New varieties,new creativities: ICQ and English-Cantonese e-discourse

Abstract

Internet Relay Chat-based computer-mediated communication provides a distinct space for social interaction and cultural contact, with new and inventive forms of language generated. Research has not fully investigated the specifically creative aspects of language in online interaction, and even less in communication between bilingual and multilingual speakers of English and other languages. Based on a 20,000-word corpus of private ICQ ('I Seek You') data and as evidenced in extensive examples of online communication, this article explores the linguistic creativity of a group of bilingual English-Cantonese speaking university students from Hong Kong. The study reveals the emergence of a bimodal, 'hybrid' spoken-written variety of English embracing an essentially informal, speakerly style that is produced in intimate, collaborative and synchronic contexts. The linguistic creativities in this variety, evidenced, in particular, by code-switching, loan translation and relexicalization, as well as by acoustic and graphical wordplay, represent an e-discourse repertoire that is used to achieve both specific interactional purposes and to articulate a dual cultural identity. The article argues that this form of creative computer-mediated literacy practice has a significant impact on the ways in which interactive and expressive meanings are conveyed.