What is Language acquisition

In this chapter, the author characterizes the language that appears in one form of computer mediated communication: real-time casual chats. It is also shown that the new writing that occurs in chats in general, filled with deviations from standard writing, does not merely imply the creation of a new language but is rather the unconscious recreation of pre-existing features both from early writing systems and learning to spell. Chatters even recreate characteristics present in language acquisition. The deviations generally affect the syllable, an intuitive prosodic unit that influences changes in spelling. Chat discourse involves the use of cohesion mechanisms present in other texts, as well as new devices that allow chatters to compensate for the absence of physical clues. Thus, real-time casual chats are a medium in which language is being changed and (re)created.