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Component 02: Dimensions of linguistic variation
Quick questions on Online and digital language: analysing computer-mediated communication - OCR A-Level English Language
7short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is the features of computer-mediated communication?Show answer
Digital language has a recognisable toolkit, and naming the features precisely is the AO1 foundation.
What is the spoken-written blend?Show answer
The key concept is the mode continuum: digital language is neither purely spoken nor purely written but sits between, blending features of both. It is written in that it is typed and visible; it is speech-like in its informality, ellipsis, immediacy and interactivity. Different digital texts sit at different points (a formal email is more written; a group chat more speech-like), and reading where a text sits, and why, is a high-value AO2-plus-AO3 move that uses the mode continuum.
What is a model digital paragraph?Show answer
"The group chat's clipped, punctuation-light messages ('omw', 'u coming?') and its rapid turn-taking place it far towards the spoken end of the mode continuum: the abbreviation compresses for speed, the ellipsis mirrors the economy of casual talk, and the immediacy of the exchange resembles conversation more than correspondence. These are not failures of written English but adaptations to a fast, interactive medium without face-to-face cues, exactly the kind of speech-writing blend the mode continuum predicts."
What is a model emoji paragraph?Show answer
"The winking emoji at the end of an otherwise literal message does precise tonal work: it marks the preceding statement as ironic, a meaning the words alone leave open, substituting for the facial expression or intonation that would carry the irony in speech. Read functionally, the emoji solves the text-only medium's problem of conveying tone, which is why it is analytically a paralinguistic substitute, not decoration." This reads emoji as functional.
What is q1?Show answer
What does the mode continuum tell us about digital language? [2 marks]
What is q2?Show answer
Why are emoji best analysed as functional rather than decorative? [2 marks]
What is q3?Show answer
Analyse the distinctive features of a digital text and how they shape communication with its audience. [16 marks]
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