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Responses To Indirect Speech Acts In A Chat Room, Elizabeth C. Scheyder

Elizabeth C Scheyder

This study compares one aspect of computer-mediated communication (CMC) to oral communication by examining the types of responses that are given to indirect speech acts in a chat room versus the types of responses that are given in a telephone conversation. In this case, the chat room functions as a recitation meeting for an undergraduate course and the telephone conversations are taken from a study done by Clark in 1979. Indirect speech acts are those that have a literal meaning (e.g., “Do you have a dollar?” – the surface question is a request for information) as well as an indirect …