people with a closer relationship use more slang and less formal language while texting.
The language we use when texting is altered by the relationship between the individuals. The closer the relationship of the pair the more slang or less formal language used. This is commonly shown in texting.
the formality of the words we use in a context with people that we don’t know is very different to the way we talk to people we know very well. If you were texting someone who your relationship is very new the language used it usually much longer and formal. For example saying ” I can’t attend tonight’s class as i am unwell, so sorry” is a formal way of stating this. However if you were saying this to a friend it would be said more like ” ugh im not coming to class im sick 🙁 ” These two ways of explaining the same reasoning are said in different ways due to the relationship of the individuals. This is because the formal english language is universal and known through generations, however the abbreviating and shortening of words are new linguistic features only just introduced into this generation.
When having a quick texting conversation with a friend is usually use much shorter or abbreviated words this is because firstly it is just much quicker and easy to type this is because the human brain finds it easier to comprehend and remember shorter words. studies show that they average attention span for humans as decreased from 10 seconds to 8 seconds from 2000 to now. Meaning that most humans prefer words to be quicker to type and to read. This is mainly shown in text conversations with close friends, for example a recent conversation i have had with a friend… ”
You’ve made some good observations here about the way we modify the way we use language depending on who we’re talking to.
I think you will want to explore further the fact that we don’t only change things simply because they are simpler to type or easier to read but also because they convey more information about our relationships with each other – text conversations are often very specific to the specific individuals who are talking.
This means that sometimes we will convey in text conversations a lot of information that is more commonly conveyed in speech rather than written language. In other situations where we write we’re usually writing to an audience of many – perhaps even people we don’t know – so we have to use a much more universal form of communication. Usually written language is designed only to be read silently rather than heard so none of the features of spoken language are particularly relevant.
I’d be very keen for you to integrate these ideas into what you’ve already written as well as to get more specific examples than you already have of exactly these features and action in your transcript.