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Internetspeak

12:01 / 17.12.03

I'm thinking about writing some short essay thing on my blog about the quick coalescence of the "internet dialect". You have it in English ("sux", "roolz", "d00d", s3x0r... I'm not that familiar with the English variety), but there's the Portuguese equivalent, which is rich, variegated and very irritating. They change the last "o" in every word for "u"; imitate babytalk with a profusion of "x"s and "k"s... it's like looking at a terrifying new continent. And it must be like this with every language.

But I'm short of resources. Could you people point me to articles you might have seen on the net, reports and so on, stuff that I could read that could help me get a better grasp of this phenomenon? Also, any theorical work on linguistic transformation would be nice. And of course, if you want to talk about the subject, your input in this thread would be greatly appreciated.

12:15 / 17.12.03

er... i know it's 2003 and this phenomenon has been going on for quite some time now. bear with me, I'm slow.

15:23 / 17.12.03

i was interested/surprised to see an entry for "hacker humor" on dictionary.com...you may want to check that out.
l33t5p3ak and 0WN3D!! are good words too.

20:42 / 17.12.03

0wn3ed (or 0wnZ0r3d) are passe nowadays. I think "pwn3d" is better, but I may be out of date there.

The net is vast and infinite.

21:34 / 17.12.03

Technically I think that's hacker speak and not internet speak.

I'm not trying to split hairs or anything, but you know, if you're going to write an 'essay' on it....

23:21 / 17.12.03

Could you have the one without the other, though? Hackers without internet?

It may have started with haxorz, but L3375p34|< is everywhere now... especially among online gamers. These days, j00 may p055355 M4D 5|<1LLZ and be the P|-|33R of n00bz without knowing any code at all.

Another variation has developed through sms text messages, you know, no vowels etc. I can understand using this in text messaging (when it's a chore to write, plus there's a character limit), but it's all over message boards and mail too. Hybridising with leet... gaining ground... aaaaarrghhh!

02:16 / 18.12.03

well, the the jargon file, obviously.

11:32 / 18.12.03

mixmage >
That being said; Bring on the new world language... =^_^=

Perhaps that's where de jade can go with the conclusion?

12:23 / 19.12.03

we all know the world is coming to an end when AQA and EDEXCEL start using "internet speak" and you are expected to answer the question using said language

Matthew Fluxington

14:02 / 19.12.03

I'm not really into the stuff being mentioned in this thread, but I'm all about the peculiar slang which Whatevs is being written in, and a number of ILM slang words and catchphrases have entered my personal lexicon.

I suppose I'm not really going with the premise of this thread though, since you're talking about dialects, and I'm talking about slang.

20:38 / 19.12.03

... but aren't the two words synonymous?

Here, they give the definition of slang as "dialect" and back it up with other synonyms like "patois". The linked dictionary definition mentions "Language peculiar to a group; argot or jargon: e.g. thieves' slang."

The definitions for dialect are pretty similar.

A dialect is a variation of a parent language. This mutation happens around any community... be it the little terms specific to families ("da-aad! she's being danky." etc), or the larger regional dialects, like geordie or cockney.

... or virtual communities.

This whole "speaking like a 'blog you read" is just the result of somebody "writing like they speak"... the local dialects, buzzwords, coolspeak of each 'blogger's home area being absorbed into the larger lexicon of internetspeak.

Oh my Brothers! You pony what your humble narrator is govoreeting?

Loanwords such as "shufti" and "pukka" were originally absorbed from other countries. Now, the dialects of sub-cultures influence the larger vernacular.

Bart: I have to go to the toilet
Otto: Say it in snowboard!
Bart: errr... I have to blast a dookie?
Otto: Dook away!

22:12 / 19.12.03

I'm not at all sure slang and dialect are synonymous. One can speak "BBC English" yet still make use of slang -- "And now, Kirsty, with the fucking nine o'clock headlines."

23:39 / 19.12.03

Yeah... I thought about it afterwards (D'oh! too late), it only works the one way round. I can call slang a dialect, but not vice versa.

I'm not sure I get you, Ignatius J. Are you talking about "Queen's English" or "received pronounciation" when you say "BBC English"? Certainly, a BBC newscaster would never say that word... it's not in their dialect

One can still speak Queen's English, even with a scottish accent... I get the feeling you're talking about swearing in a posh voice.

01:30 / 20.12.03

Aye, probably all of that, pro/prescriptive(?) grammar as well ... I refuse to believe that newsreaders never say "fuck" though, off-air at least.

12:26 / 22.12.03

I was thinking more along the lines of intentionally, if not *consciously* going for childlike talk, like girls who go "kekekekeke" for laughter, or anything kids are going for these days... and also I was aiming for more discussion, as in:

The Internet created a social environment apart of the one where you must rely on your appearance/charisma. Regular folk from real life who don't have intimacy with writing but *still* want to use the social environment of the internet had to develop their own codes and writing styles, without knowing any better.

Anyway, thanks for the input. I might have something soon, then I'll let you know.