Exploring the Interface of Interlanguage (L2) Pragmatics and Digital Spaces

Abstract

In a growing, multilingual world, learners across the globe need to be prepared for a society and a workforce in which most communication is with people in other places and, most often, mediated by technology. As a language learner, being able to use different modes of communication for remote participation, understanding authentic electronic discourses, and engaging in digital communities are essential for success in our technology-saturated world. Thus, expanding one’s language repertoire to adapt to a multiplicity of communicative contexts is fundamental. Participating in a multilingual world is usually understood as being able to speak a language (i.e., having language fluency, and sometimes accuracy as well as complexity). We know, however, that being a competent speaker of a language involves more than being fluent. As González-Lloret (2019) points out, a capable speaker needs to engage in appropriate language use to effectively accomplish any communicative act. A speaker that is grammatically competent but inappropriate will be regarded as impolite or unfriendly (Thomas, 1983). This may have critical consequences, especially in high-stakes situations such as business interactions, formal introductions, and work interviews. Furthermore, the dynamic nature of human interaction requires speakers and listeners to shift their language use as the context, mood, or expectations of their interlocutor(s) change, making it a Editorial