B. Istók J. Selye University, Komárno, Slovakia, [email protected]
G. Lőrincz J. Selye University, Komárno, Slovakia, [email protected]
Sz. T. Tóth University of Tartu, Narva, Estonia, [email protected]
P. Baka L. J. Selye University, Komárno, Slovakia, [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Introduction: there has been a debate going on about the legitimacy of internet language and related terms since the early 2000s. The present theoretical reasoning argues for the need for internet language as a term, taking into consideration the not very strict criteria used to identify other language varieties as lects.
Objective: to lay down the considerations for deciding the debate on the existence of an internet language.
Research materials: the article reviews the English, German and Hungarian literature and argues for the existence of an internet language through Hungarian language examples. The Hungarian literature and example material is relevant because, alongside its English and German counterparts, Hungarian internet linguistics is among the oldest and has one of the richest histories.
Results and novelty of the research: although sociolinguists tend to question the legitimacy of internet language and similar terms, it is precisely from a sociolinguistic point of view that the enregistering of internet language can be accomplished. Even though two of the six aspects presented in the paper (the principles of uniformity and novelty) argue against the existence of internet language, the four remaining (quantity, community, analogy and illusorycum) guarantee its legitimacy. The novelty of the paper lies in the synthesis of opposing views on the existence of a netlanguage.
Key words: digital communication, netspeak, sociolinguistics, language varieties, language ideologies
Acknowledgements: the study was written with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Innovation and the Tempus Public Foundation in the framework of the 2024/2025 Crossborder Young Hungarian Teacher Scholarship Competition (Fiatal határon túli magyar oktatói ösztöndíjpályázat).
For citation: Istók B., Lőrincz G., Tóth Sz. T., Baka L. P. Additions to the ontology of the internet language in the light of Hungarian and international sociolinguistic literature // Vestnik ugrovedenia = Bulletin of Ugric Studies. 2025; 15 (1/60): 180–188.