Abstract
Because of the pervasiveness of the text messaging medium, further understanding of meaning-making practices in text messages is desirable. This study offers new knowledge of the potential uses and meanings of the full-stop in text messages. Although the full-stop has become infamous for its potential negative connotations in text messages, few studies have evaluated uses of the full-stop in varied emotional contexts. For this study, text message Discourse Completion Tasks (DCTs) detailing different emotional contexts were given to undergraduate students. The uses of full-stops in the text message responses elicited with the DCTs were evaluated via two methods of analysis. First, a basic content analysis was conducted for the purpose of understanding the relative uses of the full-stop in the differing emotional contexts. Second, a semiotic analysis was conducted to understand more fully how exactly the elicited full-stops were deployed and what meanings they might convey. It was concluded that the full-stop is not always a device with a negative connotation, and that, in certain circumstances, the full-stop may be seen as more appropriate than other punctuation marks. It may even be seen as a conveyer of formality, seriousness, or earnestness. The study offers practical knowledge of how a certain typographical device is used, as well as the more theoretical knowledge that punctuation devices, like words, can possess a certain semiotic elasticity: their uses and meanings can vary, depending on the contexts in which they are deployed and the people who write and read them.
Highlights
Text messaging is an enormously popular medium of communication (Anderson, 2015; Heimlich, 2012)
Semiotic interpretation in a study such as this one must be done with a care, and so it should be plainly stated that literally every single message-medial usage of full-stops in this study’s data could be viewed as separating ideas standardly and in a non-exclamatory and non-interrogative way, just as every messagefinal full-stop could be viewed as ending the message standardly and in a non-exclamatory and noninterrogative way
The full-stop does contrast with the exclamation point in a fairly clear manner, in that it shows less excitement and less emphasis
Summary
Text messaging is an enormously popular medium of communication (Anderson, 2015; Heimlich, 2012). Further understanding of communicative practices within the medium is desirable. Texters use both verbal and nonverbal signs in constructing their messages (Albritton, 2017). Many recent studies have evaluated the use of emoji as a method of nonverbal meaning making in text messages (e.g., Bai et al, 2019; Danesi, 2016; Gawne & McCulloch, 2019; Logi & Zappavigna, 2021). This study seeks to elaborate understanding of the meaning making potential of the full-stop, which, while a rather humble mark in comparison with the colorfully and artistically rendered emoji, has become a remarkable symbol. Albritton other ways full-stops might function by observing how they are used in text messages in varying emotional contexts
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