Language Skills Development 3

Soda, pop, coke. Dialect change through online social networking.

Social networks create an opportunity for dialect contact, which results in dialect diversity; this phenomenon is also recognisable in online social networking and the influence of mass media.

Online social networking influences dialect diversity in such a way that dialects change. It has been proven that social networks influence people’s speech, naturally online social networking is no different. Online social network sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr enable people of different social backgrounds, cultures, languages, and dialects to ‘connect’. Different people, writing in different dialects, come in contact with each other and their dialect. Dialects can change when they come in contact with other dialects. To see that dialect changes have happened influenced by increased dialect contact through social networking a research has been conducted attempting to find out whether Twitter can be used for “creating dialect maps and studying regional variation” (Russ 2012). The researchers found that the dialect map as plotted from the Harvard Dialect Survey was quite similar to the dialect map they plotted from the ‘Twitter-data’. There were some differences between the two maps but they were indicating different variables in different areas. However, the map containing the ‘Twitter-data’ showed that some variables were also used on Twitter by people living outside of these indicated areas. So did they take a closer look at the variable of ‘soda’, ‘pop’, and ‘coke’ in the United States of America. They had the data of the Harvard Dialect Survey that indicated the variable of ‘pop’ being used in the “Midwest to [the] Pacific Northwest” (Russ 2012) whereas ‘coke’ was mainly used in the South and that ‘soda’ was used all over the United States of America but that it was used exclusively in “New England and Southwest” (Russ 2012). However, the ‘Twitter-data’ they collected showed that ‘coke’ was also being used by users of Twitter in the North East and North West of the United States and that ‘pop’ was also used by Twitter users living in the South of the United States. These variables in word choice of different dialects now overlap. Whether these speakers use a different word than they are expected to because they got into contact with a speaker of a different dialect is still not proven but it suggests so. Also, it has been proven that social networks do influence people’s speech. When dealing with change from above the word or speech sound usually is a borrowing from higher-prestige social classes. Change from below, however, can be introduced by any social class. The most advanced changes are found in the younger generation, which is also the generation that is most active in cyberspace.

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“The breakneck pace and dizzying emotion are the true source of this novel’s irresistible readability at all levels” reads the School Library Journal’s praise for ‘Th1rteen R3asons Why’ by Jay Asher. The young adult novel, a New York Times bestseller, tackles the very delicate subject of suicide amongst young adults in a very impressive way.

Making use of the usual form of narrative in young adult novels, the book’s narrative is first-person. However, unlike most earlier mentioned novels, Asher’s novel switches back and forth between the thoughts of main character Clay Jensen and Hannah Baker’s voice on cassette tapes. Like Clay, the reader has no idea what to expect from the tapes. Like Clay, the reader has to either listen on, which is possible since all of the audiotapes are recorded and to be found on Asher’s website, or read on what Hannah has to say in order to get to know Hannah’s story. The pace of the novel is quite fast; the timespan of the novel is set to all have happened within a day. That is, Clay listens to Hannah’s tapes in a day. Like Clay, the reader is immediately hooked on the story. Clay is the perfect character to narrate the events, he’s the character the readers all want to root for and since said character is so eager to find out how on earth he ended up on Hannah’s list so is the reader.

The book is an easy read, time and language wise. However the immense amount of emotion that this novel deals with, and evokes, is a whole different story. Hannah’s story will stick with you forever, whether you like it or not. If you do not enjoy sobbing over fiction I would advise you to stay away from this story. However, if you are up for a tale that will change you forever, ‘Th1rteen R3asons Why’ by Jay Asher is the best thing that can ever happen to you.