Jedruszczak

PerceptualDialectologyintheOnlineWorld

Withtheadventoftheinternet,humancommunicationandconnectivitytookagiant
leapforward.Asthisnewmediumappearedandbegantogrow,peoplehadtoadapttonew
methodsofcommunicationandselfexpressionviatext.Now,onlinecommunicationisa
dailypartofmostpeopleslives;wecommunicatewithfriends,family,coworkers,andeven
celebritiesthroughplatformslikeFacebookandTwitter.Eachoftheseplatformscanbe
seenasitsowncommunitytherearesharednormsandsharedgoals,andpeopleuse
thesewebsitestokeepintouchandmeetnewpeople.
Whileeachwebsiteformsitsownlargeronlinecommunity,thereare,ofcourse,
subcommunitiesoneachwebsite.Forexample,Facebooknotonlyconstitutesitsown
community(i.e.,thatofFacebookusers),buttherearealsosubcommunitiesthateachuser
canidentifywithandsubscribeto,basedoncriteriasuchasuniversityaffiliationor
geographicallocation;artwebsitesoftenhavecommunitiesfordifferentmedia,where
artistsofonemediumcansharetheirwork.Justlikeinanyclassiccommunity(i.e.,one
formedthroughfacetofacecontact),everyonlinecommunitycanhaveitsownjargons,
andevenitsownregistersandstyles.
Inmydailyonlineinteractions,Iseefriendswhotypeindifferentwaysacross
differentplatforms,andindifferentsituations.Imyselfchangemytypingstylebetween
usingFacebookandTwitter,simplybecauseIhavetwodifferentaudiencesthereare
peopleIneedtoactproperinfrontof,andtherearepeopleIcanbemyselfaround.I
believethatonlinelanguageuseandthestructureofanutterancea)haveaprestige
hierarchy,andb)createacertainperceptionofthespeaker,similartohowspoken

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languagevarietieshaveprestigehierarchiesandhoweachvarietyaffectsthelisteners
perceptionofthespeaker.
Totestthishypothesis,IcreatedasurveyusingGoogleFormsanddistributedit
online.Thesurveyconsistedofanacceptabilityratingandamatchedguisetest;
participantsweregivenfourtextstorespondto.Eachtextwaswrittenasifitwerea
statusupdatetypepostonasocialmediasite,andeachtexttoldthesamestory:the
storytellerreportsthattheyhadbeencaughtintherainwithoutanumbrellawhiledoing
groceriesandconsequentlygotwet,butreturnedhometoachangeofclothesandawarm
drink.Asthisprojectdealswithtextuallanguageuse,differencesbetweentextswere
creatednotaurally,butratherthroughcapitalization,punctuation,anduseofemoticons.In
order,astheyappearinthesurvey:
Text1:
WhileIwasoutrunningerrands,itstartedpouringoutofnowhere
absolutelyrainingbuckets.Ididn'tbringanumbrellawithme,soIgot
completelysoaked.Thankfully,Iwasonmywayhome,soachangeofclothes
andahotcupoftealater,Ifeelgreat.There'snothinglikebeingwarmand
indoorsonarainyday.
Text2:
Whileiwasoutrunningerrandsitstartedpouringoutofnowhere...O.o1
rainingbuckets!Andididn'tbringanumbrellawithmesoigotcompletely
soaked...;P2thankfullyIwasonmywayhome!Soachangeofclothesandhot
cupoftealaterifeelgreat^_^3 there'snothinglikebeingwarmandindoors
onarainyday~xD4
Text3:
whileiwasoutrunningerrandsitstartedpouringoutofnowherelike??
rainingbuckets???andididn'tbringanumbrellaw/mesoigotcompletely

Anemoticonexpressingbeingweirdedout,orareactionof(relativelyunpleasant)surprise.

Afacethatiswinkingandstickingitstongueout;mildannoyanceortheexpressionofugh,thoughnot
entirelynegative.
3

Analternativetotheclassicsmiley;asmilingfacewithclosedeyes.
4

Anopenlysmilingface,:D,modifiedwithxtoshowclosedeyes;awidegrin.
1
2

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soakedSIGHthankfullyiwasonmywayhomesoachangeofclothesanda
hotcupoftealaterimfeelingreat,there'snothinglikebeingWarmAnd
Indoorsonarainydayufeel
Text4:
WhileIwasoutrunningerrands,itstartedpouringoutofnowhere
absolutelyrainingbuckets!:)Ididn'tbringanumbrellawithme,soIgot
completelysoakedlol.Thankfully,Iwasonmywayhome:)soachangeof
clothesandahotcupoftealater,Ifeelgreat.There'snothinglikebeing
warmandindoorsonarainyday:)

Participantswereaskedtorateeachtextonascaleof1to5,with1beingmost
unacceptableand5beingmostacceptable.Participantswerethenaskedtochoose
whicheveradjectivesapplyfromthefollowinglist,withafillintheblankotheroption:
Friendly,nice
Professional
Youngerthanyou
Olderthanyou
Standoffish,impersonal
Weird
Quirky
Stiff,stilted
Finally,participantscouldanswerwhetheranyofthesepostsstoodouttothem,andwhy;
iftherewasapostthatlookedlikesomethingtheywouldwrite,orapostthatlooked
incrediblyoutofplace.
Ineachtext,everysingleinstanceofpunctuation,capitalization,oremoticons
whetherstandardornotisintentional.ForText1,IusedstandardAmericanEnglish
punctuationandcapitalization,andusednoemoticons;thisservedasasortofcontrol,a
standardforparticipantstocontrastagaintheotherthreetexts.InText2,Ideviatedhighly
fromthenorm,capitalizingeachsentencethatfollowedaperiodorexclamationpoint,and
notcapitalizingsentences(orfragments)followinganemoticon.Onlyoneoffiveinstances

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ofIiscapitalized;thetextcontainsfouremoticonsandatildeatitsendinsteadofa
period.Text3alsodeviateshighlyfromthestandard;SIGH[sic]andthephraseWarm
AndIndoors[sic]aretheonlycapitalizations(andnonstandard),andtheonly
punctuationpresentarehighlynonstandardquestionmarks.Withisshortenedtow/,
Imappearsasim,feelinhasnogattheend(noristhereanapostrophetakingplace
oftheg),andyouappearsasu.Finally,Text4keepsText1sstandardpunctuation,
butcontainsthreeclassicsmileyfaces,oneofwhichreplacesaperiod.
Iuponmakingthesetexts,Ipredictedthefollowing:

ThatText2isthemostunacceptable,asitisoutdated,
thatText4isthesecondmostunacceptable,asitisuntrustworthy,
thatText1isacceptable,butstiffandimpersonal,
andthatText3sacceptabilityisdependentonaparticipants
discoursecommunityofchoice.

BecausethissurveywascreatedusingGoogleForms,Iamabletoseethesurvey
resultsmappedintochartsandbrokendownintopercentages.Seefollowingfigures:

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Fig.1:AgeandGender

Fig.2:SocialMediaSites

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Fig.3:ResponsestoText1

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Fig.4:ResponsestoText2

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Fig.5:ResponsestoText3

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Fig.6:ResponsestoText4

Aswitheverysurvey,therearepresentanumberoflimitationsandbiases.This
surveywasdistributedonFacebook,Twitter,andTumblr,yet,asthedatashows,the
overwhelmingmajorityofparticipantsareTumblrusers,whichskewsallresultsinfavorof
thatparticularcommunity.Themajorityofparticipantswerealsofemaleandinmyage
range(i.e.,2024)insum,themajorityofparticipantsareofmygender,myage,andmy
preferredcommunityofpractice.Iamalsounawareofwhetherparticipantsmaybehave
consideredatextacceptableonthe(completelysensible)groundsthatallformsofspeech
areequallyacceptable,orconsideredatext(likeText2orText3)unacceptablebecauseof
ungrammaticalityeventhoughthisisthespeechvarietytheycommonlyuse.

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Thevariationinassignedageforeachofthesetextsprovedthestrengthofthis
surveyasamatchedguisetest.EspeciallywithText1andText2,theassociationbetween
ageandspeechstyleisextremelyclearthatpeopleassociateproperwritingwith
someoneolder,andthatpeopleassociatethevarietypresentinText2withsomeone
younger.Text1wasalsotheonlytexttoreceiveasignificantamountofprofessional
responses.Text3hadthemostotherfillintheblankresponses,mostofwhichsaid
somethingtotheeffectofthispersonisthesameageasme.Asamatchedguisetest,this
surveysucceededinprovingthatlanguageattitudesdifferinregardstotypedspeechas
wellasspokenspeech.
Tomysurprise,Text1washighlyaccepted,though,again,thismaybeduetoits
grammaticality.However,IdidreceivesomenegativeresponsestoText1inthefreeform
responsesection,suchas:
Nothowyoudwalkuptoyourfriendandspeak
probablythemostoutofplaceasfarasinternetlanguagegoes
feltstiltedandunusualonatextonlymediaplatformlikemostsocialmediais
almostuncomfortablyformalforcasualconversational(typed)speech

Mypredictionwaspartiallycorrect,factoringintheaforementionedcaveatthatText1is
obviouslyappropriateonagrammaticallevel,anditsacceptabilityiscoloredbythis,but
socially,Text1vergesintotheunacceptable.Assomeparticipantsstated,thedetachedness
inText1makesitunsuitableforcasualconversation.
ResponsestoText2wereparticularlyinteresting.AsIhadpredicted,themajorityof
participantsdidnotconsiderthistobeacceptable,eventhoughthesurveynotedthatthis
iscasualspeech,whichabsolutelyinvitestheuseofnonstandardforms.Thespecificsof
Text2sdeviationsforthenormarenotonlygrammaticallymarked,butarealso,formany

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peopleonline(andespeciallythosewhowereactiveonlineintheearly2000s)
very
socially
marked.Thistypeofspeechisheavilyassociatedagain,especiallyforthoseactiveinthe
early2000swithearlyyoungadulthood;thatistosay,thewaypeoplespokewhenthey
wereintheirearlytomidteens,betweentheyearsofroughly2004and2007,and
thereforeisassociatedwithimmaturity,youth,andastageoflifethatmanyconsider
embarrassinginretrospect.Inthefreeformresponsesection,thiswasthe
only
textthat
hadzeroIwould/dowritelikethisresponses.Someotheropinionsinclude:
thisishowIusedtotypewhenIwas12
anunpleasantblastfromthepast
notascommonanymore

And,mostinterestingly:
probablyenglish[sic]istheirsecondlaguage[sic]andfornowusing
emoticonsiseasierthanlookingupacorrecttranslationforthisorthat
word

Thisresponseclearlyshowstheparticipantsattitudetowardsthisparticularvarietyof
onlinespeech,which,whilefullofemoticonsderivedfromJapaneseemoticons5 ,neveronce
duringtheheightofitspopularitymarkedLearnerEnglish.Justasspokenslangwordsrise
andfallinpopularity,sotoodospeechstylesonline,andthisisavarietythathaslongbeen
outofitsprime.
IalsopredictedthatText3wouldinvokeapolarizedresponse,andIwassomewhat
correctinmyprediction.Again,thisiscloselyrelatedtothefactthatalmostallofthe
participantsinthesurveybelongtothecommunityofpracticethatutilizesthisspeech
styleprolifically.AsthisismypreferredspeechstyletouseonTumblr,andbecausemost

Inthisarticle,WikipediadrawsaveryinterestinglinebetweenWesternverticalemoticonsandEastern/Asian
horizontalemoticons.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_emoticons

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ofmyparticipantsweredrawnfromthepoolofpeoplewhofollowmeonTumblr,I
receivedmanyresponsesnotingboththattheyfeltpositivelytowardsText3becauseI
speaklikethis,andthattheyalsospeaklikethis.
Mostfascinatinglyandinareflectionofexactlywhat
I
hadbeendoingwhile
writingeachtextanumberofparticipantsconnectedeachtexttowhichsocialmedia
websitetheywouldexpecttoseethistypeofspeechon.Text1hadthemostvariationin
assignedwebsite;oneparticipantnotedthat
thefirstreadslikereddit6.Itfeelslikea
middleclasswhitedudeinSTEMwhowantstobesureeveryonecantellhe'sa
middleclasswhitedudeinSTEM,whileafewothersdeemedText1either
Facebookworthyorassomethingtheywouldwrite.Text2waslinkedtodeviantART,an
onlineartcommunity,andLiveJournal,anonlinebloggingplatform(though,ofnote,
not
a
microbloggingplatformlikeTumblrorTwitter)bothwebsiteswhoseheydeyoccurred
roughlybetween2004and20077.Text4hadmixedresponses,thoughmostlyFacebook
(andwiththequalificationthatthiscouldbeanolderrelativewithnosocialsenseonthe
internet).
Text3receivedexclusivelyoneresponseinassignedwebsite:Tumblr.Thereare
manyquantifiablereasonsforthewaylanguageisshapedandusedonTumblr,andits
exclusivenesstotheTumblronlinecommunityisindisputable.ThepeopleIspoketoin
reallifewhoare
not
membersoftheTumblrcommunityfoundText3tobedifficultto
read,erroneous,andwrongtothepointofhumor(i.e.,itssobadthatmyonlyreactionis
tolaugh).Yetagain,thebiasinmyparticipantpopulationshinesthrough.Ihighlysuspect

Textbased,forumstylecommunity.

Inrelationtotheabovefootnote,itisworthnotingthatonbothdeviantARTandLiveJournal,Japanesemanga,
anime,andartwere
extremely
popularbetween2004and2007.
6
7

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thattheonlyreasonText3wasofficiallyratedsohighintermsofacceptabilityisthat
over90%ofmyparticipantsareTumblrusers;again,theparticipantsIspokewithwhoare
notapartoftheTumblronlinecommunityfoundText3tobenotacceptable.GiventhatI
haveneverseenspeechlikeText3appearonotheronlineplatforms(exceptingquotations,
archives,etc.),IfeelitsafetoassumethatspeechlikeText3isnotonlyexclusiveto
Tumblr,butalsoconsideredunacceptablebythemajorityofotheronlinespeech
communities.
However,asamemberofthisonlinecommunity,textofthisshapedenotestomea
fellowmemberofthecommunity;someonewhounderstandsexactlywhyIchoseu
insteadofyou,andsomeonewhounderstandsmyflowoflanguageindespitethelackof
punctuation(yetanotherfaultmentionedbyreallifeparticipants).Iconcludethatthe
participantswhoratedthistextacceptabledidsoonthesamegroundsthatIconsiderit
acceptable:becauseitisamarkerofafellowmemberofmycommunity.
Intermsofprestige,itseemsthatText1hasthemostovertprestige,followedby
Text2;yetagain,possiblyduetogrammaticality.Followingthestatementsabove,I
concludewithcertaintythatText3carriescovertprestige.Itisamarkerofaspecific
discoursecommunitythatisconsiderederroneousandunacceptablebyoutsiders,butto
insiders,thisisthenativetongueandisnuancedinwaysthatareclearonlytoaninsider.
Text2,however,seemstocarrynoprestigewhileitsspeakersareconsideredniceand
friendly,thefreeformresponsesIreceivedandthelanguageattitudesIseealmostdailyin
regardstothisvarietyarethatitisoverwhelminglyunacceptable.However,thisistrue
mostlyforthediscoursecommunitythatIamapartofandthatpopulatesthissurvey

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overwhelmingly.OtherdiscoursecommunitiesmightstillusethelanguagevarietyinText2
asonewithprestige.
Ibelievethatthissurvey,thoughfairlysmallandbynomeanscomprehensive,does
confirmmyhypothesis:thatthereisaprestigehierarchyinonlinespeech,andthatthis
hierarchydoesaffectthelistenersperceptionofeachspeaker.Onlineusersaremore
thanhappytomakeassumptionsaboutotheronlineusers,whetherconsciousor
unconscious,andastheinternetanditscommunitiescontinuestogrow,onlinelanguage
usewillcontinuetodevelopandlanguageattitudeswilldevelopandchangealongwiththe
onlinepopulation.