Welcome to Litsy!

An interesting read, but extremely dry in some parts; it was a bit of a slog.

A fantastic look at the impact of the internet on language both spoken and written. Probably better to read the print version because the audiobook has to describe emoticons, emoji, the graphic components of memes, and unpronounceable ASCII. Loved it.

Next audiobook! Excited to have discovered the Libby app!

The audiobook is narrated by the author. This was my second time overall reading the book, and this time the meme chapter was my favourite (last time, it was the emoji chapter). Also impressive to hear keyboard smash read out loud 😂

Although the word “emoji” resembles the English “emoticon”, the word actually comes from the Japanese e (picture) and moji (character)…

Seems fitting to read this as the internet is still down at work.

November #bookspin list!

@TheAromaofBooks

#QuotsyJul21

When looking for #emoji quotes, this one made me laugh:

Sending someone all of the possible birthday party emoji is extra festive: great! But sending someone all of the possible phallic emoji (say, the eggplant and the cucumber and the corncob and the banana) is NOT extra sexxaayy: that‘s a weird salad.🤣🥗

#blueandyellow #curiouscovers

Sentences I never thought I‘d read😜

“You practically want to reach back through time and punch the elitism.”

#firstlinefridays @ShyBookOwl

I kept texting my sister quotes from Babel, so she asked if I wanted to read the tagged book. A couple weeks ago she sent it along with my late birthday gift (jigsaw puzzle) and funny card. I‘ll add it to my September #bookspin once I get my act together.

Grabbed this recently on a #kindledeal and loved it. A fascinating look at the evolution of language due to internet/text communication.

What's the tag for kindle deals? Because Internet, which is fantastic and about internet language and language related to the internet, is $1.99 right now and it's brilliant. #kindledeals #ebooksale

Finding it incredibly difficult to focus on anything apart from current events and #antiracism titles and articles. This poor book was picked up and put down so many times. I would have normally really enjoyed this, but my headspace wasn't ready for this right now. Interesting tidbits about the internet and how quickly language is changing thanks to texting and social media. And we, as language users, are changing our language daily. #audiobook

Have been looking forward to this since it came out and glad I finally took the time to read it! A lot more than I expected about the history of the internet itself, and of how various internet-based linguistic trends emerged from centuries or millennia-old predecessors. The last chapter was a poetic treatise on the value of linguistic diversity. Will definitely be rereading this.

Omg this explains so many interactions with my mom. "Younger people find responding to a text message in the company of others is reasonable, because you can integrate it into the pauses of the conversation, but that unplanned phone calls are gross interruption because they demand your attention instantly, completely and unpredictably.

"Even if this increased attention to typographical tone of voice did mean the decline of standard punctuation, I'd gladly accept the decline of standards that were arbitrary and elitist in the first place in favor of being able to better connect with my fellow humans."

April #bookspin list! @TheAromaofBooks

My 24 February reads!

Highlights:
📚Because Internet — a fascinating linguistic take on the internet and how it‘s changing the way we speak.
📚 Well Met — a sweet romance with a super fun Renaissance fair setting.
📚 The Poet X — I adored this YA novel-in-verse on audio.
📚 The Path Between Us - a great Enneageam refresher.
📚 The Collapsing Empire/The Consuming Fire - Am now dying for book 3 to come out!

#howjessicareadsin2020

The author explores various internet and language related themes, stressing that internet users are not a monolithic block but vary according to when and why they started using it ranging from those who were there in its very early days to those who have grown up with it always there. She teases out what online behaviour is analogous to offline behaviour (eg teen hangouts) and what is genuinely new (eg emojis).

Fascinating.

#dinnerandabook #mycover

SO INTERESTING. Explained so many things I've just consumed as common sense in my almost 25 years of regular computer/internet/phone use. Definitely will be interesting to reread in another 25 years when the English language will have no doubt changed twice as quickly in the same amount of time.

Read with grace in Austria 💙

A fascinating and accessible history and analysis of how we use language online. This book is for anyone interested in words. However, I do not recommend on audio. There were too many verbal manipulations in written uses that translated poorly to speech and it got very annoying to listen to.

I find language and dialect fascinating, so it‘s no surprise that I loved this book! It explores how the internet has affected our use of language and the evolution of (primarily American) English as the internet has grown. I appreciate that the author allowed her personality and humor to shine through. The first chapter is a little disorganized, but that didn‘t reduce my enjoyment.

I guess my interest in linguistics isn't as strong as I thought, I became pretty bored with this by the end. 2 💥💥 1/2

Very readable, and fascinating. Very positive about language change and the potential of the informal written communication we do now.

Some folks off Litsy have asked me whether I find this depressing. Nope! It's fascinating how internet users have adapted written language to suit their (our!) purposes. People sneering over it are doing the same as folks sneering about dialect or how young people speak; language is meant to communicate, and people on the internet are definitely managing that.

Fascinating so far! Mentions a book called Fixing English by Anne Curzan that I want to look up later...

And yay! Casual mention of enby people!

My last book haul for... Hopefully a while? I'm so tempted to jump straight into Because Internet, but I'm also kinda sick (mostly due to the antibiotics 😂) and am not sure I have the brain.

I really enjoy linguistics and this book was so very much in line with my interests, exploring how internet culture has shaped and is shaped by language. I learned a lot of the whys behind internet language and informal written language. The fact that I recommended it to two people before so even finished is probably telling. Maybe too dry for anyone who isn't a nonfiction reader, but I'd still recommend it to pretty much everyone else.

A little coffee shop reading 😍

My day just got a whole lot better 😍

She still doesn't really understand the concept of sitting in a lap, but I did convince her to stay for about 60 seconds as I was reading about typographical emphasis

I hope this is just one of many books examining the informal language of the internet. I particularly liked the chapter on emoji. The one key omission I felt was discussion of the structure "because noun", like the title.

The inside jacket reads, “A linguistically informed look at how our digital world is transforming the English language.” The author is a linguist which makes this book better (imho) than your typical grammar nazi fare.

1. Because Internet and The Sol Majestic

2. Evening reading, mostly

3. Nina Varela, because I just finished Crier's War and am obsessed

#weekendreads

I‘ve always thought the internet was where grammar went to die, but surprisingly it goes there to develop a whole new life! As someone who thought the poop emoji was a ‘chocolate kiss‘ for a long time, I really needed this book! McCulloch as a linguist has done a spectacular job of illustrating how language works on-line for those of us who are Secondary Internet Users. Loved everything about this book. #TIL I‘m old! #NFNov

This book was a lot of fun—and I learned a ton, too. If you‘re into language, humour, and the internet of things, I highly recommend this book. The audiobook didn‘t lose anything from the print book (and made more sense for some parts), but you can‘t go wrong with either.

The passive aggressive potential in a single period… the confusion caused by generational differences in ellipses use… & other aspects of typographical tone are in this delightful #audiobook, narrated by the author. Linguist McCulloch calls language “humanity‘s most spectacular open source project.” Her enthusiasm is infectious. I also love her sense of humour, like when she talks about putting “our harrumphing hats on.” Informative entertainment.

The chapter on memes is making me smile.

Not sure how to hashtag listening to the tagged audiobook while preparing herbal concoctions from elecampane roots, but these endeavours began with #audiogardening.

I enjoyed this book as it analyzes online writing and the evolution of how we communicate on the internet. I thought the parallels between postcard writing and twitter/texting were interesting. The information about when you joined the internet world and why you used it was fascinating sociology. I liked it, and liked her tone and use of humor.

My road trip read for fall break weekend. So far, I can‘t say I‘m wildly impressed. Most of what she says about language isn‘t much different than slang has always been. Hoping the author digs in a bit more when she gets to internet-specific topics like memes and emojis.

This book slips into being more about sociology than linguistics in places. I found it fascinating, but if you're looking for an analysis of meme grammar, you're better off following the author's online writing.

If you're an Internet Person like me, this book may well make you feel seen. If you're worried that technology is destroying young people's communication skills, it might give some comfort or at least a new perspective.

In a meeting at work today, someone made a comment about how she thinks overall literacy is declining due to texting and twitter. I really wished I could take her aside and say “Let me tell you about this really interesting book I'm reading!“

In writing/editing this book, McCulloch says that she tried to use spellings and usages that are most common in online writing, even if dictionaries and style guides haven't caught up. That makes perfect sense to me, and yet I still found it jarring to see “get ahold of“ in a published book. I've spent decades editing that particular construction out of my own writing, even down to text messages.

Some interesting thoughts, but I felt this could have been accomplished in an article rather than a full length book.