Spoken Language Features in Internet Discussion Groups

Discourse on the Internet takes place in a medium that lies on the borderline between the written and the spoken word. Even though texts are undoubtedly written down, terms such as chat, talk and speak are commonly used to describe the exchange of messages. By studying certain features that can be considered characteristic of spoken English (discourse markers and ellipsis), a chat group and a news group are examined to see whether there is a difference regarding the occurrence of these features, and if so, what these differences are