[net.nlang] written vs. spoken language - which one used on the net ?

bobr (01/06/83)

	I had an interesting conversation recently about the 
differences between Canadian and American English. My friend claimed 
that Canadian spoken English was closer to written English than was 
American spoken English. (He said things like  "Americans tend to speak 
in phrases, rather than sentences..... they drop endings .... " ).

	As a foreigner (I'm German) I should have been particularly 
sensitive to the difference between spoken and written language; I
was not, although I am in the middle of writing a **thesis**.

	I keep wondering now just what type of language
we use on the net? Are we leaning more toward spoken or written
English ? Are we using a form of language that is not very
conducive to the **form** of communication we are engaging
ourselves in ? 
	For example, I just could not **really** understand
what a person was saying in a recent article in net.singles. That
article seemed to have been transcribed from a monologue, and it
made a little more sense when I was reading it out to myself.
I suspect that I would have understood more had I been facing the
person, thus having been able to use cues like the pitch of the
voice, facial expressions etc.
	Does the availablity of easy to use full screen editors
favor the use of one type of language ?  For example, I cannot
insert lines later on in the middle of a letter or a manuscript
without having to rewrite it or mess it up. Also, things like
emphases expressed by "**" (see above) and ":-)" hint that there
is a strong component of spoken language use on the net.

	On a more personal level, will the quality of human
interaction be significantly changed when one switches from talking
to writing letters (apart from the obvious effects of geographical
separation ) ?  [If you suspect that my stay in Canada is coming to
an end, you're right. I kinda feel :-) and :-( about it...]


	Christoph Bobrowski	Dept. of Computer Science, Toronto	

gary (01/07/83)

What do :-) and (-: mean?