March 10, 2026
Skibidi vs Shakespeare
Because Algospeak
Emoji drama, ‘cause’ chaos, and Gen Alpha word wars—commenters are LOUD
TLDR: A blogger contrasts two books on internet language—one historical, one about algorithms—and the comments erupt. Readers spar over who drives today’s slang (subcultures or platforms), roast “’cause” vs “because,” and marvel at Gen Alpha’s meme-speak, proving online language is a live culture battle that shapes how we all talk.
Two books walk into the internet: Because Internet (the calm, history-loving linguist) and Algospeak (the buzzy take on how algorithms bend our words). The post frames emojis as “hand gestures for text” and nods to the rise of casual writing—but the comments? They came to fight.
The hottest thread: who controls our slang? One camp says internet subcultures, not just “incels,” spread edgy vocab far beyond their origins, pointing at 4chan as a linguistic super-spreader. Another camp groans at modern shortcuts—one reader practically clutched pearls over people typing “’cause” instead of “because,” calling it pain in textual form. Meanwhile, a third faction shrugs, saying language always shapeshifts, and Gen Alpha’s “BrainRot” cocktail—“Skibidi,” “Sigma,” “Ohio,” “6-7”—changes meaning by the meme.
There’s nostalgia too: a wry “Real men didn’t type” blast from the past had the thread cackling about lawyers dictating to secretaries while today’s Slack warriors write more than novelists. Fans of both books urged reading them in order, because 2019-to-2025 internet speak is basically dog years. The vibe: emojis as jazz hands, algorithms as hall monitors, and the comment section as the real linguistics lab—half seminar, half food fight, 100% entertained.
Key Points
- •The article reviews two books on internet language: “Because Internet” (2019) by Gretchen McCulloch and “Algospeak” (2025) by Adam Aleksic.
- •McCulloch’s book is presented as a historical, linguistics-based analysis covering early platforms like BBS, Listserv, and IRC.
- •A central idea from “Because Internet” is that computers and networks normalized informal writing through near-real-time text exchanges.
- •Emojis are framed as written equivalents of gestures, adding nuance and emphasis to text communication.
- •“Algospeak” is noted by title and subtitle as addressing how social media transforms language, with no further detail provided in the excerpt.