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The Semantics of Human Interaction in Chinese E-Communication

The Semantics of Human Interaction in Chinese E-Communication

Adrian Tien
Copyright: © 2010 |Pages: 31
ISBN13: 9781615207732|ISBN10: 1615207732|EISBN13: 9781615207749
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-61520-773-2.ch028
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MLA

Tien, Adrian. "The Semantics of Human Interaction in Chinese E-Communication." Handbook of Research on Discourse Behavior and Digital Communication: Language Structures and Social Interaction, edited by Rotimi Taiwo, IGI Global, 2010, pp. 437-467. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-61520-773-2.ch028

APA

Tien, A. (2010). The Semantics of Human Interaction in Chinese E-Communication. In R. Taiwo (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Discourse Behavior and Digital Communication: Language Structures and Social Interaction (pp. 437-467). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-61520-773-2.ch028

Chicago

Tien, Adrian. "The Semantics of Human Interaction in Chinese E-Communication." In Handbook of Research on Discourse Behavior and Digital Communication: Language Structures and Social Interaction, edited by Rotimi Taiwo, 437-467. Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2010. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-61520-773-2.ch028

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Abstract

The current study investigated typical, everyday Chinese interaction online and examined what linguistic meanings arise from this form of communication – not only semantic but also, importantly, pragmatic, discursive, contextual and lexical meanings etc. In particular, it set out to ascertain whether at least some of the cultural values and norms etc. known to exist in Chinese culture, as reflected in the Chinese language, are maintained or preserved in modern Chinese e-communication. To do all this, the author collected a sample set of data from Chinese online resources found in Singapore, including a range of blog sites and MSN chat rooms where interactants have kept their identities anonymous. A radically semantic approach was adopted – namely, the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) model – to analyze meanings that arose from the data. The analyses were presented and compiled in the way of “cultural cyberscripts” – based on an NSM analytical method called “cultural scripts”. Through these cyberscripts, findings indicated that, while this form of e-communication does exhibit some departure from conventional socio-cultural values and norms, something remains linguistically and culturally Chinese that is unique to Chinese interaction online.

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