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 field: 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.
1. Linguistic Perspectives 2. The Internet as a Medium 3. A Microexample 4. Language Change 5. A Multilingual Internet 6. Applied Internet Linguistics 7. A Case Study 8. Towards a Theoretical Internet Linguistics. Appendix: Research directions and activities
Biography
David Crystal is a freelance writer, lecturer and broadcaster, based in Holyhead, North Wales. He is author of numerous books including Just a Phrase I’m Going Through (Routledge 2009). The first Routledge David Crystal Lectures DVD, The Future of Language, was published in 2009.
'Crystal draws on his wealth of expertise to shed light on the important issues related to language form and use online.Internet Linguistics should be read by all graduate and undergraduate students interested in applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, and computer-mediated communication.' - Mark Warschauer, University of California
'David Crystal is a master linguist and master teacher. Given his expertise on language and the internet, he is the ideal author for this student text.' - Naomi S. Baron, American University
'As an undergraduate textbook Internet Linguistics would serve quite well, especially supplemented by original articles for depth or comparison and contrast of positions. Crystal suggests that the book assumes a basic knowledge of linguistic concepts, but most terms are understandable in context and he usually defines technical terms when they are critical to his point, so technical terms should not be a barrier. Internet Linguistics is certainly worth consideration as conveying a broad sense of a principled discipline in a format that is easy to read.' - Sean Rintel, The University of Queensland
