Electronic mail, a new written-language register: a study with French-speaking adolescents.

The aim of this study was to determine the extent to which the linguistic forms used by adolescents in electronic mail (e-mail) differ from those used in standard written language. The study was conducted in French, a language with a deep orthography that has strict, addressee-dependent rules for using second person personal pronouns (unfamiliar and familiar forms). Data were collected from 80 adolescents ages 12 to 15 in a natural situation where they had to introduce themselves by e-mail to two addressees (peer/teacher). Participants were divided into two groups (skilled/unskilled in computer-mediated communication). Their emails contained a large number of orthographic deviations (the most frequent being neographic forms). Participants skilled in computer-mediated communication (CMC) deviated more than unskilled ones did. The number of orthographic deviations was not linked to the participants' standard writing ability. The personal-pronoun data clearly showed that adolescents used the familiar form of 'you' (tu) to address the peer and the unfamiliar form (vous) to address the teacher. We conclude that, for adolescents, e-mail constitutes a distinct written-language register. Nevertheless, the e-mail register seems to follow the pragmatic rules of standard spoken and written interaction.

French-speaking children's understanding of sarcasm: the role of intonation and context.

The aim of this study was to examine a form of sarcasm that has hardly been considered to date, sarcastic requests, at an earlier period of development than addressed in past developmental research. This article looked specifically at the role of intonation and context in sarcastic-request understanding by native French-speaking children ages 3 to 7 years. Forty-eight children (16 per group) had to complete stories that varied on 2 factors: intonation (sarcastic and neutral) and context (sarcastic and neutral). To maximize the contrast between the 2 types of intonation, the same phrase expressing sarcasm was added at the end of each test utterance. As a methodological control, the intonation of this phrase was evaluated both acoustically (by a computerized signal editor) and perceptually (by a group of adult participants). It turned out that the experimental task was too difficult for the 3-year-olds. However, this study offers some highly interesting information about sarcastic-request understanding by 5- and 7-year-olds. The ability to take into account cues that help children understand sarcastic requests evolves considerably between the ages of 5 and 7: 5-year-olds appear to primarily base their interpretation on intonation; it is not until they are 7 that children are also able to take context into account. Thus, intonation seems to be an earlier cue than context in sarcastic-request understanding.