Theoriegestuurd taalbeheersingsonderzoek met oog voor de praktijk

TvT coverIn the lead article, Carel Jansen argues that practical issues in professional communication should be taken as source for academic research on language and communication. I first accept the claim that it is important for the research field to take the professional field of communication into account (1). I then explain why practical solution based on academic research usually take so long to develop (2). My opinions partly also diverge from Jansen, at least in two ways. I argue that researchers in language and communication already incorporate practice into their studies (3). I finally discuss a number of problems that seem to occur in applied research (4).

  • Hornikx, J. (2018). Theoriegestuurd taalbeheersingsonderzoek met oog voor de praktijk. Tijdschrift voor Taalbeheersing, 40 (2), 193-197 [link].

Het belang van taalbeheersing in onderzoek naar digitale communicatie

TvT coverWith the emergence of the internet and especially since the development of web 2.0, people increasingly communicate in an online environment. Be that as it may, this research domain has remained underexposed in Tijdschrift voor Taalbeheersing. The current special issue therefore addresses the importance of linguistic- and discourse-oriented research to explore the role of language in digital communication. On the one hand, the research papers in this issue investigate the influence of digital communication on communication styles. On the other hand, online genres are studied with large-scale corpora and (automatic) methods of analysis. We also highlight other research opportunities, such as whether digital communication changes the language use and proficiency of, for example, children and young people.

  • Hornikx, J., & Liebrecht, C. (2018). Het belang van taalbeheersing in onderzoek naar digitale communicatie. Tijdschrift voor Taalbeheersing, 40 (1), 1-12 [link].

Consumer tweets about brands: A content analysis of sentiment tweets about goods and services

JCCSocial media allow consumers to easily share positive or negative information about a brand with other consumers, for instance through Twitter. Such Twitter use is a source of information that may affect the brand reputation. Therefore, it is important to gain more understanding of how Twitter is employed to evaluate brands and to communicate these evaluations with others. Previous research on Twitter use has shown that tweets about brands are more likely to be positive than negative. The present study integrates an agenda-setting perspective with studies on word-of-mouth and services marketing, which have suggested that this finding may be different for services than for goods. A quantitative content analysis of 1920 Dutch tweets for 24 different brands was performed. The analysis showed that services receive significantly more negative sentiment tweets than products. Implications of these results for monitoring consumers are discussed.

  • Hornikx, J. & Hendriks, B. (2015). Consumer tweets about brands: A content analysis of sentiment tweets about goods and services. Journal of Creative Communications, 10 (2), 176-185. [link]

Review of “Persuasive messages: The process of influence”

We encounter persuasive messages everywhere at every moment of the day: in the newspaper in the morning, on television during lunch, at a business meeting in the afternoon, or around the dinner table with our families. Not only are we targets of other people’s attempts to persuade us, we also try to persuade other people. Being familiar with persuasion, however, does not make us experts in the art of persuasion already. There is much to learn about the process of influence, about the messages that are most likely to be effective, and about the factors that we should pay attention to. Persuasive messages: The process of influence introduces its readers to these matters. The authors of this textbook, William and Pamela Benoit, call it “a guide to successful persuasion” (xii). The authors want to offer their readers practical advice on designing persuasive messages. They have succeeded in their mission, in particular because their advice is firmly grounded in classic and current theories, and in empirical research findings.

  • Hornikx, J. (2008). Review of “Persuasive messages: The process of influence” by William Benoit and Pamela Benoit. Information Design Journal, 16 (2), 159-161. [pdf]

“Wat voor eikel ben jij?”

De hevige reacties op de jongerencampagne “Wat voor eikel ben jij?” voorspellen niet veel goeds voor de effectiviteit ervan. Is de campagne inderdaad te duur, beschamend en normvervagend of juist goed aangepast aan jongeren? Goed beschouwd is de eikelcampagne best goed doordacht, maar wel een tikkeltje gewaagd.

  • Hornikx, J. (2006). “Wat voor eikel ben jij?”, Gewaagde, maar doordachte boodschapaanpassing aan de doelgroep. Tekstblad, 12 (2), 14-18. [pdf]

Compte rendu de “Introduction aux théories de la communication”

Dans leur deuxième édition de l’Introduction aux théories de la communication, Jean-Pierre Meunier et Daniel Peraya proposent un cadre théorique pour l’analyse des messages audio-scripto-visuels dans une approche sémio-pragmatique et sémio-cognitive. C’est dans cette approche pluridisciplinaire que réside la plus grande richesse de cet ouvrage, qui est destiné aux enseignants, pédagogues et autres chercheurs dans le domaine des sciences de l’information et de la communication en général, mais aussi de la pragmatique, de la sémiologique et de l’éducation en particulier. Le lecteur appréciera également la façon dont les diverses théories sont présentées, discutées et integrées. Dans la deuxième partie du livre, où les messages audio-scripto-visuels sont analysés, les auteurs refèrent systématiquement aux théories de la première partie. La matière dont traite l’ouvrage est complexe, Meunier et Peraya le démontrent à plusieurs reprises. Toutefois, en ouvrant régulièrement des parenthèses certes intéressantes, les auteurs n’ont pas toujours simplifié la lecture de l’ouvrage volumineux. Par contre, les études de cas et le guide pour l’analyse des messages médiatiques, donné en annexe, sont très informatifs.

  • Hornikx, J. (2005). Compte rendu de “Introduction aux théories de la communication: analyse sémio-pragmatique de la communication médiatique” par Jean-Pierre Meunier et Daniel Peraya. Studies in Communication Sciences, 5 (1), 238-239. [pdf]