Editing Internet slang (section)

==Views==
Many debates about how the use of slang on the Internet influences language outside of the digital sphere go on. Even though the direct causal relationship between the Internet and language has yet to be proven by any scientific research,<ref name=www.newjerseynewsroom.com>{{cite web |url=http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/science-updates/internets-effect-on-language-debated |title=Internet's Effect on Language Debated |publisher=Newjerseynewsroom.com |date=20 January 2010 |access-date=25 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120422130830/http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/science-updates/internets-effect-on-language-debated |archive-date=22 April 2012 }}</ref> Internet slang has invited split views on its influence on the standard of language use in non-[[computer-mediated communication]]s.

[[Linguistic prescription|Prescriptivists]] tend to have the widespread belief that the Internet has a negative influence on the future of language, and that it could lead to a degradation of standard.<ref name=Davidcrystal /> Some would even attribute any decline of standard formal English to the increase in usage of electronic communication.<ref name=www.newjerseynewsroom.com  /> It has also been suggested that the linguistic differences between Standard English and [[Computer-mediated communication|CMC]] can have implications for literacy education.<ref>Hawisher, Gale E. and Cynthia L. Selfe (eds). (2002). Global Literacies and the World-Wide Web. London/New York: Routledge</ref> This is illustrated by the widely reported example of a school essay submitted by a Scottish teenager, which contained many abbreviations and acronyms likened to [[SMS language]]. There was great condemnation of this style by the mass media as well as educationists, who expressed that this showed diminishing literacy or linguistic abilities.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2814235.stm |title=BBC NEWS &#124; UK &#124; Is txt mightier than the word? |publisher=Newsvote.bbc.co.uk |access-date=25 April 2012 |archive-date=3 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150903232817/http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2814235.stm }}</ref>

On the other hand, [[Linguistic description|descriptivists]] have counter-argued that the Internet allows better expressions of a language.<ref name=www.newjerseynewsroom.com  /> Rather than established linguistic conventions, linguistic choices sometimes reflect personal taste.<ref name=baron>Baron, Naomi S. (2002). Who sets email style: Prescriptivism, coping strategies, and democratizing communication access. The Information Society 18, 403-413</ref> It has also been suggested that as opposed to intentionally flouting language conventions, Internet slang is a result of a lack of motivation to monitor speech online.<ref>Baron, Naomi (2003) "Why Email Looks Like Speech: Proofreading Pedagogy and Public Face." In New Media Language, ed. Jean Aitchison and Diana M. Lewis, 85–94. London: Routledge.</ref> Hale and Scanlon describe language in emails as being derived from "writing the way people talk", and that there is no need to insist on 'Standard' English.<ref name=hale /> English users, in particular, have an extensive tradition of etiquette guides, instead of traditional prescriptive treatises, that offer pointers on linguistic appropriateness.<ref name=baron /> Using and spreading Internet slang also adds onto the cultural currency of a language.<ref name=Garcia /> It is important to the speakers of the language due to the foundation it provides for identifying within a group, and also for defining a person's individual linguistic and communicative competence.<ref name=Garcia /> The result is a specialized subculture based on its use of slang.<ref name="annemarie">Simon-Vandenbergen, Anne Marie (2008) Deciphering L33t5p34k: Internet Slang on Message Boards. Thesis paper. Ghent University Faculty of Arts and Philosophy</ref>

In scholarly research, attention has, for example, been drawn to the effect of the use of Internet slang in [[ethnography]], and more importantly to how conversational relationships online change structurally because slang is used.<ref name=Garcia>Garcia, Angela Cora, Standlee, Alecea I., Beckhoff, Jennifer and Yan Cui. Ethnographic Approaches to the Internet and Computer-Mediated Communication. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography. Vol. 38 No. 1 pp 52–84</ref>

In [[German language|German]], there is already considerable controversy regarding the use of [[anglicisms]] outside of CMC.<ref>Hohenhaus, Peter. (2002). Standardization, language change, resistance and the question of linguistic threat: 18th-century English and present-day German. In: Linn, Andrew R. and Nicola McLelland (eds.). Standardization - Studies from the Germanic languages. Amsterdam: Benjamins (= Current Issues in Linguistic Theory volume 235), 153-178</ref> This situation is even more problematic within CMC, since the [[jargon]] of the medium is dominated by English terms.<ref name=hohenhaus /> An extreme example of an anti-anglicisms perspective can be observed from the chatroom rules of a Christian site,<ref>[https://benjamins.com/#catalog/books/cilt/main] {{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> which bans all anglicisms ("{{lang|de|Das Verwenden von Anglizismen ist strengstens untersagt!}}" [Using anglicisms is strictly prohibited!]), and also translates even fundamental terms into German equivalents.<ref name=hohenhaus />

===Journalism===
In April 2014, ''[[Gawker]]''{{'}}s [[editor-in-chief]] Max Read instituted new writing style guidelines banning internet slang for his writing staff.<ref name="Gawker bans 'Internet slang'">{{cite news|first1=Andrew|last1=Beaujon|url=http://www.poynter.org/news/mediawire/246113/gawker-bans-internet-slang/|title=Gawker bans 'Internet slang'|work=[[Poynter Institute]]|date=3 April 2014|access-date=4 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141128120629/http://www.poynter.org/news/mediawire/246113/gawker-bans-internet-slang/|archive-date=28 November 2014}}</ref><ref name="Gawker Rips Buzzfeed in Ban on 'WTF,' 'Epic' and Other Internet Slang From Its Website">{{cite news|first1=James |last1=Crugnale |url=http://www.thewrap.com/gawker-rips-buzzfeed-ban-internet-slang/|title=Gawker Rips Buzzfeed in Ban on 'WTF,' 'Epic' and Other Internet Slang From Its Website|work=[[TheWrap]]|date=3 April 2014|access-date=4 January 2014}}</ref><ref name="'Massive' Attack: Gawker Goes After Whopping Word">{{cite news|first1=Matthew |last1=Kassel |url=http://observer.com/2014/04/massive-attack-gawker-goes-after-whopping-word/|title='Massive' Attack: Gawker Goes After Whopping Word|work=[[The New York Observer]]|date=3 April 2014|access-date=4 January 2014}}</ref><ref name="Gawker Editor Bans 'Internet Slang,' Challenges Staff to 'Sound Like Regular Human Beings'">{{cite news |last1=Weaver |first1=Alex |date=3 April 2014 |title=Gawker Editor Bans 'Internet Slang,' Challenges Staff to 'Sound Like Regular Human Beings' |url=http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2014/04/03/gawker-editor-bans-internet-slang/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101041447/http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2014/04/03/gawker-editor-bans-internet-slang/ |archive-date=2016-01-01 |access-date=4 January 2014 |work=[[BostInno]]}}</ref><ref name="A ban on internet slang? That's derp">{{cite news|first1=Steven |last1=Poole |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/apr/10/ban-internet-slang-steven-poole-derp-amazeballs-lulz-wtf|title=A ban on internet slang? That's derp|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=10 April 2014|access-date=4 January 2014}}</ref><ref name="Gawker is Trying to Use 'Adult' Language. Good Luck to Them.">{{cite magazine|first1=John |last1=McWhorter |url=https://newrepublic.com/article/117289/gawker-language-memo-encourages-use-adult-language|title=Gawker is Trying to Use 'Adult' Language. Good Luck to Them.|magazine=[[The New Republic]]|date=7 April 2014|access-date=4 January 2014}}</ref> Internet slang has gained attraction, however in other publications ranging from [[BuzzFeed]] to The Washington Post, gaining attention from younger viewers. Clickbait headlines have particularly sparked attention, originating from the rise of BuzzFeed in the journalistic sphere which ultimately lead to an online landscape populated with social media references and a shift in language use. <ref>{{Cite book |last=Mormol |first=Paulina |title=On the Linguistic Features of BuzzFeed Headlines |date=January 2019 |publisher=Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Rzeszowskiego }}</ref>