Quote:1 - Can internet language (Netspeak, aka "1337-speek") be considered a new form of language, or is it just jargon or at best a dialect?
It cetainly isn't a new language. It's English, albeit 'modified'. Although I can't cite any examples, I can't see why one language can't be expressed in more than one written form. Wait, yes I can, you could write English phonetically, or the way it's meant to be. Either way, it's still English. "1337 5p34k" is simply writing it differently, and you could just be seen as a different character set. How about coding, such as cyphers. Well, basic ones anyway, like rot-13 (rotate each letter through the alphabet 13 places, do the same to decypher, requires less programming). The symbol 'a' now makes the sound that would normally be associated with 'm' - but it's no less the English language. '1337 5p34k' is simply using different characters to express the same letter. Why shouldn't it be considered English if I want to express the sound 'p' by the symbol combination '|o' ? So long as everyone I'm communicating to understands that.
As for netspeak (LOL, ROTFL, G2G, OMG j00 H4x0r5 n00b) It's mostly really only English words abbreviated to a different set of letters, either as an acronym, phonetic spelling, or, er, I can't think of another 'or' right now. No one has ever complained aboutt he acronym USA for united states of America. Most people know that the Letters, U, S & A in that order expand out to the words United States of America, they can even put the 'of' in by themselves. For cases like LOL and ROTFL, it's just a different set of words.
It's not a different language.
Jargon, is quite a good word for it. It's specialised language, and taking it's everyday definiton, is also only likely to be known by those who it concerns, i.e. Netiziens. Just as USA, and 'mouse potato' have made it into the dictionary, no doubt internet terms will soon follow.
Is it a dialect? Well, my dictionary defines dialect as spoken, but, that aside, yes, I suppose it is - you have new 'words' which can easily be slotted into sentences made from a larger overall language.
I suppose you could say that English isn't a real language as it's made up of bits of lots of other languages. Which you could apply to this new 'internet language' to say that it isn't really new. However, unlike English, 'netspeak' has taken most of it's words from English, I can't think of many examples or 'net words' that come from other languages. Thus it's not new, in itself
Quote:2 - Are there any teachers or professors out there that wish to share an anecdote of student usage of internet language? (Shortcuts in schoolwork, etc.) I'm all ears.
Not me, but if I can get off my back end to write a '1337 5p34k' generator, I may hand my next history essay in with a '1337 5p34k' translation.
Quote:3 - For everyone whose first-learned language is something other than English, how do you feel about the amount of English on the internet? Do you feel that you must communicate in English in order to get your point across?
Not me, again, but I do feel that for the internet to be a rapid medium for information transfer, there HAS to be a common language. In the same way that the internet wouldn't work if the computers didn't all speak the same protocol whether they be Windows based, Unix based or macs, It wouldn't work very well if most people didn't use the same language over it. Should it be English? well, English most likely makes us the majoriy of first languages for internet users. Mostly because the internet is most common in rich, western countries like the USA and Britain, which speak English, and less common among poorer nations which don't.
Should it be English? I don't know, should there be a 'common' language? yes. Infact, netspeak has helped in that regard. There is no grammar in netspeak (or vfery little at least) spellings or words are non-particular. It is therefore a much easier language to learn. You don't have to know about its & it's, lets and let's, just stick an 's' on the end at it all means the same.
Quote:4 - Anything else anyone wishes to add on the subject will be a plus.'netspeak' seems to be proliferating into common tongue. Just this week mt brother slipped a typed note under my door which ended in 'TY', since he'd gone to all the trouble of starting word, making it into a fancy wordart with a colour fill and putting a shadow in, I can't see, in relative terms, how much time was saved by writing 'TY' instead of 'thanks'. So I presume that he thinks with his fingers and when he wasnts to thank someone, hits 'TY'. Another part of that may be that kids don't know how to use a keboard properly. Whewn I started highschool, we had out first IT lessons, we had to type out a page of text, I finished in about 5 minutes flat (having had a computer in the house for about 3 years pervious and hsving done a lot of schoolwork on it) The rest of the class were on about 12 letters per minute, and took the full hour to complete the task. To type 'TY' is far easier than having to search for T-H-A-N-K-S or T-H-A-N-K- -Y-O-U. Especially as T & Y are right next to each other.
Also, he frequently says 'TY' and 'PPL', perhaps to impress his net-savvy brother, or because he's thick. My Physics teacher (who's an odd sort of chap) admits to says 'peeps' in private life. I, myself, just try to figure out how you pronounce the various profanity-soaked acronyms circulating the internet.
And here is the gold award for surviving boredom. You earned it by reading my post.
-Bob
Edit: Just read Ducky's previous post. DO you have any idea how long I just spent typing that?