Study Notes for Language Play in New Media Discourse

LCH2326 English Communication in the Creative and Cultural Industries

Week 6-7: Language Play in New Media Discourse

KEY Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the lesson, you should be able to:

  • Understand the terms Literacy and Digital Literacy
  • Understand the idea of language as a tool for mediation (by learning Marshall McLuhan’s idea)
  • Analyze social media as a tool and how it shapes our life
  • Identify the language play in new media discourse by analyzing conversations online
Recap of Week 5:
  1. Literature and Advertisement and graphology
  2. Creativity in everyday discourse
  3. Analysis of Text and Images of Graffiti arts
Brainstorming Activity:
  1. What is literacy? What kind of literacy do you acquire?
  2. What literacy events have you participated in the last 24 hours?
  3. What is the meaning of digital literacies to you?

Literacy

  • Traditionally refers to the ability to read and write.
  • Defined as the quality of being literate and the knowledge of letters.
  • Other forms of literacy include:
      - Computer literacy
      - Bookkeeping literacy
Barton & Hamilton (2000) Definitions:
  • Literacy is best understood as a set of social practices; inferred from events mediated by (written) texts.
  • Different literacies are associated with different domains of life.
  • Literacy practices are patterned by social institutions, identities, and relationships.
  • Literacy practices are purposeful and embedded in broader social goals and cultural practices.
  • Literacy is historically situated.
  • Literacy practices change, often acquired through information learning and sense-making (p.8).
Text Saturation in Fast Capitalist Societies:
  • Life in fast capitalist societies is text-saturated, engaging with various texts at every waking moment (Luke, 1995, p.13).
  • We depend on texts and our understanding of them to make sense of the world and build relationships with others.
  • Texts influence our identity and sense of self.

Digital Literacies

  • Definition: Digital literacy is broadly defined as "the knowledge, skills, and behaviors used in a broad range of digital devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, and desktop PCs."
  • Introduced by Paul Gilster in his book Digital Literacy:
      - Defined as the ability to understand and evaluate information in multiple formats.
      - Emphasizes mastering ideas over mere technical skills.
  • Jones and Hafner (2012) further define digital literacy as:
      - The ability to search, evaluate, and create coherent pathways through vast information.
      - Skills required to create multimodal documents and manage online profiles and interactions.
      - The necessity to navigate online environments and protect personal data.
Importance of Digital Literacy:
  • Extends the social base of creative productivity.
  • Influences economic and cultural impacts of creative ideas.
  • Enables innovation in networked societies.
  • Not merely an individual skill; it involves a communicative relationship between „producers“ (authors, senders) and „consumers“ (audiences, readers).

Language as a Cultural Tool for Mediation

  • Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980): "We shape our tools, and thereafter, our tools shape us."
      - Media are considered extensions of humans; e.g., phone as an extension of voice.
  • Communication technologies like digital media and language serve as tools for action in the world.
      - Example: Facebook allows users to exchange thoughts and stay in contact through multiple formats (words, images).
Activity:
  • Browse your social media account. Identify and write down your favorite hashtag and five popular hashtags used in Hong Kong.

New Media Discourse & Platform Language

  • Social media movements are collective actions seeking to raise awareness about social issues and mobilize public opinion through platforms like Twitter and Instagram.
  • Discourse Analysis explores language, hashtags, memes, and multimodality in these movements, revealing how they engage power structures and reflect societal values.
  • Functions of hashtags include indexing, stance-taking, and identity formation.
      - Examples: #MeToo, #ThrowbackThursday, #TGIF.
      - Exploration of the #MeToo movement highlights how the hashtag frames issues of sexual violence and fosters collective identity.
Linguistic Features in Social Media Movements:
  • Blending, abbreviation, code-mixing, and reappropriation of language.
      - Example: #NoFilter, #StudyGrind, showing how hashtags can compress evaluations into minimal text.
Translanguaging:
  • The blend of languages in multicultural digital spaces is common, revealing fluid switching between languages (e.g., English and Chinese) in expressing ideas and culture.
Brevity and Speed in Digital Communication:
  • Platforms like Twitter and TikTok emphasize the need for compact, impactful communication.
      - Example of a tweet: “Coffee first, adulting later.”
Multimodal Discourse Analysis:
  • Explores how various modes (text, images, video) work together to shape public understanding.
  • Movements use visual and multimedia elements to enhance message communication.

Language Play in New Media

  • Debate about the impact of new media on youth language and communication skills.
  • Reactions to youth practices are often negative, yet creativity in expression and communication remains prevalent.
  • Media language is often underestimated; it mixes informal language with creative expressions through abbreviations and emoji usage (e.g., “LOL,” “BRB”).
      - Text and microblogging convey a preference for efficiency in communication (Crystal, 2011).
The Role of Visual Communication:
  • Visual content on platforms like Instagram and Snapchat sometimes takes precedence over text, which changes traditional modes of communication (Jewitt, 2014).
Interactional Frame of Play:
  • Sample online chat illustrates playfulness through casual topics and humor.
      - Observed elements include gossip, laughter, taboo topics, in-group terms, teasing, and brevity.
Non-standard Orthographic Tactics:
  • Examples of informal language, including non-standard spellings and colloquialisms (e.g., “playin’ for playing; “jus” for just).
  • Features aimed at impact include onomatopoeia, emoji usage, and repetitive punctuation.
Significance of New Media Language:
  • New media language play involves various creative modes beyond just orthographic or textual innovations.
  • Types of play include type play, word play, interactional play, identity play, and topical play.
  • Creativity reflects the participatory nature of language as it adapts to social needs.
Further Practice:
  • Analyze a conversation between friends to identify new language patterns that have emerged.

References:

  1. Bell, A. (1984/1997). Language style as audience design.
  2. Hartley, J., et al. (2013). Key Concepts in Creative Industries.
  3. Jones, R. H., & Hafner, C. A. (2012). Understanding digital literacies: A practical introduction.
  4. Luke, A. (1995). Text and discourse in education: An introduction to critical discourse analysis.
  5. Mc Leod, S. (2018). Simply psychology.
  6. Miles, S. (2000). Consuming youth in Youth lifestyles in a changing world.
  7. Saidjonova, V. T. (2025). The linguistic impact of digital media: shifts in language styles and communication through text, image, and video.
  8. Shortis, T. (2007). Gr8 Txtexpectations: The creativity of text spelling.
  9. Thurlow, C. (2012). Determined creativity: Language play in new media discourse.
  10. Thurlow, C. (2006). From statistical panic to moral panic: The metadiscursive construction and popular exaggeration of new media language in the print media.
  11. Thurlow, C. (2007). Fabricating youth: New-media discourse and the technologization of young people.