computer-mediated communication, sociolinguistics, language variation, virtual worlds, audience
Abstract
Research has demonstrated that speakers make linguistic choices in order to narrow or widen the social distance between a speaker and his or her audience. These choices are often based on a speaker’s awareness of an audience’s demographic profile, which is composed of characteristics such as age, gender, and ethnicity. The present study investigates the role that awareness of audience plays in influencing orthographic choices in a “demographically lean” community, i.e. an online community where demographic information about the audience is largely absent or intentionally obscured. Results indicate that awareness of audience remains a significant explanatory factor for style-shifting, even in the absence of many of the social cues present in demographically robust communities.
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