Introduction
In her book "Because Internet," linguist Gretchen McCulloch takes readers on a fascinating journey through the rapidly evolving landscape of language in the digital age. As the internet has become an integral part of our daily lives, it has also profoundly impacted the way we communicate, leading to new forms of expression, grammar, and even entirely new linguistic conventions.
McCulloch's work is a timely exploration of how the internet has transformed language, particularly English, at an unprecedented pace. She argues that the changes we're witnessing are not a degradation of language, as some critics might suggest, but rather a natural evolution accelerated by technology. This book offers valuable insights for anyone interested in understanding the new rules of communication in the digital era.
The Internet's Impact on Language
A New Era of Linguistic Change
Language has always been in a state of flux, constantly adapting to the needs and circumstances of its speakers. However, the internet has ushered in a new era of linguistic change that is occurring at a much faster rate than ever before.
McCulloch compares language to a house under constant construction. Just as a home is modified over generations to suit the changing needs of its inhabitants, language evolves to meet the communicative demands of its users. In the past, these changes happened gradually over centuries. For example, while modern English speakers can generally understand Shakespeare's works from 400 years ago, Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales" from 600 years ago is nearly incomprehensible without specialized study.
The internet, however, has dramatically accelerated this process. New words, expressions, and even grammatical conventions can now emerge and spread globally in a matter of months or even weeks. This rapid evolution is largely due to the unprecedented amount of informal writing that occurs online.
The Explosion of Informal Writing
Before the internet, most of the writing we encountered was formal in nature. Books, newspapers, and academic papers were all carefully edited and adhered to strict grammatical rules. Even in our personal writing, such as school essays, we were conscious of following proper spelling and syntax.
The advent of the internet and mobile phones changed this dynamic completely. Suddenly, writing became a daily necessity for ordinary people in the form of emails, text messages, and social media posts. This new type of writing is informal, immediate, and often unedited – much closer to spoken language than traditional written forms.
This explosion of informal writing has had a profound impact on language evolution. It has democratized the process of linguistic change, allowing ordinary users to coin new terms, repurpose existing ones, and create new conventions for online communication.
Internet Linguistics: A New Field of Study
The rapid changes in language brought about by the internet have given rise to a new field of study: internet linguistics. This discipline focuses on understanding how online communication is shaping language and why people communicate differently in digital spaces.
Internet linguistics has benefited enormously from the vast amount of data available online. Unlike traditional linguistic research, which often relied on laboriously recorded and transcribed conversations, internet linguists have access to millions of social media posts, text messages, and online discussions. This wealth of data allows researchers to observe language evolving in real-time and on a massive scale.
The Evolution of Internet Users
McCulloch identifies several distinct groups of internet users based on when they first came online. Understanding these groups helps explain different linguistic habits and attitudes towards online communication.
Old Internet People
The first group, "Old Internet People," were early adopters who got online when the internet was still in its infancy. These users tend to be highly computer-literate, as accessing the internet in those early days required technical knowledge. Old Internet People were instrumental in developing many of the conventions we now take for granted in online communication, such as acronyms like "BTW" (by the way) and "FYI" (for your information), as well as basic emoticons like :-) and :-(.
Full Internet and Semi Internet People
The next wave of users, "Full Internet" and "Semi Internet People," came online in the late 1990s and 2000s when the internet was becoming more accessible and mainstream. Full Internet People, often younger and still in school, used the internet primarily to communicate with peers on platforms like MSN Messenger and AOL Instant Messenger. Semi Internet People, on the other hand, tended to use the internet more for work and practical tasks, maintaining a more skeptical attitude towards electronic communication.
Pre and Post Internet People
"Post Internet People" are those who have grown up with the internet as an integral part of their lives, never knowing a world without social media and constant connectivity. In contrast, "Pre Internet People" are older individuals who initially resisted going online but were eventually compelled to do so as the internet became essential for everyday tasks.
The Unique Typographic Style of the Internet
One of the most interesting aspects of internet language is its unique typographic style, which has evolved to convey nuances that are lost in text-based communication.
The Period as a Sign of Passive Aggression
In chat-style conversations, which have become the norm for online communication, the period has taken on a new meaning. While traditionally used to end sentences, in online contexts, ending a message with a period can now convey annoyance or passive aggression. This shift occurred as people began separating clauses with new messages rather than periods, making the deliberate use of a period seem more forceful.
Capitalization for Emphasis and Shouting
Another convention unique to online writing is the use of all capital letters for emphasis or to indicate shouting. This practice developed as a way to compensate for the loss of vocal cues in written communication. When we speak, we can emphasize words by changing our tone or volume, but in text, we need other ways to convey these nuances.
The Evolution of Emoticons and "LOL"
The simple smiley emoticon :-) has a complex history and usage. Initially used as a substitute for a genuine smile in text-based messages, it has evolved to serve multiple functions. It can now indicate that a message is a joke, soften the tone of a potentially harsh statement, or even be used ironically.
Similarly, the acronym "LOL" (laugh out loud) has undergone significant changes since its invention in the 1980s. While it originally indicated genuine laughter, it has since evolved to signify appreciation of a joke, to defuse awkward situations, or to indicate irony. This evolution highlights how internet users adapt language to fill communicative gaps in online interactions.
Conveying Irony and Sarcasm
The difficulty of conveying irony in writing is not new – in 1688, John Wilkins proposed using an inverted exclamation mark for this purpose. While his suggestion didn't catch on, internet users have developed their own solutions. One popular method is using sarcasm tildes to surround ironic text, mimicking the rising and falling tones of a sarcastic voice.
The Rise of Emoji
Emoji have become an integral part of online communication, filling a crucial gap in electronic messaging. While some may view them as a cheapening of language, emoji serve important communicative functions.
The History and Popularity of Emoji
Invented by Japanese cell phone carrier SoftBank in the 1990s, emoji gained global popularity in the 2010s when major smartphone providers began supporting them. From an initial set of 608 symbols, the emoji library has expanded to over 2,800 characters, reflecting their widespread adoption and utility.
Emoji as Emblem Gestures
One way to understand emoji is as digital versions of emblem gestures – physical actions with specific, widely understood meanings, like a thumbs-up or a wink. Emoji allow us to incorporate these gestures into our written communication, adding a layer of nonverbal expression that was previously missing from text.
Emoji as Illustrations
Beyond representing gestures, emoji also serve as illustrations to reinforce or contextualize our messages. For example, birthday messages are often accompanied by cake, balloon, and gift emoji to visually emphasize the celebratory nature of the communication.
Social Media as the New "Third Place"
McCulloch draws a connection between social media and the concept of the "third place," a term coined by sociologist Ray Oldenburg in 1989. Oldenburg used this term to describe social spaces distinct from home (the first place) and work (the second place), which are essential for community building and civic engagement.
Social Networks as Digital Third Places
While Oldenburg didn't envision online spaces when developing his theory, social media platforms fit remarkably well into the concept of third places. They provide a welcoming atmosphere for recreation, relaxation, and conversation, allowing users to keep up with friends' lives and engage in casual social interaction.
The Impact on Teenage Socialization
For many adolescents, social media has become the dominant third place for socializing. Instead of physical hangout spots, teens increasingly turn to online platforms to chat, share updates, and interact with peers. This shift has even been linked to changes in teenage behavior, with some studies noting decreases in activities like underage drinking and sexual activity among post-internet generations.
Online Communities and Forums
Beyond social media, internet forums and online communities also function as third places. Platforms like Reddit host millions of topic-specific communities where users initially gather for shared interests but often stay for the social connections they form.
Memes: The Inside Jokes of Internet Culture
Memes have become a staple of internet culture, serving as a form of inside joke among various online subcultures. While the term "meme" predates the internet, having been coined by Richard Dawkins in 1976 to describe shareable pieces of cultural information, internet memes as we know them today have taken on a life of their own.
The Evolution of Internet Memes
Internet memes, typically featuring text superimposed on digital images, gained popularity in the early 2000s with the rise of image-sharing websites. Early examples like "lolcats" – funny pictures of cats with intentionally misspelled captions – set the stage for a new form of online humor.
Memes as Cultural Markers
The enduring popularity of memes lies in their ability to create a sense of belonging among community members. Creating or understanding a meme often requires insider knowledge of a particular subculture, reinforcing group identity and drawing boundaries around those who "get it" and those who don't.
The Doge Meme: A Case Study
The "Doge" meme, featuring a Shiba Inu dog with scattered text revealing its inner monologue, exemplifies how memes can be adapted by different subcultures. The meme's distinct linguistic style, characterized by intentional grammatical errors, was remixed countless times to reflect jokes within various communities.
The Accelerated Pace of Linguistic Change
Throughout "Because Internet," McCulloch emphasizes that while language has always been evolving, the internet has dramatically quickened the pace of change. The online world provides a perfect environment for linguistic innovation, free from the constraints of formal editing and traditional language authorities.
Democratization of Language Evolution
The internet has democratized the process of language change. No longer are new words and expressions solely the domain of dictionary editors or language scholars. Now, anyone with an internet connection can coin a term or repurpose an existing one, and if it resonates with others, it can spread rapidly across the globe.
Filling Communication Gaps
Many of the linguistic innovations we see online have developed to fill gaps in text-based communication. Without access to tone of voice, facial expressions, or body language, internet users have created new ways to convey nuance, emotion, and intention in their messages.
New Modes of Expression
While the constraints of digital communication have led to some creative solutions, the internet has also opened up entirely new modes of expression. Memes, for example, represent a form of communication that simply wasn't possible before the age of widespread image sharing and manipulation.
Conclusion
"Because Internet" offers a compelling exploration of how the digital age is reshaping language. Gretchen McCulloch's work challenges the notion that internet-driven language changes represent a degradation of communication. Instead, she presents these changes as a natural evolution, accelerated by technology and driven by our innate human need to connect and express ourselves.
The book highlights how the internet has democratized language evolution, allowing ordinary users to shape the way we communicate. From the repurposing of punctuation marks to convey tone, to the rise of emoji as a new form of nonverbal expression, to the use of memes as a shared cultural shorthand, we are witnessing a period of unprecedented linguistic creativity and change.
McCulloch's analysis also underscores the social aspect of these changes. The internet has created new spaces for community building and social interaction, functioning as digital "third places" where language and culture evolve in real-time. Understanding these changes is crucial not just for linguists, but for anyone seeking to navigate the complex landscape of modern communication.
As we move further into the digital age, the pace of linguistic change is likely to continue accelerating. By embracing and studying these changes, rather than resisting them, we can gain valuable insights into how language adapts to meet our evolving communicative needs. "Because Internet" serves as both a snapshot of this moment in linguistic history and a guide to understanding the new rules of language in the digital world.