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Because Internet makes a linguist's case for l33t speak, other online-text fads
The Internet has done good things to the English language.
That's the most important thing linguist Gretchen McCulloch has to say in her book, Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language. Though many prominent opinion-havers rage about the imminent death of the English language at the hands of emoji-wielding teenagers, the Internet has done no more harm to English than television, radio, or dime novels.
In fact, McCulloch makes a compelling argument that Internet language, and emoji in particular, is restoring life to the relatively emotionless medium of text. For hundreds of years, public writing was limited to formal contexts like newspapers and books, written by educated people using very formal language for the edification of other educated people. Even fiction draws a clear line between informal dialogue and formal narration. On the Internet, on the other hand, the lines are much less clear. Private, informal writing (like shopping lists or notes passed between students at the back of a classroom) is now publicly visible, and the conventions developed by individuals or small groups for writing informally can spread and interact on a global scale. To McCulloch, this is more exciting than it is scary, and reading Because Internet might convince you to feel the same.
[...] McCulloch is on a mission to make linguistics relatable—and, hear me out, she's on a roll in that respect. She does this not only through Because Internet, but also through Lingthusiasm, the podcast she co-hosts with fellow linguist Lauren Gawne. As its name suggests, Lingthusiasm shows off the hosts' enthusiasm about linguistics and calls on its listeners to get excited about a wide variety of linguistic topics, such as how vowels work, the ways people from different cultures talk about time, and why efforts to create a single world language never catch on. On Lingthusiasm, McCulloch and Gawne dispel myths about language and inspire the kind of excitement that turns curious students into scientists. And in Because Internet, McCulloch continues to demystify and delight.
(Score: 5, Funny) by PartTimeZombie on Monday November 04 2019, @01:50AM (8 children)
Look, come on guys. I hate young people as much as anyone...
...actually that's all.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 04 2019, @02:11AM
637 0ff my l4wn.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 04 2019, @02:56AM (3 children)
SoylentNews ...is old people!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 04 2019, @03:37AM (2 children)
good thing we can't smell through the intertubes...
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 04 2019, @04:40AM (1 child)
SN smells like Bengay and Fixodent.
(Score: 2) by edIII on Monday November 04 2019, @06:05AM
Nonetheless, TMB is an amazing asset for us to have and we should be thankful.
Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
(Score: 2) by legont on Monday November 04 2019, @02:45PM (2 children)
Perhaps, you are not old enough. One typically hates the next generation, but loves grand children. At least this is how it works for me.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday November 04 2019, @03:44PM (1 child)
Works both ways.
Simple example . . .
Q. What kind of music will be popular with the teenagers?
A. Whatever is most shocking to the adults!
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 2) by Bot on Tuesday November 05 2019, @01:28PM
Is it still valid?
Because last time I went to a club, and wasn't even the oldest there, the music was not particularly shocking. In fact it seems we have transitioned from the kraftwerk-style electronic music where the sound itself is structural, to vangelis-style electronic music, which is music done with electronic instruments. Techno and hip hop are stuck in stylistic mannerism with all their subgenres, trap, dubstep, xyz... Reggaeton is traditional mediterranean music as reinterpreted by the rest of the world, with the same artistic value as a polka, pop echoes the production techniques en vogue for the same old pap.
Last time I went to a pub with dj set, I was with the oldest ones, which were partying, while the youngsters kinda danced and the couple of well dressed and groomed black youngsters looked uneasy.
Account abandoned.