Tuesday, October 19, 2010

The Internet And Its Effect On Language


Throughout the modernization of language, society has had a need to develop languages, such as slang, with either purpose of excluding a certain audience or to design a language in ways that could be more efficient in meeting the needs of its users. Although we’re all familiar with this concept within secret societies or cults, most idioms today originate on the internet. Online communities, including groups of gamers, have developed slang as a method to converse with each other in a computer-mediated communication environment, which is a form of communication that occurs through any computer interface that acts as an intermediary between people.

Development of slang through the internet becomes so out of necessity simply due to the sheer volume of users one may be able to interact with. For example, one could argue that in order to handle larger people contacts effectively you could probably allocate more time to the assignment and exchange proper communication between you and the recipient. However, more than likely you will find yourself strapped of valuable time and may find a shortcut here and there by abbreviating a name, or condensing a long letter into smaller, more direct phrases. To the same regard, online gamers must also communicate as quickly as possible to minimize any potential down time, and, as such, they are an excellent source for studying the use of slang language as they communicate almost entirely through a computer interface and many gamer communities have developed their own vocabulary and idiomatic expressions (Crystal, 2001).

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