The Semiotic Multifunctionality of Arabic Numerals in Chinese Online Discourse
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Abstract
This study investigates the use of Arabic numerals by Chinese internet users to create meanings beyond the numerals’ cardinal/ordinal values. Numerals are often used – individually, or in combination with other symbols – to convey a range of communicative meanings such as farewells, agreements, and compliments, as well as paralinguistic features. Over a three-month period, data were collected from three different types of social media sites: WeChat and QQ (online chatting software), Weibo (the Chinese version of Twitter), and bilibili.com (a video-sharing website). A total of 3,021 instances of non-cardinal/ordinal Arabic numeral uses were identified and classified into four categories: numeric homophones of Mandarin pinyin, numeric homophones that include other languages, onomatopoeia, and symbolic numeric conventions. These uses demonstrate complex linguistic/semiotic hybridity and a dialogic nature, facilitated by the technological affordances of the CMC context.
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