The language of the mobile phone manual: Reading challenges to serve the technology
Abstract
This article presents the results of a research study undertaken with different mobile phone users, focusing on the manual reading effects and impacts on the readers and on the use of this device. By relying on genre theory (Volochinov, 1988 [1929]; Bakhtin, 2000; Bazerman, 2006) and on the Sociodiscursive Interaction (Bronckart, 1999; Schneuwly, 2004), the aspects related to the manners of apprehension, constitution and circulation of the genre mobile phone user manual were analyzed. Despite the fact that the mobile phone users faced some difficulties during the manual reading – a fact that compromises its communicative purpose the analysis shows that the dominant language capacity required for this genre is the one which describe and prescribe actions. The study of the language used in this genre helped to identify its general characteristics and focus on the major problems present in its elaboration and apprehension by different levels of knowledge users.
Key words: textual genre, language, manual, technology.Downloads
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