The Gray Area with Sean Illing

Because podcast

Nov 25, 2019

Gretchen McCulloch, an internet linguist and author of Because Internet, delves into the evolving landscape of online communication. She shares how internet language—think emojis and exclamation points—creates vibrant human connections rather than ruining English. They discuss the significance of sarcasm in digital dialogues and how it functions like a trust fall. McCulloch explains the historical evolution of writing, highlighting the informal styles we now embrace and the unique challenges posed by digital interactions, especially around punctuation.

01:22:35

Episode guests

Gretchen McCulloch

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Intro

3min

The Evolution of Internet Linguistics

9min

The Evolution of Online Interaction

16min

The Evolution of Writing in Communication

5min

The Evolution of Written Communication

21min

The Nuances of Punctuation in Digital Communication

5min

The Nuances of Digital Communication

16min

Exploring Influential Books on Modern Technology and Narrative

4min

Gretchen McCulloch is a self-described “internet linguist,” host of the podcast Lingthusiasm, and author of the recent book Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language. In it, she demonstrates that the way we've come to speak on the internet -- from emojis to exclamation points -- is not random or arbitrary, but part of a broader attempt to make our written communication more vibrant, meaningful, and, genuinely human. Far from ‘ruining’ the written English language, internet-speak, McCulloch argues, is revolutionizing language in unprecedented, and ultimately positive, ways.

We discuss why I feel bad if I don't use enough exclamation points (or use too many), why postcards are the pre-internet predecessors to Instagram, how emojis act as written equivalents of our body language, why sarcasm is like a “linguistic trust fall,” the meaning of “Ok boomer” and much more.

Book recommendations:

It’s Complicated:The Social Lives of Networked Teens by danah boyd

You Look Like a Thing and I Love You by Janelle Shane

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like:

danah boyd on why fake news is so easy to believe

You will love this conversation with Jaron Lanier, but I can’t describe it

My book is available for pre-order! You can find it at www.EzraKlein.com.

Want to contact the show? Reach out at ezrakleinshow@vox.com

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Credits:

Producer and Editor - Jeff Geld