[mistral4543]

Originally posted by Pirengle: 1: Do you feel that the internet has cheapened language, by volume of material, quality of material, etc.? 2: Do you think that chatroom/forum shorthand could be considered an entirely new form of communication? 3: Can a person communicate differently online through forums, email groups, etc., than he/she would in real life? In tone, subject matter, etc. 4: Can a person's use of grammar, syntax, etc., on the internet affect their spoken and written language off the internet?

I can understand the angle that some people may be coming from, about the quality of language going downhill over the internet. But I do not quite agree that the internet is to blame for it; it is the user who is responsible for his/her choice of words, and the internet is but a venue for him/her to express himself/herself. Had there not been the internet, I am quite sure that this aspect of the person would have been revealed in some other form (for example, through SMS, as others have pointed out).

I also agree that it is mainly at the chat rooms where netspeak takes place. But again, my view is that it reflects on the sentiment of the person at that point in time, more than anything else. The person is probably on the impatient side at that point in time - wanting to rebut a point, defend his/her view or share some juicy secret, feeling relaxed and not caring a whit about proper grammar or spelling, in the mood for creativity (it might be considered 'cool' to invent a new acronym)... the list could go on.

As for whether a person could behave differently online and in real life, of course! Too often have we heard jokes about people who felt let down by each other when they finally met face-to-face. I like to think that there is some basis for these jokes, since no one would really invent these if there had not been a real life experience by some remote person.

Lastly, I think it is possible for a person to engage in netspeak even off the internet. If I had made a few good friends over the internet and decided to write to them using the good old-fashioned way, I might easily inject a few acronyms (especially those that we use often), but out of choice. I would do it, because I felt that these would enhance our familiarity with each other, and not because my standard of language had subconsciously been eroded.