion of language, this is mainly due to the abbreviations and acronyms are mostly created in English. Therefore those who do not possess the ability to speak in English may find a harder time to use the “cyberspeak”.  Bakaradze also finds that netizens (network citizens) create their identities through the language they use on the Internet. This however may differ from the young people in Malaysia, as those who are considered “educated” or “fashionable and cool” as in Georgia may have the same kind of “cyberspeak” as those who are “traditional” or “old-fashioned”.