Since last class, I’ve been thinking about the huge change in communication social media has brought to the world. We’ve created avatars, developed an online persona, talked to people in countries we’ve never been to and have been exposed to information not even hours in the library or the freshest newspaper could bring us.
Okay, so our channels of communication have changed, at least we’re still speaking in the same language. Oh wait…
I’ve always known of urbandictionary.com to give me definitions of slang words even my 20-something year old self hasn’t been updated on. But after doing a .11 second google search I encountered an entirely different realm of slang; the internet language.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not new to this cyber planet, I know the LOL’s and the BRB's, but I had no idea language has become this distorted. You actually need a website to decode what’s being said in under a paragraph. I introduce you to English 2.0
As shocking as this may be, it does make sense. The social media revolution came about, as least for one reason, for the great efficiency it brings. But will you just read this language in the cyber planet? Trusty google gave me the answer in .21 seconds; no.
Yes, it was entered in the prestigious Oxford dictionary.
Will scientists 2000 years from now look at the internet language like we did when we first discovered the Rosetta Stone? Will they be asking, "Why did their eloquent language turn into a bunch of cap letters and numbers?"... "Who was this LOL?"
