Language and Technology

Language, Identity and Social Media

In this course, Dr Ruth Page (University of Birmingham) explores identity and interaction, looking at language use in digitally mediated communications, specifically social media. We start by thinking about how language is related to identity, and how this shapes our choices in interactions in digitally mediated contexts. In the second module, we consider how people present their identities online through the idea of ‘indexicality’ in language. In the third module, we introduce William Labov’s framework for narrative analysis and consider the ways in which stories told on social media complicate it. In the fourth, we use Kress and Van Leeuwen’s ‘visual grammar’ to multimodally analyse selfies. Finally, we consider ethical issues and best practices when performing research on social media.

Language and Technology

In this module, we think about how language is related to identity, and how this shapes our choices in interactions in digitally mediated contexts, focusing especially on: (i) James Gibson’s concept of ‘affordances’ and how technology alters communication possibilities, (ii) Susan Herring’s 2007 paper ‘A Faceted Classification Scheme for Computer-Mediated Discourse’, (iii) how Herring’s concept of Medium Factors and Situation Factors affect our communication through technology, and (iv) the importance of not falling into the trap of technological determinism.