This document discusses internet linguistics and how language is changing due to the internet. It begins by defining internet linguistics as the study of language used in electronically mediated communication and how the internet influences language change. It then examines issues like whether texting ruins language and how internet language has properties of both writing and speech. The document also explores how internet vocabulary, syntax, and discourse patterns differ from traditional language and can influence language change. Finally, it discusses how internet linguistics can contribute to English language teaching.

2. INTERNET LINGUISTICS
•What is Internet linguistics?
•Issues on Internet linguistics
•Internet language: writing vs. speech
•Internet and language change

3. WHAT IS INTERNET LINGUISTICS?
•The study of language on the Internet and all forms of
electronically meditated communication
• How language is changed by the Internet

4. WHAT IS INTERNET LINGUISTICS?
•Internet linguistics is in the beginning stage.
•We can anticipate studies of
• Internet syntax
• Internet morphology
• Internet means of transmission (phonological, discourse, etc.)
• Internet’s communicative purposes and effects
• Applied Internet linguistics

5. WHAT IS INTERNET LINGUISTICS?
•The jungle of terminology
• Computer-meditated communication (CMC)
• Electronically-meditated communication (EMC)
• Netspeak
• the kind of language that is typically used when communicating
on the internet, for example short forms of words, initials, symbols
• Internet language

6. ISSUE: IS TEXTING A LINGUISTIC DISASTER?
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-483511/I-h8-txt-msgs-How-
texting-wrecking-language.html

7. ISSUE: IS TEXTING A LINGUISTIC DISASTER?
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-483511/I-h8-txt-msgs-How-
texting-wrecking-language.html

8. ISSUE: IS TEXTING A LINGUISTIC DISASTER?
•Text messages are not full with abbreviations.
• In a Norwegian study: Just 6%
•Many of abbreviations was used before the arrival of
mobile phones or the Internet.
• “Cos” (because) have been in OED since 1828.

9. INTERNET LANGUAGE: WRITING VS. SPEECH
•Speech
• Time bound
• Dynamic
• Transient
(continuing for only a short time)
•Writing
• Space bound
• Static
• Permanent

10. INTERNET LANGUAGE: WRITING VS. SPEECH
•Internet language is identical to neither speech nor writing.
•Internet language selectively and adaptively displays
properties of both speech and writing.

11. INTERNET LANGUAGE: A MIXED MEDIUM
•Internet language varies with respect to similarities with
speech and writing.
• Websites - Reference publishing / advertising / etc.
- Science / law / news / religion / etc.
• Chats - We type to speak.
- Time governed / expecting immediate responses

12. INTERNET LANGUAGE: A MIXED MEDIUM
•Internet language varies with respect to linguistic
complexity.
• News website
• Twitter (140 characters limited)
• Email

13. INTERNET LANGUAGE: A MIXED MEDIUM
•Internet language varies with respect to communicative
functions.
• Factual or social content in - Websites?
- Emails?
- Chatrooms?

14. INTERNET LANGUAGE: A MIXED MEDIUM
•One difference between Internet language and speech is
simultaneous feedback.
• Vocalizations (hmm, really?)
• Facial expressions
• Gesture (nodding, hand movements)
•The lack of simultaneous feedback creates misunderstandings.

15. INTERNET LANGUAGE: A MIXED MEDIUM
•To solve misunderstandings, emoticons (or stickers) come.

16. INTERNET LANGUAGE: A MIXED MEDIUM
•Do emoticons (or stickers) solve misunderstandings?
• The sematic role of emoticons is still limited.
• An emoticon allows many readings.
• They can allow misunderstandings as well.

17. INTERNET AND LANGUAGE CHANGE:
CULT DIALECTS
•Meme – an image, a video, and
a piece of text passed very
quickly from one Internet user to
another, often with slight
changes that make it humorous

18. INTERNET AND LANGUAGE CHANGE:
CULT DIALECTS
•Meme – an image, a video, and
a piece of text passed very
quickly from one Internet user to
another, often with slight
changes that make it humorous

19. INTERNET AND LANGUAGE CHANGE:
CULT DIALECTS
•Meme – an image, a video,
and a piece of text passed
very quickly from one Internet
user to another, often with
slight changes that make it
humorous

20. INTERNET AND LANGUAGE CHANGE:
CULT DIALECTS
•LOLcat – a phonetic and
deliberately grammatically
incorrect caption that
accompanies a picture of a
cat

21. INTERNET AND LANGUAGE CHANGE:
CULT DIALECTS
•Textspeak – the abbreviated language used in text
messaging and other forms of electronic communication.
• FYI
• For your information
• IMHO
• In my humble opinion
• B4 that, we used 2go2 NY 2C my bro
• Before that, we used to go to New York to see my brother.

22. INTERNET AND LANGUAGE CHANGE:
CULT DIALECTS
•Textspeak – Some textspeaks, if
used over a period of time,
finally earn a place in a
dictionary.

23. INTERNET AND LANGUAGE CHANGE:
VOCABULARY
•The Internet creates its own vocabulary.
• Youtuber, cyberbully, blog, tweet, vlog, etc.

24. INTERNET AND LANGUAGE CHANGE:
VOCABULARY
•Internet vocabulary also has an influence on everyday speech
and writing.

25. INTERNET AND LANGUAGE CHANGE:
VOCABULARY
•With over a million lexical items in English, a few thousand
Internet vocabulary is hardly of great significance.

26. INTERNET AND LANGUAGE CHANGE:
SYNTAX
•Syntactic constructions seem to be the same as those found in
non-electronic media.

27. INTERNET AND LANGUAGE CHANGE:
SYNTAX
•However, there are significance differences in sentence
length, types, and complexity, related to the constraints of
several outputs.

28. INTERNET AND LANGUAGE CHANGE:
PRAGMATICS
•Analyze these two speech acts. How would you answer them?
• What are you doing?
• What’s happening?

29. INTERNET AND LANGUAGE CHANGE:
PRAGMATICS
•Created in 2006, Twitter changed its prompt to elicit a user
response in 2009, from “What are you doing?” to “What’s
happening?”

30. INTERNET AND LANGUAGE CHANGE:
STYLISTICS
•For the most part, what we see online looks similar to what
we see offline.
•A very small proportion of a language’s vocabulary,
grammar, and orthography has been affected.
•The main evidence for language change on the Internet is
found in discourse patterns that characterize the various
outputs.

31. INTERNET AND LANGUAGE CHANGE:
STYLISTICS
•What is the text probably taken from?

32. INTERNET AND LANGUAGE CHANGE:
STYLISTICS
•During each advance in communication technology, there has
been the emergence of language management strategies.
•The same process has happened with the Internet.
• Domain names
• Emails
• Online games
• Facebook
• Etc.

33. INTERNET LINGUISTICS:
CONTRIBUTION TO ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING
•Some Internet language can be introduced into classrooms to
develop students’ sense of appropriateness and help students
communicate in social networks.
• Translation of textspeaks into more formal language, and vice versa.

34. INTERNET LINGUISTICS:
CONTRIBUTION TO ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING