The Prominence of semantic entities and violations of recency in instant messaging dialogue (Working title)
In today's digital age, Instant Messaging (IM) has become a cornerstone of our daily communication, reshaping how we converse and understand each other. Unlike face-to-face communication, digital dialogues, especially in IM platforms like WhatsApp, present unique challenges. The latest message on the screen is not necessarily the
final speech act, thanks to features like message editing, emoji reactions, and message deletion. These functions create a complex interplay of language and technology, affecting the way we convey and interpret meaning.
My dissertation delves into digital communication, aiming to explore how these unique features influence the flow of conversation. What happens when the expected sequence of dialogue is disrupted? How do users adapt to or even exploit these features?
To answer these questions, I will conduct controlled experiments simulating various IM scenarios. Participants will engage with dynamic chat dialogues, designed to highlight factors like message editing, emoji comments, and quoted messages. The focus will be on how these elements impact the prominence of semantic entities in the conversation and how participants interpret these modified dialogues.
My project seeks not only to enrich our understanding of digital discourse but also to bridge the gap between technological advancement and linguistic comprehension. By shedding light on the interplay between technology and language in IM, it aims to offer insights into the evolving landscape of modern communication.
Short biography:
Yuting Li holds a B.A. in Germanistik from Ocean University of China and a M.A. in linguistics at the University of Cologne. In her Master’s thesis, she investigates the use of emoji as feedback strategy in instant messaging dialogue through an experimental approach. During her master’s studies, she worked as a research assistant at the collaborative research center “Prominence in Language” in project C06 (Discourse segments) and continued her PhD study since Oct. 2020 in this project under the supervision of PD Dr. Katja Jasinskaja
E-Mail:
yuting.li[at]uni-koeln.de