ABSTRACT

In this module, you will be introduced to the definition

and scope of the field of study most popularly known
as computer-mediated communication (CMC).
Discussed in this module are the traditional and
extended definitions of CMC and its core concepts.
Moreover, the subfield known as Computer-Mediated
Discourse is discussed since it is the specific focus of
the course

MODULE 1 Computer-Mediated Communication.

Definition, Delimitation and Basic

Conceptual Notions
 Module 1
Definitions, Delimitations and Basic Conceptual Notions

It is expected that at the end of this module, you will be able to:
a) Compare the traditional and extended notion of computer-mediated communication.
b) Differentiate computer-mediated discourse from computer-mediated communication.
c) Contrast text-based CMC from video-based CMC.

I. Information Communications Technology

“Let us begin this module by familiarizing ourselves with the various terms and concepts necessary
to have a good foundation of the course.”
Computer Science (CS) is the de facto that represents the traditional disciplines with computers –
their architecture and their functions - as central concerns. Information Technology (IT) is an alternative
term for Computer Science, and is historically more recent than the term Computer Science but it is much
more than that since it actually lays emphasis on the information processing aspects, rather than on just the
raw technology per se. In recent times, the term Information Technology (IT) has been extended to include
‘communications’, with varying nomenclatures such as Information and Communications Technology
(ICT) or just simply Information Communications Technology (ICT). This extension underscores the
communicative aspects of information processing; in other words, the discipline has grown, historically,
from just emphasis on the science and technology of computer architecture to the information processing
aspects, especially those that deal with meaningful transfers of information between entities on different
locations (Shortis, 2001). So ICT is simply defined as the discipline which deals with the use of technologies
to communicate and to process information.
The turn of the century has witnessed a massive presence of computers in our everyday life.
Computers are now ubiquitous artifacts in homes and offices. The emphasis on computers in facilitating
communication between entities, especially with a massive explosion of the internet and allied tools like
email, MSN, and blogs has led to newer terms such as Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC), which
became the title of a course that you are now studying.
We can now proceed to the definition of Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC).
II. Computer-Mediated Communication
Let us start with the traditional and narrower definitions given by three scholars in the field.
At its broadest, CMC can encompass virtually all computer uses including such diverse applications as
statistical analysis programs, remote-sensing systems, and financial modelling programs, all fit within the
concept of human communication.
- Gerry Santoro (1995, p. 11)
Computer Mediated Communication is a process of human communication via computers, involving
people, situated in particular contexts, engaging in processes to shape media for a variety of purposes.
- John December (1997)
CMC is communication that takes place between human beings via the instrumentality of computers.
- Susan Herring (1996, p. 1)
You will notice that all three definitions of CMC above limit the device used to computer. However,
in this course, I will adopt the extended definition by Bodomo (2010) found in his book Computer-Mediated
Communication for Linguistics and Literacy: Technology and Natural Language Education. He defined
CMC as:
… the coding and decoding of linguistic and other symbolic systems between sender and receiver
for information processing in multiple formats through the medium of the computer and allied technologies
such as PDAs, mobile phones, and blackberries; and through media like the internet, email, chat systems,
text messaging, YouTube, Skype, and many more to be invented. As is seen, the term computer itself is no
longer limited to desktop and laptop devices but generalizes onto smaller but even more powerful gadgets
like palmtops, mobile phones, and PDAs, all with internet connectivity. We can therefore comfortably
extend the term computer-mediated communication (CMC) to Internet-mediated communication (IMC)
which involves the processing of linguistic and other symbolic systems through the internet and allied
technologies by interaction between sender(s) and receiver(s). (p. 6)
In this lengthy extended definition, it will be noticed that other gadgets may be considered in CMC
as long as they are used in activities that require Internet and allied technologies.
III. Core Concepts in CMC
In this section, we will talk about the three core concepts of computer-mediated communication, namely:
1) communication 2) mediated and 3) computer.

Core concept 1: Communication

Human communication is a slippery concept to define, and deciding what communication is and
how it works has kept scholars busy for a very long time. In fact, one of the things that new technologies
have done – and have always done – is force people to reconsider what the essential nature of
communication really is. This is partly what makes CMC such a fascinating field of study for
communication scholars: in some ways, it’s almost as if we are experiencing communication anew, and yet
in other ways, nothing’s changed.

Communication is dynamic
One of the most well-known ways of thinking about communication is the idea of a sender, a
message and a receiver.

Sender Message Receiver

Unfortunately, this model oversimplifies communication to the rather static exchange of information –
what, in computer terms, might be regarded as an ‘information-processing’ perspective. Instead,
communication is better understood as a process which is much more dynamic. That means that the meaning
of messages does not reside in words, but is much more fluid and dependent on the context, which changes
constantly from place to place, from person to person, and from moment to moment. To see this, you have
only to think of the way the meanings of words like ‘wicked’ and ‘gay’ have changed over time. Another
example is the word ‘kiwi’, where, without contextual information, it’s impossible to know whether this is
meant to mean a bird, a fruit or a New Zealander.
Communication is transactional
Even though people still sometimes like to think of communication as the exchange of messages
between senders and receivers, communication is really about the negotiation of meaning between people.
Individuals are both speakers and listeners and these roles switch back and forth all the time in any one
conversation. Once again, this also means that communication is constantly changing as two (or more)
people interpret each other and are influenced by what the other says. In other words, it’s a transaction
between them. Most theorists would agree that communication simply cannot happen outside human social
interaction. It is really only when someone recognizes and/or responds to something you say or do that
communication can be said to have occurred.

Communication is multifunctional
Consciously or unconsciously, communication serves many different functions and usually serves
more than one function at any given time. For example, communication may be used to influence people’s
behavior or attitudes, to inform people, to seek information, to exert control over people, to befriend or
seduce people, to entertain and please people, and so on. Although for the sake of analytical convenience,
scholars do sometimes distinguish between the interactional (or relationship-focused) and informational (or
content-focused) domains of communication, it’s usually impossible to separate the two. Think about
famous chat-up lines like ‘Can I buy you a drink?’ or ‘Do you have the time?’ Although both appear to
seek information, the intention is clearly relational!
Communication is multimodal
However important it may be, language is of course just one of many ways we have of
communicating. Verbal messages always come packaged with other messages (or ‘metamessages’) formed
by different ways of making meaning – what are usually called nonverbal modes of communication. In fact,
more often than not it is these other modes of communication which are relied on more than the verbal
mode. The best example of this is when someone is lying to us: ‘Look me in the eye and tell me you didn’t
do it!’ The range of nonverbal codes is vast and accounts for much of the social information we glean: vocal
(e.g. tone of voice, accent, volume, pauses), movement (e.g. facial expression, gestures, posture), physical
appearance (e.g. height, weight, skin color), artefacts (e.g. lighting, décor, fashion), and use of space (e.g.
body orientation, touch, distance).

Each of these statements about communication clearly overlaps with the next. Communication is
transactional and so must be dynamic; similarly, because it’s multimodal it’s also bound to be
multifunctional, and so on. What all four have in common, however, is that they are also central to
understanding how communication works and how it is used to express our identities, to establish and
maintain relationships, and eventually to build communities – three of the most important themes in CMC.
In fact, identity, relationships and community can only ever be achieved in communication, which is to say
through the multimodal, multifunctional processes of social interaction.

Core concept 2: Mediated

All communication is mediated to some extent. According to Chambers’ Twenty-first Century
Dictionary, the verb to mediate means to convey or transmit something or to act as a medium for something.
In turn, a medium is something by which, or through which, an effect is produced. In other words,
mediation is simply the process or means by which something is transmitted. In the case of face-to-face
human communication, it is always channeled by, and dependent on, its context for meaning. Therefore,
communication is mediated through our interactions with people and by means of any number of different
verbal and nonverbal modes. Communication can never exist in a vacuum. You will learn more about this
in the discussion of communication as the third core concept below.

In face-to-face human interaction, we have what we call ‘channels of communication’ that influence or
mediate communication. These can be social (or cultural), psychological (or mental), linguistic (or
symbolic) or material (or technical). Broadly speaking these channels fall into three main categories:

 Psychological (e.g. our perceptions, mental maps, and prototypes)

 Social (e.g. our relationships, stereotypes, and individual experiences)
 Cultural (e.g. the myths and ideologies of whole societies of people)

The group of channels above which actually refer to the knowledge, experience and cultural
background that enable people to make sense of the world around them are called ‘structures of expectation’
by some communication scholars. So, for example, any communication between a professor and a student
will necessarily be mediated through contextual filters such as the professional nature of their relationship,
the student’s perceptions of lawyers generally, and the authoritative status of professors in society.

Let us now proceed to the case of computer-mediated communication. In CMC, another more material
layer of mediation is added, namely technological mediation. In CMC, the term medium -- or more correctly
its plural form media – refers to ‘the means by which news and information are communicated’ (Chambers’
Twenty-First Century Dictionary). In most instances we recognize the media involved to be things like
televisions, radios and the press. However, technological mediation in CMC is usually restricted to
‘Information and Communication Technologies’ (ICTs) or machineries designed, built and used for the
purposes of communication and exchange of information. This is brings us nicely to the last of CMC’s core
concepts, the computer.

Core concept 3: Computer

The concept of computer that will be adopted in this course will be the one by Bodomo (2010).
As is seen, the term computer itself is no longer limited to desktop and laptop devices but
generalizes onto smaller but even more powerful gadgets like palmtops, mobile phones, and PDAs, all with
internet connectivity. We can therefore comfortably extend the term computer-mediated communication
(CMC) to Internet-mediated communication (IMC) which involves the processing of linguistic and other
symbolic systems through the internet and allied technologies by interaction between sender(s) and
receiver(s). (p. 6)
IV. Delimitations of the Course
A. Focused on Communication NOT on Information Exchange
In this course, we are going to prioritize relational communication and deprioritize communication
activity which is more exclusively informational.

In computer jargon, information communication is what might be called ‘informatics’ – the storage,
manipulation and retrieval of data. Under this category one might look at things such as management
information systems, computer networking, library resources, CD-ROM databases, and so on.
 Our perspective will be focused on that computing technology which more explicitly facilitates
human communication. In other words, we are more interested in the ‘C’ (communication) of ICTs than
the ‘I’ (information). So, in this course we’re primarily focused on the ways people make conversation,
build communities and construct identities through, and by means of, new communication technologies –
or what might more accurately be described as ‘technologies for communication’. In particular, this course
is specifically interested in the ways communication, NOT information, is mediated by the Internet.

B. Focused on Text-Based NOT on Video-Based

Since the goal of this course is to enable students to analyze the use of natural languages on the
Internet and the new forms of language that are being produced, it is essential to differentiate between text-
based and video-based CMC. Text-based CMC involves communication partners transmitting information
between each other mainly through the medium of the written word along with other symbolic systems such
as numbers and emotional icons. On the other hand, video-based CMC involves primary communication
through the medium of moving images. Text-communication may accompany the video-communication
process but this is secondary and is meant to serve as talk around the image, so to speak. Thus, even though
one can talk of “mixed mode CMC”, there is a fundamental distinction in the kind of activities that
accompany either.

III. Computer-Mediated Discourse

As explained above, this course concentrates on text-based computer-mediated communication or

messages that are typed on a computer keyboard and read as text on a computer screen, typically by a person
or persons at a different location from the message sender. Therefore, to use a more precise terminology,
this course examines computer-mediated discourse. “The study of computer-mediated discourse
(henceforth CMD) is a subfield of the broader interdisciplinary study of computer-mediated communication
(CMC), distinguished by its focus on language and language use in computer networked environments,
and by its use of methods of discourse analysis to address that focus” (Herring, 2001, p. 612). This subfield
has even given birth to terms like Weblish, netlingo, e-talk, tech-speak, wired-style, geek-speak and
netspeak which are used to describe language in cyberspace. In turn, a subfield called as Internet linguistics
or e-linguistics is emerging showing the fact that so much language and linguistic analysis is facilitated by
the internet and other electronic resources both as tools and as repositories of these analyses.

Before we end this introductory module, it must be emphasized that this course has another
dimension aside from the linguistic one, and that is the social dimension. Therefore, as reflected in the
syllabus, the semester will be divided into two parts: the pragma-linguistic dimension and the
sociolinguistic dimension.

At the end of this course, you should be able to decide for yourselves if there is indeed a new variety
of English language created on the Internet or if this is just an unfounded hypothesis. Ultimately, you should
be able to identify if there is a new literacy engendered by the digitally-mediated communication that is
worth acquiring, sharing with, and promoting to other people.