Internet Linguistics

Abstract

How does one write a student guide to a subject that does not exist – or, at least, does not yet exist in such a recognized form that it appears routinely as a course in university syllabuses or as a chapter in anthologies of linguistics? Inevitably, it will be something of a personal account, informed by the various Internet projects with which I have been involved. The situation reminds me of the 1980s, when pragmatics was evolving as a field of study, and the various published introductions differed widel in their subject-matter. Internet linguistics is at that inchoate stage now. I can easily imagine other introductions to the subject – written perhaps by someone with a background in computational linguistics – which would look very different from this one. My background is in descriptive linguistics, and it shows. But it is an appropriate background to have, for the one thing Internet language needs, more than anything else, is good descriptions.