Jedruszczak

LanguageUseandIdentityinOnlineSpeech

Asmoreandmorehumancommunicationtakesplacethroughtheinternet,
languageEnglish,specifically,asalinguafrancahasadaptedtothisnewmediumof
communication.Whilevideocallsarebecomingmoreandmorepopular,andthetelephone
hasbeenacommunicationstaplefordecades,theincreaseinstrictlytextbased
communicationhasmadeasignificantimpactonhowusers(orspeakersonline)use
writtenlanguagetoexpressthemselves.
Inhisbook
Egghead:Or,YouCantSurviveOnIdeasAlone
,comedianBoBurnham
includesthispoem,titledMagic:
Readthistoyourself.Readitsilently.
Dontmoveyourlips.Dontmakeasound.
Listentoyourself.Listenwithouthearinganything.
Whatawonderfullyweirdthing,huh?

NOWMAKETHISPARTLOUD!SCREAMITINYOURMIND!
DROWNEVERYTHINGOUT.
Now,hearawhisper.Atinywhisper.

Now,readthisnextlinewithyourbestcrotchety
oldmanvoice:
Hellothere,sonny.Doesyourtownhaveapostoffice?
Awesome!Whowasthat?Whosevoicewasthat?
Itsurewasntyours!

Howdoyoudothat?
How?!
Mustbemagic.

Magicexplorestheeffectsthattheshapeoftextcanhaveonthereaders(or,
listeners)perceptionofthetextitself,similartohowinspeech,toneofvoiceandbody

Jedruszczak

languagecanaffectalistenersperception.Allcapitallettersare,asthepoemnotes,usually
usedtoexpressyellingandaraisedvoice;changesincapitalizationcreateemphasis,and
canbeusedforhumorouseffectaswell.
Onlinelanguageusehas,throughoutitshistory,beencharacterizedbynonstandard
forms.Especiallywiththeadventofinstantchatclients,therewasashiftfromstandard
capitalizationandpunctuation(i.e.,acapitalletterbeginningasentence,andaperiod
endingit)toalllowercaseutteranceswithoutanysentencefinalpunctuation,andthis
kindofnonstandardwritinghasbecomesocommonplacethatitisnolongerseenas
erroneoussimplyaformofchatspeak.
Homestuck
,awebcomicbyAndrewHussie,issetinanonlineworldandall
communicationbetweencharacterstakesplaceviaatextchatclient.Hussieutilizesnot
onlycolorcoding,butcapitalizationandthephysicalshapeoftexttocreatedistinctive
voicesforeachcharacter;eachcharacterhastheirowntypingquirk,usuallyacombination
ofunusualcapitalization,punctuation,syntax,replacementofletterswithnumbersor
characters,andpunsrelatingtoasubjectwithwhichthecharacterinquestionis
associated.Thefirstcharacterintroducedashavinganunusualtypingquirk(i.e.,
somethingotherthanusingalllowercaseandabsenceofpunctuation),Karkat,isassociated
withastrongtemperandangerissues,andtypesusingstandardgrammar,syntax,and
punctuation,butusesallcaps:
CG1:MYHATEISTHELIFEBLOODTHATPULSESTHROUGHTHEVEINSOF
YOURUNIVERSE.ITISMYGIFTTOYOU.YOU'REWELCOMEFORTHAT.YOU
UNGRATEFULPIECEOFSHIT.

As
Homestuck
sdialoguetakesplaceviaachatclient,eachcharacterhasauserhandle;CGistheuserhandle
associatedwithKarkat.
1

Jedruszczak

Throughoutthewebcomic,hisuseofcapitalsreinforceshistemper,evenattimeswhenhe
appearscalm;HussieusesthistogreateffectinordertocharacterizeKarkat.Another
character,Tavros,isshyandawkward,andHussiemakesuseof
reverse
capsand
nonstandardpunctuationtoconveyhishesitationinspeech.
AT2 :bUTiDON'TKNOWIFSHEWASJOKINGABOUTIT,
AT:iTMIGHTBEAJOKE,uHH,iDON'TKNOW,bUTiDIDITANYWAY,

Again,thischaracterspersonalitytraitsareexpressedandreinforcedthroughtheshapeof
text.
AsSollux,another
Homestuck
character,isintroduced,heisnotedastend[ing]two
2peakwiithabiitofalii2p,or,inplainEnglish,tendingtospeakwithabitofalisp.Here
iswhereHussiepullsfrommorecategoriesthanjustpunctuationandcapitalization.Sollux
isassociatedwiththeGeminiastrologicalsign,whichisrepresentedsymbolicallyas
and
isformallyknownasTheTwins,andisconsistentlyrepresentedbyduality
;Solluxstyping
quirkduplicateseachletter
i
,replacestheletter
s
withthenumber
2
,andlevelsall
instancesof
t o
or
too
to
two
.Eg.,
TA3 :maybeiiju2twanttwogiivetheredandbluethiingare2tforachange
andnotmakeiit2oiit2liike,ohlookiit2thatprediictablefuckwiiththo2e
two2tupiidcolor2,iit2amaziinghowmucheveryonefuckiinghate2hiim.

Or,inplainEnglish:
MaybeIjustwanttogivetheredandbluethingarestforachange,andnot
makeitsoits,like,oh,look,itsthatpredictablefuckwiththosetwostupid
colors,itsamazinghowmucheveryonefuckinghateshim.

Othertypingquirksincludeusingalternatingcapstosimulateintoxication,orreplacing
certainletterswithcertainsignificantnumbers(eg.,aspiderycharacterreplacing
b
and
2
3

TheuserhandleassociatedwithTavros.
TheuserhandleassociatedwithSollux.

Jedruszczak

eightsoundswith
8
;acharactertowhomthenumber314holdsrelevancereplacing
e,l,
and
a
with3,1,and4respectively).Notwocharactersshareatypingquirk;eachhastheir
own,distinctmannerofspeech;theirownidiolect,sotospeak.
Mostfascinatinghasbeenthefansreactiontoeachcharactersvoice.Asthisisa
stronglytextbasedwebcomicwithminimalanimation,therearenoactualhumanvoices
(andthereforenoneoftheusuallanguageattitudes)linkedtoeachindividualcharacter.
However,fansoftenshowcasetheirvoiceactingtalentsbyperformingcharacterdialogue,
andeachcharacterstypingquirkcorrespondstocertainmannersofspeech(eg.,yelling,
stuttering,lisping).Thisstrongassociationbetweenthephysicalshapeofthetext,starting
withtheintroductionofacharacterwhotypesinallcaps,andmannerofspeechiswhat
hascausedtheaudiencetosystematicallyassign(spoken)speechcharacteristicstoeach
character.
Homestuck
spopularityespeciallyonTumblr,amicrobloggingplatformis
partiallyresponsibleforashifttowardsnonstandardcapitalizationandpunctuation.As
thewebcomicgrewinpopularity,membersbegantomakepostsmimickingcharacters
typingquirks;throughtheprocessofmimicking,membersadoptedthequirksintotheir
ownonlineidiolects,andtheywereeventuallydisseminatedthroughthe
Homestuck
fan
populationtothenon
Homestuck
fanpopulationassimplyamannerofspeaking.The
reversecasetypingquirktookrootmostquickly,andremainsincrediblyproliferousand
productive;ithasdevelopedfrombeingpurelyreversecapstocapitalizationmidwordand
midsentence,toshowheightenedemotionalstate(similarlytoallcapsindicatingyelling,
andreversecapswithcommasindicatinghesitation).

Jedruszczak

IftheWinterSoldierwasresponsiblefortheKennedyassassinationand
MagnetotriedtoSTOPtheKennedyassassinationthenthatmustmean
somehowMagnetolostafighttoaguywITHANENTirEARmMADEOF
METAL

Here,theauthorofthispostexpresseshystericaldisbeliefoveralogicalfallacy4through
theuseofnonregularlyalternatingcaps,givingtheeffectofsuchemotionaldistressthat
theycannottypecorrectly.Thephysicalshapeofthetextthesizeofthelettersrising
andfallingmimicsreallifespeechpatterns,likerapidlyrisingandfallingintonationand
pitch,thatcanoccuratmomentsofheightenedemotionsandexcitement.
Inthiscase,theauthorisnotexpressingactualhystericsoractualemotional
distress,butratherusingthe
shape
ofhystericsandemotionaldistressashyperboleto
expresstheirincredulity,justasonewoulduseintonation,pitch,andloudnessinspeechto
expresshumorousoverthetopemotions.Similarly,quasiintentionaltyposexpressthese
sameheatofthemomenttypeemotions;userswhoaremorethancapableofcorrecting
theirtyposwillleavethemuncorrectedtoconveythesensethattheyaresoemotional
aboutsomethingthattheycannotbebotheredtocorrectthemselves,muchlesstype
correctly.Whilethesetyposincludeactualmisspellings(iccnatbleieviehtisforIcant
believethis),oftenuserswilladderroneousspacingbetweenlettersaswellasthe
aforementionederraticcapitalizationtoaddeffect(iccANtbleievshtis).Nonverbal
elements(eg.,emotions)arebeingexpressednotverbally,butthroughphysicalshape;this
istypographicalexpressionofnonverbalelements.

Magnetoisamutantwhocanmanipulatemetal.ItstandstoreasonMagnetoshouldhaveeasilystoppedaman
withametalarmshootingametalgunwithametalbullettowardsametalcar.Regardless,thesetwoevents
(MagnetosfailuretostoptheKennedyassassinationandtheWinterSoldierssuccess)andtakeplaceintwo
differentuniverses,sotheargumentisunnecessaryintheend.
4

Jedruszczak

Additionally,therehasbeenariseinwhatisnicknamedemphasiscapitals.This
encompassesthecapitalizationofwordsorphrasespurelyforemphasis,andinamanner
separatefromunderlines,italics,andbold.Userswillcapitalizeawordoraphraseto
mimicitbeingapropernoun,thusgivingitthepropertyofbeingmoreimportantor,
perhaps,amorepuresenseofthewordorphraseinquestion;emphasiscapitalsarealso
usedveryoftentoaddironyorsarcasmtothedialogue.Forexample,Irecentlyhada
conversationonTwitterwithafriendaboutapackageIsenther,andIexpressedmy
surprisethatitwouldbedeliveredtoherthefollowingday.Herresponsereads:
obviouslythisisSoImportanttheyjusthavetodeliveritImmediately
Soimportant,andimmediatelyweregrantedemphasiscapitalsinordertoforlackof
betterphrasingcreateemphasis.Inspeech,soimportantandimmediatelymightbe
emphasizedbyvolumeortoneofvoice,butnotallusagesofemphasiscapitalsare
communicableverbally.ToquoteanexamplefrommyLIN571paper,
Perceptual
DialectologyintheOnlineWorld
:there'snothinglikebeingWarmAndIndoorsonarainy
day.Therewouldbenowaytocommunicatethesamemeaningofemphasiscaptialshere
verbally;IamnotmerelysayingthatIambothwarmandinsidemyapartment,butinstead
givingthephraseamorepure,primalmeaning,thatIamarchetypally,propernounly
warmandindoors.
Inadditiontoupperandlowercase,usersoftenusepunctuationastypographical
expressionofnonverbalelements.Emoticonsareacommonexample;thereisnothing
inherentlyhappyaboutacolonandaclosedparenthesis,butitsphysicalresemblancetoa
smilingfacemakesitamarkerofthespeakershappiness.Ellipsesarealsooftenusedto

Jedruszczak

indicateapause,usuallyreactionaryanddisbelieving.Recently,theTumblronline
communityhasprogressedtosimplyusingbarepunctuationsimilartotheuseofellipses
asapauseasamarkerofemotion.Forexample:
Me:
Who'sagoodboy?
Dog:
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
??????????????????????????????????
Me:
YOU'REAGOODBOY!
Dog:
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyonefamiliarwithdogscanunderstandwhatthispostisexpressing.Themultiple
questionmarksrepresentanunspokenquestion(adogsposturemightbeearsperkedup,
headtilted),andtheexclamationpointsrepresentnonverbalexcitement(again,foradog,
usuallymouthopen,tailwagging,eagernesstoplay).Questionmarksandexclamation
pointsareoftenusedincasualconversationinplaceofactualquestionsandactual
statementsofexcitement:
A:
(attachedscreenshotofadifferentconversation)
[Impassingonsome]
Complimentsforuuu
B:!!!!!!!

Here,I(beingpersonB)chosetorespondtothismessagesimplywithexclamationmarks
toexpressmyfeelingsinresponsetothemessagethatIwasexcitedtoreceivesuch
compliments,andthatthiswasapleasantsurprise.Iwasunsureofhowtorespond
verbally,becausethiswasastrongemotionalresponse,butexclamationpointswerea
simplealternative.Questionmarksareusedsimilarly:
A:Dudebehindusbetweenusneededtogetbackintohisseatanditwasthe
singlemostawkwardexperienceever
B:?????

Jedruszczak

Inthisconversation,I(beingpersonA)washavingbrunchwithagroupoffriends,and
someonebehindmeveryawkwardly(andrudely)attemptedtoreturntohisseatwithout
sayingexcuseme,ormakinganynormalshufflinggesturesassociatedwithexcuseme,
Ineedtogetpastyoutoreturntomyseat.Thefriendsittingacrossfrommesawthe
entireordeal,andstartedlaughing.Thefriendtomyright,withherbackturnedduring
this,wasconfused,andaskedforanexplanation;inordertoavoidrudelyrecountingitout
loud,Iinsteadsentthefriendtomyrightatextmessagesummarizingwhathappened.Her
response?????wasfollowedbyanincredulous(negative)facialexpression,andshe
joinedinwithmylaughterandourotherfriendslaughteratthesituation.Asonemember
ofmyonlinecommunitysummarizes:

Theimagefollowingthetextisknownasareactionimageandisactuallyin.gifformat,meaningthatonline,
itisaroughlytwosecondlongclipfromashowormoviethatplaysoverandoverwithnosound.Themanis
frowningandgesturingwithhisarmswide.
5

Jedruszczak

Questionmarksarealsousedtosignifyuptalk,andusersofteninsertmultiple
questionmarksinnongrammaticalpointsofanutterancetoindicateuptalk(and/or
associateddisbelief):
makeupisSOsofunandimsoexcitedabtmakeuplike.mostmakeupisjust
minerals??coloredminerals??dirt.prettydirt.putthedirtonyourface
Similarly:
A:Amorningregular6 broughteveryoneonstaffthanksgivingpresents???
A:Andthegiftwas???10$andatinychocolatesampler???Im???
B:holyshit?????

Here,personA(afriendofmine)usesquestionmarksina
highly
nonstandardmannerto
expresstheirfeelingsabouttheirregularcustomerskindness.Thequestionmarkssignify
amixtureofdisbelief,(happy)befuddlement,andincredulityhowisitpossiblethat
someonewassokind?Questionmarkslikethisareoftenplacedinareasofpauseinspeech,
butnotnecessarily,asseenabove.Here,IusedquestionmarksinaplacewhereIwould
havepaused,hadthisbeenaspokenconversation:
itsSUPERNEATdudeivebeendoingitfor2daysnotandits??[a]really
nonstressful[method]

Typographicalexpressionofnonverbalelementsis,ofcourse,notlimitedto
exclamationpointsandquestionmarks.Multiplecommascanbeusedasahumorous
substituteforanellipsis,showinghumoroushesitation(again,extrapolatedfromthe
Tavrosexampleabove),or,morerarely,multiplesemicolons,extrapolatedfromtwo;;
whichcanbeusedasacryingemoticon,withthetophalfmakinguptwoopeneyes,and
thecommasatthebottomformingtearsunderneath.Similartotheutterancepausing

Aregularcustomerwhovisitsmyfriendsplaceofworkinthemorning(implicitly,everymorning).

Jedruszczak

questionmarksabove,multipleforwardslashescanbeusedtocreateatangible,but
nonverbalpauseindialogue:
WOWJAREDSALAWYERWHATARETHE///ODDS
Whileawordcanbedrawnout,addingforwardslashesbeforeitcreatesmoreofa
dramaticpause;inverbalspeechthismightbeindicatedwithgesturesorafacial
expression,buttextually,forwardslashesactasavisualfillertoexpressanemotional
pause.Forexample,Icouldwrite:
iamsoupsetbythatlastepisode;;;;;;;;;
OrIcouldwrite:
iamsooooooooooooooooupsetbythatlastepisode
OrIcouldwrite:
iam//////////////////////////////soupsetbythatlastepisode
Andeachmethodofexpressionwouldcarryadifferentmeaning.Thesemicolonexample
suggestslingeringemotion,thesecondstressesthequantifier
so
,andthethirdleavesa
dramaticpausebeforethequantifier
so
(inspeech,Iwouldprobablygesturedramatically,
andkeepthewordsoshort,asopposedtodrawingitoutasinthesecondexample).
Otherformsoftypographicalexpressionhavenopossibleverbalequivalent,and,in
fact,noinreallifecomponentatall.Thechoicebetween
you
and
u
(and
your
/
youre
and
ur
,aswellasothernowoutdatedchatspeaksubstitutions),forexample,ismade
consciouslybymembersoftheTumblronlinespeechcommunity,anditmarksseveral
registers:ironic,sarcastic,humorous,and,mostinterestingly,hedging.
ueverjustsittingw/abunchoffamilymembersandurjustsittingtherelike
icantbelieveallthesepeoplethinkimastraightgirl

Jedruszczak

Thereisobviouslynoverbalequivalentforthisdistinctionitwouldhavetobemade
usingtoneorintonation,andeventhen,thetoneofvoiceusuallyreservedforsarcasmor
ironydoesnotaccuratelyconveythedifferencebetween
you
and
u
.Theauthorofthispost
couldhavechosentouseyouandyoure,buttoproperlyconveyhowblasetheyfeel
aboutthisparticulartopic(eg.,thatthishappensoften,thattheresanunderlyingsenseof
disappointment)theydecidedtouseuandur.Similarly,andmoresubtly,theauthorof
thosepostchoosesintentionallytoomitapostrophesincantandIm,addingyet
anotherdimensiontotheirintendedemotionalconveyance.
Replacementandabbreviationlikethisareoftenusedtoconveydryhumor,irony,
andsarcasm,anduserscananddostyleshiftbetweenusingstandardformsandtheir
replacements.Forexample,
[...]andallyouwanttodoisslapalltheoffendersandtellthemtofixitlike
thebossycontrollingpieceofshituactuallyarebcinyourheartofheartsu
knowyourinterpretationistheonlycorrectway

Inthispost,theauthorstyleshiftsbetweenstandardgrammarandchatspeak(forlackof
abetterterm),tocreatehumorousemphasis.
[...]andall
you
wanttodoisslapalltheoffendersandtellthem(tofixit
((
likethebossycontrollingpieceofshit
u
actuallyare
)(
bc
(in
your
heartofhearts)
u
know
[that](yourinterpretationistheonlycorrect
way)))

Theauthorusesutosoftentheblowoftheirstatementtheyavoid(humorously)
callingtheiraudience(andthemselves)abossycontrollingpieceofshitbyusinguand
creatingasenseofirrealisanddryirony.Becauseisalsoshortenedtobc,inthesame
veinasthe
you
~
u
variation.

Jedruszczak

Theaforementioned
you~u
variation(andagain,othersimilarshorteningsand
acronymslike
with~w/
,
because~bc
,etc.)alsohasanincrediblyprolificuseasaformof
hedging.Itisoftenusedtosoftenanimperative,asinthispost:
thingsineedutopleaseknowrightnow:
baddaysdontlastforever
nappingisneveracrime
allthecellsinurbodyareworkingsohardtokeepuhealthyand
happyandtheyloveuverymuch
alsodogs,theyloveuverymuch
instanthotchocolatetakes2minutestomakeandrequiresno
culinaryexpertisepleaseindulgeurself
uareapartofthisworld
andaveryimportantpart
dontdoubtthatforasinglesecond

Thispostcouldeasilyhavebeenwrittenwithyouinsteadofu,buthere,uisusedto
softentheauthorscommands(thingsineed
u
topleaseknowrightnow,pleaseindulge
urself
),aswellastobringtheentirepostintoalessseriousregisterthroughits(even
more)nonstandardforms.Similartoverbalhedgingthingslikewow,itscoldinhere
insteadofturnontheheatthesofteninggrantedbythe
you~u
registermakes
conversationslikemakingplanspotentiallylessawkwardbyallowingspeakerstosoften
theirsuggestions,andmakethemseemlessforceful.Forexample,followinguponthe
friendtowhomIsentapackage:
also!!haveucheckedurmailboxbcnowi'mgettingnervousthatthething
gotlost

Insteadofwritingcheckyourmailbox,Imsurethepackageistherebynow,Iusedbotha
classicexampleofhedging(i.e.,roundaboutjustificationthatImworriedthepackagegot
lost)aswellas
you~u
variationinordertonotmakeitseemasifIwasorderingherto
checkhermailbox(which,oncetheflourishesarestrippedaway,Iwas).

Jedruszczak

Allofthesetypographicalelementshavealonghistory,bothintermsoftheir
creationandtheirusage,andlikeanyspokenlanguagevariety,alloftheseelementshave
cometogethertoformauniquelanguagevarietythatistiedextremelycloselytothe
identityofitsspeakers:alargeanddiverseglobalcommunity,withspeakersofvarying
races,sexualities,genderidentities,abilities,socioeconomicclasses,andinterests.
Nonmembersareoftencriticalofthisspecificvariety(seeLIN571paper,
Perceptual
DialectologyintheOnlineWorld
),seeingthemarkersofthiscommunityasbeingcareless
errorswhentheyare,infact,extremelyintentional,verynuanced,andcarryspecific
meanings.Insiders,ontheotherhand,caneasilydistinguishrealtyposandmisspellings
aswellasnonironicusageofoutdatedtermsthatmarkoutsiders.Thisonlinediscourse
communityisjustasrealasanyspokendiscoursecommunity,withitsownplaceonthe
prestigehierarchy,idiolectalvariationamongmembers,andexplosive(sometimeseven
weeklyordaily)growthandchangeinusage.Or,insum:
whatNewThingsareugoing2comeupwiththismonthuabsolute
memelords

Jedruszczak

Sources:
Attenborough,Breanne(smoreyello
w).WOWJAREDSALAWYERWHATARETHE
///ODDS1Dec2014,8:41pm.Tweet.

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IftheWinterSoldierwasresponsibleforthe...
Tumblr,n.d.Web.29Nov.2014.
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the

Burnham,Bo,andChanceBone."Magic."
Egghead:Or,YouCan'tSurviveonIdeasAlone
.
N.p.:n.p.,n.d.N.pag.Web.

dandehaane.
thingsineedutopleaseknow
Tumblr,n.d.Web.01Dec.2014.
http://dandehaane.tumblr.com/post/99368944623/thingsineedutopleaseknowright
nowbad

Hussie,Andrew."MSPaintAdventures."
MSPaintAdventures
.N.p.,23June2010.Web.22
Nov.2014.
http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=003982

Hussie,Andrew."MSPaintAdventures."
MSPaintAdventures
.N.p.,29June2010.Web.22
Nov.2014.
http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=004022

senatorchugway.
whenyourotphappenstobe...
Tumblr,n.d.Web.27Nov.2014.
http://senatorchugway.tumblr.com/post/102590473814/whenyourotphappenstobei
ncrediblypopularbut

teenmags.
ueverjustsittingw/a
Tumblr,n.d.Web.30Nov.2014.
http://swedishjazz.tumblr.com/post/104103109599/teenmagsueverjustsittingwabu
nchof

Platz,Elizabeth(cel10e).
obviouslythisisSoImportanttheyjusthavetodeliverit
Immediately5Dec2014,6:50pm.Tweet.