Brief Discourse Analysis

59 W 12th Street . October 17, 2007 . 12:16 am .

I chose the following dialogue for analysis simply because I enjoy watching people type in Japanese. It soon posed a dilemma however (and got a bit frustrating) because I do not speak or read Japanese. In the midst of it nonetheless I managed to engage in a very basic conversation (in English) with tommy7 Voom from Osaka.

In virtual worlds like Second Life computer screens appoint such a sharp separation between individuals that it complicates the interpretation of paralinguistic systems. I -at least- find that typed messages come across very differently than spoken ones. I often don’t “get” jokes or suggested connotations regardless of the use of emoticons and various fonts or colors. All capitals for example, consistently give me the impression that people are yelling at me.

I’ve come across avatars from Italy, France, Japan, Portugal, England, etc. thus far (speaking of paralinguistics, the other day I recognized a Mexican avatar the minute I saw her... just like it often happens to me in Real Life.) For the most part people use English to speak although my first conversation ever in Second Life was actually in French. I don’t type as fast or accurately in French as I do in English or Spanish so I remember it being very slow.

But with some patience and wit, language discrepancies can somewhat cease to be obstacle per one's adventures in Terra Firme. When they don’t though we must rely on people like Yossarian Seattle to come up with great ideas like this one:

http://eightbar.co.uk/2006/08/03/yossarian-breaks-the-language-barrier/

10-07

[23:00] Kou Fimicoloud: またねー
[23:00] kazusa Noel: うん、またね＾＾
[23:01] Message from Japan Resort: Thank you for requesting this information
[23:01] Goro Koba: ビールありがとう、こうすけ君
[23:01] kousuke Watanabe: いえいえ
[23:02] Goro Koba: 遅いけど。。
[23:02] JacobNeo Rowlands: 常連の方々ですか？
[23:02] kousuke Watanabe: ｗｗ
[23:02] You: Do you speak English?
[23:02] tommy7 Voom: ふふw
[23:02] kousuke Watanabe: ジェーコブさんどうぞ、座って＾＾
[23:02] tommy7 Voom: im japanese
[23:02] JacobNeo Rowlands: litte bit
[23:02] tommy7 Voom: little bit
[23:02] You: From Tokyo?
[23:03] tommy7 Voom: From JAPAN :)
[23:03] Goro Koba: i am Osaka
[23:03] tommy7 Voom: From Osaka
[23:03] kousuke Watanabe: ゴローさんのスキンって・・・
[23:03] kousuke Watanabe: 自作です？
[23:03] Goro Koba: なんだね＾＾
[23:03] Goro Koba: いえ、お買い上げです
[23:03] kousuke Watanabe: あはは
[23:03] kousuke Watanabe: なかなか、いませんぜ
[23:03] zokei Proto shouts: なぜ　答えてくれないの？
[23:04] JacobNeo Rowlands: Ainat Where are you from?
[23:04] Goro Koba: 間違って買ったことにしてるんだ
[23:04] kousuke Watanabe: あはは
[23:04] You: Mexico but I live in New York
[23:04] Miller whispers: Mmm... Ice-cold fine beer!
[23:04] kousuke Watanabe: 一度見たら、忘れません
[23:04] Goro Koba: コウスケ君、ちょっと教えてくれないかね
[23:04] kousuke Watanabe: どうぞ
[23:04] kousuke Watanabe: いらっしゃいませ、ひまりさん
[23:05] himari Forcella: こんにちは
[23:05] Goro Koba: えっとねーあのねーー
[23:05] kousuke Watanabe: ＾＾
[23:05] Goro Koba: こんにちは
[23:05] JacobNeo Rowlands: You usually trabelinng in several sites?
[23:05] * ZUMA sunset cocktail * whispers: Courtesy of ZUMA SURF RESORT
[23:05] kousuke Watanabe: あ・・・
[23:05] kousuke Watanabe: AZのモデルさん？
[23:05] You: Yes...
[23:05] kousuke Watanabe: じゃなく・・・
[23:06] JacobNeo Rowlands: Which site are better?
[23:06] Goro Koba: バーなどでチップって書いてる場合、きちんとチップを支払うのが礼儀かね、やっぱり。
[23:06] kousuke Watanabe: あはは
[23:06] himari Forcella: モデル目指してるけどｗ
[23:06] You: New York!
[23:06] kousuke Watanabe: いえいえ、払ってくれたら嬉しいですけど
[23:06] kousuke Watanabe: ほとんど、払わないですよ＾＾
[23:06] Goro Koba: そうですか
[23:06] tommy7 Voom: その。スキンとシェイプはモデルになれますよw
[23:06] JacobNeo Rowlands: Great! Your pendant is cute.
[23:06] kousuke Watanabe: あはは
[23:07] kousuke Watanabe: そうだね＾＾
[23:07] kousuke Watanabe: 綺麗ですよ
[23:07] Goro Koba: 綺麗です
[23:07] You: Thanks!

Arigato.

T