The Discourse of Text Messaging: Analysis of SMS Communication

Caroline Tagg

Research output: Book/ReportBook

Abstract

Understanding the discourse of text messaging has profound implications for society. SMS text messaging has impacted considerably on how we communicate with others. Negative, sometimes alarmist media coverage continues to fuel debate surrounding its 'damaging' effects on language and literacy, yet these portrayals tend to be based on extreme or fictionalised accounts of text messaging. What kind of language do people really use when they text?

Drawing on a range of academic sources from various fields, this book describes the language used in a corpus of over 11,000 text messages, as yet the largest collection in the UK. In particular, the book shows how the discourse of text messaging is shaped by users’ often creative responses to the functions and constraints of the medium.

This is an essential book for upper level undergraduates and postgraduates studying discourse analysis, as well as educators wanting to understand this important new form of discourse.
Original languageEnglish
PublisherContinuum
ISBN (Print)9781441173768, 9781441174093
Publication statusPublished - 17 May 2012

Publication series

NameBloomsbury Discourse
PublisherContinuum

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