Timeline for Third-person singular used for emphasis in online communication -- Why?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
11 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Oct 4, 2023 at 9:34 | comment | added | Yellow Sky | It's most probably taken from the way theatrical plays are written in books. A l b e r t o: Hello, my dear Francesca! [looks at his watch] Oh!.. How short our meeting was!.. I have to leave instantly!... | |
| Oct 2, 2023 at 20:45 | history | edited | urro | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Oct 2, 2023 at 20:30 | comment | added | LjL | @GrahamH. I believe that's because certain protocols and conventions that emerged on the internet made it natural. Other people have mentioned IRC, that's one clear example. Other protocols also offer "/me" functionality, so on the ones that don't, people were used to it and "added" it using their own conventions, such as asterisks. In turn, I think the reason it feels natural to have "/me" functionality in chat protocols is that the most conspicuously missing thing in text chat compared to real-life interactions is the absence of actions. Wanting to "emulate" actions is then natural. | |
| Oct 2, 2023 at 20:27 | comment | added | LjL | I think this is a linguistics question, if a slightly unusual one. | |
| Oct 1, 2023 at 21:47 | comment | added | Colin Fine | I think you mean textual. Textile is about woven (or other) fabric not about text. | |
| Oct 1, 2023 at 19:49 | comment | added | Lambie | This is a style question, not a linguistics question. Textile situation? The s is for says the speaker. | |
| Oct 1, 2023 at 19:41 | comment | added | Graham H. | @LjL That’s probably true, but why does winks not feel “quite weird” but “I’m winking at you” does? | |
| Oct 1, 2023 at 18:01 | comment | added | LjL | We do it to pretend it's an action, just like you said. "I'm winking at you" would imply you're really doing it and feel quite weird. | |
| Oct 1, 2023 at 1:18 | answer | added | Draconis♦ | timeline score: 2 | |
| S Oct 1, 2023 at 0:49 | review | First questions | |||
| Oct 2, 2023 at 20:45 | |||||
| S Oct 1, 2023 at 0:49 | history | asked | urro | CC BY-SA 4.0 |