When one looks at the kind of language produced from this combination of written medium and spoken mode, one finds that traditional models of text and discourse analysis simply do not serve to describe the language that is created. Therefore, my PhD proposal is to create a new model for pragmatic linguistic analysis of online text and discourse.
In order to create this new model, I will require a large database of spontaneous online text and discourse. Although the legality of using online text and discourse in research will be an important issue to consider, my understanding at the moment is that any text on a webpage is considered published and is part of the public domain, as is any "speech" used in a public chat room; however, I will have to obtain permission from anyone involved if I want to use text from private speech or email.
In addition to--and in combination with--the new model for analysis, two of the major issues I want to address in my research include formality (for example, how does the immediacy of the medium affect traditional business language?) and semiotics (how do the symbols a writer chooses in online communication affect the message they are trying to convey? Consider symbols such as ;) and :-(, as well as "hackerspeak"-words such as l33t (elite), d00d (dude), h@X3r (hacker), and pr0n ("pron" for porn)).
Even though the current models for analysis do not work well to define online communication, they are still relevant to my desire to create a model of my own: I will want to study models of traditional text and discourse analysis and the issues that these theoretical models give birth to when they are applied to real situations. I will then be able to foresee possible problems with my own model and hopefully iron them out before they become major obstacles.
As the part-time PhD will run over a minimum of 45 months, I propose the following timetable: The first 3 to 6 months will be mainly concerned with studying existing models of analysis, as well as reading any literature that is concerned with new communication. After that, I want to spend at least 12 months acquiring various types of online communication: chat room conversation logs, business and personal email, commercial and amateur web pages, newslist/newsgroup conversations, and instant message logs, as well as any language from any new technology that might have developed in the intervening time. (At this stage, I will of course acquire permission to use the language for research purposes whenever that permission is required.)
Of course, 12 months of gathering data will yield a huge amount of information to investigate. I want to spend at least the next 12 to 15 months trawling through my database of online language and testing it against current models of analysis. This step is necessary in order to ascertain which parts of existing analysis work to describe how online language operates, which parts do not work, and why they do or do not work.
After this time I should be ready to develop my own model for analysis. Developing this model and writing my finished paper should complete the PhD in roughly the time frame allowed. I do have to consider the possibility that there could be huge, sudden advances in online technologies that could possibly affect my research, so I will have to remain aware of what is going on in the online world throughout these 45 months. If I keep track of new developments and remain flexible, my research should not become irrelevant by the time it is complete.
My MA was also concerned with this topic, though in a much broader sense. My BA was also an English language and literature degree. In successfully completing those degrees, I have acquired 5 years of research experience. This experience will be valuable in keeping me on track throughout my PhD research.
Thesis (coming in a few years!)