These are then systematically analysed to determine what properties govern the ways in which a conversation proceeds. Whilst Mead looked at conversation from a sociological perspective, Austin and Searle drew attention to the many functions performed by utterances as part of interpersonal communication. Austin and Searle's Speech Act Theory studies the exchange of messages in real-time between participants. The term Discourse Analysis does not refer to a particular method of analysis. Its analysis then extends out to its social and cultural context - a feature which my own research will pick up.
Pragmatics is the study of linguistic communication, of actual language use in specific situations.
Amongst the areas of linguistic inquiry, several main areas overlap. Pragmatics and semantics both take into account such notions as the intentions of the speaker, the effects of an utterance on listeners, the implications that follow from expressing something in a certain way, and the knowledge, beliefs, and presuppositions about the world upon which speakers and listeners rely when they interact. Pragmatics also overlaps with stylistics and sociolinguistics, and psycholinguistics, as well as discourse analysis. These areas are all concerned with the analysis of conversation and will be translated across to the study of conversation in chatrooms. My research will add to current knowledge by taking conversational analysis into electronic environments.