Leszek Szymański, Substitutes of paraverbal and nonverbal elements in the Internet textual communication
Key words:
Internet communication, paraverbal communication, nonverbal communication, Emoticons
Summary:
Synchronous text-based Internet communication is utilized as a substitute for oral “face to face” communication. The limitation to the textual form prevents the users from utilizing paraverbal (connected with sounds) and nonverbal (connected with body language and gestures) communication. Internet users, however, have created certain means to make up for these defi ciencies. Among them one may fi nd: punctuation marks, reduplication of symbols, capitalization of letters, in-built commands in software, asterisks or emoticons. These are the focus of the present article.