Ebook: The Multilingual Internet: Language, Culture, and Communication Online

Oxford University Press, 2007. — xvi, 443 pages. — ISBN 978-0-19-530479-4; 978-0-19-530480-0.Two thirds of global Internet users are non-English speakers. Despite this, most scholarly literature on the Internet and computer-mediated-communication (CMC) focuses exclusively on English. This is the first book devoted to analyzing Internet related CMC in languages other than English.The volume collects 18 new articles on facets of language and Internet use, all of which revolve around several central topics: writing systems, the structure and features of local languages and how they affect internet use, code switching between multiple languages, gender issues, public policy issues, and so on. The scope of languages discussed in the volume is unusually broad, including non-native English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Greek, Spanish, Japanese, Thai, and Portuguese. This book will be of great interest to anyone studying linguistics, applied linguistics, communication, anthropology and information sciences.1 Introduction: Welcome to the Multilingual Internet
Writing Systems and the Internet
“A Funky Language for Teenzz to Use”: Representing Gulf Arabic in Instant Messaging
The Multilingual and Multiorthographic Taiwan-Based Internet: Creative Uses of Writing Systems on College-Affiliated BBSs
Neography: Unconventional Spelling in French SMS Text Messages
“It’s All Greeklishto Me!” Linguistic and Sociocultural Perspectives on Roman-Alphabeted Greek in Asynchronous Computer-Mediated Communication
6 Greeklishand G reekness: Trends and Discourses of “Glocalness”
Linguistic and Discourse Features of Computer-Mediated Communication
Linguistic Innovations and Interactional Features in Japanese BBS Communication
Linguistic Features of Email and ICQ Instant Messaging in Hong Kong
Enhancing the Status of Catalan versus Spanish in Online Academic Forums: Obstacles to Machine Translation
Gender and Culture
Gender and Turn Allocation in a Thai Chat Room
Breaking Conversational Norms on a Portuguese Users’ Network: Men as Adjudicators of Politeness?
Kaomoji and Expressivity in a Japanese Housewives’ Chat Room
Language Choice and Code Switching
Language Choice Online: Globalization and Identity in Egypt
Language Choice on a Swiss Mailing List
Language Choice and Code Switching in German-Based Diasporic Web Forums
Anyone Speak Swedish? Tolerance for Language Shifting in Graphical Multiuser Virtual Environments
Broader Perspectives: Language Diversity
The European Union in Cyberspace: Democratic Participation via Online Multilingual Discussion Boards
How Much Multilingualism? Language Diversity on the Internet