The use of the asterisk symbol in repair in WhatsApp chats

Seminar paper from the year 2021 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1,0, University of Potsdam (Institut für Anglistik und Amerikanistik), course: The Grammar of Text Messaging, language: English, abstract: Building on previous studies and research conducted in the conversation analysis (CA) field of repair, with special regards to repair in chat-based communication, this paper will examine the extent by which the asterisk symbol is used for repair in WhatsApp chats. Furthermore, the paper will pinpoint the environments in which it is used and try to determine patterns of usage.

As instant messaging services began to gain in numbers and importance, linguists working in the conversation analysis (CA) field started to apply the principles of CA that originally were only defined as applicable for spoken interactions onto chat-based interactions. While research initially focused more on the system of turn taking and its similarities and differences from the oral turn taking system, after the turn of the century, researchers began looking into other aspects of chat- based communication that could be analysed on the basis of CA. Among them, the aspect of repair. A very common phenomenon that occurs in online communication, and especially in WhatsApp chats, is the appearance of the little star symbol *. This symbol, called the asterisk, derived from the Greek word for ¿little star", serves a variety of purposes in a variety of fields, including mathematics, programming and, as we will see shortly, text messaging. While it can appear in relation to annotations, mathematical formulas and even Google search requests, in text messaging, the asterisk is most commonly used for either bolding or emphasising of words, adding information about tone or repairing a mistake that was previously made.