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Article published In: Dialogic Dimensions of the Digital
Edited by Răzvan Săftoiu
[Language and Dialogue 16:1] 2026
► pp. 74–99

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To communicate is to make communicate

Interaction and ventriloquation in an instant messaging service

 | Université de Montréal
 | Université de Montréal
Published online: 2 October 2025
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https://doi.org/10.1075/ld.00213.coo
Abstract
What happens when people interact through the exchange of texts in messaging software applications? Through these applications, people exchange messages that present them as doing certain things: informing, asking something, reassuring, joking, etc. These messages therefore act on people’s behalf. To account for this reality, we need to develop a theory of communication that allows us to analyze the phenomenon by which what we say or write speaks or do things on our behalf. We propose a ventriloquial approach to communication, that highlights that all communication is an act of delegation by which various signs express themselves on our behalf or the behalf of what we also represent and make present.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Literature review
  • 3.Ventriloquizing: A first version
  • 4.Communication as ventriloquizing
  • 5.Messages and ventriloquations
  • 6.Analysis of a text messaging conversation
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Note
  • References
References (78)
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