Caratteristiche della comunicazione e-mail: riflessioni su un corso universitario australiano di italiano L2

This is a pre-print of an article published in Rassegna Italiana di Linguistica Applicata 2004.This paper discusses a project involving the use of email exchanges in the Italian program at the Australian National University. Approximately eighty students participated in the project which consisted of two iterations of a one-to-one email conversation. We describe the language and content of the messages constructed by students in terms of the following features: • the effects of the spatial, temporal and psychological distance inherent in email communication • the hybrid nature of electronic communication which is situated between written and spoken discourse • the relationship of the formal and content aspects of electronic communication • the creative expression of the language produced