The construction/apropriation of writing in the classroom of the "fundamental" school and in the internet chat

Abstract

At school, children build their initial written discourse by using an abbreviated, syncopated code because they do not master the written system yet; on the internet, in their informal chats, teenagers' use of abbreviations, syncopes, expansions, upper case also remind us of the initial school writing form. This article describes and analyses the phenomena mentioned above by trying to explain the possible similarities and differences in the data collected in varied circumstances and enunciatory environments in an attempt to contribute to the understanding of the cognitive processes of appropriation and production of writing by children and adolescents. Special emphasis will be given to the similarities and differences of those phenomena and processes.