Virtual spaces, real interactions - Analyzing communication in virtual reality

This paper discusses how the immersive qualities of Social Virtual Reality (SVR) technology – the sense of presence in a simulated space, and a sense of embodiment through motion tracking and avatars – have an impact on verbal communication among its users. It argues that, rather than clearly distinguishing between technology-mediated versus analog types of spaces, bodies, and communicative acts, focusing on hybrid and blended forms of (for example) deictic referents promises deeper insights. This paper discusses results from research on a corpus of audiovisual data acquired in experiments with SVR. Beyond the concrete use case of SVR, adapting existing linguistic conceptualization to user experiences with novel technologies contributes to discourses on the interrelatedness of technological affordances and human action. • Communication in Virtual Reality challenges linguistic axioms about the intersection of language, body and space in speech. • Clear distinctions between technology-mediated versus analog types of spaces, bodies, and communicative acts are unhelpful. • Hybrid and blended forms of presence, perception, and linguistic action are observable and need to be framed conceptually. • Existing paradigms need to be refined, acknowledging the impact of the digitized body in the digital realm.