Broadening the ontology of threats verbalized in written communication on the Internet

Abstract

The topicality of the research is justified by intensification of distractive communication between Internet users and by lack of understanding how to regulate such speech behavior, as the social function of internet-mediated communicative environment is still undetermined. The paper explores communicative features of threats-punishments and threats-warnings verbalized through written communication mediated by gadgets with access to the Internet. The aim of the research is to define the perlocutionary effect produced by verbalized threats based on written communication. Threats are understood as utterances containing a message about harmful consequences of the action of a threat sender towards a recipient of the threat if he or she will or will not do some action demanded in the threat. Verbalization means that threat is articulated in speech communication and realized in verbal form. The research hypothesis is tested on the basis of 68 threatening messages in the Russian language retrieved from contexts of speech communication in internet-messengers and on social network sites. We prove that the addresser (threatening person) verbalizes treats mostly in the form of punishments describing possible damage to the addressee’s (recipient’s) life and or health. We found out that threatening speech acts verbalized on the Internet are mostly similar in form and content to those realized in face-to-face communication. However, Internet threats are mostly determined as a reflection of emotional-modal state of the addresser in response to the actions of the addressee. Men are more active in the verbalization of threats-punishments, whereas women verbalize more threats-warnings. People tend to protect themselves by ignoring threats addressed to them. The obtained results clarify the idea of Internet-threat as affected speech behavior, the regulation of which is impossible within the framework of the existing legislation; therefore it is necessary to develop a criteria base consistent with public morality, with the participation of expert and academic communities and technological companies.