A referenciação metalinguística nas inter@ções mediadas pelo computador

Abstract

The computer and the Internet are part of the new technologies in society and present some questions: how do these technologies influence the human communication? Does computer mediated communication differ from face-to-face and mediated by the written textinteractions to whant extent? Technological innovations have brought itself into a series of linguistic and social transformations. This research investigates the strategies of metalinguistic reference in asynchronous interactions mediated by computer, from the analysis of written texts, produced in the discussion forums. We believe that the referral is ancognitive-interactional activity practiced by social subjects at events and that the metalanguage can be considered as a mode of reference whose basic property concerns the self-reflexive nature of language. It is thus a phenomenon of self-referencing of language: words or expressions are used to refer to the discursive activity, considering that language is astructured systematization in grammatical, semantic, cognitive, textual-discursive plans and activated in a particular situation of interaction. Our point of departure are the hypotheses in which the linguistic strategies that implement referral metalinguistic in the processing of texts mediated by computer are relevant and can be explained from the cognitive processes of perspective, focus and management attention. The analysis show that metalinguistics announcements are units of informations and items are linkeds to the need of managing discourse and establishing a joint focus of attention.In interactions mediated by computer, due to the medium, the writing covers itself, in some genres, with a dynamics very close to the oral text. Planning and implementation of the text output is very close - even in asynchronous interactions in which the Internet user can reviewthe text before making it public domain. Furthermore, the context is shared and parts of the information are not present in the linguistic accuracy, but are in the knowledge shared by the participants of the virtual community. The text presents a syntax very similar to the spokenlanguage, full of interruptions, reservations and insertions. However, as there is not the physical presence of participants and there is lack of expressive elements typical of the interaction face-to-face, gestures, intonation, facial expression are used in addition to the graphical features like quotes, brackets, capitals, and semiotic resources, such as emoticons, it is possible to insert comments, ratings, insertions, corrections, exceptions, etc. and this is done through metalinguistic listed. The analysis also show the possibility of grouping and categorizing the metalinguistic listed in five groups from the elements put into focus: a linguistic formulation, the textual construction, the communicative act itself, in participants and, finally, the focus ininformation technology.