'Internet Lingo Essay\r'

' mesh lingo or meshing slang ( in whatsoever case cognize as ‘netspeak’) refers to a set of speech, phrases, and acronyms employmentd generally in casual communication over the earnings. Its elements were created and do hot by network white plaguers themselves. Characteristic of netspeak ar acronyms for phrases, same(p) â€Å"LOL” (laughing out loud), â€Å"ROFL” (rolling on the floor laughing), and â€Å"OMG” (oh my god. pull inspeak has expand to include full articulates as rise upâ€words like â€Å"blog”, â€Å"flame”, â€Å"online”, and â€Å"haxor” argon tho a few of the many words that the network has dampn birth to. A finical set of meshwork lingo, called â€Å"emoticons”, or â€Å"emotion icons”, as well exists. These argon the familiar â€Å"smileys” like â€Å":)” or â€Å"=)”, wherein the colon or the equals sign mean for the eyes, and the parenthe sis figure the mouth.\r\nThe exact date of the first usage of Internet slang is almostwhat sticky to determine, hardly its beginnings elicit be traced back to the 1980s, during the days of Usenet (Anderson 1996). They were mayhap meant to serenity the load on users to type so just about(prenominal) so they could say much in a smaller amount of epoch and effort, and was also perhaps a core to signify their statuses as Internet users. From thither, it spread all across to what the Internet is straight offâ€from pass on boards, to chatrooms, to instant messagingâ€it has become a ubiquitous language in the World big Web, understood by any Internet user.\r\n matchless of the original routines of Internet lingo (which it still serves intimately even today) it to keep open the user a few keystrokes. The reason why a large infract of Netspeak consists of cryptic acronyms is exactly this. For instance, an Internet user in the middle of a chat, needs to leave abruptly , hardly is non disrespectful as to leave his fri contains without so much as saying a word.\r\nHe would like to say that he will colloquy to them some other time, but â€Å"talk to you posterior” is such a long phrase that may take even longer to type if utter user is not very good at typing. Instead, he will type â€Å"ttyl”, which stands for the original message in his mind, and saves himself a few more(prenominal) seconds. His friends, up to(p) to decipher his message, acknowledge, perhaps with a â€Å"k” (â€Å" alright”) or â€Å"cu” (â€Å"see you”). Most of Netspeak functions this way, and at that place are a great many acronyms which stand for equally numerous messages, all serving to save the user some time and effort.\r\n Emoticons were invented to enable Net users to express emotions and feelings over the Internet. Since the users most likely do not see each other spot communicating online, emoticons are important when w ords are no longer enough to express a feeling. The regular smiling face, â€Å":)”, is the most popular, and usually means that the other individual is pleased or feels happy. It is difficult to list all of the existing emoticons as there are simply too many, at least(prenominal) angiotensin converting enzyme for almost every expression, and even for non-expressions.\r\nThey, too, crowd out also serve to save some time and a few keystrokes. For example, instead of saying â€Å"I am sad,” the user bath simply use â€Å":(â€Å". Or, he can use them at the end of a sentence to more effectively lift what he feels: â€Å"I am mad at you! >:(â€Å" However, the latter purpose seems to have weakened directlyâ€if someone sees the sentence in the previous example, he would not believe that the person is actually wrathful or displeased; rather, he would think that the person at the other end is development the smiley to happen upon a comical effect.\r\n wis h in any group or subculture, a means to suggest that one understands or one belongs is necessary in order for one to be truly come apart of that group. This is another purpose of Internet slang: it lets slew identify themselves as part of the Internet culture.\r\nLike a secret handshake, knowledge of this language is more or less required for one to be a true â€Å"Netizen”â€an Internet denizen. In event, one can observe that some groups in the Internet will even go as uttermost as mocking those who has little knowledge astir(predicate) the words or phrases, or if he misuses them. In instances like these, the misin random variableed user will be referred to as a â€Å"n00b”, a derogatory term derived from the word â€Å"newbie”, which means a newcomer (Wikipedia 2007).\r\nWith the emerging availability, affordability, and popularity of computers and Internet access, Netspeak has found itself a wider user base than ever before. Indeed, this language ha s become so popular that it has begun to creep into large number’s offline livesâ€popular acronyms like â€Å"LOL” and â€Å"WTF” (both of which can be typed in lowercase, as wellhead as most other Internet acronyms), as well as many of the words can be found in mobile textual matter messages, in television and movies, and even in the intercommunicate language. However, teachers and other academic personnel and proponents are not too keen on this new language.\r\n many another(prenominal) people seem to regard this spread of Netspeak as nothing but harmful and degrading to intelligence, oddly those of school-age childs. Jodi Schenck (Arditti ¶;3), a high school teacher at the Rothberg Comprehensive High School in Israeli, recounts her students using Netspeak in academic writing: using the symbolism â€Å"4” instead of â€Å"for”, using the letter â€Å"u” instead of spelling out â€Å"you”, and acronyms like â€Å"LOLâ⠂¬Â. It is also difficult, according to Schenck, to prevent the students from doing this (Arditti ¶;3).\r\nTo many teachers, like Schenck, Netspeak is debasing the side language and is detrimental to a student’s intelligence. The problem is that it is so popular, and sometimes people might not be aware of the fact that they are already using them outside of the Internet, or that they are not acceptable in writing. Internet slang, much like regular slang, are only meant for use during casual conversations (or in the case of Netspeak, chatrooms and on the loose(p) emails and messages).\r\nHowever, some people will disagree. As it resembles a new language on its own, linguists will give it due treatment, and defend it. Professor David Crystal, a linguist, in fact thinks that it is not a corruption but an enhancement to the face language (NPR 2007).\r\nHe believes that it adds more variety and a wider choice for speakers and non-speakers alike of English by extending the r ange, expressiveness, and richness of the language. This is yet another purpose of Internet lingo. It may be necessary, however, to limit its use to casual conversations only. Students should still be required to break up between nominateal and informal speech, and when either should be utilise. Since Netspeak is considered a form of informal speech, it should stay international from formal and academic papers.\r\nThe adoption of phrases and terms used in the Internet as a form of language is a fairly recent move. cod to its many purposesâ€as a time-saver, as a way to express feelings and emotions where it was otherwise impossible, as a symbol of belonging, and as an enrichment to the languageâ€Internet slang, Netspeak, or Internet lingo deserves its place in the English language.\r\nIt serves its purposes well, and are actually quite useful to know, specially now when almost everyone is using the Internet and this form of speech. It may still be confusing to some people , and may be misused at some places, but through proper education, the ubiquity of Internet slang should not pose a affright to corrupt the English language.\r\nWorks Cited:\r\nAnderson, Andrew. â€Å"Usenet History.” The Network executive director’s Guide.1996. 27 June 2007. <http://tldp.org/LDP/nag/node256.html>.\r\nArditti, Avi. â€Å"When Netspeak Enters Formal Writing, Teachers are Anything but LOL.” NewsVOA.com. 2007. 25 June 2007. <http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/archive/2007-05/2007-05-08-voa2.cfm>.\r\nUlaby, Neda. â€Å"OMG: IM Slang is encroaching(a) Everyday English.” National Public Radio. 2006. 25 June 2007.\r\nWikipedia. â€Å" refer of Internet Slang Phrases.” 2007. 27 June 2007. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Internet_slang_phrases>.\r\n'