Twitter can influence everything from political movements and pop culture, to how we communicate with each other. Even language itself is being impacted by Twitter, as the microblogging platform challenges the way many of us express ourselves. Through its informal and immediate nature, Twitter is changing the language of the digital age. In this article, we’ll be exploring how Twitter is changing our language, as well as looking at why it’s become so popular.
Why Has Twitter Become so Popular?
It’s no surprise that Twitter has become so popular over the years, as the platform offers something unique. It’s a platform in which you can share your thoughts and feelings in brevity and have them broadcast to a large audience quickly. In addition to this, it’s also full of humour and sociability and has allowed for the creation of a thriving community of users.
Twitter’s Informal Nature
One of the major reasons Twitter has become so popular is its informal nature, which allows users to express themselves without the pressures of proper grammar, punctuation and language conventions. In fact, Twitter has even helped to give rise to a variety of informal experiences, such as the hashtag (#) and retweet (RT).
Hashtags
The hashtag is one of the most widely used conventions on Twitter, as it allows users to search for and join conversations relating to their interests. When a user adds a hashtag to their message, which may be a word, phrase or acronym, it becomes searchable on Twitter. In addition to this, it also helps to categorise messages, allowing them to be discovered by those looking for the same information or conversation.
Retweets
Retweets (RT) offer users the ability to quickly share an interesting tweet with their followers. When a message is retweeted, it’s forwarded to the retweeter’s followers, giving them a quick and easy way to engage in the conversation. Retweets are also a great way to increase a message’s visibility, as it can be seen by a greater number of people.
Twitter Slang
Twitter has even influenced the language of the digital age, with a unique form of slang and acronyms being used by its users. For example, Twitter is often used to abbreviate words and phrases, such as “definitely” becoming “defo” or “great” becoming “gr8”. What’s more, many users on the platform enjoy using expressions, such as “hashtag blessed” or “squad goals” to convey feelings and emotions.
Here’s a list of some of the most popular Twitter slang words:
• FOMO – Fear Of Missing Out
• BAE – Before Anyone Else
• ICYMI – In Case You Missed It
• TBH – To Be Honest
• AF – As F*ck
• SMH – Shaking My Head
• TL;DR – Too Long; Didn’t Read
Creating a Twitter Language
As well as introducing new words and acronyms to the digital lexicon, Twitter has also helped to create a global language as users from different countries interact with each other. As such, people around the world are using words from different languages and different cultures to communicate, resulting in an ever-evolving language of its own.
Twitter’s Impact on Everyday Speech
The informal nature of Twitter has been so successful that it’s even started to impact our everyday speech. As the platform has popularised informal words and phrases, such as “hashtag” and “squad goals”, many of us are now using them in our day-to-day conversations. In fact, according to a study conducted by University College London, 74 percent of Twitter users had used informal language from the platform in their everyday speech.
Twitter’s Impact on Grammar
Although Twitter has made it easier to communicate informally, it has also changed the way many of us write. The character limit on the platform often means that users remove punctuation, capital letters and contractions, in order to make their messages fit within the 140 characters. This has led to the rise of “text speak”, which is becoming more and more commonplace.
Twitter has become an important part of the digital landscape and has had a huge influence on language, as well as how we communicate with each other. It’s allowed us to express ourselves quickly and easily, as well as introducing new words, acronyms and even a new language. Although it may have made grammar and punctuation less important on the platform, it has revolutionised the way we communicate with each other, making it easier to express our thoughts and feelings.