Nonfiction

Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language

Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language

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  • Create Date：2021-03-28 11:17:06
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Gretchen McCulloch
  • ISBN：0735210942
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Summary

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER！！

Named a Best Book of 2019 by TIME， Amazon， and The Washington Post
A Wired Must-Read Book of Summer

"Gretchen McCulloch is the internet's favorite linguist， and this book is essential reading。 Reading her work is like suddenly being able to see the matrix。" --Jonny Sun， author of everyone's a aliebn when ur a aliebn too

Because Internet is for anyone who's ever puzzled over how to punctuate a text message or wondered where memes come from。 It's the perfect book for understanding how the internet is changing the English language， why that's a good thing， and what our online interactions reveal about who we are。

Language is humanity's most spectacular open-source project， and the internet is making our language change faster and in more interesting ways than ever before。 Internet conversations are structured by the shape of our apps and platforms， from the grammar of status updates to the protocols of comments and @replies。 Linguistically inventive online communities spread new slang and jargon with dizzying speed。 What's more， social media is a vast laboratory of unedited， unfiltered words where we can watch language evolve in real time。

Even the most absurd-looking slang has genuine patterns behind it。 Internet linguist Gretchen McCulloch explores the deep forces that shape human language and influence the way we communicate with one another。 She explains how your first social internet experience influences whether you prefer "LOL" or "lol，" why sparkly tildes succeeded where centuries of proposals for irony punctuation had failed， what emoji have in common with physical gestures， and how the artfully disarrayed language of animal memes like lolcats and doggo made them more likely to spread。

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Reviews

Rachel C。 ，

I wanted more depth and less breadth。 A lot of the material McCulloch covered seemed pretty self-evident。 It's like the target audience for this book is people who don't know anything about linguistics， or the internet。 Which seems like a pretty small demographic？ I wanted more depth and less breadth。 A lot of the material McCulloch covered seemed pretty self-evident。 It's like the target audience for this book is people who don't know anything about linguistics， or the internet。 Which seems like a pretty small demographic？ 。。。more

Jessica Murnin ，

I really enjoyed this！ It felt like one long podcast （which is a compliment）！ It explained a lot of the unspoken rules of modern technological communication， which I found fascinating。 There were just a couple of topics， where I felt like I was left wanting more。

Goose ，

An absolutely scintillating ride through internet language， and informal linguistics and patterns of speech。 I’d never really thought abt my patters of speech online before I read this book， and therein I found。 Réfection of myself and the internet subcultures I’ve delved in。 Something about reading a comprehensive history of internet writing in English has given me an understanding of my own language that no formal study of linguistics could have given， becauseIt’s about the informality of onli An absolutely scintillating ride through internet language， and informal linguistics and patterns of speech。 I’d never really thought abt my patters of speech online before I read this book， and therein I found。 Réfection of myself and the internet subcultures I’ve delved in。 Something about reading a comprehensive history of internet writing in English has given me an understanding of my own language that no formal study of linguistics could have given， becauseIt’s about the informality of online third spaces and our interactions with those spaces。 The chapter on memes feels outdated， now， which is to be expected and of which we are warned by mcculloch herself。 Read the book。 It was bladdy gr8 。。。more

Kb ，

I love reading books about language， and this is a good one。 Recommended。

Achyutta ，

A very， very interesting read for language nerds！ I appreciated McCulloch's humor and love for （internet） language that shines throughout the text。 （How could I *not* love an in-depth analysis of meme or a lolspeak？） A very， very interesting read for language nerds！ I appreciated McCulloch's humor and love for （internet） language that shines throughout the text。 （How could I *not* love an in-depth analysis of meme or a lolspeak？） 。。。more

Rebekah ，

Really engaging and fun -- reminded me of why I love linguistics in the first place。

Cindy ，

An interesting look at how Internet culture and linguistics have evolved over time。 This is the book I'd make my not-as-online friends read， because it distills several unspoken tenets and mores of Internet-speak， such as the passive aggression of a period in an instant message or the use of tildes to communicate either enthusiasm or sarcasm （depending on which culture we're talking about）。 It's an interesting dissection， but because all of it already feels familiar to me （I'm in the second wave An interesting look at how Internet culture and linguistics have evolved over time。 This is the book I'd make my not-as-online friends read， because it distills several unspoken tenets and mores of Internet-speak， such as the passive aggression of a period in an instant message or the use of tildes to communicate either enthusiasm or sarcasm （depending on which culture we're talking about）。 It's an interesting dissection， but because all of it already feels familiar to me （I'm in the second wave of Internet people， don't @ me）， reading about your own behavior in the lens of a nonfic book gets pretty dry。 Still， it's neat to read through this and witness just how much Internet culture has shaped language and vice-versa， even in the past few years。 。。。more

Hannah ，

You can feel the passion this author has for the subject which helps engage you in the subject。

Erin ，

I’m gonna go ahead and give this book a full five stars。 I am a giant linguistics nerd and I loved every moment of this book。 If you grew up with the Internet in the 80s and 90s， or even if you were born in a time when the internet was already an ingrained part of our society， you need to read this book。The author of this book is incredibly down-to-earth and relatable， as well as， funny and charming。 It goes without saying that she’s very smart & a definite self-proclaimed language nerd。Learn I’m gonna go ahead and give this book a full five stars。 I am a giant linguistics nerd and I loved every moment of this book。 If you grew up with the Internet in the 80s and 90s， or even if you were born in a time when the internet was already an ingrained part of our society， you need to read this book。The author of this book is incredibly down-to-earth and relatable， as well as， funny and charming。 It goes without saying that she’s very smart & a definite self-proclaimed language nerd。Learn the linguistic origins of LOL and Memes and chat rooms and how certain online slang came to be。If you can， I would recommend the audiobook version because you can really hear how cute her personality is。But whether you read this book or listen to it， I would say it’s a definite must read。 。。。more

Justin ，

This book is a super fun look into the rapid linguistic shifts that have taken place over the past several decades due to the rise of the internet and digital communication tools。While the book is centered around how we use language in the information age， it touches on a lot more than just linguistics。 McCulloch is an engaging writer and her style is pleasing to read; if you think the subject of linguistics sounds a little boring， this book will surprise you。 Because in order to fully appreciat This book is a super fun look into the rapid linguistic shifts that have taken place over the past several decades due to the rise of the internet and digital communication tools。While the book is centered around how we use language in the information age， it touches on a lot more than just linguistics。 McCulloch is an engaging writer and her style is pleasing to read; if you think the subject of linguistics sounds a little boring， this book will surprise you。 Because in order to fully appreciate the way our use of language has recently changed， we have to understand the technology that enabled that change and how it evolved to what it is today。 So this book also doubles as a history of the internet， which I found endlessly fascinating and more than a little nostalgic。We learn about the generations of internet users （"Full Internet generation" represent！）; we learn the origin stories of some classic internet-isms and how their usage evolved （LOL -> lol）， which began as a way to express its literal meaning: that the lol-er came across something funny and they laughed out loud， but the author notes that now we use it to express mild amusement: "We should change 'lol' to 'ne' （nose exhale）， because that’s all we really do when we see something funny online。"; we learn about how we have managed to be expressive and show emotions online， first through emoticons with noses :-）， then emoticons without noses :）， then with kaomoji to depict faces without having to look at them sideways \（^ヮ^）/， and then with emoji 😄️; we also learn about how emoji do not constitute a language， despite their use in replacing words and sometimes entire sentences; and we learn about gifs as a kind of emotional currency and memes as open-source in-jokes that are in a constant state of flux。The author also discusses cultural norms that have evolved in terms of the way we type messages to each other， like how TYPING IN ALL CAPS IS AKIN TO SHOUTING。 One interesting thing is that because typing is so fundamentally different from speaking， emotion is often conveyed in subtler ways。 Take the use of the period character， for instance: "that's fine" in a text message can carry a different meaning than "that's fine。" In one case， we may be more likely to wonder if that is *really* fine， or if including the period is encoding a hidden meaning that is more serious in nature。 That's just one example， but McCulloch delves in to many more。 I highly recommend this book to anyone who is （a） interested in learning about the history of the internet， （b） nostalgic for reminiscing about the bygone eras of internet culture （where my Xanga people at？！）， or （c） fascinated by human communication and how technology drives linguistic evolution。5/5 stars。 。。。more

Elyse ，

I needed this book。 Even though I've used computers since the time of main frames and punch cards I can't say I'm computer literate。 I've only used computers on a "need to know basis"。 I learned how to use email and Facebook because I wanted to or had to learn for work - I don't know about gaming or tweets because I have no interest。As time goes on， my ignorance of internet terminology and practices is actually becoming impolite。 It's like not bothering to learn the rules of grammar。 I am annoye I needed this book。 Even though I've used computers since the time of main frames and punch cards I can't say I'm computer literate。 I've only used computers on a "need to know basis"。 I learned how to use email and Facebook because I wanted to or had to learn for work - I don't know about gaming or tweets because I have no interest。As time goes on， my ignorance of internet terminology and practices is actually becoming impolite。 It's like not bothering to learn the rules of grammar。 I am annoyed by people who don't bother to learn the difference between "their， there， and they're" - in the same vein I don't want to annoy the computer literate with my ignorance anymore。 This book is committed to helping people like me。Sometimes the author， Gretchen McCulloch， assumed more background knowledge than I have and I was a bit lost。 But I learned enough to make reading this book very worthwhile。 As a minor example， I didn't know the plural of emoji is not "emojis" - it's just emoji。 The author herself admits this is the type of book that will become obsolete in a hurry so do not delay。 You won't regret reading this fascinating and helpful book。 。。。more

Eugene Galt ，

As a wannabe language geek whose view of language leans heavily toward the descriptive， and as someone who remembers when using the internet required using a command-line interface， I knew I had to read this book。 It includes an interesting overview of the history of public use of the internet， which will presumably be more useful to younger or less tech-obsessed readers than it was to me， and a description of internet culture’s effect on language。 I also felt validated when a linguist agreed wi As a wannabe language geek whose view of language leans heavily toward the descriptive， and as someone who remembers when using the internet required using a command-line interface， I knew I had to read this book。 It includes an interesting overview of the history of public use of the internet， which will presumably be more useful to younger or less tech-obsessed readers than it was to me， and a description of internet culture’s effect on language。 I also felt validated when a linguist agreed with some of my observations on the weirder aspects of netspeak， such as emphasis by reduplicating a silent letter。 It helps that the author writes in an engaging and accessible style。However， the author omits mention of some prominent features of internet language， some of which have entered non-internet language。 These include the one hinted at in the title， the breakdown of distinction among parts of speech， and misspellings created to evade automated online censorship。 。。。more

Angelina ，

a very fun read。 my first memories of the internet from ages 8-13 were neopets， livejournal， AIM， runescape， and myspace。 the way i speak online has evolved greatly over the last 15-20 years， but i never gave much thought as to why or how before i read this book

Kia ，

i genuinely really enjoyed this bookso many parts just made me be like "that！ that thing！ oh yeah！ omg！" gretchen mcculloch writes in a way that is accessible to those who know nothing or everything about linguistics， or nothing or everything about internet cultureit was an undeniably fun experience， and i got to feel pretentious cos i was reading *gasp* nonfiction （i never read nonfiction）i could probably quote the entire book if i had the chance bcos seriously。 its so good。 but here is my lil i genuinely really enjoyed this bookso many parts just made me be like "that！ that thing！ oh yeah！ omg！" gretchen mcculloch writes in a way that is accessible to those who know nothing or everything about linguistics， or nothing or everything about internet cultureit was an undeniably fun experience， and i got to feel pretentious cos i was reading *gasp* nonfiction （i never read nonfiction）i could probably quote the entire book if i had the chance bcos seriously。 its so good。 but here is my lil favourite bit that encompasses the entire vibe:"when i discovered linguistics， i learned that language isnt just a squidgy mess of opinions and impressions: there are real patterns here that ive been subconciously following all along！ even if we dont know them all yet， theyre fundementally knowable， and theres a whole community of people whose mission it is to figure it out。"idk about you guys but that just makes me so happyi love learning all the things and realising how they all fit together into my life and my world and because internet just put that all together into the context of my favourite niche of meta tumblr postsi could go on， but i wontread the book dudes。 youll like it alternatively （or also） pleaselistentothelingthusiampodcastitsinsanelygoodandyouwillloveitokay 。。。more

Frances ，

This was an enjoyable overview of some of the work being done in linguistics on Internet English， with a side order of helping me to understand some new "rules" of online language （who knew that ending a text sentence with a period might make you sound annoyed （besides everyone under 30）？）。 For those of you who love language and enjoy seeing how some common online usages have evolved from the very early days of forums and listservs up to emojis and memes and beyond， this is a very clear and enga This was an enjoyable overview of some of the work being done in linguistics on Internet English， with a side order of helping me to understand some new "rules" of online language （who knew that ending a text sentence with a period might make you sound annoyed （besides everyone under 30）？）。 For those of you who love language and enjoy seeing how some common online usages have evolved from the very early days of forums and listservs up to emojis and memes and beyond， this is a very clear and engaging look at how the internet is changing our language， and why we should embrace this evolution。 。。。more

Christie ，

I'm really happy to know there are people in the world who think about these things and write books about it。 📚 I'm really happy to know there are people in the world who think about these things and write books about it。 📚 。。。more

Caroline ，

This was an excellent read！ Very relatable as someone who grew up on the internet but has parents who didn't。 There was a lot of shower thoughts that I'd had before about how we type when online， but this book really puts such fleeting thoughts into words and explainable concepts with the linguistic research to back it up。Topics range from how the internet did not invent but made universal the use of informally written language， to the thinning line between 'internet friends' vs 'irl friends'， t This was an excellent read！ Very relatable as someone who grew up on the internet but has parents who didn't。 There was a lot of shower thoughts that I'd had before about how we type when online， but this book really puts such fleeting thoughts into words and explainable concepts with the linguistic research to back it up。Topics range from how the internet did not invent but made universal the use of informally written language， to the thinning line between 'internet friends' vs 'irl friends'， to the different waves of generations that use the internet with different expectations and hence different language， to why old people keep texting me these unnecessary passive-agressive periods at the end of their messages。。。（There is also the hilarity factor of reading about tumblr memes， emojis， and the rise and fall of oddities such as ~*~ sparkle punctuation~*~ in an actual book， to then have those topics taken seriously and picked apart。） 。。。more

Cathy ，

Not what I expected， too academic and dry

P J ，

Loved this book。 Full of interesting liguistic bits and bobs。

Manu ，

i just fucking love linguistics

Isabel ，

This book is of interest to everyone who is either a linguist， interested in languages and/or the way language is shaped by the internet （and by saying "the internet" as opposed to "online" or "the world wide web" I'm already putting myself in a certain internet user category。 ;） （and by that smiley， too）。It's fascinating how you can put people in different age groups and whether they were an early adapter of the internet or came to it later， were growing up when the internet was introduced to a This book is of interest to everyone who is either a linguist， interested in languages and/or the way language is shaped by the internet （and by saying "the internet" as opposed to "online" or "the world wide web" I'm already putting myself in a certain internet user category。 ;） （and by that smiley， too）。It's fascinating how you can put people in different age groups and whether they were an early adapter of the internet or came to it later， were growing up when the internet was introduced to a wider audience or were born when the internet was already around。 This books gives a very good insight into some issues， such as memes or emojis。 I really enjoyed reading this。 。。。more

Sandra ，

Thought I'd be more interested in this than I was！ Had a hard time finishing it。 Thought I'd be more interested in this than I was！ Had a hard time finishing it。 。。。more

kalina ，

reading a published linguistic analysis on lolcats and academic research on memes - what a time to be alive

Teresa ，

Excellent bookReally fascinating exploration of language and the internet。 I'll be weaving a lot of these observations into my teaching， I'm sure。 Excellent bookReally fascinating exploration of language and the internet。 I'll be weaving a lot of these observations into my teaching， I'm sure。 。。。more

Jennifer Campbell ，

This was a delight， sure to have topics of interest to anyone who has ever wondered about changes in email/text etiquette or the evolution of internet memes。 I enjoy language and linguistics， and history of cultures， and am a member of the "full internet" generation by McCulloch's definition （though a comparatively slow and resistant adopter of many things considered norms in internet culture）， so this book ticked multiple boxes for me。 I liked the chapters about the history of how we have adapt This was a delight， sure to have topics of interest to anyone who has ever wondered about changes in email/text etiquette or the evolution of internet memes。 I enjoy language and linguistics， and history of cultures， and am a member of the "full internet" generation by McCulloch's definition （though a comparatively slow and resistant adopter of many things considered norms in internet culture）， so this book ticked multiple boxes for me。 I liked the chapters about the history of how we have adapted communication across different forms of written and spoken technologies， and was delighted to be reminded of pre-emoji ascii art （¯\_（ツ）_/¯） and got nostalgic for a moment over lolcat。She presents her topics conversationally， with even some of the more academic sides made easy to approach for those less acquainted with them。 It's a great mashup of informative and entertaining， formal and informal- just like the internet！ Perhaps I didn't make the most sensible choice by listening to the audiobook on a topic which spent a good amount of time discussing punctuation and typographical tone of voice， but I enjoyed the author's vocalizations of ALLCAPS and sparkles。 😂 。。。more

Rebecca ，

Loved this and sped through it ！ A super interesting， very readable and FUNNY book on the linguistics of the internet， not to mention a great primer on basic linguistic concepts in general。 I hope she writes more books - this did not extend to TikTok but I feel it is the natural successor to the meme。

Travis ，

This is my favorite book now。

Heather ，

Because Internet is an excellent exploration of how people use language in online interactions， and how the conventions of online language and online social interaction more generally have shifted and are continuing to shift with time。 It's smart and funny and the kind of book where I kept pausing to tell my boyfriend things I'd just read; it prompted me to think of my own internet interactions over the years， and prompted me to ask him about his。 （I am way more of an "internet person" than he i Because Internet is an excellent exploration of how people use language in online interactions， and how the conventions of online language and online social interaction more generally have shifted and are continuing to shift with time。 It's smart and funny and the kind of book where I kept pausing to tell my boyfriend things I'd just read; it prompted me to think of my own internet interactions over the years， and prompted me to ask him about his。 （I am way more of an "internet person" than he is， which we both already knew， but it was interesting to talk about what we each remember about early online interactions。） It was interesting to think about the fact that people born in an era of widespread internet use won't necessarily remember the first times they "went online"， any more than I remember the first time I watched television or used a telephone: TV and phones were always there for me， and the internet will have always been there for younger people。 I may not remember the literal first time I went online， but I remember my early internet experiences as something totally new and different: I remember talking in chat rooms and message boards on Prodigy and then on AOL， from what must have been 6th grade onwards （I say this because I remember having a chat room name that referenced the names of my classroom guinea pigs）。 As someone who was "interacting with strangers" in my first online forays， whether via chat or email or AOL message boards （in high school I had internet-friends via a Seventeen magazine message board called "Whims of Fashion"， which later migrated to Livejournal） I fit into the cohort that McCulloch refers to as "Old Internet People"， though I'm not part of the early section of that cohort （Usenet users and people who were on university networks before Compuserve and Prodigy and AOL took things more mainstream）。 At the same time I have overlap with the cohort McCulloch refers to as "Full Internet People"， who "began by using it to communicate more with people they already know" - like AOL Instant Messenger conversations with people from school。 McCulloch uses these cohorts （there are also "Semi Internet People"， "Post Internet People"， and "Pre Internet People"） to discuss different communication patterns and assumptions。 There's lots of interesting stuff here， especially when McCulloch talks about "Post Internet People" who joined "the social internet after their parents were already there" and had to figure out how to deal with "context collapse" - which is "danah boyd's term for when people from all your overlapping friend groups see all your shared posts from different aspects of your life。" McCulloch explores various areas of online communication， including how new words or phrases spread online， how people use emoji （and the history of emoji， kaomoji， and emoticons）， "typographical tone of voice"， memes， Facebook "status updates"， and email greetings and closings （including a generational divide between people who start work emails with "Dear" and people who feel that has weird connotations of intimacy）。 Throughout， she quotes academic research and popular sources while also drawing on her own experiences with being an "internet person，" and the result is really engaging。 。。。more

Rebecca Schwarz ，

A lighthearted look at how language is used today and how it evolves with us and the mediums we invent to communicate with each other。

Jillian ，

This book was FASCINATING。 I definitely want to read more on linguistics now。 What I loved about this was how the author explained how the internet facilitated the fracture of written language into formal and informal and simultaneously enabled more study of our informal conversations （both written and oral）。 I also appreciated the insight into language as a continually changing entity， not something fixed and rigid。 I loved learning more about the creativity and innovation people utilize in ord This book was FASCINATING。 I definitely want to read more on linguistics now。 What I loved about this was how the author explained how the internet facilitated the fracture of written language into formal and informal and simultaneously enabled more study of our informal conversations （both written and oral）。 I also appreciated the insight into language as a continually changing entity， not something fixed and rigid。 I loved learning more about the creativity and innovation people utilize in order to make ourselves understood in written language。 And it was just fun to read about the origins and evolution of emoji， memes， and chats。A couple of favorite moments:（The signoff on a letter from the 1500s） “So humbly craving the continuance of your honorable favor towards me， and the eternal establishment of your happiness， I humbly take leave。” I feel strongly tempted to close all my conversations with friends this way now。 😂“Language is humanity’s most spectacular open source project。”“A network is not debased as it changes; it’s flexibility us s key part of its strength。 So， too， is language enriched and made alive again for each subsequent generation as new connections grow and old ones wither away。”I’d definitely recommend this to anyone interested in learning more about words， the internet， and linguistics。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0