Thursday, October 23, 2008

Epic fail

http://www.slate.com/id/2202262/

This is an entire article devoted to the phenomenon of "FAIL" and internet language memes in general. I believe that the defining slang of this generation is being created on the internet, which is exciting, because it demolishes the concept of regional dialects. For the first time in history, people from all sorts of different backgrounds can use and understand the same words, assuming they all frequent the same sites. I'm extremely interested in seeing where language takes itself in the future, and it always warms my heart when a new word or usage enters the lexicon, especially when it's as fun to say as "fail".

2 comments:

Scott Abbott said...

I read the article, which had the sign being held up behind the treasury secretary, a photo I had seen before, and this time I understood it. But to think that this kind of thing will do away with regional dialects -- that gives me shivers. There's too much knowledge tied up in language to welcome losing any of it.

Jacob I. McMillan said...

I think regional dialects will still survive, but there will also be a more global dialect that anyone can understand. To me it's a gain, not a loss. At least that's what I hope.