Jelou pipol

Abstract

This study explores the characteristics of the language used in Twitch, one of the most popular streaming platforms worldwide, as an example of computer-mediated communication (CMC). Some of the most salient traits used to describe CMC are found in Twitch chat messages, as the paper will show, confirming that the communicative interaction that takes place among users of this platform matches the features of CMC described in the academic literature. Additionally, the synchronous and multimodal nature of this platform, as well as the pragmatic implications of the use of subscriber-exclusive emotes are peculiarities that must be considered for a comprehensive description of the language that takes place on Twitch. Lastly, in the case of the videogame chats in Spanish studied, the paper introduces as a key factor in the description of this language the characteristics of the lexicon: its foreign origin, its neological nature and its high level of terminological specialisation.