Impact of the internet on language

1. Impact of the internet on language Cyberspace and language change.

2. Internet • The medium with more significant impact on language usage as well as change than the telegraph, telephone, radio, cinema, and TV all combined.

3. Comparison • Internet and Gutenberg's printing machine in 1436.

4. Comparison • Internet and Norman invasion in England of 1066.

5. Opposing Views • However, just as any past invention, the Internet's impact on society in general and on language in particular has raised opposing standpoints.

6. opponents • The Internet has caused considerable damage in terms of language usage and written proficiency.

7. Opponents • The Internet threatens national borders through manifest foreign influence and hegemony.

8. Opponents • The Internet threatens the existence of linguistic minorities and the linguistic identity of oppressed communities and nations.

9. Proponents • The Internet as a flat space promotes learning, democracy, and cultural understanding.

10. Proponents • Language change is inevitable and cannot be stopped.

11. Proponents • Languages are open systems. • Change occurs as long as a language has a speech community.

12. Proponents • English is seen as the lingua franca of the world.

13. Proponents • The Internet promotes efficient communication and bridges the gap between cultures and nations.

14. Proponents • The Internet is not a site of oppression.

15. Proponents • The Internet has promoted the revival of endangered languages strengthening and revitalizing speech communities.

16. Questions • However, how can we assert that the Internet, as the information highway of the twenty first century, is affecting speech and writing in a negative manner?

17. Questions • Can we attribute to it all instances of language change, or is language change a natural occurrence in any speech community?

18. Questions • Or is the Internet merely another social environment conducive to community building, where people develop their modes of communication and language skills in the same way that they have done through traditional means throughout human history?

19. Statement • The Internet remains a positive force for social change.

20. Statement • Its impact on language is far from being negative.

21. Statement • Cyberspace has provided a positive platform that is conducive to:

22. Statement • Massive contact,

23. Statement • Community building,

24. Statement • Language change • Language shift.

25. Blaming the Internet • The Internet, as has been the case for any new invention, is being blamed for most of the perceived ills of our societies, including language deficiency and language shift.

26. Blaming the Internet • There is "nothing new about fears accompanying the emergence of a new communications technology" (Crystal p2).

27. Blaming the Internet • In the fifteenth century, the Church thought of printing "as an invention of Satan" because it was thought that "the dissemination of uncensored ideas would lead to a breakdown of social order" (Crystal, p2).

28. Blaming the Internet • The telegraph was thought to be the medium that "would destroy the family and promote crime" (Crystal, p2).

29. Blaming the Internet • The telephone and broadcasting were thought to have negative effects on society as the first “would undermine society,” while the second was thought to “be the voice of propaganda” (Crystal, p2).

30. Internet and Language • Language pundits in the US.

31. Internet and Language • The Internet threatens the existence of language as linguistic heritage

32. Internet and Language • The Internet has caused English to become • Deficient • Sloppy • adulterated

33. Internet and Language • Lack of consensus • How to counter the Internet’s impact without violating net neutrality and free speech.

34. Internet and Language • What constitutes a linguistic threat for some is progress for others.

35. Internet and Language • What would be the appropriate remedy for bad spelling, bad grammar, or bad usage?

36. France Versus English • l'Académiefrançaise • The enforcer that ensures the proper usage of French language to preserve its purity.

37. Cyberwar • Recently, France developed and launched a computer program that automatically replaces English words with French words

38. Cyberwar • As an example, some these words are: • Baladeur = Walkman • Logiciel = Software • Courrier = Email • Dialogue en ligne = Chat

39. Hugo Cháavez versus the US • Campaign Objectives • Stopping American Imperialism

40. Hugo Cháavez versus the US • How? • By replacing all American words with Spanish equivalents .

41. Hugo Cháavez versus the US • Host = Servidor • Mouse = Ratón • Staff = Equipo

42. The US versus the Internet • Email • "punctuation tends to be minimalist in most situations, and completely absent in some e-mails and chat exchanges" (Crystal, p94).

43. The US versus the Internet • Computer mediated communication (CMC) : • Chatting • Texting

44. Deviant Spelling • The new generations and particularly teenage users are the ones who have “introduced several deviant spellings” (Crystal, p9), such as kool = cool,fone = phone and B4 = before.

45. Trash Communication • David Campbell states that “Email, blogs, chat rooms, MySpace and Facebook seem to be treated as "trash" forms of communication where good spelling and grammar are irrelevant.”

46. A Brave New World • The Internet has enriched the English language • Affected our cultural identity

47. A Brave New World • Transformed the way we think • Do things • Communicate • Manage time for the sake of efficiency and expediency.

48. Global Village • Global connections among individuals, communities and nations.

49. Internet and Language Acquisition • language acquisition • Mother language • Second language • Foreign language

50. A Voice and Presence • Allowed isolated and disenfranchised communities to come out of their isolation and strengthen the bond with their cultures.