Language and new technologies
In a nutshell
New technologies have accelerated the number of ways that texts can be accessed. These new modes of communication make analysing how language is transmitted as pertinent as ever. In this summary, you will learn how new technologies have impacted and changed the use of language.
Context
We are now able to access texts in many different ways thanks to new technologies. The method of accessing or receiving a text is a component of its context, which affects the text's content. Most sites include links to other websites, facilitating the reader's discovery of sites that interest them. These links are, in effect, electronic signposts, directing readers around the web toward all types of media. The use of language affects not only what is said but also how it is communicated and under what conditions. Links and advertisements, for example, have grown so frequent that they almost seem undetectable. It is natural now to read a website and expect a pop-up or a hyperlink.
Type of Context
| Explanation
|
Geographical
| where it was written and where it is read
|
Temporal
| when it was written and received
|
Social
| how people interact with it
|
The context in which a text is generated and received can be thought of in terms of language as a combination of geographical, temporal, and social factors that are intertwined. An email sent to a friend will be interpreted differently than an email to a work colleague.
Audience and purpose
A critical analysis of a text includes an examination of its purpose, whether implicit or explicit, as well as the audience of the text. In multimodal literature, the relationship with the reader is more intriguing since the author can communicate with the reader through a variety of channels. Electronic texts may contain overt advertising, as well as more subtle forms of suggestion, such as links to search engines and social networks like Twitter and Instagram. Texts may also indirectly promote a lifestyle or a set of attitudes in addition to actively marketing items. As such, an electronic text will have an explicit purpose e.g. to inform, but will also often have an implicit purpose e.g. to sell, through its advertisement and links.
Synthetic personalisation
It is important for writers to consider synthetic personalisation as one way of influencing their audience. This refers to the process of creating a personal identity for their audience that has specific characteristics. Texts may make assumptions that seem true but aren't necessarily a reflection of the reader's abilities and beliefs. For example, a synthetic persona could be created for the following interests:
- A football fan
- A fashion enthusiast
- Book lovers
When created synthetically, personalisation creates the illusion of a relationship between the text creator/persona and the recipient of the text – which sometimes conceals the absence of any real connection.
Change in language
As technology evolves, it directly changes language with it.
Word | Before
| After |
Cloud | In the sky | A mesh of servers that contain data |
Troll | Fairytale creature | An online hateful persona |
Friend | A noun (an individual you are close with) | A verb (the action of 'friending' someone through social media) |
Cookie
| A food | Data in a website browser |
Bug
| Insect | An error within programming code |
Analysing language
You will need to explore the language levels of a digital text once you have considered the context, purpose and audience of the text.
- How is language warped by new technology?
- How does language change depending on its technical environment?
- How is the language different in texting compared to its use on Twitter?
- Does the language have different meanings with different social media sites?
You can more successfully analyse a text and its modes by posing these queries and focusing your investigation on the effects of new technologies.
