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(Please note that PDF/printing is not 'officially supported' by the instructor, and the results may be very strange in places) --- ### Handout Mode - You can also turn slides into a handout by adding "_handout" before .html --- # Linguistics 42: The Linguistics of the Internet ### Dr. Will Styler --- ### Today's Plan - Introductions - Why do this? - What's Will's problem? - How are we doing this? - Our roles - Our plan --- ## Introductions --- ## Dr. Will Styler Teaching Professor, Linguist, Gigantic Nerd <img class="r-stretch" src="people/will.jpg"> --- ## Lexi Ricasata --- ## Why do this? --- ### I watched memes develop into their modern form on the Internet - We went from text, to 'reaction images' and comics, to 'image macros', to the modern meme - I was an early denizen of many of the early internet meme sites - IRC, Something Awful, Fark, YTMND, 4Chan*, eBaumsWorld, and more - 4Chan wasn't always what it is today - ... but it always kind of was. Yikes. --- ### I started in the LolCat Era --- <img class="r-stretch" src="humorimg/orly.jpg"> --- <img class="r-stretch" src="humorimg/omg.jpg"> --- <img class="r-stretch" src="humorimg/serious_cat.jpg"> --- <img class="r-stretch" src="humorimg/cheese_fail.jpg"> --- ### I was an 'expert' then - Quoted in 2009 by News.com.au: > "Understanding what they're saying and simply knowing that they exist can be considered a showing of one's internet cultural knowledge," says Mr. Styler, who runs the [Linguistic Mystic](http://linguisticmystic.com/) blog. > "In the same sense that using a reference from a hot new movie can include you in a group, doing something using an 'im in ur...' construction is a mark of somebody who understands internet culture." <https://amp.news.com.au/news/rise-of-the-lolcats/news-story/86a968cb6722c05b6bfd559f30445ee9> --- ### I was there when many of the templates were born --- <img class="r-stretch" src="morphology/brian_1.jpg"> --- <img class="r-stretch" src="memes/advice_animals/wharrgarbl.jpg"> --- <img class="r-stretch" src="memes/advice_animals/steve.jpg"> --- ### I watched Advice Animals become a thing --- <img class="r-stretch" src="memes/advice_animals/mallard_advice.jpg"> --- <img class="r-stretch" src="memes/advice_animals/mallard_malicious.jpg"> --- <img class="r-stretch" src="morphology/babymeme3.jpg"> --- <img class="r-stretch" src="memes/advice_animals/yodawg.jpg"> --- <img class="r-stretch" src="humorimg/butt_dial_booty_call_bottomtext.jpg"> --- ### ... and now I'm watching the world change --- <img class="r-stretch" src="memes/meme_generations.jpg"> --- <img class="r-stretch" src="memes/sourcream.jpg"> --- <img class="r-stretch" src="memes/evil_santana.jpg"> --- <img class="r-stretch" src="memes/stickroll.gif"> --- <video class="small" controls src="memes/skibidi_toilet.mp4" height="300" width="300"></video> [Sauce](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzD9OxAHtzU) - /br:::: skibiri d̪õm d̪õm d̪õbijɛsʲɛs skibiri d̪abl̩d̪m ni ni/ --- ### I think memes are a rich communicative field - ... which are just as worth of study as any others --- ### 'Linguistics of Memes' had a branding problem - "Oh, I'm not into memes, but I'm really interested in TikTok audios!" - "I want to do my project on uwu, but that's... not a meme?" - New phenomena arise every day that aren't memes, but are *memetic* - *Where on earth do we draw the line?* --- # What is a 'meme' anyways? --- ### The Dictionary Definition > A **meme** is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme) --- ### Key Components - Idea or Behavior - Viral spread - Culturally grounded - Carries Symbolic Meaning - **What else acts like this?** --- ### Viral Ideas, Carrying Meaning in Cultures - Memes (duh) - Physical Actions (e.g. planking, flossing, peace signs) - TikTok Trends and Audios - Aesthetics and Leitmotifs (e.g. deep frying, meaningful fonts) --- ### Viral Ideas, Carrying Meaning in Cultures (cont.) - Paralinguistic Stuff: Emoji use, Keysmashing, SpOnGeBoB TeXt - Interaction patterns (e.g. "That'll be $69.42" "Nice.") - Dogwhistles (words that subtly reveal affiliation with a group/ideology) - Culturally Specific Words (e.g. 'gg', 'any %', 'hotep', 'pov') - **All of language!** --- ### All language is memetic! - Idea or Behavior - Viral spread - Culturally grounded - Carries Symbolic Meaning --- ### The Scope of this class is Large - You're looking for ideas or behaviors, spread virally, within cultures, with meaning, on the internet - ... and you'll use linguistic analysis on them - *One Handy Rule: Try to choose things that are considered 'non-standard' usage of language* - **The world is your oyster, and anything's a meme if you convince me** - This means I want to see lots of interesting new stuff! --- ### You'll be looking at 'Linguistic Forms' - This is a wildly broad term - Words, pronunciations, memes, meme templates, paralinguistic stuff - Basically anything which carries meaning and is linguistically analyzable --- # What is Will's Problem? - (I mean, one among many) --- ### To quote a student's CAPE evaluation... - # *"His memes are kind of old"* --- <img class="r-stretch" src="memes/advice_animals/fatality.jpg"> --- ### This is a known issue --- <img class="r-stretch" src="memes/lecturermemes.jpg"> --- ### ... and all language is always changing - 'You never step into the same river twice' - In fact, I'll be making an effort to use millenial memes and language to prove this point! - ... but memes move fast! --- ### Remember this? <img class="r-stretch" src="memes/bernie.png"> --- ### This presents a problem --- ### "How the heck can I teach a class on emerging and new language, when I don't speak the modern dialect?" - The answer? - ## With your help! --- ## How are we doing this class? --- ### This class will be different from any I've ever taught before - Generally, I'm telling you all how the world works - How language works, how computers work, how phonetics, phonology, morphology, or hearing works - I give you information, you give it back to me on tests - You'll work through problems, and try to arrive at 'the correct answer' --- ### That will not work here - I know about my era of memes - I am incredibly online - I know how language works - I don't know exactly how memes work lately - I don't know how your parts of the internet work - There is no 'right answer' that you can be tested against - Not like there's a textbook for this --- ### This is unlike any other class in the department... - Except one - **This is kind of a Field Methods class** --- ### Field Methods - The professor sits down with a group of students and a speaker of a language that *they don't know* - The professor teaches the students *how to find out* how the language works - ... and they all study the language *together* by talking with somebody who knows the language --- ### I'm going to give you tools and structure - Elements of linguistic analysis and linguistic theory - ... with a specific mind towards concepts which I think are meaningful here - ... and with examples in my old school understanding - I'll give areas for us to focus on each week - ... and questions I think we'll learn things from asking --- ### You all will do the analysis and bring the data - You'll apply what we're talking about to the online communication in your lives - We'll be there to help, but *you have the data* - You'll take the analyses deeper - Your final project will go beyond what we've done in class - You'll focus on a specific area - Maybe a site, a community, an interest group, a kind of meme, something that's interesting to you! --- ### Together, we'll learn how *this* language works --- ### This makes this class very different than the norm - I'm depending on you all as much as you're depending on me! - **We're on the same team!** --- <img class="r-stretch" src="memes/epichandshake.jpg"> --- ### Grading will be weird too! <https://savethevowels.org/42> --- ### This is a contract - I am giving you the power to determine your own grade - You are giving me and your classmates good work in return - 'Blowing off' the class is a jerk move, please respect our community by putting in effort, or leave it --- <img class="r-stretch" src="memes/contract_based_grading.jpg"> --- # Our roles --- ### My Roles - To teach you how linguists analyze the parts of language relevant to memes - To present you all with discussions and activities which will help us engage with the language of memes - To create a structure for the course and ensure a safe environment for learning - To guide you through difficulties you'll face on the path - To evaluate you on your effort, participation, and engagement with the problems at hand --- ### Your IA's Roles - They will help guide you in your analyses and offer suggestions and feedback - They will be a resource in between classes - They'll help me to evaluate your effort, participation, and engagement - They'll help me to maintain a safe space in our classroom, virtual and otherwise --- ### Your Roles - You will participate, coming to class sessions, chatting in Discord, asking questions, and engaging with the activities - You'll prepare for class sessions, finding and bringing memes and examples from your daily life, and completing the discussions - You'll interact with your group members during class and during your final project, and stay home when you're sick. - You'll be kind, considerate, and build and maintain our classroom community --- ### You should probably choose a different class if... - You won't be able to regularly attend class sessions - Podcasting is not an option for much of what we're doing - You'd rather not work in groups and participate in discussions - Don't be deadweight for your group or in the class - You have a deep innate desire to be an edgelord - Kindness should motivate you, not desire to troll or harm - You don't really care for memes or the internet - You have a pun allergy - ... some of my puns will be apollen! --- # Our plan --- ### Week 1: Building Community - What are we doing here? - What kinds of memes are and aren't welcome in our classroom? - Who are we working with, and how will we do this ethically? --- ### Speaking of community - Start finding groups in Discord and Canvas - Feel free to post a 'Seeking' ad if you'd like to take a leadership role or advocate for an area of study, or just chat with folks and find kindred souls - Be kind and welcoming, damnit - You can change groups later, that's fine! --- ### Week 2: Are Memes Linguistic? - Does this stuff actually make sense as 'language'? - What are grammaticality judgements? - Can memes and new language be 'grammatical' or 'ungrammatical'? --- ### Week 3: Form and Memeing - How do we find meaningful chunks of words in language? - How does this relate to memes and new language and behavior? --- ### Week 4: Generalization and Mememorphology - What meaningful 'chunks' exist within memes? - How can we take advantage of these chunks of form and meaning to make new memes? - Do linguistic ideas of productivity and creativity make sense here? --- ### Week 5: How do new memetic ideas develop? - How do new words and templates happen? - How do new chunks of memes and words happen? - How do these things evolve over time? --- ### Week 6: Meaning and memes - How do we think about meaning in language? - Do linguistic understandings of meaning play a role in our understanding? - What do these things 'mean' anyways? --- ### Week 7: Project Prep and Intro to Sociolinguistics - How does language intersect with social identity? - **Your project proposals will be due this week!** --- ### Week 8: Identity and Community - What is a language community? - Can we use these linguistic tools to better understand meme usage? - How does our use of these things tell people about who we are? --- ### Week 9: We live in a Society - How do language and culture interact? - How do memes and culture interact? - Can memes be translated across cultures? --- ### Week 10: Language on the Internet *in the future!* - How does language change? - How do these things change? - Do memes become more abstract or concrete or both over time? --- ### Finals Week - You'll submit your final projects on March 20th at Noon --- ### Any questions? --- ### I'm excited - We're rebooting this class with new ideas and approaches - We're opening it up to the entire interweb! - There will be some changes - And what you end up doing will shape what I end up doing - Your enthusiasm will play a big role in making this class more than just a meme --- <huge>Thank you!</huge>