The G8 Net Slang

Image: Internet Slang

“If you want to talk about something new, you have to make up a new kind of language” (Haruki Murakami, nd). We often associate language as just a method of human communication, but after this week I have come to a greater understanding that language is so much more. Reflecting on Tuan’s readings I have come to the realisation that language defines the aspects of a place or object (Tuan,1991). Continuing the application, of the weekly lectures and readings to my chosen social network, Reddit, I can see a “The worlds in which different societies live are... “(Sapir 1958, p.69) under the influence of the language used.

Reddit hosts many hubs that attract people with similar interests together called Subreddits. Within each Subreddit different languages are used. People who are in the News Subreddit have their own language being very informative, and a formal style. While in the Gaming Subreddit the use of language shifts to a more casual tone and uses heavily abbreviated words. Similarly, to how Tuan applied the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis that early European settlers didn’t have the names to understand the geography of Australia, while the native indigenous had the names to understand the geography of Australia. Redditors who are a part of the News Subreddit would feel lost and out of their place when going to the Gaming Subreddit as they have given names to concepts or ideas that people in the News Subreddit would not have an understanding of.

This week’s readings have challenge the way I have viewed the language used on Reddit and the Subreddits that I frequent, it has sparked an interest to continue exploring space and place within Reddit.

Refference

Kuttainen, V. (2016).BA1002: Our space: Networks, narratives and the making of place, lecture 5: Stories of Place: Story Lines  [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.edu.au 

Tuan, Y. (1991). Language and the Making of Place: A Narrative- Descriptive Approach. University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 

Parrack, D. (2013, June 20). Learn the lingo: Common gaming terms you should know. Retrieved August 26, 2016, from Make use of, http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/learn-the-lingo-common-gaming-terms-you-should-know/