The Net community exists and thrives because of effective written communication, all you have available to express yourself are typewritten words. If you cannot express yourself well in written language, you either learn more effective ways of communicating, or get lost in the shuffle. The ingenious way people are beginning to communicate over the Net is amazing. "Netspeak" is evolving on a national and internationa

Linguistically, the most interesting feature of Netspeak is its morphology. Acronyms and abbreviations make up a large part of the Net jargon or netspeak. FAQ (Frequently Asked Question), MUD (Multi-User-Dungeon), and URL (Uniform Resource Locator) are some of the most frequently seen TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms) on the Internet. General abbreviations abound as well, in more friendly and conversationally conducive forms, such as TIA (Thanks In Advance), BRB (Be Right Back), BTW (By The Way), and IMHO (In My Humble Opinion). These abbreviations can be baffling to new users, and speaking in abbreviations takes some getting used to. Once users are used to them, though, such abbreviations are a useful and easy way of expediting communication.

The argument rages as to whether Netspeak is merely slang, or a language in and of itself. The language is emerging based loosely upon telecommunications vocabulary and computer jargons, with new derivations and compounds of existing words, and shifts creating different usages; all of which depending quite heavily upon clippings. Because of these reasons, the majority of Net-using linguists classify Netspeak as a dynamic jargon in and of itself, rather than as a collection of slang.

Functional shifts are also frequently seen among vocabulary on the net. For example, a flame (noun) is an angry, hostile response sent to another person. To flame (verb) is to send someone such a response. You use a Gopher (noun) to gopher (verb) through information. These finer distinctions are learned with experience and time on the net. Context is everything when all you have to communicate with is your words and typewritten expressions. One example of coinage, and creativity, within written Netspeak is the addition of "emoticons" to express emotions and intention. Emoticons, most frequently seen in the form of sideways smiles { 8^ ) or ; ) for example, are found sprinkled throughout electronic communication to denote feelings such as happiness, or to express sarcasm or humor. Most Net users consider emoticons a part of their vocabulary, even if they do not fall into traditional grammatical rules. Emoticons are not used as words, they are an attempt at expressing feelings without the luxury of using one's voice. Using all-capital letters is another way Net users have found to bring voice to their written communication; in the form of shouting. Net user's use capital letters very sparingly, only to emphasize very important words or ideas, because most readers do not wish to be shouted at.

Semantically, net jargon is also quite interesting. Many words used in net jargon are taken from regular English and applied to new ideas or protocols. For example, a gopher is not a furry rodent on the Int

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Approximate Word count = 1857
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)