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Because Internet

Understanding how language is changing

By: Gretchen McCulloch

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Paperback | 5 March 2020

At a Glance

Paperback
336 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
2.5 x 12.8 x 19.5

Paperback

$32.75

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A fizzing take on how the internet is transforming language by the resident linguist at Wired. A critically acclaimed New York Times bestseller.

THE ACCLAIMED NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER.

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.

About the Author

Gretchen McCulloch writes about linguistics for a general audience, especially internet language. She writes the Resident Linguist column at Wired. McCulloch has a master’s in linguistics from McGill University, runs the blog All Things Linguistic, and cohosts the Lingthusiasm podcast. She lives in Montreal, but also on the internet.

Industry Reviews

Because Internet...illustrates how many of us feel about English in the online age... It is hard not to be moved by her McCulloch is an engaging writer who clearly adores her subject * Sunday Times *
Covers the backstory of how tildes became the punctuation mark for ~whimsy and sarcasm~...and when we started repeating certainnnnn lettersssssssss for emphasis * Buzzfeed *
A fascinating analysis * Observer *
McCulloch offers a compelling snapshot of a world in flux, from which readers will learn a lot about language, the internet and themselves * Financial Times *
In prose at once scholarly and user-friendly, McCulloch unpacks the evolution of language in the digital age, providing a comprehensive survey of everything from the secret language of emojis to the appeal of animal memes. * Esquire *
McCulloch is such a disarming writer - lucid, friendly, unequivocally excited about her subject * New York Times *
Rather than obsessing about what the internet is doing to language, [Because Internet] largely focuses on what can be learned about language from the internet. . . . McCulloch's book is about the birth of a new medium. * Economist *
McCulloch's book is a good start in guiding readers to consider the wild language of the internet as a thing of wonder-a valuable feature, not a bug. * Wall Street Journal *
An effervescent study of how the digital world is transfiguring English * The New Yorker *
A compelling narrative rich with examples from her own online activities, a healthy dose of humor, and plenty of cat memes... the breadth of topics covered-from conversation analysis to meme culture to the development of texting as we now know it-makes this book useful, engaging, and enjoyable. * Science *

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