How Has The Internet Changed The Way We Use Language?

Language can evolve surprisingly quickly, and nothing has sped it up quite like the invention of the Internet. So, how does it affect how we communicate, not just on our devices but offline, IRL? Join host Tom Hale, senior journalist at IFLScience, as he discusses this and more with Internet linguist Dr Gretchen McCulloch, where they explore the origins of internet acronyms, interpreting tone via emojis, memes in real life, and the universal need for ironic punctuation marks.

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How Has The Internet Changed The Way We Use Language? is an episode from IFLScience - The Big Questions by IFLScience.

This episode is 30:58 long.

This episode was published on Jul 31, 2025.

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