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dabbledev's review against another edition
2.0
It was a nice collection of nostalgia but not really a new take I didn't already inherently know.
juliasilge's review against another edition
4.0
I've been slowing making my way through this and finally finished it up -- what a delight! I think the most interesting thing to me is the framing of how informal language has always been there but only recently has it become easier/possible to study and measure how it is changing.
floresben73's review against another edition
5.0
Linguistics has long been a big interest of mine, especially linguistic anthropology. It was one of the first classes I ever took in college, and it hooked me in immediately. Now I'm #blessed to be studying anthropology in one of the best programs in the world. Whenever I do interviews for ethnographic assignments, I always cringe at how my voice/language sounds. Nothing makes you more aware and self-conscious of how you sound than listening to recordings of yourself. One of the big ways I speak and understand the world, like many younger people, has been through the internet. The internet has woven it's way into the fabric of everyday life for millions if not billions of people. This book does a great job of taking internet language seriously without brushing it off as stupid or irrelevant. Whether you're a citizen of the internet or staunch technophobe, there's still something to be gained from this book!
ladywhiskers's review against another edition
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
This was a good read and expanded my perspective of language and the internet. I found it really interesting to read about changes that happened when I was part of them, like the change in meaning from LOL to lol, and when emojis became a thing and the media was obsessed with them.
I enjoyed learning why the often published fear "teens won't know how to spell because they use TXTSPK!!" was unfounded, that was a particular highlight.
It was odd revisiting the heyday of memes, Advice Animals were HUGE for a year or so there and then suddenly became dated and uncool. Fun to reflect on.
I enjoyed learning why the often published fear "teens won't know how to spell because they use TXTSPK!!" was unfounded, that was a particular highlight.
It was odd revisiting the heyday of memes, Advice Animals were HUGE for a year or so there and then suddenly became dated and uncool. Fun to reflect on.
stevenyenzer's review against another edition
4.0
In Because Internet, Gretchen McCulloch uses her expertise as a linguist and her passion as a born-and-bred internet user to explore some of the most fascinating aspects of online language. McCulloch does a great job of diving fairly deep into linguistic topics without getting too wonky, and manages to leaven the whole thing with plenty of humor. As a bonus, her reading of the audiobook was terrific. Highly recommended!
amanizaha's review against another edition
5.0
I understand this is a highly delusional, self-absorbed claim, but: this book was absolutely written for me. I'm sure McCulloch caught onto highschool-me raving about the many quirks and peculiarities of Internet Language — like the transformation of "lol" from acronym to almost a word of its own, the nuanced uses of memes and emojis in informal communication, along with a number of other phenomenons I myself partook in as a person who was (and is) chronically Online — and decided to write a book that touches on exactly those things. I mean: this book is so perfectly suited to my interests, it's uncanny.
Because Internet is such a delight: it's entertaining and informative, as well as highly relatable for anyone who regularly uses the internet to socialise or is aware of internet culture. McCulloch, who has a master's in linguistics and is particularly interested in internet linguistics, clearly knows what she is talking about; but more than that, it's her enthusiasm, awe and curiosity that shine through in her narration and make this book so enjoyable.
Her tone is lighthearted and playful, never taking herself too seriously, while also providing research (both peer-reviewed studies and more informal Twitter polls she's conducted herself) to back up and/or concretise her claims. Also, it is So refreshing to hear someone speak about internet culture and the internet's effect on language without any pretentiousness or condescension.
And the things she writes about!! There's the evolution of internet culture; minimalist punctuation; the expression of sarcasm, and tone in general, via text; emojis as semantic expressions of gestures; the ominous "..." often prevalent in text messages from older generations; the emphatic use of repeating letters. There's also the history of memes, generational characteristics in Internet behaviour, linguistic displays of politeness online — all of this and more within about 320 pages (of which the last 20% consist of an index, references and acknowledgement).
I very rarely choose to read non-fiction (not counting course literature), so the fact that I finished this book within two days is very telling for how engrossing it was. Of course, any reader's experience will depend on their interest in the subject matter and how exciting they find, say, a detailed exploration of why the ~ symbol is often used to convey sarcasm, or a description of the history of the hashtag. I'm biased, but I also genuinely think McCulloch has done a terrific job with this book.
My complaints are few:
* The chapter about memes was very much just a detailing of the history of memes, followed by musings on the outskirts of the concept of memes? The semantic use of memes was one of the things I most looked forward to reading about, but I feel like McCulloch skipped over a huge chunk of this fascinating subject and instead went off on multiple tangents. Granted, the book covers enough ground for this to be a minor complaint of mine, and the topic of memes and language probably warrants a book of its own, but the chapter doesn't really touch on how memes are used, text-based memes (as opposed to images) or the way meme phrases/words often infiltrate the rest of language online. Like how the Spongebob meme was used to indicate sarcasm, both typographically by alternating upper- and lowercase within a word, and also just by referencing the image itself.
* Personally, more subheadings throughout the text would've been very helpful lol.
Anyway: this book gets 5 stars - for McCulloch's expertise, her warm, enthusiastic narration, and the sheer number of fascinating things she touches on in regards to internet linguistics – not to mention how the content seems to be almost tailored to my interests.
Thank u Gretchen McCulloch!! Now please write a book on memes!
When we thought of language like a book, we thought of it as an unruly mess of words that had to be kept in order, like a Victorian gardener constantly retrimming the hedges into spirals and globes. When we think of language like a network, we can see order as a thing that emerges out of the natural tendencies of the individuals, the way that a forest keeps itself in order even though it doesn't get pruned and weeded.
Because Internet is such a delight: it's entertaining and informative, as well as highly relatable for anyone who regularly uses the internet to socialise or is aware of internet culture. McCulloch, who has a master's in linguistics and is particularly interested in internet linguistics, clearly knows what she is talking about; but more than that, it's her enthusiasm, awe and curiosity that shine through in her narration and make this book so enjoyable.
Her tone is lighthearted and playful, never taking herself too seriously, while also providing research (both peer-reviewed studies and more informal Twitter polls she's conducted herself) to back up and/or concretise her claims. Also, it is So refreshing to hear someone speak about internet culture and the internet's effect on language without any pretentiousness or condescension.
And the things she writes about!! There's the evolution of internet culture; minimalist punctuation; the expression of sarcasm, and tone in general, via text; emojis as semantic expressions of gestures; the ominous "..." often prevalent in text messages from older generations; the emphatic use of repeating letters. There's also the history of memes, generational characteristics in Internet behaviour, linguistic displays of politeness online — all of this and more within about 320 pages (of which the last 20% consist of an index, references and acknowledgement).
I very rarely choose to read non-fiction (not counting course literature), so the fact that I finished this book within two days is very telling for how engrossing it was. Of course, any reader's experience will depend on their interest in the subject matter and how exciting they find, say, a detailed exploration of why the ~ symbol is often used to convey sarcasm, or a description of the history of the hashtag. I'm biased, but I also genuinely think McCulloch has done a terrific job with this book.
My complaints are few:
* The chapter about memes was very much just a detailing of the history of memes, followed by musings on the outskirts of the concept of memes? The semantic use of memes was one of the things I most looked forward to reading about, but I feel like McCulloch skipped over a huge chunk of this fascinating subject and instead went off on multiple tangents. Granted, the book covers enough ground for this to be a minor complaint of mine, and the topic of memes and language probably warrants a book of its own, but the chapter doesn't really touch on how memes are used, text-based memes (as opposed to images) or the way meme phrases/words often infiltrate the rest of language online. Like how the Spongebob meme was used to indicate sarcasm, both typographically by alternating upper- and lowercase within a word, and also just by referencing the image itself.
* Personally, more subheadings throughout the text would've been very helpful lol.
Anyway: this book gets 5 stars - for McCulloch's expertise, her warm, enthusiastic narration, and the sheer number of fascinating things she touches on in regards to internet linguistics – not to mention how the content seems to be almost tailored to my interests.
Thank u Gretchen McCulloch!! Now please write a book on memes!
arielamandah's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
So, audiobooking about about typed communication wasn’t my most brilliant move so far this year. Nevertheless, Because Internet was entertaining and enlightening. The chapter in the emergence and use of emojis from a linguistics researcher’s point of view was really interesting, as were the discussions of formal and informal language. As someone who’s been “very online” since high school, this book also made me feel old. 😂
caseyadamsstark's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
5.0
My oldest son gave this book to me one Christmas, many many years ago, ;) ... and I've been gradually getting through it to the point where the new rules of language don't necessarily feel that new. My bad. Seriously it is, because while it took me nearly two years to finish this book, I actually did enjoy it.
My nonfiction reading generally tends to be historical research necessary for writing historical fiction. I am predominantly a fiction reader with fiction review goals, while my son... is not. Still, we manage to have meaningful conversations within an extended family that spans from the Silent Generation to the future--what are they, Alphas, now? I don't know yet, but the internet plays its role in keeping us together in spite of our vast differences when it comes to social media language. We share memes and catchphrases, movie quotes, and we often ask questions like "WTF is FUBAR?" or "What do you mean, 'You lost the game?' What game?" (For those who just lost the game, you're welcome...)
Language is meant to evolve, and this book breaks down why we need to accept this by focusing on the evolution of internet and social media language in particular. It gives a little nod to every generation for the complex nature of evolving language and their role in its progress. It might give older generations a better perspective on why, say, a period after a texted sentence is potentially a faux pas. Personally as a writer, I'm not fully accepting of the elimination of punctuation in text threads. Sue me. I was born before '69 (nice). But with the internet influence on the ever evolving fluidity of our language, maybe those Millennials, Gen Zs and Alphas (?) will one day change their minds. Gen X and the Boomers can only hope.
My nonfiction reading generally tends to be historical research necessary for writing historical fiction. I am predominantly a fiction reader with fiction review goals, while my son... is not. Still, we manage to have meaningful conversations within an extended family that spans from the Silent Generation to the future--what are they, Alphas, now? I don't know yet, but the internet plays its role in keeping us together in spite of our vast differences when it comes to social media language. We share memes and catchphrases, movie quotes, and we often ask questions like "WTF is FUBAR?" or "What do you mean, 'You lost the game?' What game?" (For those who just lost the game, you're welcome...)
Language is meant to evolve, and this book breaks down why we need to accept this by focusing on the evolution of internet and social media language in particular. It gives a little nod to every generation for the complex nature of evolving language and their role in its progress. It might give older generations a better perspective on why, say, a period after a texted sentence is potentially a faux pas. Personally as a writer, I'm not fully accepting of the elimination of punctuation in text threads. Sue me. I was born before '69 (nice). But with the internet influence on the ever evolving fluidity of our language, maybe those Millennials, Gen Zs and Alphas (?) will one day change their minds. Gen X and the Boomers can only hope.