Purrieties of Language

All paws on deck! This innovative book provides a feline twist on the linguistic analysis of online language variation. Illustrated with a wide range of fun and engaging examples, it uses online cat discourse to explain key linguistic concepts, such as sociolinguistics, dialectology, phonetics, lexicography, morphology, syntax and many more.

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After conquering the Internet, cats are now taking on linguistics! Since the advent of social media, cats have become a topic central to online communication, and the multitude of cat-related accounts now online has made this a world-wide phenomenon. Through cat-inspired varieties of language, we have developed a genre of cat-inspired vocabulary. And on our special social media accounts for our cats, we take on their identities, as we post, write, talk, and chat - as our feline friends. This innovative book provides linguistic analyses of the cyber 'Cativerse', exploring online language variation, and explaining key linguistic concepts – all through the lens of cat-related communication. Each chapter explores a different sociolinguistic phenomena, drawing on fun and engaging examples including memes, hashtags, captions and 'LOLcats', from platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. Innovative yet accessible, it is catnip for all 'hoomans' interested in how language is used online.