FWD: [evol-psych] Spontaneous, Unedited, Naked

[Leila Monaghan]

thought this review of Crystal's new book would be interesting--a study both
of interest and of us!

best, Leila

>===== Original Message From "Stephen Miles Sacks, Ph.D." <Scipolicy at att.net>
=====
FWD from the evol-psych listserve:


> Subject: [evol-psych] Spontaneous, Unedited, Naked

FYI
Spontaneous, Unedited, Naked
Review by ANNE EISENBERG

A Linguist Looks at Discourse on the Internet

 LANGUAGE AND THE INTERNET
 by David Crystal
 Cambridge University Press, 2001

 Never mind those anxieties about the Internet's impact on privacy,
intellectual
 property and the recreational habits of 12-year-olds. What is it doing
to the
future of the English language? Will it really lead to the end of
literacy
as we know it--not to mention spelling? Not according to David Crystal, a
linguist who says in this witty,
 thoughtful
book that, on the contrary, the discourse of the Internet--with its new,
 informal, even bizarre forms of language--neither threatens nor replaces
 existing varieties of English but instead enriches them, extending our
 range of
 expression and showing us "homo loquens at its best."

 Crystal, the Welsh author of the Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English
 Language
 who is known to many in the U.S. through his comments on National Public
 Radio,
 analyzes the discourse of Web pages, e-mail, chatgroups and
 virtual-reality
 games. At first glance, much of this text certainly looks like a primer
on linguistic irresponsibility: the shedding of capital letters; the
 minimalist
 punctuation; the perverse spellings and goofy abbreviations like RUOK
 ("are you
 okay?"); the smileys, such as :-), representing humor; the coining of
 terms at
 a rate that has no parallel in contemporary language.

> > Full text
> > http://www.sciam.com/2001/1201issue/1201reviews1.html
> >
> > _____
> >
> > Language and the Internet
> > by David Crystal
> > Hardcover - 282 pages (October 1, 2001)
> > Cambridge Univ Pr (Trd); ISBN: 0521802121
> > AMAZON - US
> > http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521802121/darwinanddarwini/
> > AMAZON - UK
> > http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521802121/humannaturecom/
> >
> > Editorial Reviews
> >
> > From Library Journal
> >
> > In this first book-length consideration of the Internet by a linguist,
> Crystal,
> > whose Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language and over 40 other books have
> > established him as a leading authority on language, begins with the idea
> that
> > the Internet is not just a technological revolution but a social one as
> well.
> > The author reasons that language is central to the revolution and
explores
> the
> > role of language in the Internet and the effect of the Internet on
> language. In
> > four central chapters, he details the significant linguistic features at
> work
> > in the four major "situations" of the Internet: e-mail, chatgroups
> (including
> > listservs and discussion groups), virtual worlds, and the web. He
> concludes
> > that Netspeak (his word for the language of the Internet) is a new
medium,
> > "neither spoken language nor written language nor sign language, but a
new
> > language dimension computer-mediated language." Crystal sees Netspeak
> creating
> > huge opportunities for the expansion and enrichment of language. This is
> only
> > the first snapshot of an amazingly dynamic new field, but it provides
some
> of
> > the groundwork indispensable to future research. Recommended for larger
> public
> > libraries and all academic collections. Paul D'Alessandro, Portland
P.L.,
> ME
> >
> > Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
> >
> > Book Description
> >
> > According to popular mythology, the Internet will be bad for the future
of
> > language--technospeak will rule, standards will be lost, and creativity
> > diminished as globalization imposes sameness. David Crystal, one of the
> > foremost authorities on language, argues the reverse in his new book:
that
> the
> > Internet is enabling a dramatic expansion of the range and variety of
> language
> > and is providing unprecedented opportunities for personal creativity. In
> order
> > to grow and be maintained as a linguistic medium, the principles and
> standards
> > of the Internet must evolve--and they will be very different from other
> > mediums. Is the Internet a revolution? Is it a linguistic revolution?
> Beyond
> > the visual panache of the presentation on a screen, the Internet's
> > \'linguistic\' character is immediately obvious to anyone online. As the
> > Internet has become incorporated into our lives, it is becoming clearer
> how it
> > is being shaped by and is adapting language and languages. Language and
> the
> > Internet is the first book by a language expert on the linguistic
aspects
> of
> > the Internet. Opening up linguistic issues for a general readership,
> Crystal
> > argues that 'netspeak' is a radically new linguistic medium that we
cannot
> > ignore. David Crystal is one of the foremost authorities on language,
and
> as
> > editor of the Cambridge Encyclopedia he has used the Internet for
research
> > purposes from its earliest manifestations. His work for the technology
> company
> > Classification Data Limited has involved him in the development of an
> > information classification system with several Internet applications,
and
> he
> > has extensive professional experience of Web issues.\[P\] Crystal is
> author of
> > several books with Cambridge, including the \[I\]Cambridge Encyclopedia
of
> > Language\[/I\] (1997), \[I\]Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English
Language
> > (1995), \[I\]English as a Global Language\[/I\] (1997), and
\[I\]Langugage
> > Death\[/I\] (2000) and \[I\]Words on Words\[/I\] (University of Chicago,
> 2000)
> > . An internationally renowned writer, journal editor, lecturer and
> broadcaster,
> > he received an OBE in 1995 for his services to the English language. His
> edited
> > books include \[I\]The Cambridge Encyclopedia (Fourth Edition, 2000)
> \[I\]The
> > Cambridge Paperback Encyclopedia (Third Edition, 1999), \[I\]The Cambrid
ge
> > Biographical Encyclopedia\[/I\] (Second Edition, 1997) and \[I\]The
> Cambridge
> > Factfinder\[/I\] ( Fourth Edition, 2000).
> >
> >
===========================================


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