1) The document discusses the linguistic identity of "netspeak" or language used on the internet and whether it should be defined through prescriptivism or descriptivism. 2) Prescriptivism refers to how some people think a language should be used, while descriptivism refers to how a language is actually used. 3) The identity of netspeak is uncertain because it is a new, rapidly evolving vernacular created by internet users, with no clear rules yet around what is considered acceptable.

1. Language and the Internet
CHAPTER:
THREE

2. Chap 3
*Nadia Amaghou
*Abdelhamid Bousaadi

3. Nadia

HOW IS THE LINGUISTIC
IDENTITY OF NETSPEAK
UNCERTAIN ?
a) WHAT IS PERSCRIPTIVISM ?
b)
WHAT IS DESCRIPTIVISM ?
c)
WHAT IS BEST ?
 WHAT COUNTS AS ACCEPTABLE IN
NETSPEAK ?
a)
WHAT ARE THE “HACKER ETHICS” ?
b)
WHY AREN’T THEY APLICABLE ?

4. ?
WHY DO WE NEED A CHAPTER ON
IDENTIY?
“Language is a central feature of human identity.
LANGUAGE???
When we hear someone speak, we immediately
make guesses about gender, education level, age,
profession, and place of origin. Beyond this
individual matter, a language is a powerful
symbol of national and ethnic identity. (Spolsky,
1999, p. 181)”

5. Finding an identity

6. -

7. What is prescriptivism ?

8. What is descriptive ?

10. Refers to the structure of
a language as it is
actually used by
speakers and writers
Descriptive
Refers to the structure
of a language as
certain people think it
should be used.
Prescriptive

11. Prescriptivism vs descriptivism
• An interesting comparison: Samuel Johnson's
dictionary and Wired Style

12. Two Online Dictionnaires
?

13. • Wired Style: « when does jargon end and a new
vernacular begin?
• Samuel Johnson’s dictionary: «no lexicographer
shall imagine that his dictionary can embalm his
language, and secure it from corruption and
decay. »

14. • « Most of the netspeak authors are aware of the
importence of grounding their work in
descriptive reality. »

16.  Internet users are very creative. The rate at
which terms are being Coined has no parallel
in any language.
 Coining words has at least two objectives:
overcome the limitations of the electronic
medium and entertainment.

18. « If real internet
communities are
relatively small-scale,
Shared
they will demonstrate
Values
their solidarity by
evolving measure of
identity, some of which
Jargon
will be nonlinguistic and
some linguistic in
character »

19. OUTSIDERS
?

20. The future of the Netspeak is bound to..
1- the extent to which hacker-originated language has
developed a sufficiently stable identity for internet
useres.
2- the users’ production of new fresh linguistic directions,
evolving norms of stylistics usage which owe nothing
to hacker origines.

21. Abdelhamid
Making the rules
explicit

22. Some features of
Netspeak
One of the most obvious features
of Netspeak is the lexicon
lexiconthat
belongs to the internet.
internet
jargon of science
and
technology
Binary, Computer,
Cable, disk, bit ???

23. => Internet restricted situations
Software options and
commands
Software Error
messages
Computer
hardware
The Population of the
internet

24. “Any style guide which promotes one variety
of language at the expense of another is
prescriptive”
David Crystal

25. -1- Software options and commands
Look at page bellow

26. Error
-2- Software Error messages

27. Illegal
Operation
-2- Software Error messages

28. Forbidden
protocol
-2- Error messages

29. 404 Not
found
-2- Error messages

30. -3- Computer Hardware
Windows 95

31. -3- Computer Hardware
Windows 95

32. -3- Computer Hardware
Windows 7

33. -4- Population of Internet users

34. mouse
+
click
=
mouseclick
mouse
+
pad
=
mousepad
click
+
through
=
clickthrough
cost
+
per
+ click
= Cost-per-click

35. +
Prefix
=
es
+
=
+
=
+
=
+
=
+
=

36. Suffix
es

37. +
net
=
infonet
Internet
+
etiquette
=
netiquette
Internet
+
citizen
=
Netizen
data
+
program
=
datagram
Meet me at:
*%@ street, 24$//x
You want a ride?
2 near d McOm @
Then answer this
C u 2n8

39. Some features of
Netspeak
Another feature of
Netspeak is graphology.

40. emphasis
Don’t drink it! It’s bad