Original Research
Die internet as dinamiese taalomgewing: taalveranderingsverskynsels in Internetafrikaans
Literator | Vol 22, No 3 | a1053 |
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/lit.v22i3.1053
| © 2001 M. Verhoef
| This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 13 June 2001 | Published: 13 June 2001
Submitted: 13 June 2001 | Published: 13 June 2001
About the author(s)
M. Verhoef, Vaaldriehoekkampus, Potchefstroomse Universiteit vir CHO, South AfricaFull Text:
PDF (273KB)Abstract
The internet as dynamic language environment: manifestations of language change in Internet Afrikaans
It is generally accepted that the growing interest in the Internet has opened up new horizons for language research. Chenault (1997:1) asserts that the Internet is not about technology or information, but about communication. The aim with this article is to explore the Internet as a dynamic language environment in which emerging patterns of language change in modernday Afrikaans could be traced. Firstly, attention is paid to ways in which the internet speech community could be defined as a coherent speech community. A second aim with this article is to scrutinise the dichotomy between spoken and written language. This is done in order to indicate that linguistic innovations, which usually emerge from social interaction, find their way into written language in digital communication. The third aim is to take a close look at various forms or patterns of language change in Afrikaans as they are presently used in Afrikaans chat rooms on the Internet. The article concludes that Internet Afrikaans could be regarded as an aspect of virtual reality for Afrikaans because systematic patterns of language change which started long ago in Afrikaans are confirmed by the Internet language environment.
It is generally accepted that the growing interest in the Internet has opened up new horizons for language research. Chenault (1997:1) asserts that the Internet is not about technology or information, but about communication. The aim with this article is to explore the Internet as a dynamic language environment in which emerging patterns of language change in modernday Afrikaans could be traced. Firstly, attention is paid to ways in which the internet speech community could be defined as a coherent speech community. A second aim with this article is to scrutinise the dichotomy between spoken and written language. This is done in order to indicate that linguistic innovations, which usually emerge from social interaction, find their way into written language in digital communication. The third aim is to take a close look at various forms or patterns of language change in Afrikaans as they are presently used in Afrikaans chat rooms on the Internet. The article concludes that Internet Afrikaans could be regarded as an aspect of virtual reality for Afrikaans because systematic patterns of language change which started long ago in Afrikaans are confirmed by the Internet language environment.
Keywords
Chat Rooms; Internet Afrikaans; Language Change; Sociolinguistics; Varieties Of Afrikaans; Virtual Language Community; Virtual Language Reality
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Crossref Citations
1. The integration of English in Flemish versus African online peer group language: a comparative approach
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