Excuse my poor English: language management in English-language online discussion forums
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Jaroslav Švelch
Abstract
Using the framework of Language Management Theory (LMT), this article seeks to analyze the ways in which non-native speakers negotiate their position in English-language online discussion forums. Based on the material collected from four discussion forums, competing opinions have been identified regarding the acceptability of “bad English” and the need for language management, i.e. acting upon a perceived lack of compliance to linguistic norms. Some users propose that compliance to communication norms should be enforced in a top-down manner or based on an explicit set of rules, whereas others hold that the community of users can deal with potential communication problems individually in an emergent manner. While the applicability of native speaker norms to the discussion forums is being questioned, non-native speakers, especially in practically oriented forums, tend to perform pre-interaction language management, using disclaimers in their posts, such as “Excuse my poor English”, to avoid potential misunderstandings and to prevent native speaker norms from being applied to them. The article argues for the use of LMT in computer mediated communication research, as it offers a dynamic view of the process in which rules, conventions and norms of online communication are being continuously discussed, negotiated and applied.
©2015 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Munich/Boston
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- An introduction: Language Management Theory in Language Policy and Planning
- Spracherhalt als Prozess: Elemente des kirchlichen Sprachmanagements bei den katholischen Sorben
- Behaving toward language in the Mormon mission: the Czech case
- The management of language and power in intercultural contact situations in Japan
- Chinese IT terminology management in Hong Kong
- The management of academic discourse acquisition
- Language management in the regional conflicts in the Sudans
- Excuse my poor English: language management in English-language online discussion forums
- Report
- Report: The Society of Language Management
- Special Issue Book Review
- Book Review
- Book Reviews
- Indexicality and subjective perceptions of the linguistic landscape
- From linguistics to semiotics in the study of public signage and space
- Small languages and small language communities 78
- INDEXING AUTHENTICITY: THE LINGUISTIC LANDSCAPE OF AN IRISH TOURIST TOWN
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- An introduction: Language Management Theory in Language Policy and Planning
- Spracherhalt als Prozess: Elemente des kirchlichen Sprachmanagements bei den katholischen Sorben
- Behaving toward language in the Mormon mission: the Czech case
- The management of language and power in intercultural contact situations in Japan
- Chinese IT terminology management in Hong Kong
- The management of academic discourse acquisition
- Language management in the regional conflicts in the Sudans
- Excuse my poor English: language management in English-language online discussion forums
- Report
- Report: The Society of Language Management
- Special Issue Book Review
- Book Review
- Book Reviews
- Indexicality and subjective perceptions of the linguistic landscape
- From linguistics to semiotics in the study of public signage and space
- Small languages and small language communities 78
- INDEXING AUTHENTICITY: THE LINGUISTIC LANDSCAPE OF AN IRISH TOURIST TOWN
