隨著網際網路的發展，線上社交媒體已廣泛使用於日常生活中。在台灣Line是智慧型手機最普遍流行的線上聊天媒體之一。然而，因為它是一個新穎的社交應用程式，目前較少研究著重於Line應用程式與語言使用之議題。之前研究論及與Line之功能與系統相似的即時訊息 (Instant Message) ，例如：Microsoft Messenger (MSN), and Yahoo! Messenger (YMSG)。但早先的研究主要針對年輕人而非中老年人。本研究探討台灣中年人在Line應用程式上所使用的一種特殊語言，稱之為「長輩文」。本研究宗旨不僅聚焦於分析長輩文如何成型，還探討中年人與長輩文之 符指關係：首先，藉由Silverstein 的「符指順序理論 (indexical order)」 針對長輩文的形成與結構詳加闡述；再者，加入Eckert的「符指範疇理論 (indexical field) 」，深入探討長輩文之潛在意義；除了文字分析外，亦運用Kress and van Leeuwen 的「多模態分析(multimodality analysis)」， 探究視覺表達的再現 (representational)，互動(interpersonal)，與構成 (compositional)之意義。
研究結果顯示，長輩文的社會意義可以符指中年人本身。中年人所傳達的立場與慣常的特點創造了微觀的言談 (micro-contextual discourses)，此言談可以被詮釋成宏觀社會型態 (micro-social types)。因為個體的社會經驗產生微觀的社交言談(如個體特色)，而這些言談可以共同形塑宏觀的社會言談型態 (如言談的集合)。另一方面，本研究發現長輩文的視覺意義能夠反映及呈現撰文者的情感與其活動。因此本研究頗析長輩文展現的再現、互動與構成之意義。此外，視覺意義如何輔助增強文字意義亦是本研究之重點。整體而言，本研究討論中年人與長輩文之間的關係、彼此如何連結在一起，以及其社會意義如何建構。

With the development of the Internet, various types of social media software have been widely used in daily life. In Taiwan, Line is one of the most prevalent online chatting media used on smartphones. However, little attention has been paid to the issue between Line application and discourse produced via it due to the fact that it is a relatively new social application. Previous studies investigated instant message (IM) such as Microsoft Messenger (MSN), and Yahoo! Messenger (YMSG), whose functions are similar to those of Line. Nevertheless, they mainly focused on young people instead of middle-aged or older people. This thesis aims to investigate zhang-bei wen, which is a discourse type by Taiwanese middle-aged people using Line application. This study analyzes not only the formation of zhang-bei wen but also the indexical relationship between middle-aged people and zhang-bei wen. The methods of analysis draw on several theoretical frameworks. First, Silverstein’s (2003) indexical order is adopted to elucidate the construction of zhang-bei wen. Secondly, Ecerk’s (2008) indexical field is applied to probe into the potential meaning of zhang-bei wen. In addition to verbal meaning, Kress and van Leeuwen’s (2001) descriptive framework of multimodality, comprising representational, interpersonal and compositional meaning, is also used to analyze the meanings of visual expressions.
The analysis reveals that the social meanings of zhang-bei wen can indexically represent the identity of middle-aged people. The stances and the habitual characteristics conveyed by middle-aged people create micro-contextual discourses, which can be construed as micro-social types because individual social experiences give rise to micro-social discourses (i.e., individual features) and these discourses can be projected to a type of a macro-social nature (i.e., a collective form of discourse). On the other hand, this study suggested that visual meaning within zhang-bei wen may reflect and represent the activity and emotions the addresser is involved in. Therefore, this study demonstrates the representational, interpersonal, and compositional meaning of zhang-bei wen. Besides, how visual meanings enrich the textual meaning is also analyzed in this thesis. By and large, this study aims to find out what relationship exists between middle-aged people and zhang-bei wen, how the link between them can be characterized, and how these social meanings are constructed.

論文審定書............................................................................................................................................i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.......................................................................................................................ii
摘要......................................................................................................................................................iii
ABSTRACT...........................................................................................................................................v
TABLE OF CONTENTS......................................................................................................................vii
LIST OF TABLES.................................................................................................................................x
LIST OF FIGURES..............................................................................................................................xi
LIST OF EXAMPLES..........................................................................................................................xii
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................1
1.1 Background and Motivation............................................................................................................1
1.2 Purpose of the Study....................................................................................................................3
1.3 The Organization of the Study........................................................................................................4
2.1 The Definition, Features, and Functions of Instant Messaging......................................................6
2.2 Studies on Instant Messaging......................................................................................................13
2.2.1 Studies on instant messaging among adolescents...................................................................14
2.2.2 Studies on instant messaging among young adults..................................................................16
2.3 A Critical Summary......................................................................................................................19
CHAPTER 3 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ...................................................................................21
3.1 Indexicality....................................................................................................................................21
3.2 Indexical Field..............................................................................................................................25
3.3 Multimodality.................................................................................................................................28
CHAPTER 4 RESEARCH DATA AND DATA ANALYSIS...................................................................34
4.1 Research Data.............................................................................................................................34
4.1.1 Research participants...............................................................................................................34
4.1.2 Line...........................................................................................................................................37
4.1.3 Data: zhang-bei wen (長輩文)...................................................................................................38
4.2 Data Analysis...............................................................................................................................45
4.2.1 Indexical orders of middle-aged identity: zhang-bei wen..........................................................45
4.2.2 Indexical field of zhang-bei wen................................................................................................54
4.2.3 Visual analysis of zhang-bei wen..............................................................................................62
CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................70
5.1 Summary and Implication.............................................................................................................70
5.2 Limitation and Suggestions for Further Studies...........................................................................75
REFERENCES...................................................................................................................................77

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