updates - Spanish - Rune

updates on some running questions:

SPANISH CHAT:

A friend verifies that chat is common among Spanish-speaking youth; that lots of English words are mixed in; that therefore there is a vibrant half-English half-Spanish variant that is especially common among American Hispanics. The interesting thing is that online, it doesn't really matter where someone is geographically. In other words, it is possible for people who have very little contact with English otherwise, to participate in these chats...he mentioned a CNN news clip about texting, which I have been unable to find, which mentioned that parents were concerned because they had no idea what their kids were saying to each other. A genuine fear, I'd say. This is at the heart of my question: is another language in fact forming here? It's an open question.

RUNE- pwn/pown/pawn

Noah mentioned this word as a new word formed in Rune, or at least seen there frequently. Family visitors mentioned that this word was common to World of Warcraft; and had a lot of play on nighttime television; was actually entering mainstream culture, though it definitely started in gaming. The pwn variant is actually a mistyping, or so they claimed, that just got picked up and supported by the system. Interesting.

unusual visitors- 10-05

One of the more unusual webheads chats- Tapped In, Oct. 2005

2005.10.09 05:43:53 ThomasLev joined the room.
2005.10.09 05:43:57 DavidWe: Hi, Thomas. Welcome
2005.10.09 05:44:02 LeanneMM: Hi Tom
2005.10.09 05:44:11 ThomasLev: Hello!
2005.10.09 05:44:14 DavidWe: worst, wurst
2005.10.09 05:44:24 DavidWe plays the NPR puzzle on the air, in TappedIn
2005.10.09 05:44:31 DavidWe . o O ( homophones )
2005.10.09 05:44:51 RobertWB: Phone home.
2005.10.09 05:44:51 BumskyGst3 joined the room.
2005.10.09 05:45:01 NgGst6: hello bum bum
2005.10.09 05:45:08 BumskyGst3: yah, how now?
2005.10.09 05:45:11 DavidWe waves to the guests
2005.10.09 05:45:13 NgGst6: been waiting for ya
2005.10.09 05:45:18 DavidWe: Can we help you folks with anything?
2005.10.09 05:45:27 NgGst6: i cho ya na ibo ka ona oyibo?
2005.10.09 05:45:30 BumskyGst3: My dear, u just starve ur bros.no wan make we know how u dey
2005.10.09 05:45:41 DavidWe: ??
2005.10.09 05:45:45 DavidWe: Got me!
2005.10.09 05:45:46 BumskyGst3: Acho m ya na ibo biko
2005.10.09 05:45:56 NgGst6: ngwa nu
2005.10.09 05:46:15 BumskyGst3: kedu kwanu ka i melu biko?
2005.10.09 05:46:22 NgGst6: achikwa na ochi ma ha juwa gi ma o turkey ka i na asu
2005.10.09 05:46:24 DavidWe wonders what language THIS is
2005.10.09 05:46:26 RobertWB: Is there a linguist in the house?
2005.10.09 05:46:28 DavidWe smiles
2005.10.09 05:46:32 NgGst6: a dim mma
2005.10.09 05:46:32 DavidWe . o O ( or in Texas )
2005.10.09 05:46:33 LeanneMM looks for Jeff
2005.10.09 05:46:43 AnnaK: ???
2005.10.09 05:46:48 SedatA: ????
2005.10.09 05:46:51 NgGst6: mana o oru kam kana acho
2005.10.09 05:46:52 DavidWe: Folks, you might want to take this conversation elsewhere?
2005.10.09 05:47:02 DavidWe . o O ( Ng, Ngozi, Bumsky )
2005.10.09 05:47:07 SedatA: also there is a word as Turkey
2005.10.09 05:47:10 RobertWB: Or we could take ours elsewhere
2005.10.09 05:47:17 SedatA: in their conversation
2005.10.09 05:47:20 DavidWe: What word, Sedat?
2005.10.09 05:47:28 BumskyGst3: Kedu ka isi kwanu e settle down....
2005.10.09 05:47:32 Maggi: Turkey
2005.10.09 05:47:33 LeanneMM: I saw it Sedat
2005.10.09 05:47:34 SedatA: in NgGst words
2005.10.09 05:47:37 DavidWe smiles
2005.10.09 05:47:43 LeeB: Sedat, I had only read article two right then.. and speedily!
2005.10.09 05:47:48 SedatA: ok
2005.10.09 05:47:57 LeanneMM admires Lee's speedreading
2005.10.09 05:48:05 SedatA: please read the first one especially
2005.10.09 05:48:08 DavidWe: She has more light than you do, Leanne
2005.10.09 05:48:09 RobertWB: spdrding.
2005.10.09 05:48:13 NgGst6: o diro ofele mana m ka ejisi ike
2005.10.09 05:48:15 LeanneMM: I'm sure!
2005.10.09 05:48:19 SedatA: which compares the Nazi and Ottoman Empire
2005.10.09 05:48:33 LeeB: learned that in getting my teaching certificate.... or perfected it!
2005.10.09 05:48:38 NgGst6: line i sim gote dikwa oke onu
2005.10.09 05:48:51 LeeB: I am half way through now
2005.10.09 05:48:52 LeanneMM wonders if EBob remembers the old advertisements in comic books that say u cn gt a gd jb...
2005.10.09 05:49:08 RobertWB: ys I do
2005.10.09 05:49:12 BumskyGst3: Emeka si m kene gi. o no ebe a. Kedu ife ji zi gi igota line.
2005.10.09 05:49:13 DavidWe will be back in a couple of minutes
2005.10.09 05:49:14 LeanneMM: hehehe Bob
2005.10.09 05:49:17 DavidWe: Enjoy the bagels, folks
2005.10.09 05:49:29 NgGst6: o nwere o
2005.10.09 05:49:35 LeanneMM: thanks David. I MEAN thanks!
2005.10.09 05:49:38 NgGst6: n ga egota ya this week
2005.10.09 05:50:04 NgGst6: kene kwa ya
2005.10.09 05:50:16 BumskyGst3: I ma na o di mkpa na obodo a. o nenyelu aka kalia email
2005.10.09 05:50:25 NgGst6: ok
2005.10.09 05:50:33 NgGst6: o ma agafe monday
2005.10.09 05:50:45 LeanneMM: I will certainly read yur articles, Sedat - I know NOTHING about your part of the world (except, maybe, where it is!)
2005.10.09 05:51:02 Maggi: lot of English has slipped in
2005.10.09 05:51:07 BumskyGst3: obi di m uto nke uku na i bata go UK
2005.10.09 05:51:09 LeanneMM: yes Maggi
2005.10.09 05:51:17 NgGst6: maka gini zi?
2005.10.09 05:51:33 BumskyGst3: kedu afa ihe ndi mahadum gi nyelu gi ka i guo biko?
2005.10.09 05:51:37 SedatA: what are these guys talking about?
2005.10.09 05:51:44 LeanneMM: no clue, Sedat
2005.10.09 05:51:53 RobertWB: email and tuesday, OK?
2005.10.09 05:51:54 Maggi: good question
2005.10.09 05:51:59 BumskyGst3: maka na anyi ga eri zi nne no ebe a nu
2005.10.09 05:52:02 ThomasLev: i think it's hausa
2005.10.09 05:52:05 NgGst6: o kwa ogugu maka obodo a
2005.10.09 05:52:07 Maggi: Monday
2005.10.09 05:52:12 Maggi: this week
2005.10.09 05:52:13 LeanneMM: no, Bob, Monday
2005.10.09 05:52:16 RobertWB: Thats a good guess, Thomas.
2005.10.09 05:52:21 ThomasLev: gaskiya?
2005.10.09 05:52:23 LeeB: Are they speaking turkish?
2005.10.09 05:52:25 RobertWB: I beleive you were right LEanne.
2005.10.09 05:52:37 Maggi: no way
2005.10.09 05:52:50 Maggi: Sedat would know
2005.10.09 05:52:51 BumskyGst3: ndi a n'acho i mata ihe anyi na asu.
2005.10.09 05:53:02 Maggi: Asian
2005.10.09 05:53:03 SedatA: no
2005.10.09 05:53:06 NgGst6: a ga m ezigara gi email ga agwa gi ihe nile . ihe ndia na ekwu on a togwa gi ochi otu o si atom
2005.10.09 05:53:11 NgGst6: ama m
2005.10.09 05:53:14 SedatA: they don't speak turkish
2005.10.09 05:53:19 LeeB: Sedat... its saying there was no intention of casuaties but if it happened incidently, then thats what must be?
2005.10.09 05:53:21 NgGst6: o chi atogbuola m
2005.10.09 05:53:31 BumskyGst3: O ka anyi gwa ihe ihe any na asu?
2005.10.09 05:53:33 SedatA: it is said that
2005.10.09 05:53:39 LeeB left the room (signed off).
2005.10.09 05:53:44 SedatA: there was a struggle between two nations
2005.10.09 05:53:49 BumskyGst3: oya nu. Ka anyi hapu ha biko.
2005.10.09 05:53:50 NgGst6: i choro ka anyi gwa ha?
2005.10.09 05:53:52 RobertWB: or maybe its old Gaelic.
2005.10.09 05:53:53 TapioH joined the room.
2005.10.09 05:53:54 SedatA: but not only armenians died
2005.10.09 05:53:55 LeeB joined the room.
2005.10.09 05:54:03 SedatA: but also
2005.10.09 05:54:04 LeanneMM: wb Lee
2005.10.09 05:54:04 ThomasLev: swahili?
2005.10.09 05:54:12 SedatA: turkish people died
2005.10.09 05:54:17 Maggi: Tapio is in Finland
2005.10.09 05:54:17 NgGst6: i gakwara uka ta?
2005.10.09 05:54:18 SedatA: and at the same rate
2005.10.09 05:54:27 ThomasLev: hi Tapio
2005.10.09 05:54:28 BumskyGst3: Mba, anyi ama agwa ha.
2005.10.09 05:54:28 LeanneMM: Hi Tapio
2005.10.09 05:54:35 NgGst6: ngwa nu
2005.10.09 05:54:36 SedatA: hi Tapio
2005.10.09 05:54:37 LeeB: ahh
2005.10.09 05:54:45 TapioH: good afternoon all
2005.10.09 05:54:58 NgGst6: ana m aju ma unu ana agakwa uka ebe ahu?
2005.10.09 05:54:58 BumskyGst3: Ka anyi nye ha obele oru ka ha jee cheba ya echiche biko.
2005.10.09 05:55:00 LeanneMM: it's early morning for me Tapio
2005.10.09 05:55:19 NgGst6: kedu ihe anyi ga enye ha?
2005.10.09 05:55:34 NgGst6: o ka anyi sutu na oyibo?
2005.10.09 05:55:40 BumskyGst3: Ofuma nu. Obioma na enyi m nwoke jebe nke ututu.
2005.10.09 05:55:54 VanceS joined the room.
2005.10.09 05:55:56 NgGst6: o ebe emeka no ka i no?
2005.10.09 05:56:02 VanceS: hi everyone
2005.10.09 05:56:08 ThomasLev: hi Vance!
2005.10.09 05:56:09 LeanneMM: Hi Vance. How's your Swahili?
2005.10.09 05:56:12 VanceS: there were only a dozen people here earlier
2005.10.09 05:56:14 BumskyGst3: mba.
2005.10.09 05:56:14 TapioH: Yes Leanne, i remember canada...
2005.10.09 05:56:22 VanceS: Mzuri sana
2005.10.09 05:56:24 LeanneMM: did you come visit Tapio?
2005.10.09 05:56:28 Maggi: your screen is subtitled with a language you don't know
2005.10.09 05:56:33 LeeB: hi vance
2005.10.09 05:56:38 BumskyGst3: Eeee, mu na Emeka no na ofu ebe.
2005.10.09 05:56:45 TapioH: this ignore-command is good...
2005.10.09 05:56:52 DavidWe wonders if Sedat got to his question
2005.10.09 05:56:55 NgGst6: ngwa eme ka i jiri addy mu ihe i na eme ebe ah
2005.10.09 05:57:01 VanceS: jambo bumsky
2005.10.09 05:57:03 SedatA: excuse me
2005.10.09 05:57:07 DavidWe smiles
2005.10.09 05:57:10 Maggi: yes it is
2005.10.09 05:57:11 TapioH: Leanne i almost live here...adopted
2005.10.09 05:57:28 LeanneMM: here in Canada Tapio? Where?
2005.10.09 05:57:30 BumskyGst3: oya u
2005.10.09 05:57:36 SedatA: there are two languages here
2005.10.09 05:57:40 Maggi: Lapland
2005.10.09 05:57:42 BumskyGst3: oya biko ka anyi hapu ndia.
2005.10.09 05:57:42 DavidWe: Many languages
2005.10.09 05:57:44 SedatA: and I cannot follow the conversation
2005.10.09 05:57:48 NgGst6: ngwa nu
2005.10.09 05:57:52 TapioH: Nah, I'm in Finland...
2005.10.09 05:58:01 NgGst6: ka o dizia mgbe ozo
2005.10.09 05:58:02 DavidWe . o O ( strange language )
2005.10.09 05:58:05 DavidWe . o O ( Finnish )
2005.10.09 05:58:07 VanceS: nice to see so many people
2005.10.09 05:58:19 DavidWe thought that there is a connection between Finnish and Turkish
2005.10.09 05:58:21 BumskyGst3: Ka anyi kpatopu nkata nayi na mail.
2005.10.09 05:58:22 TapioH put gsts on ignore...
2005.10.09 05:58:24 LeanneMM: no, but I mean you visited Canada and were almost adopted by someone here?
2005.10.09 05:58:29 NgGst6: ngwa nu
2005.10.09 05:58:35 DavidWe: Right in Kamloops, too, Leanne
2005.10.09 05:58:37 NgGst6: a puola mu ohhh
2005.10.09 05:58:43 VanceS: Jeff and I are going to head up to the webheads room
2005.10.09 05:58:48 DavidWe nods
2005.10.09 05:58:51 LeanneMM has almost been adopted by a Mexican family
2005.10.09 05:58:55 VanceS: anyone who wants to talk technology can join us
2005.10.09 05:58:59 BumskyGst3: o di mma.
2005.10.09 05:58:59 DavidWe . o O ( and an orange tree )
2005.10.09 05:59:03 NgGst6 left the room (signed off).
2005.10.09 05:59:05 DavidWe: Mac
2005.10.09 05:59:10 BumskyGst3 left the room (signed off).
2005.10.09 05:59:13 TapioH: Leanne, i have visited Canada only once...landing on my way back to finland...from denver
2005.10.09 05:59:19 RobertWB: Mind if I join you , Vance.
2005.10.09 05:59:22 VanceS left the room.
2005.10.09 05:59:32 LeanneMM: not long enough to get adopted, then, Tapio
2005.10.09 05:59:37 AndrewP: Vance did you get the email I sent to the EVO02 listserve
2005.10.09 05:59:43 AnnaK left the room.
2005.10.09 05:59:55 AndrewP: can you post the events in the Webheads calendar of events when you get to it
2005.10.09 06:00:09 TapioH: Leanne, what I had in mind was more or less the Tapped In forum
2005.10.09 06:00:12 Maggi: have to follow Andy
2005.10.09 06:00:14 RobertWB left the room.
2005.10.09 06:00:27 Maggi: they< left
2005.10.09 06:00:34 LeanneMM: Andy - Vance already went to WiA..join him there, or pm him
2005.10.09 06:01:13 LeanneMM apologizes for taking Tapio so literally
2005.10.09 06:01:22 DavidWe: Here is what Jeff said:
2005.10.09 06:01:31 LeanneMM: careful David
2005.10.09 06:01:37 AndrewP left the room.
2005.10.09 06:01:42 DavidWe: knew if I logged in as three african stooges I could get people to come to WiA.
2005.10.09 06:01:54 DavidWe: Careful, Leanne?
2005.10.09 06:02:10 LeanneMM: oh, I thought it was going to be worse than that.
2005.10.09 06:02:17 LeanneMM . o O ( we still have a visitor )
2005.10.09 06:02:18 DavidWe winks
2005.10.09 06:02:23 DavidWe: Do we?
2005.10.09 06:02:26 DavidWe smiles
2005.10.09 06:02:58 DavidWe: Check the idle time for the remaining guest
2005.10.09 06:03:17 DennisOl joined the room.
2005.10.09 06:03:23 DavidWe: Hi, Dennis. WElcome
2005.10.09 06:03:24 KarimaB joined the room.
2005.10.09 06:03:25 TapioH: hmmm, ghosting isn't allowed
2005.10.09 06:03:26 LeanneMM: Hi Dennis
2005.10.09 06:03:30 DavidWe waves to Karima
2005.10.09 06:03:31 Maggi: Hi dennis
2005.10.09 06:03:35 DavidWe: Hi, Karima. Welcome
2005.10.09 06:03:37 LeanneMM who
2005.10.09 06:03:43 DavidWe . o O ( /who )
2005.10.09 06:03:45 LeanneMM: ?
2005.10.09 06:03:47 ThomasLev: waves
2005.10.09 06:03:53 MichaelMa left the room (signed off).
2005.10.09 06:03:54 KarimaB: hi david always there
2005.10.09 06:04:04 LeanneMM: Thanks, David ;-)
2005.10.09 06:04:17 DavidWe: Welcome, Leanne
2005.10.09 06:04:37 LeanneMM: see, it's been such a long time...I even forget how to do it
2005.10.09 06:04:40 LeanneMM: ;-)
2005.10.09 06:04:45 DennisOl: Hi, Leanne, Wex, Maggi, Tom.
2005.10.09 06:04:47 DavidWe: That long, huh?
2005.10.09 06:04:49 KarimaB left the room (signed off).
2005.10.09 06:04:55 DennisOl: Are the Webheads elsewhere?
2005.10.09 06:04:56 DavidWe: How's it going, Dennis?
2005.10.09 06:05:02 LeanneMM . o O ( not like riding a bike )
2005.10.09 06:05:03 DavidWe: WIA group room
2005.10.09 06:05:04 Maggi: Tag Dennis
2005.10.09 06:05:08 TapioH left the room.
2005.10.09 06:05:16 DennisOl: OK, Wex. But right now I have the beginnings of a sinus headache.
2005.10.09 06:05:29 DavidWe: Drugs?
2005.10.09 06:05:29 DaveAC joined the room.
2005.10.09 06:05:32 DavidWe waves to Dave
2005.10.09 06:05:33 LeanneMM: Hi Dave
2005.10.09 06:05:35 DavidWe: Hi, Dave. WElcome
2005.10.09 06:05:40 DennisOl: Tag, Maggi. Wie gehts?
2005.10.09 06:05:41 DaveAC: morning fine people...
2005.10.09 06:05:56 DavidWe . o O ( and Canadins )
2005.10.09 06:06:00 DavidWe . o O ( Canadians* )
2005.10.09 06:06:01 Maggi: besser als dir
2005.10.09 06:06:02 LeanneMM: Fine morning, Dave?
2005.10.09 06:06:12 LeanneMM: Happy Thanksgiving, Dave
2005.10.09 06:06:12 DennisOl: I guess I'll go to the WIA group room.
2005.10.09 06:06:14 DaveAC: windy, overcast...
2005.10.09 06:06:17 DennisOl smiles at Maggi
2005.10.09 06:06:20 DaveAC: nice day for driving
2005.10.09 06:06:27 DavidWe: driving somewhere, Dave?
2005.10.09 06:06:36 DennisOl left the room.
2005.10.09 06:06:46 DaveAC: happy thanksgiving
2005.10.09 06:06:51 DaveAC: yes, back to PEI
2005.10.09 06:06:54 DaveAC: after the show
2005.10.09 06:06:56 ThomasLev: happy thanksgiving!
2005.10.09 06:06:57 DavidWe: How far is that?
2005.10.09 06:07:00 DaveAC: 4 hours
2005.10.09 06:07:01 DavidWe . o O ( from where you are )
2005.10.09 06:07:03 DaveAC: not too bad
2005.10.09 06:07:08 DavidWe: Boat rides involved?
2005.10.09 06:07:18 LeanneMM: Already had one turkey dinner...with apologies to Sedat in Turkey
2005.10.09 06:07:20 DavidWe: I've been to Fredericton (drove from Philadelphia) but no farther
2005.10.09 06:07:29 LeanneMM likes turkey and Turkey
2005.10.09 06:07:32 DavidWe smiles
2005.10.09 06:07:35 DaveAC: there is a very large bridge that aids in jumping over the water
2005.10.09 06:07:36 DavidWe: What about pheasant?
2005.10.09 06:07:42 DavidWe likes bridges
2005.10.09 06:07:51 DaveAC: it's a little over 13km long
2005.10.09 06:07:53 LeanneMM: never had pheasant that I know of, David
2005.10.09 06:07:55 DavidWe: Cool
2005.10.09 06:08:04 DavidWe . o O ( Guinea Fowl? )
2005.10.09 06:08:18 LeanneMM 's cousin in law was an engineer on that bridge
2005.10.09 06:08:18 Maggi had it in England
2005.10.09 06:08:39 DavidWe nods
2005.10.09 06:09:12 LeanneMM: He did a presentation on the Confederation Bridge for Dafne's architecture class
2005.10.09 06:09:29 DavidWe: Close to 20,000 may have been killed in Pakistan and the Kashmir region
2005.10.09 06:09:34 DavidWe: Way cool, Leanne
2005.10.09 06:09:42 Maggi: saw thatg
2005.10.09 06:09:45 LeanneMM . o O ( my brush with greatness )
2005.10.09 06:09:46 DavidWe: I have to mention the possibility to my sister (the architect)
2005.10.09 06:09:58 LeanneMM: what possibility David?
2005.10.09 06:10:05 DavidWe: Doing something online with Daf's class
2005.10.09 06:10:12 DavidWe . o O ( since my sister is an architect )
2005.10.09 06:10:13 LeanneMM: oh yes. Good idea
2005.10.09 06:10:20 DavidWe: Daf's idea
2005.10.09 06:10:29 DaveAC: off to do prep... see some of you later!
2005.10.09 06:10:34 DavidWe waves bye
2005.10.09 06:10:35 LeanneMM: bye Dave
2005.10.09 06:10:40 DaveAC left the room (signed off).
2005.10.09 06:10:43 DavidWe goes to find socks
2005.10.09 06:11:50 SedatA: I have to leave now
2005.10.09 06:11:53 SedatA: see you later
2005.10.09 06:12:04 LeanneMM: OK bye - I promise to read your articles
2005.10.09 06:12:09 Maggi: bye Sedat
2005.10.09 06:12:16 LeanneMM: we can discuss them next week OK?
2005.10.09 06:12:29 ThomasLev: bye Sedat
2005.10.09 06:12:34 Maggi: have a good day!
2005.10.09 06:13:41 LeanneMM: So Maggi, I don't think you said whether the EU is an economic union or empire-building?
2005.10.09 06:14:04 Maggi: not empire buiding
2005.10.09 06:14:18 SedatA: bye
2005.10.09 06:14:26 SedatA left the room (signed off).
2005.10.09 06:14:26 LeanneMM: Bye Sedat take care
2005.10.09 06:14:33 Maggi: you misu derstand the purpose of joing
2005.10.09 06:14:59 LeanneMM: strictly economic? i.e. the euro?
2005.10.09 06:15:13 Maggi: it is NOT like becoming a state
2005.10.09 06:15:30 Maggi: one reason
2005.10.09 06:15:34 LeanneMM: I don't think NAFTA is like becoming a state either
2005.10.09 06:15:41 Maggi: but not all a
2005.10.09 06:15:55 Maggi: all have the Euro
2005.10.09 06:16:20 Maggi: this is NOTHING like NAFTA
2005.10.09 06:17:40 LeanneMM: then I don't really understand what the purpose is. Does it help people get across borders easier?
2005.10.09 06:17:51 Maggi: yes
2005.10.09 06:18:02 LeeB left the room.
2005.10.09 06:18:12 Maggi: but that is NOT the aim
2005.10.09 06:18:22 LeanneMM: ahhh, so while the US is making it harder for people to cross borders, the Europeans are making it easier.
2005.10.09 06:18:48 Maggi: only for thwe members
2005.10.09 06:19:13 LeanneMM recalls seeing ESL jobs open to EU members only
2005.10.09 06:19:41 Maggi: it is different to what the US and Canada have done
2005.10.09 06:19:46 Maggi: brb
2005.10.09 06:19:52 LeanneMM: OK
2005.10.09 06:20:09 LeanneMM: TOm, what's your take on NAFTA?
2005.10.09 06:21:36 LeeB joined the room.
2005.10.09 06:21:42 LeanneMM: wb Lee
2005.10.09 06:21:47 LeanneMM: What's up in WiA?
2005.10.09 06:21:52 LeeB: moodle
2005.10.09 06:22:06 LeanneMM: not into moodling, eh?
2005.10.09 06:22:20 DavidWe is going to sneak out while it is not raining to see whether anyone wants to play sports
2005.10.09 06:22:26 ThomasLev: my class is looking into NAFTA, CAFTA, etc.
2005.10.09 06:22:30 LeanneMM: ENjoy David.
2005.10.09 06:22:34 DavidWe: Thanks for the info about the fancy banjo, Lee
2005.10.09 06:22:34 LeeB: oh yes but i only have downloaded it so far and have to figure out how to get it to work
2005.10.09 06:22:37 DavidWe: Thanks, Leanne
2005.10.09 06:22:43 LeanneMM: See you tomorrow, David
2005.10.09 06:22:47 LeeB: David... i can not get your message to work..
2005.10.09 06:22:55 DavidWe: My message?
2005.10.09 06:23:04 LeanneMM: CAFTA Tom?
2005.10.09 06:23:08 LeeB: I have been trying to click on your name to have a private chat
2005.10.09 06:23:11 LeanneMM . o O ( this is new to me )
2005.10.09 06:23:18 DavidWe: double-click?
2005.10.09 06:23:29 LeeB: nothing..
2005.10.09 06:23:32 ThomasLev: central american free trade aaaaa...
2005.10.09 06:23:32 DavidWe: or click once...then, the little speaking face icon
2005.10.09 06:23:33 DavidWe: Hang on
2005.10.09 06:23:46 DavidWe: Is it working the other way?
2005.10.09 06:23:50 LeanneMM will look the other way while Lee and David talk here
2005.10.09 06:23:52 ThomasLev: it will do the same thing nafta did
2005.10.09 06:23:53 TapioH joined the room.
2005.10.09 06:23:55 DavidWe: No problem, Leanne
2005.10.09 06:24:03 LeanneMM: wb Tapio
2005.10.09 06:24:33 LeanneMM: Tom, is that the one where South America is also involved? Or just Central America maybe?
2005.10.09 06:24:45 TapioH: who Ngozigst13
2005.10.09 06:24:49 ThomasLev: we lose some jobs, our companies get access to some markets, the unions hate it...for most of us it no different
2005.10.09 06:25:08 ThomasLev: cafta includes dominican rep. but no s.a. countries.
2005.10.09 06:25:16 LeanneMM: I dunno, Tapio
2005.10.09 06:25:22 TapioH: walkabout time...
2005.10.09 06:25:27 TapioH: bye all
2005.10.09 06:25:34 LeanneMM: see you Tapio
2005.10.09 06:25:39 TapioH: see you in a couple of hours
2005.10.09 06:25:43 ThomasLev: see you!
2005.10.09 06:25:43 TapioH left the room (signed off).
2005.10.09 06:26:12 LeanneMM: Tom, what I fear about NAFTA is that is opens the door for some to take advantage of others
2005.10.09 06:26:50 LeanneMM: I agree it provides opportunities, but there's also a danger of going too far
2005.10.09 06:27:40 LeanneMM: like, the guy that headed Enron is now CEO of a company that is buying our natural gas supply dompany
2005.10.09 06:27:44 LeanneMM: *company
2005.10.09 06:28:00 LeanneMM: is that good or bad for us in BC?
2005.10.09 06:28:04 DavidWe hugs Leanne
2005.10.09 06:28:06 DavidWe hugs Maggi
2005.10.09 06:28:10 LeanneMM hugs David
2005.10.09 06:28:11 DavidWe waves bye to folks
2005.10.09 06:28:15 DavidWe: Enjoy Sunday, people
2005.10.09 06:28:18 DavidWe: I'll be back later
2005.10.09 06:28:23 LeanneMM: have a great day David
2005.10.09 06:28:26 DavidWe: Thanks
2005.10.09 06:28:28 DavidWe: Ciao
2005.10.09 06:28:29 DavidWe left the room (signed off).
2005.10.09 06:28:56 ThomasLev: these ceo guys are snakes. generally what's good for them makes me very suspicious...
2005.10.09 06:29:33 LeanneMM: right. At first, I thought it was very altruistic for this Kinder guy to take only $1.00US salary per year...
2005.10.09 06:29:39 NgoziGst3 left the room (signed off).
2005.10.09 06:29:43 LeanneMM: until I found out he used to run Enron
2005.10.09 06:30:11 LeanneMM doesn't know much about ENron, except it turned out very badly
2005.10.09 06:30:22 LeeB: By Maggi..Leanne..Thomas and Lee.... ooops that me...
2005.10.09 06:30:29 LeeB: I must go tend to things for a bit
2005.10.09 06:30:31 LeanneMM: bye Lee
2005.10.09 06:30:36 LeeB: HTSYS
2005.10.09 06:30:44 LeeB: Thats hope to see you soon!
2005.10.09 06:30:51 LeanneMM: thanks for the translation
2005.10.09 06:30:56 LeeB: haha
2005.10.09 06:31:08 LeeB: Really makes me sound important!
2005.10.09 06:31:15 LeanneMM: Lee:HYBDMTM
2005.10.09 06:31:22 LeeB: hmmm
2005.10.09 06:31:29 ThomasLev: ???????
2005.10.09 06:31:33 LeanneMM: that's "Hope your banjos don't multiply too much"
2005.10.09 06:31:43 LeeB: heeehaatteeehee
2005.10.09 06:32:03 LeanneMM smiles
2005.10.09 06:32:06 LeeB: Actually for the price they are these days I wouldn't mind.. one I know of is $56000
2005.10.09 06:32:14 LeanneMM: yikes!
2005.10.09 06:32:24 LeanneMM: I'm sure that's out of David's price range
2005.10.09 06:32:29 LeeB: I know ... a banjo, ... a house... a banjo... a house
2005.10.09 06:32:37 LeeB: lets seeee
2005.10.09 06:32:40 LeeB: what to do
2005.10.09 06:32:49 LeanneMM: you can live in a house...
2005.10.09 06:33:02 LeanneMM: you can live off a banjo...
2005.10.09 06:33:14 LeeB: No, I talked to him and will set him up with one around 200 to 500. I knwo everyone and can get a really good deal for him
2005.10.09 06:33:19 ThomasLev: banjo will drive away the ceo's
2005.10.09 06:33:24 LeanneMM: both will keep you dry in a rainstorm
2005.10.09 06:33:28 LeeB: true thomas
2005.10.09 06:33:44 LeeB: a banjo wards off strangers.. one good hit over the head
2005.10.09 06:33:54 LeanneMM: or a couple of sour notes!
2005.10.09 06:33:59 LeeB: true'
2005.10.09 06:34:24 LeeB: Hey, i put up a new song from our cd... Pressed through the Crowd.. if you wanna hear one.
2005.10.09 06:34:29 LeeB: I will give you the link
2005.10.09 06:34:37 ThomasLev: i'll bite
2005.10.09 06:34:37 LeeB: its only part of a tune
2005.10.09 06:34:37 LeanneMM: sure
2005.10.09 06:34:50 LeanneMM: who writes these, Lee?
2005.10.09 06:34:58 CorinneW joined the room.
2005.10.09 06:35:03 LeanneMM: Hi Corinne
2005.10.09 06:35:31 CorinneW: HI Leanne
2005.10.09 06:35:32 LeeB: http://crosscreekbluegrass.com/pttc.htm
2005.10.09 06:35:54 LeeB: Well thisone was written by Bob Pasley .. another guy in bluegrass we know
2005.10.09 06:35:55 CorinneW: Hello Lee too
2005.10.09 06:35:58 LeanneMM: Thanks Lee, I'll give it a listen later when folks are up in my house
2005.10.09 06:36:08 LeeB: Hello Corinne
2005.10.09 06:36:09 HeidiGst3 joined the room.
2005.10.09 06:36:12 LeanneMM . o O ( only 6:35 AM here )
2005.10.09 06:36:14 LeeB: It is actually a gospel tune
2005.10.09 06:36:20 LeeB: but its purrty
2005.10.09 06:36:24 LeanneMM: great...it's Sunday!
2005.10.09 06:36:32 LeanneMM: Hi Heidi
2005.10.09 06:36:33 CorinneW left the room.
2005.10.09 06:36:41 LeeB: well, gotta go... later all
2005.10.09 06:36:45 LeanneMM: bye
2005.10.09 06:36:58 ThomasLev: thanks!
2005.10.09 06:37:32 LeeB left the room.
2005.10.09 06:37:39 LeanneMM: I'm going to sign off now too, Tom - I have bread dough in the bread machine that needs making into cinnamon buns
2005.10.09 06:37:54 Maggi: .waves to those leaving
2005.10.09 06:37:57 ThomasLev: ok!
2005.10.09 06:38:09 LeanneMM: Maggi, I think Heidi may need some help...
2005.10.09 06:38:13 LeanneMM hugs Maggi
2005.10.09 06:38:18 Maggi: k
2005.10.09 06:38:23 LeanneMM: see you next time
2005.10.09 06:38:28 Maggi hugs
2005.10.09 06:38:43 LeanneMM left the room (signed off).
2005.10.09 06:39:18 ThomasLev: brb
2005.10.09 06:39:53 HeidiGst3 left the room (signed off).
2005.10.09 06:39:58 Maggi goes to get some things done
2005.10.09 06:40:17 Maggi left the room (signed off).
2005.10.09 06:43:10 HeidiGre joined the room.
2005.10.09 06:43:32 CorinneW joined the room.
2005.10.09 06:43:51 CorinneW left the room.
2005.10.09 06:46:15 HeidiGre left the room.
2005.10.09 06:46:22 DamianosD joined the room.
2005.10.09 06:46:43 SusanneN joined the room.
2005.10.09 06:47:09 SusanneN: Hi Damian!
2005.10.09 06:47:33 SusanneN: I nsuppose webheads have moved up to the WIA office
2005.10.09 06:47:43 SusanneN: and, hi Thomas too :-)
2005.10.09 06:48:01 SusanneN: see you at WIA_grp
2005.10.09 06:48:13 SusanneN left the room.
2005.10.09 06:49:46 Pink_caGst3 joined the room.
2005.10.09 06:49:50 DamianosD left the room (signed off).
2005.10.09 06:50:19 Pink_caGst3 left the room.
2005.10.09 06:50:36 DamianosD joined the room.
2005.10.09 06:50:56 Pink_caGst3 joined the room.
2005.10.09 06:51:08 Pink_caGst3 left the room.
2005.10.09 06:51:12 DamianosD: Can you receive English now?
2005.10.09 06:51:18 DamianosD: OK Hi .
2005.10.09 06:51:37 DamianosD left the room.
2005.10.09 06:52:00 Pink_caGst3 joined the room.
2005.10.09 06:52:58 Pink_caGst3 left the room.
2005.10.09 06:54:04 Pink_caGst3 joined the room.
2005.10.09 07:03:41 DaveAC joined the room.
2005.10.09 07:04:04 DaveAC left the room.
2005.10.09 07:08:28 SusanneN joined the room.
2005.10.09 07:08:30 SusanneN left the room (signed off).
2005.10.09 07:08:31 SusanneN joined the room.
2005.10.09 07:08:40 SusanneN left the room.
2005.10.09 07:12:20 Pink_caGst3 left the room.
2005.10.09 07:12:56 Pink_caGst3 joined the room.
2005.10.09 07:17:46 BjB joined the room.
2005.10.09 07:18:18 BjB: Hi, Pink and Thomas
2005.10.09 07:20:07 ThomasLev: Hello!
2005.10.09 07:20:23 BjB: were you with the webheads group, Tom?
2005.10.09 07:20:43 ThomasLev: Yes. Sometimes I'm away though as I have a couple of kids on this end....
2005.10.09 07:20:58 ThomasLev: Vance is in the WiA room I believe
2005.10.09 07:21:02 BjB smiles and nods
2005.10.09 07:21:12 BjB: do you know how to get there?
2005.10.09 07:21:25 Pink_caGst3 left the room (signed off).
2005.10.09 07:21:40 CheriH joined the room.
2005.10.09 07:21:50 BjB: Hi, Cheri
2005.10.09 07:21:51 ThomasLev: yes. go over to the online tab and click on it. then put your mouse on the person you want to follow. then click on the door below...
2005.10.09 07:22:03 BjB: right, Tom!
2005.10.09 07:22:14 ThomasLev: go ahead I'll follow you...
2005.10.09 07:22:38 BjB: I'm a helpdesk volunteer for Tapped In. I usually just lurk here in reception
2005.10.09 07:23:01 BjB: you can still go to the online tab, click one time on VanceS and then click on the door
2005.10.09 07:23:47 ThomasLev: I might try it but I'm being called away so...
2005.10.09 07:23:53 ThomasLev left the room.

Spanish chat - chatear en espanol

Here is some Spanish chat. I have some familiarity with Spanish also, and can make out what is going on here, though I may be wrong. Also what I have transcribed here may be gone by the time you, the reader, encounter the link. Nonetheless you'll get the pattern of it.

como stan = como estan
hola to2 = hola todos (dos=two)
Dnd sta... = donde esta (where are...)
aki = aqui, variant spelling

Esperame al rato t txteo toy plandando kn mis friends lo d mi karro
(not sure what this is, but t=te, kn=con, friends instead of amigos??? d=de, etc.)

km ke hi dzi miguel what r u thinking ah ah
(here's mixing spanish & english chat; not sure what's going on here either)

Here I'll stop; these are personal messages, though they're in a public space, and I have no idea what I'm transcribing, so I could get in trouble I suppose. And I don't mean any intrusion of privacy. I'll just point out a couple of obvious things:

first, willing to skip vowels, use k instead of que; spanish chatters show some familiarity with english if not mixing, using english letters where spanish would be not much harder. Using an occasional English word or phrase; is the meaning that different?? A kind of chat code-switching. Use of numbers is not common here but I saw it.

romanji chats

I haven't encountered a name for these yet, but they are chat languages which use English letters, by necessity, because one or both computer-users does not have the appropriate font to type in the native language.

An example is a Saudi student in my class, a woman, who promised to tell me more. She claims to chat using English letters but basically in Arabic, with her friends back home. She spends quite a bit of time doing it and I suspect that therefore this language has developed a little. And may be common to others besides her.

Another example is a guy I started up with in the locker room of the swimming pool. There were actually two, one a Sinhalese from Sri Lanka, and another whose native language was Malayalam, also in the Indian subcontinent. The Sinhalese left, but the Malayalam speaker maintained that he chatted in Malayalam, but using English letters, with friends back home. Malayalam has 51 characters; difficult to type and adjust to even when you have the fonts. In addition, he said, on the Indian subcontinent most proficient computer-users were also proficient English speaker/users, thus making mastery of their own native tongue, on computer, unnecessary. He said that they often compared their computer usage with that of China, which has many more webpages in Chinese, for example, and they felt that that statistic was unfair, since it didn't really mean that Hindi-language and Hindi-script users were undeveloped on the computer; it was just that many of their pages were in English.

About the Malayalam chat, in English letters, he said that it was clunky; if a third party entered a conversation, it would not be easy for them to catch on to what was being talked about. This was due to the difficult translation of Malayalam to English letters, apparently. Once one got used to a system, one would do ok. But someone from outside would first have to notice the system, which might not be the same in every conversation.

A final example was an early memory of mine, which I would love to get a hold of. I was chatting with webheads, I believe, when visitors appeared in the chat room and chatted vigorously in another language, but with English script. They were chatting furiously and we had to talk around them; we occasionally asked them to go occupy another room (there were plenty around) but they were either totally absorbed in their own conversation, or unable to understand ours; they kept on going, to our annoyance. I was fascinated though, and tried to guess the language. It wasn't clear but my guess was African. Webheads, who are fairly worldly, had a wide range of guesses; it wasn't clear at all. I may be able to find the transcript...

A characteristic of these Romanji chat languages (and I may be misusing the word Romanji here) is that they are born of necessity. People get together and want to communicate; they have and English/romanji keyboard; they make do. When something easier comes along, they switch; if they are fairly educated, they already know another alphabet, another typing pardigm, and can go back to it. Presumably some multilinguals never go back, never have to or want to.

A number of languages have had roman-script variants for years and some have even made the roman-script variant standard; Turkish comes to mind but there are more. By the way, my Turkish student claims that there is a Turkish chat, alive and well, no vowels; I'll ask her a few questions when I get the chance. It's fascinating.

Korean chat

One good thing about Korean chat is that I actually have some familiarity with the language Korean, so, with some well-placed questions I can determine the degree of similarity or difference with English chat. Korean is also interesting in that in many ways Korea is more advanced technologically than we are; it has more people online, more people occupying online environments; more advanced technology, etc. Our students are heavily reliant on chat to stay in touch with their friends back home; I started up the conversations that enabled this post after seeing one of them, quiet as usual in class, rush over to the lab computers during break and get on "cyworld" - a Korean portal- to chat with his friends in Korean.

Getting Korean fontface on most computers is now commonplace; all our lab computers have it, so that they can now just go to almost any computer in the Faner environment and type in Korean with friends back home. I suspect that there was a time, maybe a long time, where this wasn't possible at this end; Korean speakers may have had an English-letter chat that is now unnecessary. And, in some places, it may still be necessary; presumably some Korean speakers are in places with older or monolingual computers and have to chat an English-letter variant.

Korean language is different than English in that normal writing of it requires making a syllable as a character- with a beginning consonant, a vowel, and an ending consonant. It was inconceivable to me that this writing form could be shortened or the vowels deleted. But my students assured me that Korean chat sometimes uses consonant-only forms; for example CHuh KHuh (two consonants) is a universally accepted short version of CHuKHamnida (congratulations).

Common greetings have short forms: pan-gap sumnida = pang ga, anyeong haseyo = what looks like oL - a kind of half ah, half n.

They assure me that the use of numbers is common. The sounds of numbers can thus represent common syllables just as we might use c u l8r or 2 die 4. 79 = friend (shin - ku); 7942= friends with binding relationship (shin - ku - sa - ri). 82 (ba - li) = quickly, common in advertising; 82 53 (ba - li - o - sam) = come quickly. Watch out for 18 (ship - phal) - that means SOB, roughly.

The ha-ha-ha has equivalent in Korean; they claim to have ha-ha-ha, he-he-he, and even h-h-h as well as KHuk KHuk KHuk or KH KH KH, all possibly having different meanings. I couldn't discern exactly what these meanings were.

They insisted that a lot of Korean chat is Korean slang, a young-person's language that has different endings, different words. anyeong ha-se-yo is anyeong ha-sam, and even an-yeong = anyohng (long o),

When I insisted that these chat forms were no shorter (in writing) than the formal forms, they agreed. They said that shorter wasn't important; slang was important. It was part of their identity as young to use that slang, and the fact that it was shorter in some cases didn't matter so much to them.

This I found interesting. I'd been under the impression that the online environment itself caused the necessity of shortening the language, but that may not be the case. I have seen some chat languages make words longer, or prefer longer ones as shorter ones go out of style, but often they just prefer different ones (kewl/cool) for no other reason than being different. slang has primacy over short- this is a testable hypothesis, maybe.

interview with Noah

The following interview is being written down as an ongoing project. I am interviewing my 14-year-old son, who uses chat in two domains and knows quite a bit about it. Please note that I am revising it actually as I write it, and therefore anything you might read today may change tomorrow, either because he does not agree with the way I transcribe what happened, or because I myself have chosen to add further questions and insert them (the interview may not be true to time order of questions asked). I am trying mostly to get the facts down so I can peruse them later.

ME: Tell me about the domains where you use chat. I understand that at our house you spend about three hours a day on Runescape.
NOAH: Yes, and I am chatting most of that whole time with other players, mostly my friends.
ME: How many are there?
NOAH: When I log on it says that about 200,000 are now on the total of Runescape. But there are different worlds (~100 maybe, ~half of these are member-only), and my friends and I usually occupy a single one. You can chat publicly, which means that anyone in the area can understand you, or chat privately to anyone who is on your friends list, who is playing the game anywhere.

ME: And you have a certain chat language that is unique to Runescape?

NOAH: Definitely. First, Runescape has filters that prevent certain words from coming through. So we have to make others- like shucks, bstrd, fhk, doushe, that will slip through the filters. Another one is dumasse. They bleep homosexual and gay because they don't want people calling each other that.
ME: Can you tell me more about that?
NOAH: Sure. Of course they bleep all the big ones, and we just go around it whenever we have to. But they don't bleep hell. We had a big argument, or discussion, once. I took the stand that they didn't bleep hell because they didn't want to, because they didn't think it was strong enough as a cuss word. But one of my friends took the stand that they didn't bleep it because he'll turns into it and it's so common to not use apostrophes.
ME: Do people get banned?
NOAH: Yes, you can get banned for your language. One guy said that he got banned for saying that Jesus was black. I don't know if it's true or not, though, he just went around saying that. It's true: people come up to you and say that Jesus loves you, etc. But you're not allowed to use various profanities and you can be banned for certain insults.

ME: Are there words that are common to all chat?
NOAH: Yes. brb, lol, gtg, others...
ME: Would you say that you adopted and learned Runescape dialect, or that you created it with your friends?
NOAH: My friends have words that only they say and we understand. But in general, we picked up the Runescape dialect when we got here. We started writing like they do. For example, we never use punctuation.
ME: Never?
NOAH: No periods, no apostrophes, no quotation marks. In fact, I'm annoyed when people do use it. It seems like they're trying to be smart.
ME: Can you tell me more about that?
NOAH: Well, the forums are different from the game, but in the game, the game automatically capitalizes the first letter that you type, and then, it only allows small letters after that, unless you use a period. And nobody ever uses a period.
ME: Is there anything you miss about not using punctuation?
NOAH: Yes, quotation marks. In fact, I do use them sometimes, because I really need them to communicate that it's someone else's words. I find it hard that I can't emphasize things, like make capital letters to make things strong. But I don't miss commas, apostrophes, etc. much.

ME: Do you have times when various conversations are going on at once?
NOAH: Yes, there's a place called the bank which is really more like an open stock market. Everyone is talking at once. You go there to buy what you want or sell what you want and get money. So there are lots of conversations going on at once. Some things you buy at fixed price, other things you bargain a price for. For example, Nats. People go and work hard for Nats and there are some people who try to kill nats; they're called Nat PK's. There are also Nat PK PKers. Those are people who kill Nat PK's. People have strong feelings about this because fewer Nats raises the price; also it is possible to get by these people who just hunt for people who are dealing in Nats.
ME: Sounds like you have lots of words, like Nats, PK's, etc. that are particular to Runescape in that they mean something to those of you who are there but not much to those of us on the outside.

ME: Are there any words that have disappeared, or gone out?
NOAH: Yes. For example, noisce=nice. You don't see it anymore.

ME: Do you see other languages at all?
NOAH: My friend and I use German once in a while. You see a lot of Spanish, especially in the wilderness. People use it because they don't want others to understand it.
ME: Is it fluent Spanish or fractured Spanish?
NOAH: Fluent, I think. Maybe the people out there are actually Spanish-speaking.

ME: Do they use text-language much; for example, using numbers?
NOAH: Not much. Maybe about 25% use it; they are the ones trying to be cool, being innovative, etc.
ME: And you never look up new words when you see them?
NOAH: Never. I just ask, if I don't know what it means. Also, there is a certain politeness culture. For example, you can't just say "gtg" and then disappear. You have to wait a minute or two. There is a certain time you have to let pass before you leave. You have to let them respond.
ME: Can you talk about some words that are particular to Runescape?
NOAH: Sure.

woot (sometimes spelled w00t) - Hooray!
there are variants of this one- unique, as far as I know, to Runescape. You see wootness, for example.

sniped

owned- beat, burned
extremely common. Used much more widely than just as a verb: I owned you. Also used just as an answer. A: I finished a hard quest. B: Owned. B is just answering A. There is more meaning besides just "cool" but it's kind of like that.

pawn/pwn/pwned/powned- beat, burned
of these pwn/pwning is most common. Don't know where it came from. It seems very related to owned, which is very common; maybe it's owned with an added gesture. Don't know.

By the way also common is ownage, pawnage, etc.

noob/newb
this one originally meant people who were new to the game. But it got expanded to be a general insult that people use even on people who are clearly not new to the game. My friends and I decided not to use it, because Runescape was becoming a crude place, and we didn't like that. So we stopped using it altogether.
It has these two variants: noob is more joking, while newb was the original putdown and meant it.

hop- go
mad hop- go to another level
mad hoppage, etc.

kewl/cool
these seem to be equally common variants...

shortened words

plz/pls=please. Of these plz is more common. My impression is that it is not because of sound, but because z looks cooler and because they can use z.

oh=o
ppl=people
double consonants=single,
-unless it's latte=late (can't be done)

acronyms

lol- laugh out loud
brb- be right back
gtg- got to go
rofl- rolling on the floor laughing

tyvm- thank you very much
yw- you're welcome
jj- just joshing
jk- just kidding
brt- be right there
afk- away from keyboard
afc- away from computer


lmao- laughing my a-- off
lmfao- laughing my f-- a-- off
roflmfao etc.

NOAH: Of these I hate the last three, because it's like they're putting you down.


:-) -smiley face
=/ -about to do something hard
=P -tongue out at someone
-_- -said something funny
=( -sad face

ME: How is IM different?
NOAH: For one thing, it's always one-on-one. There is a lot less in common. Rune has its own world, with an entire language, but IM has mostly abbreviations that people know.
ME: Can you talk about words that are particular to IM?
NOAH: Sure.

ttyl - talk to you later
ttfn - that's all for now

these seem to be common to all chat:

lol- laugh out loud
brb- be right back
gtg- got to go
rofl- rolling on the floor laughing
btw- by the way
otoh- on the other hand
gle- good luck everyone (from online trivia)

ME: What other online environments have chat that you are aware of?
NOAH: Another big game is World of Warcraft. But that costs $15/mo. and is definitely addictive. It definitely has its own chat language.

ME: Can you tell me a little about the process of innovation? Who makes up new words?
NOAH: Some people just seem to do more of that than others. Maybe they do it to be cool, to be on the edge. It seems that they catch on if the other people admire them and want to sound like them. For example, if they are the leader of a clan, or something, and they just have a lot of prestige.
ME: Do you think any of this is subconscious?
NOAH: Yes. People use new things and aren't even aware of it sometimes. If I wanted to make up a new word, I could. I'd just have to tell all my friends to start using it, and they would. I'm not sure if it would work or not. I've never tried it. But that's how I imagine it's done.

questions

Here are some questions. I approach this as a linguist, knowing that chat and text-messaging are different and are used in different environments. I really have only experienced chat myself- I've seen and asked people about text-messaging but will have to reserve judgement on them at least until I have a cell phone.

1. chat and text-messaging seem to be taking up an increasing amount of people's energy and real-time communication. Inevitably they will take over as a primary language for some, much as spoken dialect is more common in many people's daily lives than formal written English. Spoken English is clearly seen as the source of written English; however, with chat, written English can be seen as the source of chat and text-messaging, with all abbreviations relying on users' knowledge of the formal version from which it springs. OK, now presumably some people are starting with chat, but not learning the formal English? Presumably some people are beginning to live in chat so much that they lose sight of formal as a separate entity? I'm curious about what begins to happen to people who are doing this.

2. There are chat dialects, but they are not geographical. They are more like jargon, where people in certain environments become free to make certain abbreviations partly because they need and use them so much. What kinds of chat dialects are there? Can they be, or are they being, documented?

3. Certain chat words, lol, are finding their way into mainstream speech and writing (writing more often) - already. lol is as far as I can tell a pioneer- easily recognizable for its own reasons, I presume. afk, cya, l8r is one from text-messaging I assume. Do chat and texting mix? Is there code-switching? How much and where? I assume that myspace & facebook would be good places to start.

4. My students do chatting and texting in their own languages...now I'm really curious about that. Presumably they have the same cell phone I'd get if were to go out and get one. I know they're sitting at the same kind of computer half the time yet also have access now to their own fonts. So what does chatting in Korean look like? Japanese? Chinese? Arabic? Texting in each?

5. Just as driving in a place with lots of small cars changes your perception of driving, chatting quickly and with smaller words changes your communication: your style, your perception, your diction, your ability to manage different conversations at once...what else? Who is looking into this?

6. I limit my son to 3 hours a day of an online game where he chats as he plays. Clearly he's a fluent typist and flings around chat terms that I don't recognize- in a sense he knows another language and speaks it more than he does formal written English. But is it bad for him? It's clearly good for his typing. And I'm kind of a blog junkie myself, so I have to keep an open mind. But I'm not one to say we have a universal capacity or innate language mechanism...I'd say, we're all in a canoe, and the rapids are picking up a little.

The world is changing. I'm a'get an IM account, n chat w/folks f i can.

first post

it is my contention that chat and text-messaging, which are similar in some ways, are going to change the way we live our lives, and the way we think. In fact, I'm sure they already have. Some of this is due to the language itself- in the same way having everyone drive smaller cars or SUV's changes the way we conceive of driving. Some of this also is due to the way discourse goes while using these.

I don't know much about it. This weblog is my attempt to try and get at what it does. The weblog will be in standard English, or something like it- that's all I know. But it will refer to chat, and text messaging, and all the dialects that they contain, with an attempt to understand them better, and to understand where this is going. Have anything to add? Comments are welcome.