Internet Linguistics

by David Crystal

The Internet is now an integral part of contemporary life, and linguists are increasingly studying its influence on language. In this student-friendly guidebook, leading language authority Professor David Crystal follows on from his landmark bestseller Language and the Internet and presents the area as a new Internet linguistics. In his engaging trademark style, Crystal addresses the online linguistic issues that affect us on a daily basis, incorporating real-life examples drawn from his own studies and personal involvement with Internet companies. He provides new linguistic analyses of Twitter, Internet security, and online advertising, explores the evolving multilingual character of the Internet, and offers illuminating observations about a wide range of online behaviour, from spam to exclamation marks. Including many activities and suggestions for further research, this is the essential introduction to a critical new field for students of all levels of English language, linguistics and new media.

Genres: Nonfiction, Linguistics, Language, School

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

David Crystal works from his home in Holyhead, North Wales, as a writer, editor, lecturer, and broadcaster. Born in Lisburn, Northern Ireland in 1941, he spent his early years in Holyhead. His family moved to Liverpool in 1951, and he received his secondary schooling at St Mary's College. He read English at University College London (1959-62), specialised in English language studies, did some research there at the Survey of English Usage under Randolph Quirk (1962-3), then joined academic life as a lecturer in linguistics, first at Bangor, then at Reading. He published the first of his 100 or so books in 1964, and became known chiefly for his research work in English language studies, in such fields as intonation and stylistics, and in the application of linguistics to religious, educational and clinical contexts, notably in the development of a range of linguistic profiling techniques for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. He held a chair at the University of Reading for 10 years, and is now Honorary Professor of Linguistics at the University of Wales, Bangor. These days he divides his time between work on language and work on internet applications.

source: http://www.davidcrystal.com/

Reviews

[Giulia · Rating 1 out of 5]

It is so incredibly presumptuous of me to judge Crystal's work, but man... This was not only extremely repetitive (and therefore boring), but also quite unhelpful, since most of what was in the book I either already knew, could've logically deduced with minimal effort, or didn't really care about because the information was outdated. Also, editing is a thing, and it helps prevent that thing when you repeat the same concept five thousand times, and you make your readers want to throw your book out of the window.

[Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read it because I had to, which is usually a significant disadvantage for a book. Anyway, I enjoyed it although D. Crystal repeats himself quite often. Understandable, as he is quite a prolific author and one of the few writing about languages used in electronically mediated communication.

[evelyn]

interesting more so perhaps because of how outdated it now is rather than for the content itself- makes it very fun to see how things have changed in such a relatively short (academically speaking) time! Plus loads of great things to investigate further.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought I was the only one who thought that Crystal repeated himself quite often in the book. I read this book for a computational linguistics course and I found it to be a thick read despite its only 150 pages. This could be because Crystal restates his point in every chapter twice over. I do think his points could have been streamlined into about 70 pages. Nevertheless, it gave me some great argumentative points against non-linguists who have rather ignorant opinons on language of the internet and I enjoyed it. I wanted to give it a 3.5 but one cannot do that on the GoodReads app (that I am aware of). Happy Reading!

[Kyo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though this is relatively recent (for academic research) some of the out-dated examples are very entertaining. All in all, however, a solid and clear overview of internet linguistics and different approaches to its study.

[Tatjana · Rating 3 out of 5]

undeniably outdated, the book still can serve as an example of good structure as well as possible source of ideas for students.

[Alice · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to read it for uni and I don't understand why my teacher made us read it since most of the topics he analyses are now out of date.

[Mark A.]

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[keadiffero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Repetitive at times, but also incredibly illuminating -- a lovely guide into Internet Linguistics. Still relevant even nearly 15 years later.

[Jeanette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this analysis of internet language and found it easy enough to read. Crystal (as a linguist) focuses on analysis of text - in a number of different contexts and outputs (as he calls the various platforms) - e.g. twitter, chat, social media etc - and looks at different questions (the nature of internet language as poised somewhere between speech and text, its impact on contemporary language and grammar, the internet's multilingual nature, the rapid pace of changes, search logistics, appropriate and sensitive placing of advertisements, determining problematical exchanges (as with a paedophile grooming a teenager)etc). While he acknowledged the multimedia, hypertexual nature of the internet, I would have liked him to delve deeper into how these extra dimensions have impacted on the use of language and communication via the internet (though maybe that's because I'm currently studying Online Writing which emphasizes those aspects).

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an English Language graduate who hasn't read much linguistic stuff since graduating last year this was a gentle reintroduction to 'internet linguistics' (as Crystal calls it). This was an easy read and a lot lighter than a lot of linguistics books.

It was a very good general overview, although I'd perhaps suggest not specific enough for undergraduate level beyond an overview. This book reawakened my interest in some areas of linguistics and I particularly thought that the chapter focusing on Twitter was well written and interesting.

I don't think the people around me appreciated me relaying interesting facts I'd just read from the book, but this shows how it engaged me. If you wanted an unchallenging introduction (or reminder) of internet linguistics I'd recommend this book. Easy to read, interesting and a good overview.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crystal does a nice job explaining how linguists might approach the study of what he terms Internet linguistics, as well as outlines what the field might gain from such study. He is cogent on the challenges and opportunities the Internet poses for linguists, and his case studies provide clear illustrations of both. Likewise, his suggestions for classroom activities are great ones. I only wished he had written a bit more about what the potential gains for society might come from such linguistic study. Though, as a non-linguist myself, it's probably obvious I would be looking for such things!

[Tara Brabazon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a short introduction to internet linguistics. It is uneven but there are some strong insights on Twitter. Extracts could be well used as course material for undergraduate students.

[Melody · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some parts were really interesting and other parts were rather dry.

[Joseph G · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was required for class. Crystal makes many great points in this book.