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Title details for Because Internet by Gretchen McCulloch - Available

Because Internet

Understanding the New Rules of Language

by Gretchen McCulloch
Gretchen McCulloch
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!!
Named a Best Book of 2019 by TIME, Amazon, and The Washington Post
A Wired Must-Read Book of Summer  
“Gretchen McCulloch is the internet’s favorite linguist, and this book is essential reading. Reading her work is like suddenly being able to see the matrix.” —Jonny Sun, author of everyone's a aliebn when ur a aliebn too  
Because Internet is for anyone who's ever puzzled over how to punctuate a text message or wondered where memes come from. It's the perfect book for understanding how the internet is changing the English language, why that's a good thing, and what our online interactions reveal about who we are.
Language is humanity's most spectacular open-source project, and the internet is making our language change faster and in more interesting ways than ever before. Internet conversations are structured by the shape of our apps and platforms, from the grammar of status updates to the protocols of comments and @replies. Linguistically inventive online communities spread new slang and jargon with dizzying speed. What's more, social media is a vast laboratory of unedited, unfiltered words where we can watch language evolve in real time.
Even the most absurd-looking slang has genuine patterns behind it. Internet linguist Gretchen McCulloch explores the deep forces that shape human language and influence the way we communicate with one another. She explains how your first social internet experience influences whether you prefer "LOL" or "lol," why ~sparkly tildes~ succeeded where centuries of proposals for irony punctuation had failed, what emoji have in common with physical gestures, and how the artfully disarrayed language of animal memes like lolcats and doggo made them more likely to spread.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    July 23, 2019

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780525626176
      • File size: 230592 KB
      • Duration: 08:00:23

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      McCulloch's critical exploration of how linguists better understand language fluidity in the age of the Internet will provoke and challenge listeners who lambast the demise of civilization writ large in changing forms and patterns of communication. Some listeners might find her narration a bit undesirable in that her projection and delivery sound overly enunciated and rehearsed--as if she were lecturing, not narrating. The result settles between the sound of a confident public speaker and an amateur narrator trying to overcompensate. Yet McCulloch's insightful research illustrates not a watering down of communication and ideas but an increasingly rich linguistic landscape that comes from humans integrating textspeak, emoticons, and memes to create more nuanced conversations. L.E. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from June 10, 2019
      McCulloch, writer of the “Resident Linguist” column for Wired and podcast cohost of Lingthusiasm, debuts with a funny and fascinating examination of the evolution of language in the digital age. Exploring everything from capitalization and punctuation to emojis and gifs, her book breaks down the structure of “internet language” in a precise and engaging way. She offers novices a well-structured introduction to modern linguistics, including a history of informal writing and the social implications of language. McCulloch discusses the ongoing shift toward less formal, more concise greetings in message writing, observing that receiving emails from strangers provides a “never-ending multiplayer guessing game of what generation someone’s in,” based on how her correspondent addresses her. She also discusses the stylized language of memes, sharing an excerpt of Genesis translated into the terminology of lolcat memes (“Oh hai. In teh beginning Ceiling Cat maded the skiez An da Urfs...”) and the function of punctuation in text messages, such as how a period may or may not signal passive aggression. An extensive notes section invites readers to further explore the impact the internet has had on language. Thanks to McCulloch’s skill in explaining both academic and popular subjects, this survey will make an excellent starting point for anyone’s exploration of the topic.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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