{"id":6293,"date":"2015-10-05T05:40:17","date_gmt":"2015-10-05T09:40:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kasperskydaily.com\/uk\/?p=6293"},"modified":"2019-11-22T10:12:43","modified_gmt":"2019-11-22T10:12:43","slug":"cyber-slang-peculiarities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/cyber-slang-peculiarities\/6293\/","title":{"rendered":"The secret life of punctuation marks in the era of Internet"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cHave you heard how these kids are speaking? Is that even English ? Preposterous! Some weird mumbo-jumbo, I can\u2019t understand a thing!\u201d said an elderly woman as she watches her grandson playing at the playground.<\/p>\n<p>This woman is not alone in her judgement. Today\u2019s kids are sometimes hard to understand. They use new words, new context and new spellings for words<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Sup?<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 N1 haha<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Duh. Whatever. K TTYL<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 BFN<\/p>\n<p>Do you know what all of those mean? It could confuse a 30-year old, let alone an elderly person.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">It's what I love about <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Warcraft?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">#Warcraft<\/a> \u2013 gamers from all over Europe getting together to fight as one. And talk shit in another language \ud83d\ude00<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Alain Hardy (@alain_hardy) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/alain_hardy\/status\/643516196743192576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">September 14, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>This should not come as a surprise. Older generations always have something to say about the evolutions of the younger generations. This moaning and groaning has been going on for ages: even back in times, in Nero\u2019s Great Roman Empire, claims were heard that young Romans write in some \u2018artificial lingo.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>At the same time, the current change is a bit different from what we have seen so far \u2013 it is drastic and global. The proliferation of Internet and mobile technologies fuels the fast-track evolution of the majority of global languages. English, predictably, leads the process, yet others are also following suit.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe class=\"youtube-player\" type=\"text\/html\" width=\"640\" height=\"390\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/UmvOgW6iV2s?version=3&amp;rel=1&amp;fs=1&amp;showsearch=0&amp;showinfo=1&amp;iv_load_policy=1&amp;wmode=transparent\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The most obvious change are seen in vocabulary; mind all those \u2018Google it,\u2019 \u2018IMHO\u2019, \u2018meme,\u2019 etc. The wrath of language purists also comes up every time propositions to \u201cspell it like we hear it\u201d come up.<\/p>\n<p>There are more subtle changes in other parts of a language, including a discreet, formalized and relevantly static part of language \u2013 punctuation.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Facebook says \"haha\" has overtaken \"lol\" by a wide margin <a href=\"http:\/\/t.co\/UobuZlJv85\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">http:\/\/t.co\/UobuZlJv85<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/t.co\/OJXWbdfRAd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/OJXWbdfRAd<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 The Verge (@verge) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/verge\/status\/632774536941858817?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">August 16, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>Slash dot dash dot<\/h3>\n<p>In the traditional written language punctuation marks helps to structure the text and make it more apprehensible. Once on the Internet, these \u2018high-level\u2019 functions lose their relevance and are skipped.<\/p>\n<p>How many of you accurately put commas in right places when posting on Facebook?<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">My overuse of dramatic elipses is challenged only by my overuse of unnecessary commas.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Comic Dude Brandon Lu (@LuisOrBrandon) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LuisOrBrandon\/status\/644658479014264832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">September 17, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Why would one need to? The text is meaningful anyway. However, punctuation marks play a totally distinct role in online lingo: they indicate emotions.<\/p>\n<p>When we converse verbally, emotions are delivered via various non-verbal channels: tonality, gestures, body language, etc. In long-read contexts like books, media publications or letters, the author has enough time and space to thoroughly explain their point. Online chats and instant messaging on the mobile impose a challenge: the communication is too fast and concise.<\/p>\n<p>Say, your partner writes: \u2018cool\u2019. Now, what is that very \u2018cool\u2019 supposed to mean? Is it sarcasm, an attempt to get rid of this pest of a chatter, or \u2018cool\u2019 in its direct sense of a word?<\/p>\n<p>Partially, this challenge is addressed through the use of emoticons. But it\u2019s not as simple as it seems. A happy smiley and a sad smiley are quite obvious, but what about this squiggle of a smiley: }:-&gt;)? It\u2019s time to check special \u201cdictionaries\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/neronero_gamers\/status\/649661936901029892<\/p>\n<p>The same problem applies to emoticons. The majority of these little pictures of a face with pointed ears do not have a univocal, intuitive meaning. Imagine you are quite surprised that your wife is mad at you, but she just wanted to insert a \u2018confused smiley\u2019 into your chat. Before clarifying this, you both have spent ten minutes chatting.<\/p>\n<p>And, finally, many people just don\u2019t like smileys (for some they are awkward or not respectable) and here\u2019s where good ole\u2019 punctuation marks come to play.<\/p>\n<p>Of course the ones bearing intense emotions are exclamation and question marks. In the modern communication, there cannot be enough of them:<\/p>\n<p><em>\u2014 Tee hee???<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u2014 Wicked!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Curiously, this dialogue bears equal meaning and value even if you take all the words away:<\/p>\n<p><em>\u2014 ???<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u2014 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<\/em><\/p>\n<p>But that\u2019s something on the surface. There are some punctuation debacles which are even more complex and subtle.<\/p>\n<h3>Period of confusion<\/h3>\n<p>Take the period mark \u2013 it\u2019s rarely used in online communications. Why would anyone need it if you just hit enter to indicate the end of your utterance?<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/SmallzMatthew\/status\/643653868677521408<\/p>\n<p>Once this \u2018unnecessary\u2019 period appears at the end of the phrase, it can hold a lot of meaning. Today, it has turned into a means of indicating a harsh tone of discussion. It might mean \u201cEnd of discussion. Do as I say. Period\u201d. Or \u201cYou really pissed me off\u201d. Or \u201cWould you just leave me alone?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Just a small comparison:<\/p>\n<p><em>\u2014 I\u2019ll go fishing on the weekend, ok?<\/em><br>\n<em> \u2014 Ok<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Or<\/p>\n<p><em>\u2014 I\u2019ll go fishing on the weekend, ok?<\/em><br>\n<em> \u2014 Ok.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>While the first Ok\u2019s meaning is plain and simple, the second implies: \u201cRight, now you can go, but you will regret this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It comes as a wonder this rule was not imposed by language authorities and then taught at schools for decades. It\u2019s a self-established and intuitive rule which has been disseminated all around the world.<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/CrissyKayTesh\/status\/647224025328947202<\/p>\n<h3>Redundant punctuation<\/h3>\n<p>The same story applied to the ellipsis, which plays the role of a \u2018mumbler\u2019 and the opposite of the harsh period mark.<\/p>\n<p>There were times when the ellipsis was rarely used in a limited number of cases \u2013 for instance, it would indicate an omission in the text. Today, it\u2019s a universal placeholder bearing no particular meaning, yet quite a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.slate.com\/articles\/life\/the_good_word\/2013\/07\/ellipses_why_so_common_what_are_they_really_for.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">prominent<\/a> element of the online syntax.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-pullquote\"><p>The secret life of punctuation marks in the era of Internet #slang #period #Internet<\/p><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fkas.pr%2Fx59f&amp;text=The+secret+life+of+punctuation+marks+in+the+era+of+Internet+%23slang+%23period+%23Internet+\" class=\"btn btn-twhite\" data-lang=\"en\" data-count=\"0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Tweet<\/a><\/blockquote>\n<p>Researchers think that the use of the ellipsis in today\u2019s electronic communications is needed for two purposes.<\/p>\n<p>First, the ellipsis helps to imitate <a href=\"http:\/\/www.slate.com\/articles\/life\/the_good_word\/2013\/07\/ellipses_why_so_common_what_are_they_really_for.2.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">live speech<\/a>. When conversing verbally, we insert a lot of \u2018er\u2019s and \u2018hmm\u2019s into the discourse. They might be considered useless, but without them the speech sounds artificial (if we don\u2019t mean news reports on TV). So, in electronic communications, the ellipsis allow to insert these \u2018comfort\u2019 pauses into the written speech, sooth the conversation, make it more \u2018real\u2019 \u2013 especially is you discuss a sensitive topic:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought\u2026 you know\u2026 maybe\u2026 we\u2019d go out to the movies one of these days?\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another role the ellipsis plays is quite mundane. Just spell out any chaotic thoughts which might strike you as you write and insert the ellipsis here and there. Without the ellipsis, your phrase it just a meaningless mixture of words, while with the ellipsis included it magically turns into deep thinking with smart things implied but not spoken.<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/DenoteChris\/status\/649693578403426304<\/p>\n<p>The ellipsis is very comfortable. You don\u2019t have to think what you are saying, or where one phrase ends and the other begins, or how to structure the sentence\u2026 It\u2019s like filler that you can use to tie together words that would not come together. This approach, in fact, is so much in the trend of the current language evolution.<\/p>\n<p>So, does it all mean that the language degrades and the older folks are right saying that it used to be better in their times? Hardly.<\/p>\n<p>Language is just the reflection of the change happening in our everyday lives. And our lives are becoming increasingly fast and chaotic.<\/p>\n<p>We have less opportunity to concentrate on a single task. You get an email, the phone rings, you pick the phone, the boss asks something in a chat window, your calendar app reminds you of today\u2019s events, you snooze it, you continue replying to the email\u2026 Sounds familiar?<\/p>\n<p>Then there\u2019s no wonder you written speech does not correspond to any of the 20th century linguistic standards.<\/p>\n<p>New times, new rules.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our vocabulary continues to evolve as we see slang enter our lexicon. From Googling to memes once-thought silly words have become accepted. This evolution is also impacting the way we write and punctuate statements online. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":521,"featured_media":6294,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[1180,20,565,1179,1178,83],"class_list":{"0":"post-6293","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-emoticons","9":"tag-facebook","10":"tag-mobile-2","11":"tag-slang","12":"tag-texting","13":"tag-twitter"},"hreflang":[{"hreflang":"en-gb","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/cyber-slang-peculiarities\/6293\/"},{"hreflang":"en-us","url":"https:\/\/usa.kaspersky.com\/blog\/cyber-slang-peculiarities\/6095\/"},{"hreflang":"es-mx","url":"https:\/\/latam.kaspersky.com\/blog\/cyber-slang-peculiarities\/6255\/"},{"hreflang":"es","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.es\/blog\/cyber-slang-peculiarities\/6972\/"},{"hreflang":"it","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.it\/blog\/cyber-slang-peculiarities\/6690\/"},{"hreflang":"ru","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.ru\/blog\/cyber-slang-peculiarities\/9145\/"},{"hreflang":"x-default","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/cyber-slang-peculiarities\/10079\/"},{"hreflang":"de","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.de\/blog\/cyber-slang-peculiarities\/6237\/"},{"hreflang":"ja","url":"https:\/\/blog.kaspersky.co.jp\/cyber-slang-peculiarities\/9097\/"},{"hreflang":"ru-kz","url":"https:\/\/blog.kaspersky.kz\/cyber-slang-peculiarities\/9145\/"},{"hreflang":"en-au","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com.au\/blog\/cyber-slang-peculiarities\/10079\/"},{"hreflang":"en-za","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.za\/blog\/cyber-slang-peculiarities\/10079\/"}],"acf":[],"banners":"","maintag":{"url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/tag\/emoticons\/","name":"emoticons"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/521"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6293"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6293\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17851,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6293\/revisions\/17851"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}