#netspeak

Digital technology is no longer a foreign concept. Instead, it is now an integral part of our daily lives. Along with the rise of the digital era, the ways in which the human race communicate with one another has been subject to new developments and changes. These changes include the growth of netspeak, the ability to be absent from a conversation and then return at a chosen moment and the use of cute, itsy-bitsy pictures- better known as emojis. In this blog post I will be discussing how these features have had an impact on the way we communicate with one another.

Firstly, computer mediated communication (CMC) has provided the benefit of being able to communicate with fewer efforts than in face-to-face conversation. These efforts are known as transactional costs and include aspects such as phatic talk, a higher likelihood of awkward topics of conversation and the need to think fast and on your feet to provide responses to questions. In an attempt to reduce the transactional costs necessary in a conversation, digital technology allows users to determine how and when they participate in a conversation and avoid the discussion of meaningless topics. However, despite the advantage that communicating via instant messaging environments or social media means fewer transactional costs, does it not have an impact on our ability to perform the art of conversation? In my opinion, being able to speak to people face-to-face, whether it be a formal or informal situation, is key. One should be able to respect the needs of speakers and listeners, engage in phatic talk (even if it provides no meaningful information- it’s polite) and effectively communicate topics of conversation. Although more efforts need to be made here in comparison to online messaging, the art of conversation is essential; whether it be talking to your grandparents (who, chances are will not be persistently ‘poking’ people on Facebook) or speaking to a potential employer in an interview. Therefore, although the affordances of CMC are brilliant (and don’t get me wrong, being able to avoided replying  to an overly keen guy, who I’m really not in to is a god send), I think it is still important to remember the cruciality of being able to communicate in an appropriate fashion, at the appropriate times, adjusting to the appropriate needs.

Similarly, to the art of conversation, there are also instances where correct spelling and grammar is essential in order to successfully communicate a message. For example, the achievements you list in your CV or writing a cover letter- a recent employer I spoke to said if they receive an application with a single spelling or grammatical error, it goes straight in the bin. In the 18thCentury, scholars worked exceptionally hard to standardise the English Language. We call this Standard English (SE) and we still use it today. However, has the development of netspeak decreased our ability to use SE correctly? Netspeak is made up of features such as acronyms, shortened word forms and the substitute of a single letter for a single word- for example, ‘u’ for ‘you’. Although netspeak allows us to communicate quickly, to those who are not common with the language it can look like a dysfunctional scrabble board. Individually, I use netspeak when sending text messages, however I aim to refrain from using netspeak and lean towards SE for social media posts, unless in an ironic situation. My reason for this is that I want to represent myself as educated online and this is especially important on platforms such as LinkedIn. Therefore, I make a conscientious effort to use correct language where necessarily, whilst still benefiting from the affordances of netspeak. However, I grew up in an age where netspeak was only just emerging, therefore, an interesting point of thought could be are children who have been exposed to netspeak since an early age less likely to be able to code switch between netspeak and SE?

Another new feature of language thanks to the development of digital technology is emoticons- commonly known as emojis. When I was younger, I loved adding little emojis to the messages I would send to my (now extremely cringy) iMessage chats with my friends, however, nowadays the emoji means so much more than just a random artistic addition to a message. People use emojis to replace pragmatic features, such as facial expressions, in a written conversation and more importantly, emojis convey meanings- some of which are obvious and some of which are slightly subtler. For example, the red heart emoji clearly means love- it has an obvious meaning and so users can easily involve it in their messages. On the other hand, the nail painting emoji is not so obvious; at first glance, people might assume the obvious and use the emoji if the topic of conversation is going to a salon and having a manicure, however the actual semantics are the feeling of accomplishment and sassiness. Not what you would’ve assumed, huh? Well, let me tell you, there are a lot of emojis with hidden and unexpected meanings like the previous example. Does this mean that people who aren’t experts on emoji meanings are limited in using them? Similarly, the use of pictures to engage in conversation is becoming more and more popular with the introduction of emojis and even platforms such as Snapchat are encouraging users to send pictures as a form of communication. Therefore, an extremity to consider is in the future will the alphabet even be present in future online (and even written) conversation and will those who struggle with this be partially silenced?

idk = i don’t know

idc = i don’t care

idt = i don’t think

idr = i don’t remember

(but idrk = i don’t really know)

(idt i’ve ever seen “idrr” tho)

(haha u see what i did there)

(it was not deliberate, that’s just how i talk now)

idw = i don’t want

optional adverbs:

r = really

can go before or after the d

idrk = i don’t really know = i’m relatively sure but not 100%

irdk = i really don’t know = i have no idea whatsoever

e = even

only goes after the d

(whizbang, sorry not sorry it’s twenty of midnight and i haven’t slept more than 5 or 6 hours in days because #ConventionLyfe)

idec = i don’t even care