The Effects of Computer Mediated Communication to Language Development

Computer mediated communication (CMC) is defined by experts as any form of interaction that takes place through the use of networked computers. Instant messaging, voice-over Internet protocol (VoIP), e-mail, video and audio streams, as well as blogs are just some of the most common tools of CMC. Later on, the term was also applied to other forms of text-based interaction including text-messaging through mobile phones.

SOURCE: http://techcrunch.com/

The main contribution of CMC to the world is the eradication of communication barriers by bridging the gaps of interaction. Specifically, it has solved the problem of slow communication processes that mainly revolved on snail mails and telegrams before. With CMC, everyone has truly achieved immediacy. People can now exchange messages, photos, videos, and even video calls in an instant. Hence, it has been considered by most as the best tool to keep people together and keep their relationships intact. They are most applicable for individuals who are working away from their families, or who are maintaining long-distance relationships.

This innovation also helped the formation of more friendships or social relations since it allow most people to feel free from discrimination. They no longer have to worry about being judged for their physical features or economic status since they are not dealing with others in person. Regardless of race, height, skin color, and other factors, individuals can gain the confidence to interact. Several studies revealed that this has not only served as foundation for romantic and social bonds, but has also supported professional and business connections. Moreover, since CMC encourages participation among users, it has been widely applied for learning purposes through different online instructional tools of educational institutions.

Nevertheless, it seems that real-time interaction -- the main advantage of CMC -- also turned out to be its major drawback. Of course, this has allowed immediate exchange of messages between users; however, it has also served as a constraint to some extent. Experts claimed that because communicating individuals want to represent effects that are only possible in face-to-face interactions, they tend to do informal “spoken” style of writing. With that, they develop and demonstrate a prototypical combination of spoken and written media.

Several studies stated that the different means of computer mediated communication has exhibited some notable linguistic features that can or has already affected the language development especially of young users. Primarily, in using today’s text-based message transmission via short message service (SMS) and instant messenger, people tend to abbreviate words too much; thus, seriously affecting grammar and diction. This is acceptable in the World Wide Web since there are no actual rules that must be observed; however, this can be detrimental to individual users as they completely adapt this form of writing in the actual world.

The first CMC feature concerns orthography or the science of spelling through the sense of sight. It has been common in online chats and text messages to see informal “phonetic” spellings and abbreviated words. For instance, the word “love” is typed as “luv,” and phrases like “don’t know” are reduced to “dunno.” Another alarming CMC attribute is related to vocabulary. A lot of slang terms are commonly used, and interjections are always present to add a touch of emotion into the messages. For example, expressions like “phew!” and “oh” are injected to sentences to show the emotional intensity that the sender want to relay.

CMC users also possess the tendency to develop telegraphic language that seriously affects their grammar knowledge. Aside from improper capitalization and punctuation, they also do sequences of multiple coordination or subordination of sentences, also known as “chaining.” According to experts, this is because they follow their “stream of consciousness” in writing; hence, they simply attach interaction features or questions directly to sentences without observing the proper way of putting them.

Finally, they exhibit paralinguistic and graphics concerns. There are instances where individuals make use of improperly spaced and multiple letters for emphasis. For instance, they type in the word “please” with multiple "E"s to show their eagerness. Some also capitalize all letters to demonstrate anger or shouting, while some simply opt to apply emoticons like “:-)” for a smiley.

If all these CMC features are not addressed appropriately by professionals, the next generation can possibly go back to telegraphic way of communicating. Experts asserted that the technological contribution of computer mediated interaction must be used for the advancement of knowledge and communication skills of people, and not to their linguistic deterioration.