The Language of Instagram

Image: displaying the language used on Instagram posts (Elashiry, 2016)

Over time we have seen language evolve to fit into our ever changing world. The evolution of language has allowed humans to advance in many different ways. One major way, quite obviously, being our communication with each other. In this week’s lecture we touched on how Walter J. Ong observed the shift from being a primarily oral society to becoming a literate society in his book 'Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word' (Kuttainen, 2016). We see this change through our communication in the virtual world as we communicate through written speech rather than oral.

Instagram habits different types of language throughout the site. Technology has introduced a more modern approach to language which we commonly see on Instagram. This is the use of emoji’s, they “have become a language of their own, a way to transcend the limits of one’s native tongue to communicate with others worldwide” (Isaac, 2015). This means that everyone around the world is able to communicate with each other which without the worry of the language barrier. It is has allowed Instagram to form an online community identity.

Another language used quite regularly by users of Instagram is narrative-descriptive language. Which uses explanatory tricks and provides a storyline without going into analytical detail (Tuan, 1991, p. 686). This is achieved by users posting images and telling their story, feelings and thoughts following their image. By doing this it allows other users to see the human experience that we all have behind the photos we take. It also lets the person posting to share a little of their self-identity by contributing an explanation deeper into their personality and pleasures rather than just letting other users see the image for its surface value.

Bibliography

Elashiry, M. (2016, August 21). Mimi Elashiry Profile. Retrieved from Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/BJWC8Zgg2Ar/?taken-by=mimielashiry&hl=en

Isaac, M. (2015, May 1). The Rise of Emoji on Instagram is Causing Language Repercussions. Retrieved from Bits: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/05/01/the-rise-of-emoji-on-instagram-is-causing-language-repercussions/?_r=0 

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.-F. (1991, December). Language and the Making of Place: A Narrative-Descriptive Approach. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 81(4), 686.