Cultural discourse in human-computer interactions: Linguistic aspects of digital communication

Abstract

Human-computer interaction (HCI) has drawn a lot of attention in the past few years from the technological viewpoint, however, there are several aspects that must be considered when dealing with optimizing HCI. Information technology is ubiquitous and so is digital communication which is conducted globally through the network, both the Internet and intranets of companies. Digital communication bears a significant aspect, similarly to any kind of communication, and it is the fact that it is based on cultural discourse. Due to the fact that any digital communication and human-computer interaction are culturally conditioned and it takes place in the global world of interconnectedness, it is always intercultural. The cultural discourse, manifested by linguistic means, of this communication, is one of the most important parameters which must be taken into account if we want to optimize information transfers and attempt to reach relatively lossless information transfer. The paper summarizes the results of the research which dealt with the issue of cultural narratives present in websites. The findings clearly show that the ICT students do not realize the importance of this aspect despite the fact that in business and other related areas the cultural narratives have already been researched sufficiently. The paper will be useful for ICT departments and managers as it draws our attention to this crucial aspect of HCI necessary for future technology enhancements.