Book Review: Language Online. Investigating Digital Texts and Practices

Abstract

Reviews the book, Language Online: Investigating Digital Texts and Practices by David Barton and Carmen Lee (2013). The online world has become a new territory for the exploration of language acquisition and development. In their book, Barton and Lee aim at two types of audiences: linguists and social scientists interested in language as situated practice. The authors examine language users' dynamic participation in online activity and computer-mediated discourse and examine central concepts such as language choice, identity, stance, multi modality, multilingualism, and discourses of language learning. This book explores multilingual speakers who use instant messaging (IM), Flickr, and Facebook. Across spaces, users may take on multiple identities of who they are and how they wish to be seen online. The book highlights how users, in terms of Metalinguistics awareness, can adopt either language learner or language teacher identities when they provide explanations, translations, or comments. The authors work indicates that language improvement is achieved through active participation in online spaces and social networks, and users may develop vernacular practices online together with more socially shared practices offline. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved)