Internet slang

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Internet slang (Internet language, netspeak, or chatspeak) is slang that Internet users have popularized and, in many cases, coined. Such terms often originate with the purpose of saving keystrokes, and many people use the same abbreviations in text messages and instant messaging. Acronyms, keyboard symbols, and shortened words are often methods of abbreviation in Internet slang.

In other cases, new dialects of Internet slang such as leet or Lolspeak develop as ingroup memes rather than time savers. In leet speak, letters may be replaced by keystrokes of similar appearance.

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[edit] Origins of internet slang

In 1975, Raphael Finkel at Stanford compiled a collection, the Jargon File, of hacker slang from technical cultures such as the MIT AI Lab, the Stanford AI Lab (SAIL), and others of the old ARPANET AI/LISP/PDP-10 communities. Two items on this list in current use as internet slang are "flame" and "loser". By 1990 the Jargon File had been enriched with examples of shorthand used in talk mode between two terminals (for example, "BTW", "FYI", and "TNX") as well as some slang expressions in use on Usenet and new commercial networks like Compuserve (for example, "LOL", "ROTF", and "AFK".) [1]

A Computerworld article discussing the origin of some current web slang terms cites a still-online Fidonet article from 1989, [2] which displays emoticons in addition to all-caps shorthand like "LOL" and "BRB".[3]

[edit] Spread of internet slang beyond computer-mediated communication

This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters.

Many items of internet jargon cross from computer-mediated communication to face-to-face communication. For example, the NY Times collected "buzzwords of 2008" include "FAIL", "longphoto" (a term coined by Flickr for videos less than 90 seconds long), and various terms starting with "tw-" inspired by the web service Twitter. .[4]

Teenagers now sometimes use internet acronyms in spoken communication as well as in written, for example, ROFL (pronounced /ˈroʊfəl/ or /ˈrɒfəl/) and LOL (pronounced /ˈloʊl/, /ˈlɒl/, or /ˌɛloʊˈɛl/). David Crystal says that the crossover from written slang to speech is "a brand new variety of language evolving, invented really by young people, within five years". [5]

Other commentators disagree, saying that these new words, being abbreviations for existing, long-used, phrases, don't "enrich" anything; they just shorten it.[6][7] Furthermore, linguist Geoffrey K. Pullum of the University of Edinburgh states that even if interjections such as LOL and ROTFL were to become very common in spoken English, their "total effect on language" would be "utterly trivial".[8]

Laccetti (professor of humanities at Stevens Institute of Technology) and Molsk, in their essay entitled The Lost Art of Writing,[9][10] are critical of the acronyms, predicting reduced chances of employment for students who use such acronyms, stating that, "Unfortunately for these students, their bosses will not be 'lol' when they read a report that lacks proper punctuation and grammar, has numerous misspellings, various made-up words, and silly acronyms." Fondiller and Nerone[11] in their style manual assert that "professional or business communication should never be careless or poorly constructed" whether one is writing an electronic mail message or an article for publication, and warn against the use of smileys and these abbreviations, stating that they are "no more than e-mail slang and have no place in business communication".

Yunker and Barry[12] in a study of online courses and how they can be improved through podcasting have found that these acronyms, and emoticons as well, are "often misunderstood" by students and are "difficult to decipher" unless their meanings are explained in advance. They single out the example of "ROFL" as not obviously being the abbreviation of "rolling on the floor laughing" (emphasis added). Haig[13] singles out LOL as one of the three most popular initialisms in Internet slang, alongside BFN ("bye for now") and IMHO ("in my humble opinion"). He describes these acronyms, and the various initialisms of Internet slang in general, as convenient, but warns that "as ever more obscure acronyms emerge they can also be rather confusing". Bidgoli[14] likewise states that these initialisms "save keystrokes for the sender but [...] might make comprehension of the message more difficult for the receiver" and that "[s]lang may hold different meanings and lead to misunderstandings especially in international settings"; he advises that they be used "only when you are sure that the other person knows the meaning".

A 2003 study of college students by Naomi Baron found that the use of initialisms even in computer-mediated communication (CMC), specifically in instant messaging, was actually lower than she had expected. The students "used few abbreviations, acronyms, and emoticons". The spelling was "reasonably good" and contractions were "not ubiquitous". Out of 2,185 transmissions, there were 90 initialisms in total, only 31 CMC-style abbreviations, and 49 emoticons. [7] Out of the 90 initialisms, 76 were occurrences of "lol".[15]

[edit] Linguistic analysis

Shortis[16] observes that ROTFL is a means of "annotating text with stage directions". Hueng, [17] in discussing these acronyms in the context of performative utterances, points out the difference between telling someone that one is laughing out loud and actually laughing out loud: "The latter response is a straightforward action. The former is a self-reflexive representation of an action: I not only do something but also show you that I am doing it. Or indeed, I may not actually laugh out loud but may use the locution 'LOL' to communicate my appreciation of your attempt at humor."

David Crystal[18] notes that use of LOL is not necessarily genuine, just as the use of smiley faces or grins is not necessarily genuine, posing the rhetorical question "How many people are actually 'laughing out loud' when they send LOL?". Franzini[19] concurs, stating that there is as yet no research that has determined the percentage of people who are actually laughing out loud when they write "LOL".

Bonnie Ruberg, in an article concerning internet linguistics shares the following insight, "In a world of text communication where real-life facial expressions and vocal intonations are impossible, abbreviations like "lol" sacrifice their real meaning in order to articulate our nuanced intentions. They, in and of themselves, become glib, cliche -- while at the same time almost necessary for expression online."[20]

Victoria Clarke, in her analysis of telnet talkers,[21] states that capitalization is important when people write "LOL", and that "a user who types LOL may well be laughing louder than one who types lol", and opines that "these standard expressions of laughter are losing force through overuse". Egan[22] describes LOL, ROTFL, and other initialisms as helpful as long as they are not overused. He recommends against their use in business correspondence because the recipient may not be aware of their meanings, and because in general neither they nor emoticons are (in his view) appropriate in such correspondence. June Hines Moore[23] shares that view. So, too, does Lindsell-Roberts[24], who gives the same advice of not using them in business correspondence, "or you won't be LOL".

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Jargon file, version 2.1.1 (draft) 12 JUN 1990
  2. ^ FidoNews (May 8, 1989)
  3. ^ Computerworld (November 7, 2008) "FWIW -- The origins of 'Net shorthand"
  4. ^ Mark Leibovich and Grant Barrett (December 21, 2008). "The Buzzwords of 2008". NY Times. NY Times. http://www.nytimes.com/ref/weekinreview/buzzwords2008.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink. 
  5. ^ NPR "OMG: IM Slang Is Invading Everyday English" by Neda Ulaby (February 18, 2006
  6. ^ Neda Ulaby (February 18, 2006). "OMG: IM Slang Is Invading Everyday English". Digital Culture. National Public Radio. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5221618. 
  7. ^ a b Kristen Philipkoski (February 22, 2005). "The Web Not the Death of Language". Wired News. http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,66671,00.html. 
  8. ^ Geoffrey K. Pullum (January 23, 2005). "English in Deep Trouble?". Language Log. http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/001829.html. Retrieved on 2007-05-03. 
  9. ^ Silvio Laccetti and Scott Molsk (September 6, 2003). "Cost of poor writing no laughing matter". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/0603/08special_writing.html. 
  10. ^ Stevens Institute of Technology (October 22, 2003). Article co-authored by Stevens professor and student garners nationwide attention from business, academia. Press release. http://howe.stevens.edu/babbio/pressroom/20031022-368-writingoped.html. 
  11. ^ Shirley H. Fondiller and Barbara J. Nerone (2007). Health Professionals Style Manual. Springer Publishing Company. pp. 98. ISBN 0826102077. 
  12. ^ Frank Yunker and Stephen Barry. "Threaded Podcasting: The Evolution of On-Line Learning". Dan Remenyi Proceedings of the International Conference on e-Learning, Université du Québec à Montréal, 22-23 June 2006: 516, Academic Conferences Limited. ISBN 1905305222. 
  13. ^ Matt Haig (2001). E-Mail Essentials: How to Make the Most of E-Communications. Kogan Page. pp. 89. ISBN 0749435763. 
  14. ^ Hossein Bidgoli (2004). The Internet Encyclopedia. John Wiley and Sons. pp. 277. ISBN 0471222011. 
  15. ^ Naomi Baron (February 18, 200r). "Instant Messaging by American College Students: A Case Study in Computer-Mediated Communication". American Association for the Advancement of Science. http://www.american.edu/tesol/Baron-AAAS-IM%20by%20American%20College%20Students.pdf. 
  16. ^ Tim Shortis (2001). The Language of ICT. Routledge. pp. 60. ISBN 0415222753. 
  17. ^ Jiuan Hueng (2003). "The emergence of pure consciousness: The Theatre of Virtual Selves in the age of the Internet". in Peter D. Hershock, M. T. Stepaniants, and Roger T. Ames. Technology and Cultural Values: On the Edge of the Third Millennium. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 561. ISBN 0824826477. 
  18. ^ David Crystal (September 20, 2001). Language and the Internet. Cambridge University Press. pp. 34. ISBN 0-521-80212-1. http://books.google.com/books?id=cnhnO0AO45AC&printsec=frontcover. 
  19. ^ Louis R. Franzini (2002). Kids Who Laugh: How to Develop Your Child's Sense of Humor. Square One Publishers, Inc.. pp. 145–146. ISBN 0757000088. 
  20. ^ Ruberg, Bonnie, "Naked in a Lawn Chair, LOL"
  21. ^ Victoria Clarke (January 30, 2002). "Internet English: an analysis of the variety of language used on Telnet talkers" (PDF). http://www.american.edu/lfs/tesol/2003%20Paper--Lg%20of%20the%20Internet.pdf. 
  22. ^ Michael Egan. Email Etiquette. Cool Publications Ltd. pp. 32,57–58. ISBN 1844811182. 
  23. ^ June Hines Moore (2007). Manners Made Easy for Teens. B&H Publishing Group. pp. 54. ISBN 0805444599. 
  24. ^ Sheryl Lindsell-Roberts. Strategic Business Letters and E-Mail. Houghton Mifflin. pp. 289. ISBN 0618448330. 

[edit] External links

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Internet dialects
See also Internet slang (at Wiktionary) · SMS language
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