Transcript Cyberspace and language change.  The medium with more significant impact on language usage as well as change than the telegraph, telephone, radio, cinema,

Cyberspace and language change.

The medium with more significant impact on
language usage as well as change than the
telegraph, telephone, radio, cinema, and TV all
combined.

Internet and Gutenberg's printing machine in
1436.

Internet and Norman invasion in England of
1066.
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However, just as any past invention, the
Internet's impact on society in general and on
language in particular has raised opposing
standpoints.

The Internet has caused considerable damage
in terms of language usage and written
proficiency.

The Internet threatens national borders
through manifest foreign influence and
hegemony.

The Internet threatens the existence of
linguistic minorities and the linguistic identity
of oppressed communities and nations.

The Internet as a flat space promotes learning,
democracy, and cultural understanding.

Language change is inevitable and cannot be
stopped.
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Languages are open systems.
Change occurs as long as a language has a
speech community.
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English is seen as the lingua franca of the
world.
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The Internet promotes efficient communication
and bridges the gap between cultures and
nations.

The Internet is not a site of oppression.
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The Internet has promoted the revival of
endangered languages strengthening and
revitalizing speech communities.

However, how can we assert that the Internet,
as the information highway of the twenty first
century, is affecting speech and writing in a
negative manner?

Can we attribute to it all instances of language
change, or is language change a natural
occurrence in any speech community?

Or is the Internet merely another social
environment conducive to community
building, where people develop their modes of
communication and language skills in the same
way that they have done through traditional
means throughout human history?
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The Internet remains a positive force for social
change.
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Its impact on language is far from being
negative.

Cyberspace has provided a positive platform
that is conducive to:

Massive contact,
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Community building,
Language change
 Language shift.

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The Internet, as has been the case for any new
invention, is being blamed for most of the
perceived ills of our societies, including
language deficiency and language shift.

There is "nothing new about fears
accompanying the emergence of a new
communications technology" (Crystal p2).

In the fifteenth century, the Church thought of
printing "as an invention of Satan" because it
was thought that "the dissemination of
uncensored ideas would lead to a breakdown
of social order" (Crystal, p2).
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The telegraph was thought to be the medium
that "would destroy the family and promote
crime" (Crystal, p2).

The telephone and broadcasting were thought
to have negative effects on society as the first
“would undermine society,” while the second
was thought to “be the voice of propaganda”
(Crystal, p2).
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Language pundits in the US.
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The Internet threatens the existence of
language as linguistic heritage
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The Internet has caused English to become
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Deficient
Sloppy
adulterated
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Lack of consensus

How to counter the Internet’s impact without
violating net neutrality and free speech.
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What constitutes a linguistic threat for some is
progress for others.

What would be the appropriate remedy for bad
spelling, bad grammar, or bad usage?
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l'Académie française
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The enforcer that ensures the proper usage of French
language to preserve its purity.

Recently, France developed and launched a
computer program that automatically replaces
English words with French words
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As an example, some these words are:
Baladeur = Walkman
 Logiciel = Software
 Courrier = Email
 Dialogue en ligne = Chat
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Campaign Objectives

Stopping American Imperialism

How?
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By replacing all American words with Spanish
equivalents .
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Host = Servidor
Mouse = Ratón
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Staff = Equipo
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Email
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"punctuation tends to be minimalist in most
situations, and completely absent in some e-mails
and chat exchanges" (Crystal, p94).
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Computer mediated communication (CMC) :
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Chatting
Texting
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The new generations and particularly teenage
users are the ones who have “introduced
several deviant spellings” (Crystal, p9), such as
kool = cool,
fone = phone
and B4 = before.
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David Campbell states that “Email, blogs, chat
rooms, MySpace and Facebook seem to be
treated as "trash" forms of communication
where good spelling and grammar are
irrelevant.”
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The Internet has enriched the English language
Affected our cultural identity
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Transformed the way we think
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Do things
Communicate
Manage time for the sake of efficiency and
expediency.
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Global connections among individuals,
communities and nations.
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language acquisition
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Mother language
Second language
Foreign language
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Allowed isolated and disenfranchised
communities to come out of their isolation and
strengthen the bond with their cultures.
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Chatting and Texting
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lol: laughing out loud
a/s/l: Age/Sex/Location
dur: do you remember
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“1337 sp34k” or LEET SPEAK
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n00b13: n00bie = noobie, newbie, a novice and also a
person who is stupid.
Ebonics Leet: j0 1s 4 n00b13 6r0! = yo is a newbie
bro!
I h4x0rd you = I hacked you
I h4x0r j00 = I hacked you

Aralish
2: Sou2l = Question
 3: 3mal = Work
 5: O5ti = My sister
 7: A7lam = Dreams
 8: Al8dra = Speech (La Parole)
 9: 9mar = Moon.

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English as superstratum
Colonialism
Linguistic Oppression
Science
Commerce
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Skånska cementgjuteriet 1887
Became SKANSKA in 1984
eliminate diacritics in letters such as å/Å, ä/Ä, and
ö/Ö to make their products internationally
marketable
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Claire Kramsch from university of California,
Berkley and Steven L. Thorne from
Pennsylvania State University, the Internet and
computer mediated communication (CMC) are
helping student learn a second language.
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Cyberspace overcame distance
Forced cultures to open to each other
Sometimes bridging the gap
Other times widening it.
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The general consensus is that “the Internet will
accelerate ongoing changes in languages and
affect the cultural attitudes, norms, and values
of internet users” (Hansson and Bunt-Kokhuis,
August 2004).
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Internet has enriched languages
Allowed minorities to reclaim their linguistic
heritage
Language revival
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Native American languages, Hawaiian, and a
host of other devalued languages having a
strong presence on cyberspace
Empowering their communities
Attracting even outside new speakers.
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Cultural identity and community
identification, which are almost impossible to
attain in traditional settings, especially by
people who do not share community traits,
such as multiracial individuals and
marginalized ethnic groups, have been possible
through interneting communities.
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Change in itself is a natural occurrence as long
as there are speech communities. Therefore, in
the words of Franklin Roosevelt, we really
have nothing to fear except fear itself. In the
world of bits and bytes, similarly to the world
of mortar and bricks, English is doing fine and
does not need anyone to defend it. Languages
are open systems that change from within and
from without as long as they are alive.