Gender, Identity, and Language Use in Web Discussion Forum and Mobile Phone Txt Messages

Authors

  • Chaka Chaka Tshwane University of Technology (Pretoria, South Africa)

https://doi.org/10.17583/generos.2016.1477

Keywords:


Downloads

Abstract

This study explored and compared both online and txt (text) messaging gender and identity construction and language use among adult males and females. The online gender and identity construction and language use concerned adult males and females who participated in a web discussion forum (WDF) while the txt messaging gender and identity construction and language use related to adult male and female users of mobile technologies from South Africa. The specific WDF serving as a focal point for the study was http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/becomingwebhead, whereas the specific mobile technologies on which the study focused were mobile phones (MPs). Online and MP txt messaging gender and identity construction and language use were examined in terms of the disclosure of personal information, sexual identity, emotive features and semantic themes (Huffaker and Calvert 2005). Some of the findings of this study are as follows: both females and males investigated here tended to construct their identities both similarly and differently depending on the form of technology they employed; in both the WDF and MP messages, more females tended to employ emoticons than did males and the same was true of the emotive traits related to expressive language; the two genders engaged in intimate topics in varying degrees; and both genders seemed to employ passive and cooperative language (and accommodating language to some degree) very nearly similarly.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

Chaka Chaka, Tshwane University of Technology (Pretoria, South Africa)

Department of Applied Languages, Senior Lecturer

References

Bhabha, H. (1994). The location of culture. London: Routledge.

Google Scholar Crossref

Bucholtz, M. (1999). Bad examples: transgression and progress in language and gender

Google Scholar Crossref

studies. In M. Bucholtz, A.C. Liang, & L.A. Sutton (Eds.), Reinventing identities: The gendered self in discourse (pp. 3-20). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Google Scholar Crossref

Burgess, C. (2002). The relevance of the bridging of discourse and feminist theory for

Google Scholar Crossref

Japan. Retrieved from http://wwwsshe.murdoch.edu.au/intersections/issue7burgess.html

Google Scholar Crossref

Butler. J. (1997). Excitable speech: A politics of the performative. London: Routledge.

Google Scholar Crossref

Calcutt, A. (2001). Generation txt: mixed messages. Retrieved from

Google Scholar Crossref

http://www.spiked-online.com/Articles/0000000054DF.htm

Google Scholar Crossref

Cameron, D. (1992). Feminism & linguistic theory. London: MacMillan Press.

Google Scholar Crossref

Cameron, D. (1997). Performing gender identity: young men’s talk and the construction

Google Scholar Crossref

of heterosexual masculinity. In S. Johnson, & U.H. Meinhof (Eds.), Language and masculinity (pp. 47-64). Oxford: Blackwell.

Google Scholar Crossref

Cameron, D. (Ed.) (1998). The feminist critique of language: A reader. London:

Google Scholar Crossref

Routledge.

Google Scholar Crossref

Castells, M. (2000). The rise of the network society, the information age: Economy,

Google Scholar Crossref

society and culture. Oxford: Blackwell.

Google Scholar Crossref

Coates, J., & Cameron, D. (Eds.) (1988). Women in their speech communities. London:

Google Scholar Crossref

Longman.

Google Scholar Crossref

Crawford, M. (1995). Talking difference: On gender and language. London: Sage.

Google Scholar Crossref

Crystal, D. (2001). Language and the Internet. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Google Scholar Crossref

D’Addario, K.P. (n.d.). Do those little “smiley-faces” in electronic mail have an effect on

Google Scholar Crossref

the reader? Retrieved from http://www.rpi.edu/~daddak/emoticonpaper.html

Google Scholar Crossref

Diamandaki, K. (2003). Virtual ethnicity and digital diasporas: identity construction in

Google Scholar Crossref

cyberspace. Global Media Journal 2(2). Retrieved from http://lass.calumet.purdue.edu/cca/gmj/SubmittedDocuments/archivedpapers/Spring2003/diamondaki.htm

Google Scholar Crossref

Donath, J.S. (1996). Identity and deception in the virtual world. Retrieved from

Google Scholar Crossref

http://smg.media.mit.edu/peopleJudith/Identity/IdentityDeception.html

Google Scholar Crossref

Eckert, P., & McConnell-Ginet, S. (1999). New generalizations and explanations in

Google Scholar Crossref

language and gender research. Language and Society, 28(2), 185-201.

Google Scholar Crossref

Erasmus, E. (1998). The relationship between postmodernism and feminism: A

Google Scholar Crossref

construction of sites of engagements. Acta Academica, 30(1), 1-31.

Google Scholar Crossref

Farina, F., & Lyddy, F. (2011). The Language of text messaging: “linguistic ruin” or

Google Scholar Crossref

resource? The Irish Psychologist, 37(6), 144-149. Retrieved from http://eprints.nuim.ie/2681/1/FF_Text_Messaging.pdf

Google Scholar Crossref

Geertsema, S., Hyman, C., & van Deventer, C. (2011). Short message service (SMS)

Google Scholar Crossref

language and written language skills: educators’ perspectives. South African Journal of Education, 31, 475-487. Retrieved from http://www.scielo.org.za/pdf/saje/v31n4/v31n4a02.pdf

Google Scholar Crossref

Griffiths, M. (1995). Making a difference: feminism, post-modernism and the

Google Scholar Crossref

methodology of educational research. British Educational Research Journal, 21(2), 219-235.

Google Scholar Crossref

Heckman, R., & Annabi, H. (2005). A content analytical comparison of learning

Google Scholar Crossref

processes in online and face-to-face case study discussions. Retrieved from http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol10/issue2/heckman.html

Google Scholar Crossref

Herring, S.C. (2000). Gender differences in CMC: Findings and implications. Computer

Google Scholar Crossref

Professionals for Social Responsibility, 18(1). Retrieved from http://www.cpsr.org/publications/newsletters/issues/2000/Winter2000/herring.html

Google Scholar Crossref

Herring, S.C., Kouper, I., Scheidt, L.A., & Wright, E.L. (2004). Women and children

Google Scholar Crossref

last: the discursive construction of weblogs. In L.J. Gurak, S. Antonijevic, L. Johnson, C .Ratliff, & J. Reyman (Eds.), Into the blogosphere: Rhetoric, community, and culture of weblogs. Retrieved from http://blog.lib.umn.edu/blogsphere/women and children.html

Google Scholar Crossref

Huffaker, D.A. (2004). Spinning yarns around a digital fire: storytelling and dialogue

Google Scholar Crossref

among youth on the Internet. First Monday, 9(1). Retrieved from http://www.firstmonday.dk/issues/issue9_1/huffaker/index.html

Google Scholar Crossref

Huffaker, D.A., & Calvert, S.L. (2005). Gender, identity and language use in teenage

Google Scholar Crossref

blogs. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 10(2). Retrieved from http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol10/issue2/huffaker.html

Google Scholar Crossref

Jones, S.G. (Ed.) (1997). Virtual culture: Identity and communication in cybersociety.

Google Scholar Crossref

London: Sage.

Google Scholar Crossref

Katz, J.E., & Aakhus. M. (2002). Conclusion: making meaning of mobiles: a theory of

Google Scholar Crossref

apparatgeist. In J.E. Katz, & M Aakhus (Eds.), Perpetual contact: Mobile communication, private talk, public performance (pp. 301-318). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Google Scholar Crossref

Lakoff, R. (1975). Language and woman’s place. New York: Harper & Row.

Google Scholar Crossref

Lather, P. (1992). Post-critical pedagogies: a feminist reading. In J .Gore, & C. Luke

Google Scholar Crossref

(Eds.), Feminisms and critical pedagogy (pp. 120-137). London: Routledge.

Google Scholar Crossref

Lee, C. (2003). How does instant messaging affect interaction between the genders?

Google Scholar Crossref

Retrieved from http://www.stanford.edu/class/pwr3-25/group2/projects/lee.html

Google Scholar Crossref

Levinson, S.C. (1983). Pragmatics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Google Scholar Crossref

Leung, L., & Wei, R. (2000). More than just talk on the move: uses and gratifications of

Google Scholar Crossref

the cellular phone. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 77(2), 308-320.

Google Scholar Crossref

Lewis, R., & Mills, S. (Eds.) (2003). Post-colonial feminist theory: A reader. Edinburgh:

Google Scholar Crossref

Edinburgh University Press.

Google Scholar Crossref

Ling, R., & Yttri, B. (2002). Hyper-coordination via mobile phones in Norway. In J.

Google Scholar Crossref

Katz, & M. Aakhus (Eds.), Perpetual contact: Mobile communication, private talk, public performance (pp. 139-169). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Google Scholar Crossref

Liwei, G. (2001). Digital age, digital English. English Today, 17(3), 17-23.

Google Scholar Crossref

Lowe, W. (2003). The statistics of text: new methods for content analysis. Retrieved from

Google Scholar Crossref

http://people.cbrss.harvard.edu/~wlowe/Publications/content.pdf

Google Scholar Crossref

Luke, C. (1992). Feminist politics in radical pedagogy. In J. Gore, & C. Luke (Eds.),

Google Scholar Crossref

Feminisms and Critical Pedagogy (pp. 25-53). New York: Routledge.

Google Scholar Crossref

Marney, R. (2005). Case study: online identities. Retrieved from

Google Scholar Crossref

http://www.people.virginia.edu/~rmm4y/casestudy.html

Google Scholar Crossref

McArthur, T. (2000). Netcronyms and emoticons. English Today, 16(4), 40.

Google Scholar Crossref

Microsoft Corporation. (2005). Microsoft’s vision for an identity metasystem. Retrieved f

Google Scholar Crossref

rom http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnwebsrv/html/identitymetasystem.asp

Google Scholar Crossref

Mills, S. (2003a). Caught between sexism, anti-sexism and “political correctness”:

Google Scholar Crossref

feminist negotiations with naming practices. Discourse and Society, 14(1), 87-110.

Google Scholar Crossref

Mills, S. (2003b). Third wave feminist linguistics and analysis of sexism. Retrieved from

Google Scholar Crossref

http://www.shu.ac.uk/daol/articles/open/2003/001/mills/2003001-paper.html

Google Scholar Crossref

Mills, S. (2003c). Gender and politeness. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Google Scholar Crossref

Murphy, E. (2001). Investigating the multiple worlds of teaching through multiloguing.

Google Scholar Crossref

Educational Technology & Society, 4(3). Retrieved from http://ifets.ieee.org/periodical/vol_3_2001/murphy.html

Google Scholar Crossref

Njemanze, Q.U. (2012). The SMS style of communication: implications of language

Google Scholar Crossref

usage among Nigerian university students' communication. Journal of Communication, 3(1), 17-23.

Google Scholar Crossref

Norrick, N. (1991). On the organization of corrective exchanges in conversation. Journal

Google Scholar Crossref

of Pragmatics, 16, 59-83.

Google Scholar Crossref

Oyinloye, G.O. (2009). Assessing the need for mobile communication mediated

Google Scholar Crossref

instructional strategy in the teaching of writing skills. Retrieved from http://medwelljournals.com/fulltext/ijsc/2009/39-44.pdf

Google Scholar Crossref

Pachler, N., & Daly, C. (2009). Narrative and learning with Web 2.0 technologies:

Google Scholar Crossref

towards a research agenda. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 25, 6–18. Retrieved from http://eprints.ioe.ac.uk/5417/1/Pachler2009Narrative6.pdf

Google Scholar Crossref

Persson, P. (2003). ExMS: an animated and avatar-based messaging system for

Google Scholar Crossref

expressive peer communication. Retrieved from http://www.perpersson.net/Publications/group2003.pdf

Google Scholar Crossref

Petrina, S. (1998). The politics of research in technology education: a critical content and discourse analysis. Journal of Technology Education, 10(1), 27-57.

Google Scholar Crossref

Piller, I. (2001). Identity construction in multilingual advertising. Language in Society,

Google Scholar Crossref

, 153-182.

Google Scholar Crossref

Poynton, C. (1993). Grammar, language and the social: poststructuralism and systemic-

Google Scholar Crossref

functional linguistics. Social Semiotics, 3(1), 1-21.

Google Scholar Crossref

Rassool, N. (1998). Postmodernity, cultural pluralism and the nations-state: problems of

Google Scholar Crossref

language rights, human rights, identity and power. Language Sciences, 20(1), 89-112.

Google Scholar Crossref

Riggins, S.H. (1997). The rhetoric of othering. In S.H. Riggins (Ed.), The language and

Google Scholar Crossref

politics of exclusion: Others in discourse (pp. 1-3-0). Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Google Scholar Crossref

Sacks, H. (1994). Lectures on conversation. Oxford: Blackwell.

Google Scholar Crossref

Sadiqi, F. (2003). Gender and language in Morocco. Leiden: Brill.

Google Scholar Crossref

Simpson, A. (1997). It’s a game!: the construction of gendered subjectivity. In R. Wodak

Google Scholar Crossref

(Ed.), Gender and Discourse (pp. 197-224). London: Sage.

Google Scholar Crossref

Stalder, F. (2000). Digital identities – patterns in information flows. Retrieved from

Google Scholar Crossref

http://felix.openflows.org/html/digital_identity.html

Google Scholar Crossref

Swann, J. (2002). Yes, but is it gender? In L. Litosseliti, & J. Sunderland (Eds.), Gender

Google Scholar Crossref

identity and discourse analysis (pp. 43-67). Amsterdam: John Benjamins

Google Scholar Crossref

Tannen, D. (1990). You just don’t understand: Women and men in conversation. London:

Google Scholar Crossref

Virago.

Google Scholar Crossref

Tapscott, D. (1998). Growing up digital: The rise of the net generation. Washington,

Google Scholar Crossref

DC.: McGraw-Hill.

Google Scholar Crossref

Thurlow, C., & Brown, A. (2003). Generation txt? the sociolinguistics of young people’s

Google Scholar Crossref

text-messaging. Retrieved from http://www.shu.ac.uk/daol/articles/v1/n1/a3/thurlow2002003-paper.html

Google Scholar Crossref

Thurlow, C., Lengel, L.B., & Tomic, A. (2004). Computer mediated communication: A

Google Scholar Crossref

critical exploration of social interaction online. London: Sage.

Google Scholar Crossref

Turkle, S. (1995). Life on the screen: Identity in the age of the Internet. New York:

Google Scholar Crossref

Simon & Schuster.

Google Scholar Crossref

Turkle, S. (1996). Who am we? Wired Magazine, 4(1). Retrieved from

Google Scholar Crossref

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/4.01/turkle_pr.html

Google Scholar Crossref

Weedon, C. (1987). Feminist practice and poststructuralist theory. London: Blackwell.

Google Scholar Crossref

Wodak, R. (1997). Introduction some important issues in the research of gender and

Google Scholar Crossref

discourse. In R ,Wodak (Ed.), Gender and Discourse (pp. 1-20). London: Sage.

Google Scholar Crossref

Downloads

Published

2016-10-25

Almetric

Dimensions

How to Cite

Chaka, C. (2016). Gender, Identity, and Language Use in Web Discussion Forum and Mobile Phone Txt Messages. Multidisciplinary Journal of Gender Studies, 5(3), 1126–1151. https://doi.org/10.17583/generos.2016.1477

Issue

Section

Articles