The internet is a natural breeding ground for all kinds of creative language use. In some cases, linguistic innovation serves a specific purpose, such as making communication more efficient or filling a gap in the lexicon for technological advancements. Sometimes, however, internet users just want to have a bit of fun with their language. If it gains traction online, language that starts on the internet will often find its way into everyday speech. This kind of language can be used to show belonging, and to build rapport and in-group membership between those who understand it.
The internet has significantly expanded the lexicon of the English language, contributing to a wide variety of slang entering users' vocabularies.
The article below discusses the development of two related internet slang terms, interjection/adjective 'poggers' and compound noun 'pogchamp'. These are just two of many expressions which have developed within online communities.
HITC - What does Poggers mean on social media? Meaning of pogchamp explained (published April 2021)
For more examples, see our post on internet slang and in-group membership.
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David Astle is an Australian journalist and writer who often posts his observations about language on social media.
Here, he comments on the internet's morphological influence. The prefix 'un' is ubiquitous in various terminology associated with online activities. In some cases, it can contribute to word class conversion by turning any other lexeme into a verb, as seen here with the noun 'friend'. While the verb 'befriend', using the prefix 'be', has long existed in English, the verbs 'to friend' and 'to unfriend' apply specifically to online contexts, and perhaps mainly to Facebook.
Similarly, the verb 'to unlike', not listed above, originated among Facebook users and is now widely recognised.
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Social media platforms each have their own set of slang that only users will fully understand. Eventually, if the platform becomes popular enough, usage of its slang will transfer into spoken English. Instagram, for example, helped spawn the neologism 'influencer' as a job title. Several years later, most English speakers are familiar with this term. But it continues to evolve, with blends like 'finfluencer' emerging.
This article features several examples of creative morphology originating from social media.
The blend 'finfluencer' describes an influencer who distributes financial advice online to a community of followers.
The article also includes examples of blends from popular app TikTok, where videos are often grouped using tags made up of a lexeme blended with 'TikTok'. In this case, 'FinTok' and 'stocktock' are both used to designate videos related to finance and the stock market.
Similarly to above, Mamamia Australia (a website aimed at middle-aged women) used the blend 'skinfluencer', showing that the noun 'influencer' can be creatively altered to efficiently describe someone's area of expertise for their target demographic on social media.
Discuss: What other examples can you think of that have originated from social media or discussion forums on the internet?
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