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The Sociolinguistics of Split-Screen

englishJoomla@akolyte.com (Scott Beale) — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 03:51:14 +0000

The impact of collaborative video game play on social interaction.

Players are often attracted to video games not only for the gameplay involved, but also for the sociality that the activity results in. This paper presents a study of the social interactions that occur within one group of game players. The study is based on the analysis of the language use of a group of fraternity members as they play a competitive video game. This process is used to illuminate both the particular linguistic features adopted by the group and the factors of the studied medium that contribute to these practices. These phenomena are concluded to be the result of the ability of collaborative gameplay to generate a brief but strong sense of community among the participants in the game.

Gender’s Influence on Word Interpretation

englishJoomla@akolyte.com (Sarah Nutial) — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 02:34:27 +0000

Gender’s influence on the interpretation of lexical terms can be seen in everyday conversations. This can partially be explained using LePage’s Acts of Identity theoretical lens to describe how men and women’s language are unique to each other (LePage). The majority of the data collected for this essay came from interviews with four sets of couples. The couples were asked questions regarding their interpretation of different words. Through the answers, one can see how the women tend to have very specific meanings for words while the men have more general answers; indicating that women have a habit of overanalyzing everything, while men tend to not analyze at all. The major focus of this essay was to point out just how differently men and women interpret language and how growing up in one gender circle versus another influences our interpretations.

The Truth about Sarcasm (Because You Really Need to Know)

englishJoomla@akolyte.com (Olivia Mason) — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 02:12:44 +0000

Sarcasm is found almost anywhere. Using it for fun or to shield themselves, nearly everyone everywhere has used sarcasm. It is found in the works of Karl Marx and in the Bible. Because it is difficult to detect when used in writing or in over the internet, people use universal marks and emoticons that roll their eyes to mark sarcasm, so that the reader knows not to take it literally. Recently, a software company introduced the SarcMark, a downloadable symbol to place after sarcastic comments. This dark form of humor is common in today’s culture, but why? What exactly is the purpose of sarcasm?