Punctuation mark “dot (period)” as an influence mechanism on the personal message addressee
https://doi.org/10.28995/2686-7249-2024-12-82-92
Abstract
The article deals with an issue of the punctuation mark interpretation in digital communication. The author considers the communicative potential of the period (and its absence) in personal messages. The researchers note that there is a widespread notion among Internet users that the period at the end of the text expresses aggression and therefore should be omitted. In order to study the persistence of that stereotype a questionnaire survey of NSU students was conducted. The interpretation of its results allows drawing several conclusions. The absence of a punctuation mark in a personal communication is explained by different reasons. Quite a common reason is communicative in its nature: the desire to accommodate the interlocutor, for whom punctuation can evoke negative connotations. According to the respondents, the omission of the endpoint is
a marker of the informality of communication. The period is primarily perceived as a dividing sign, while the function of sentence completion seems redundant: the empty end-of-line space swallows up the sign. The convoluted speech action of ‘completing a thought’, which the period sign expresses, is replaced by another action: instead of typing a punctuation mark, the addressee gives the command to send a message. Moreover, the zero period is not just punctuation sloppiness. The zero period correlates with the discursive practice of mass communication: the headline, the sign, the door sign, etc. In addition, in the context of Internet communication, the period acts as a signal of the end of communication. Thus, in digital punctuation, a binary opposition of zero and nonzero signs is formed. The conclusion outlines the perspectives of the study and summarizes the results.
a marker of the informality of communication. The period is primarily perceived as a dividing sign, while the function of sentence completion seems redundant: the empty end-of-line space swallows up the sign. The convoluted speech action of ‘completing a thought’, which the period sign expresses, is replaced by another action: instead of typing a punctuation mark, the addressee gives the command to send a message. Moreover, the zero period is not just punctuation sloppiness. The zero period correlates with the discursive practice of mass communication: the headline, the sign, the door sign, etc. In addition, in the context of Internet communication, the period acts as a signal of the end of communication. Thus, in digital punctuation, a binary opposition of zero and nonzero signs is formed. The conclusion outlines the perspectives of the study and summarizes the results.
About the Author
I. V. Vysotskaya
Novosibirsk State University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Irina V. Vysotskaya, Dr. of Sci. (Philology), associate professor
630090; 1, Pirogova St.; Novosibirsk
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Review
For citations:
Vysotskaya I.V. Punctuation mark “dot (period)” as an influence mechanism on the personal message addressee. RSUH/RGGU Bulletin: “Literary Teory. Linguistics. Cultural Studies”, Series. 2024;(12):82-92. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.28995/2686-7249-2024-12-82-92
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