Roots
Electronic English
Deepti

After the development of speech and writing thousands of years ago, the Internet is the next major phenomenon that has transformed language totally. In fact, electronic communication or CMC (Computer Mediated Communication) is the more precise label. David Crystal (the inspiration for today’s column) uses the term ‘Netspeak’ for all communication of this nature. According to Crystal, this new medium of communication has offered new opportunities to languages in new ways and it has also initiated change in the formal character of language.

The latter effect enriches language in many ways. As any SMS will demonstrate, many new words have entered the language because the screen has a limit of 160 characters. Language users become more creative under this constraint. For instance, the use of rebus techniques to shorten words (gr8 for great and so on), the preference given to initialisms like ASAP for ‘as soon as possible’ and respelling like ‘luv’ for ‘love’ or ‘tks’ for ‘thanks’. After spending years on British spelling, one is now forced by the Internet to use American spellings because they use fewer characters (color – colour). Bicapitalisation or BiCaps is another addition to the repertoire. This refers to the way two capitals are used; in words like CompuServe or AltaVista.

The register of CMC has enriched the vocabulary of English in many ways. Labels for day-to-day computer operations have become a part of everyday communication; for instance, words like format, refresh, options, fonts and toolbars. In every language, terms have emerged for the population of Internet users themselves and some labels in English are words like surfers, netheads, digiterati and netters. Many neologisms have been created by way of compound words; these are words such as cost-per-click and double-click. Cyber and hyper are frequently used to create words like cybersex, cyberculture, hypertext and hyperzine. Blends like Infobahn and Internaut are accepted everywhere. FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions), ISP (Internet Service Provider) and URL (Uniform Source Locater) are not language-specific and are used wherever netizens reside. So, all you language users get with the programme and download the latest data!

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