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Running Head: EVOLUTION OF 1

The Evolution of Internet Linguistics:

How Netspeak is Saving the English Language

Salem Frias

University of North Georgia

EVOLUTION OF INTERNET LINGUISTICS 2

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine and discuss the concept of “internet linguistics” and how it impacts written . Because this field is new, the available data and scholarly articles on this topic are extremely limited, which caused me to compile my own research and draw from my own experiences with internet linguistics. By studying the writing styles of , tweets, and other social media posts, I found underlying rules and self- imposed regulations regarding the usage of certain syntactic styles, which are presented in the paper. The results declared that, within internet linguistics, there are multiple different facets which affect the tone and emotion of written conversation. These styles of writing can be considered entire registers of , and follow universally accepted rules of usage.

Furthermore, I have found correlations between the different understandings of internet linguistics and generational exposure, which furthers my hypothesis that the idea of written

English dying out may be caused by a misunderstanding of its evolutionary steps towards more emotional and conversational writing. My findings support my beliefs that the evolution of internet linguistics is a positive sign of the livelihood of written English, and that the commonly held belief by grammarians that this new style of discourse signals the fall of written language is a fallacy with no scientific data to back up such claims. Overall, I believe that that my research has supported my initial observations, and offers up a new perspective for linguistic research into the evolution of English usage in virtual space.

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There are approximately 392 million blogs on website Tumblr.com. Known as the birthplace of what is being referred to as “internet linguistics,” the website is filled with virtual conversations and self-reflective commentary written in a style that many prescriptive grammarians claim is the “perversion and degradation of the written English language.” With different styles of appearing and evolving in what seems on almost a monthly basis,

“netspeak” is constantly creating new avenues to allow for different emotions and tones in written speech.

Comparatively to traditional writing, which allowed for vast amounts of misinterpretation, netspeak creates specific tones to accurately depict the speaker’s feelings. These styles of writing, however, are attacked for bending and playing with the prescriptive rules of ; English professor Eleanor Johnson blames the internet for the increase of informality and grammar/ errors in scholarly writing ("Experts Divided Over Internet

Changes to Language", 2010). While there is no scientific data to back this claim up, many grammarians denounce the “updates” to written English as a bastardization of grammar rules and regulations.

However, in 2008 rhetoric and composition professors Andrea A. Lunsford and Karen J.

Lunsford published a study that evaluated 50 student papers to determine whether this change in the usage of written language was actually affecting student literacy. The result showed that students made the same amount of errors in 2006 as there was in 1917, and the essays written were significantly longer – an average of 1,038 comparatively to the meager

162 nearly ninety years prior (Mistakes Are a Fact of Life: A National Comparative Study,

College Composition and Communication, 2008, 792). Students are more comfortable with expressing themselves through written because of their exposure to social media, and have become adept at code-switching from the informal registers used during conversations with friends to the more formal and academic registers required for scholarly work; if EVOLUTION OF INTERNET LINGUISTICS 4 anything, the rapid changes to internet linguistics show how written forms of communication are being updated to fit the needs of the conversers; this evolution of language is a core characteristic of how English itself functions and should not be condemned for its appearance.

While the Millennial generation is credited with the initial creation of internet linguistics, it is

Gen Z, or iGen, that has grown/is growing up with this constantly updating style of conversation, and we are fluent in this way of communication. We have grown up with and online discourse, and therefore grew up with netspeak. Leading expert on internet linguistics , in an essay, stated that netspeak differs from traditional writing in that it “displays dynamic change…it is primarily non-linear in character…and its technology permits unprecedented graphic behaviour” (Sarangi & Crystal, "Final frontiers in ?", 2003); this claim holds true – iGens are constantly developing new ways of expressing emotion and tone through written conversation and ideas. And because of our innate relationship with technology, as the rules of internet linguistics change and update, we update with them. To quote Crystal (2005):

The language’s resources for the expression of informality in writing have hugely

increased – something which was largely lost…rather than condemning it, therefore,

we should be exulting in the fact that the Internet is allowing us to once more explore

the power of the written language in a creative way. (The Scope of Internet

Linguistics, pg. 2)

Linguist Gretchen McCulloch has devoted her work to the study of internet linguistics and keeps a running documenting how netspeak is evolving. By looking through and reading her blog, I have confirmed my own suspicions; within the realm of internet linguistics there are new syntactical styles that mimic speaking patterns, allowing for more accurate EVOLUTION OF INTERNET LINGUISTICS 5 depictions of emotion and tone. For example, the question mark in parentheses. By placing these three characters next to a word, it is possible for the writer to express doubt and uncertainty in a way that can only be done using full-body language (Prokopetz, 2017). There are also different styles of emoting via word choice and grammar usage.

One of these styles is the rhetorical statement – by not using grammar, netizens have created a new form of syntax to create the self-rhetorical comment, something that has been missing from English grammar since proto-English (prismatic-bell, "Vienna Waits", 2015). The lack of punctuation in posts creates rhetorical speech; in traditional writing, there are no specific punctuation styles that mark a comment as rhetorical. The creation of this rule (which is, in fact, a rule; it is universally agreed upon as a standard form of speech) has satisfied a deficit over 1600 years old, and it was created by Millennials and iGens to fill their linguistic needs.

This is not the first time these two generations have bent the rules of prescriptive grammar, either.

In English, there is no formal or informal “you” when speaking. Whilst there was originally a formal/informal “you” in early modern English, it phased out of use a few hundred years ago

(Pressley, "Thou Pesky "Thou""). However, the internet has allowed for a revival of the formal/informal second-person; the difference between “u” as an informal, impolite second- person pronoun and “you” as the formal, polite pronoun is generally accepted as a grammatical rule. When using “you,” there tends to be more of a serious tone to the message

(figure 1).

There is also the case of written emotives, such as the keysmash. Because of its potential to be accidental and hold no real meaning, there are rules attached to the creation and implementation of a deliberate keysmash. Keysmashes are the written equivalent of slamming on a desk or throwing something in a fit, and must only be used in situations that EVOLUTION OF INTERNET LINGUISTICS 6 call for such a reaction. The jumble generally uses the home row keys, and in a deliberate order to ensure that the smash isn’t seen as a purely accidental one. They are used in moments of incomprehensible rage or other strong emotions.

Furthermore, there are assigned rules for different types of punctuation and their usages.

Periods are used for emphasizing, especially negative emphasis. Exclamations, alternatively, are positive emphasis; a single question mark is simply a question, but three or more becomes the expression of disbelief or uncertainty (Dove, 2017). The lack of punctuation in a sentence, as discussed earlier, also has its own rules of usage.

Coupled with the use of and emojis, traversing online conversations becomes quite complex, as tone and emotion change depending on which icon is used with which variation of a word. Emojis can add emphasis or clarification when coupled with words or used as pauses between words (see the clapping emoji used as a spacing mechanism laced with sarcasm/bitterness). Emoticons, depending on their genre, can change the entire context or meaning of a sentence. A prime example of this is the use of the “Lenny” face ( ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ), which changes the meaning of a once-innocent, plainly stated sentence to an innuendo/reference, as seen in figures 2 and 3.

In addition, the different variations of words hold different meanings and tones. A notable example of this is the difference between the word “small” and the word “smol.” “Small” refers to size; “smol” is used as a diminutive marker and refers to something that is small and precious/beloved. Another distinct example of this phenomenon (which McCulloch refers to as typographical nuance) is the varied usage of the word “no.”

The tone of “no” changes based on capitalization and punctuation usage, as well as the addition of extra vowels (McCulloch, 2016). The baseline tone of “no” is uncapitalized and without punctuation; adding a period creates the tone of aggravation, and capitalizing the “n” EVOLUTION OF INTERNET LINGUISTICS 7

[“No”] alludes to a determined/resolute meaning. Writing “No.” sets the tone as confrontational and angry, and “NO” becomes yelling. The usage of “nooooo” becomes a moan of regret or displeasure, while “~no~” denotes sarcasm. The use of a hashtag marks an aside, while asterisk quotes show emphasis. Further examples can be found in the multiple variations of “ha.”

“Ha,” “haha,” “hehe,” “heh,” “hahaha,” and “hhhhh” are all variations of “ha” as a base word; the usages, interestingly enough, are all wildly different. Ha is used almost solely to display bitterness; haha is used for sarcasm or, when used at the end of a sentence and followed by exclamation marks, barely-constrained anger; hehe is mischievous in tone and often ends a devious thought or concept; heh is used in self-deprecating situations and wry humour; hahaha is used in disbelief or as empty laughter that has no real meaning behind it; hhhhh is used for breathless laughter, the kind of throaty chuckle. All of these variations, save for “hhhhh,” are not actually used to denote amusement.

Laughter, in netspeak, is generally not depicted through actual laughing onomatopoeia; instead, phrases like “I’m dying” or “I can’t breathe” in various capitalizations are used to express humor. Well-known like “lol” and “lmao” are no longer used to denote laughter; they, too, have developed new meanings. “Lol” is now used to diffuse tense situations, show or request sympathy, self-deprecating humour (following morbid or gallows humour; see figure 4), or to show coyness (McSweeney, "lol i didn’t mean it! LOL AS A

MARKER OF ILLOCUTIONARY FORCE"). Alternatively, “lmao” is used in self- deprecation or bitter disbelief (see figure 5). These uses are drastically different from the original meanings, which is still used by later generations.

The differences in how written conversation unfolds between generations is striking; while

Gen X is concerned with following the strict prescribed grammar styles taught in school, Gen EVOLUTION OF INTERNET LINGUISTICS 8

Y and Z are more concerned with how the sentence looks, and more importantly, sounds.

("Fantasy & Fanfiction", 2017). For example, whilst native netspeakers shy away from ellipses when responding to people (as they have developed the tonal usage of a fall), Gen X and Babyboomers gravitate towards their usage to create phrasal spacing and written pauses.

They have a tendency to avoid exclamation marks and use excessive abbreviations and shorthands, opposite of the younger generations.

My mother is a prime example of this; she never spells out words like “you” or “to” and doesn’t understand the difference between “ha,” “haha,” “hahaha,” and “Ha.” She constantly uses ellipses and gets frustrated or annoyed when I ask her why she’s angry with me after sending a text. For her, the way her texts look doesn’t matter; it gets her points across.

To me, and others around me, we write the way that we speak; the messages have to flow the way they would in spoken conversation. For instance, we don’t actively say “gee-to-gee”

(g2g) when speaking; we say, “got to go.” In a brief survey in a class of 23 people, 20 students, all within the Millennial generation, said they would not use the abbreviation, but would instead spell out the phrase. Most people under the age of 30 follow this style of writing.

There is a debate among linguists on whether netspeak is a grapholect or a register; whilst arguments could be made for both, McCulloch and I both fall on the side of registers (L. &

McCulloch, "Tumblr language as dialect, grapholect, or register?", 2013). Registers in linguistics are defined as being varieties of a language used in particular social settings or for a particular purpose ("Register (discourse)", 2013). Netspeak is not a dialect [which some people like to call it] as dialects are regional in nature, but instead changes based on circumstances and topics. Netspeak could also be considered a written form of pidgin. EVOLUTION OF INTERNET LINGUISTICS 9

Therefore, my research has found that the language of the internet is not a sign of written

English’s demise; it is simply a new style of writing for different registers on a virtual plane.

The truth of the matter is simple: netspeak is borne of necessity. With the rise of online communication, there has grown a need for the ability to accurately present tone and emotions in written conversation. Every year the so-called colloquial “rules” of internet linguistics updates itself to better reflect the conditionals of its usage in daily life; new ways of expressing volume and styles of rhetoric appear near-daily, and archaic ways of expression are retired in a similar fashion to spoken English. The Linguistic Society of America states that “living languages must change, must adapt, must grow…the only languages no longer in flux are those no longer in use” (Finegan, " What Is 'Correct' Language?", 2012), and that’s exactly what this written evolution does for the language. There is less miscommunication because of the ability to distinguish meaning through writing style; over time, the ability to accurately depict emotion via netspeak will become an accepted form of communication – not just within the sphere of social media, but also within quasi-professional and professional interactions.

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Figure 1. Rhetoric on the usages of “you” and “u” in netspeak...... 11 Figure 2. Usage of the “Lenny” face as a suggestive censor...... 11 Figure 3. Usage of the “Lenny” face to represent innuendo...... 12 Figure 4. Artwork depicting the usage of "lol" as a qualifier for gallows humour...... 12 Figure 5. Rhetoric on the usage of “lmao” as a self-deprecative humour marker...... 13

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Figure 1. snowgall.tumblr.com (2015).

Figure 2. KnowYourMeme (2016). EVOLUTION OF INTERNET LINGUISTICS 12

Figure 3. KnowYourMeme (2017).

Figure 4. theniftyfox.tumblr.com; Lucas (2016). EVOLUTION OF INTERNET LINGUISTICS 13

Figure 5. amayazari.tumblr.com; Jade (2017).

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=false

D. (2017, December 2). [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://stanzicapparatireplayers.tumblr.com/post/168103393903/anemotionallyunstablecreatur e-a6-u-kno-when-u

F. (2017, December 17). Fantasy & Fanfiction. Retrieved February 21, 2018, from https://feynites.tumblr.com/post/168623069349/runawaymarbles-averagefairy-old-people- really

Finegan, E. (2012, September 27). What Is 'Correct' Language? Retrieved February 21, 2018, from https://www.linguisticsociety.org/resource/what-correct-language

L., & McCulloch, G. (2013, August 26). Tumblr language as dialect, grapholect, or register?

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McCulloch, G. (2016, April 25). Retrieved February 21, 2018, from http://allthingslinguistic.com/post/143398801292/ladysparklefists-idk-i-just-love-how-we- young EVOLUTION OF INTERNET LINGUISTICS 15

McSweeney, M. A. (2016, March 8). Lol i didn’t mean it! LOL AS A MARKER OF

ILLOCUTIONARY FORCE[Scholarly project]. In Michelle A. McSweeney, PhD. Retrieved

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Pressley, J. M. (n.d.). Thou Pesky "Thou". Retrieved from http://www.bardweb.net/content/thou.html

Prokopetz, D. J. (2017, August 18). David J. Prokopetz. Retrieved February 21, 2018, from https://prokopetz.tumblr.com/post/164336428372/i-love-the-whole-question-mark-in- parentheses

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V. (2010, January 15). Experts Divided Over Internet Changes to Language. Retrieved

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(2015, April 20). Retrieved February 22, 2018, from https://snowgall.tumblr.com/post/116951732635/genderqueermulder-reservoircat

Oi do you really wanna know? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°). (n.d.). Retrieved February 22, 2018, from http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/1159788-%CD%A1-%CD%9C%CA%96-%CD%A1- lenny-face#trending-bar

What the ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) did you just ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)ing say about me, you little ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)? (n.d.). Retrieved

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