21 Facts About Internet slang

1.

Internet slang is a non-standard or unofficial form of language used by people on the Internet to communicate to one another.

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2.

Since Internet slang is constantly changing, it is difficult to provide a standardized definition.

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3.

However, it can be understood to be any type of slang that Internet users have popularized, and in many cases, have coined.

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4.

Internet slang originated in the early days of the Internet with some terms predating the Internet.

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5.

The earliest forms of Internet slang assumed people's knowledge of programming and commands in a specific language.

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6.

Internet slang is used in chat rooms, social networking services, online games, video games and in the online community.

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7.

However, while Internet slang shortcuts save time for the writer, they take two times as long for the reader to understand, according to a study by the University of Tasmania.

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8.

Internet slang provides a channel which facilitates and constrains the ability to communicate in ways that are fundamentally different from those found in other semiotic situations.

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9.

The Internet itself is ideal for new slang to emerge because of the richness of the medium and the availability of information.

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10.

Prescriptivists tend to have the widespread belief that the Internet slang has a negative influence on the future of language, and that it would lead to a degradation of standard.

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11.

Internet slang has crossed from being mediated by the computer into other non-physical domains.

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12.

Internet slang is prevalent in telephony, mainly through short messages communication.

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13.

Expansion of Internet slang has been furthered through codification and the promotion of digital literacy.

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14.

Similarly, Internet slang has been recommended as language teaching material in second language classrooms in order to raise communicative competence by imparting some of the cultural value attached to a language that is available only in slang.

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15.

Frequently used Internet slang have become conventionalised into memetic "unit[s] of cultural information".

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16.

The evolution of Internet slang has created a 'Internet slang union' as part of a unique, specialised subculture.

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17.

In places where logographic languages are used, such as China, a visual Internet slang exists, giving characters dual meanings, one direct and one implied.

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18.

Internet slang has helped people from all over the world to become connected to one another, enabling "global" relationships to be formed.

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19.

For example, in China, because of the tough Internet regulations imposed, users tend to use certain slang to talk about issues deemed as sensitive to the government.

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20.

Significantly, this same style of Internet slang creation is found in non-alphabetical languages as, for example, a form of "e gao" or alternative political discourse.

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21.

Internet slang has often been accused of appropriating AAVE, and AAVE is often misidentified as internet slang.

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