网络语言变异的模因论解读——基于汉语网络语言实例

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分类号密级UDC研究生学位论文TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-Language网络语言变异的模因论解读——基于汉语网络语言实例研究生姓名孔艳艳指导教师姓名张国申请学位级别硕士专业名称英语语言文学论文答辩日期2013年6月学位授予日期2013年6月中国海洋大学 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-Language网络语言变异的模因论解读——基于汉语网络语言实例学位论文完成日期：指导教师签名：答辩委员会成员签字： 独创声明本人声明所呈交的学位论文是本人在导师指导下进行的研究工作及取得的研究成果。据我所知，除了文中特别加以标注和致谢的地方外，论文中不包含其他人已经发表或撰写过的研究成果，也不包含未获得或其他教育机构的学位或证书使用过的材料。与我一同工作的同志对本研究所做的任何贡献均已在论文中作了明确的说明并表示谢意。学位论文作者签名：签字日期：年月日---------------------------------------------------------------------学位论文版权使用授权书本学位论文作者完全了解学校有关保留、使用学位论文的规定，并同意以下事项：1、学校有权保留并向国家有关部门或机构送交论文的复印件和磁盘，允许论文被查阅和借阅。2、学校可以将学位论文的全部或部分内容编入有关数据库进行检索，可以采用影印、缩印或扫描等复制手段保存、汇编学位论文。同时授权清华大学“中国学术期刊(光盘版)电子杂志社”用于出版和编入CNKI《中国知识资源总库》，授权中国科学技术信息研究所将本学位论文收录到《中国学位论文全文数据库》。（保密的学位论文在解密后适用本授权书）学位论文作者签名：导师签字：签字日期：年月日签字日期：年月日 摘要飞速发展的网络和广泛普及的计算机，从各个方面给人们的日常生活带来了革命性的改变。计算机网络不仅仅在生活方式上改变着人们的习惯，也改变着传统的信息接收方式和交流方式。网络的介入，使交流变得更方便快捷。网络语言是为了满足网络环境中人们的表达需求和克服网络交流上的局限而产生的，是一种语言变异现象。网络语言的产生引起了各领域学者和专家的关注，针对它的研究也变得十分重要且意义重大。目前，国内外对网络语言的研究大多限于网络语言定义的探讨，代表性单字或词句的收集和简单归类；或者从社会语言学角度或者从社会文化角度简单分析其产生外部影响因素。针对网络语言产生机制及复制和传播过程研究甚少。因此，本文在现有研究成果的基础之上，尝试以Dawkins的模因理论及其发展为基础，探讨网络语言的产生、复制和传播机制，并在此研究基础上提出网络语言是传统语言（本文为汉语）在复制传播过程中发生变异的结果的假设。研究方法是对收集的网络词语和语句等语料进行分析归类，在理论基础上对具体实例进行定性分析。模因论是基于达尔文进化论的观点解释文化进化规律的一种新理论。模因是一个文化信息单位，那些不断得到复制和传播的语言、文化习俗、观念或社会行为都属于模因。布莱克摩尔认为语言的产生和发展是受模因驱动的。模因是一个抽象概念，它通过复制传播来体现本身的存在。凡是获得广泛复制和传播的现象都是模因，语言在交际中不断得到复制传播，因此，语言本身就是一种模因。每种语言表达方式都存在被复制的可能。何自然在对模因论的认识的基础上分析了语言中的模因现象，并提出了汉语语言仿制的四种类型，据此可以把汉语网络语言模因分为四类，即引用型模因、移植型模因、嫁接型模因、词语变形型模因，并在此基础分析其所属模因类型，即每一仿制方式对应的模因传播方式。根据模因理论，每一个网络语言模因都要历经模因生命周期的筛选，只有符合选择标准的才能够成为成功模因。部分网络语言模因具有简洁性、表达力、实用性而被成功传播，另外一部分则在选择过程中被淘汰。网络语言模因对当代语言产生正反两方面的影响，成功网语模因获得大众认可，最终成为常规语言的重要组成部分；还有一些模因影响了传统语言的纯洁性，而这些模因最终将被淘汰。作I 者认为网络语言模因丰富了当代语言的表达形式，进而发展着当代语言，使其更有活力。本研究在理论和实践上都有其价值。理论上，模因论为研究网络语言产生、复制传播过程研究提供了新视角，网络语言的产生受到语言模因的影响。由于语言模因的复制传播，人们不断创造出新的语词（如网络语言）从而推动语言的变化发展。实践上，作者提出网络语言是语言模因在复制传播过程中发生变异的结果；并且通过对网络语言语料的分析，也使网络语言为大家了解，并正确看待这一语言变异现象。关键字：网络语言；模因论；语言仿制；模因类型；模因生命周期II AbstractNowadays,theInternet,asoneofthemostsignificanttechnologicalachievement,playsanindispensibleroleinmodernsocietyandhasexertedprofoundimpactoneveryaspectofhumanlife.Internet-languageiscreatedbynetizenstomeettheirneedsofsocialcommunicationandovercomethelimitationsofonlinecommunication.SincethedaywhenInternet-languagewasborn,ithasarousedattentioninvariousfields,thus,makingaresearchonitnecessaryandmeaningful.Untilnow,therehavebeenalotofstudiesonInternet-language,andmostofwhichfocusondatacollection,simpleclassificationandcharacteristicsanalysis.Manyscholarsalsotrytoelaboratethislinguisticphenomenonfromthesocial-cultureorsociolinguisticsperspective.However,thereisnotmuchdiscussiononhowInternet-languageisgenerated,replicatedandtransmitted.Therefore,theauthorintendstomakeatentativestudyonitfromtheMemeticsperspective.Basedontheresearch,theauthorproposesthatlanguagememes(Chineselanguagememesinthisdisertation)varyandevolveintheprocessofimitation,andInternet-languagemightcomeintobeinginthiswayandmightbetheoutcomeoflanguagevariation.MemeticsoriginatesfromDarwin’sbiologicalevolutiontheory.Amemeistakenasaunitofculturalinformationwhichmutatesandisinheritedlikeageneandspreadlikeavirusfromonemindtoanother.SusanBlackmorethinksthataslongasapieceofmemeticinformationinanyformcanbeimitated,itcountsasameme.Therefore,languageitselfshouldbeconsideredasakindofmeme.ThethesisisatentativestudyofInternet-language,whichisbasedonobservingandanalyzingthecollecteddata.ItelaborateshowInternet-languagememesgenerateaccordingtothewaysoflanguageimitationdevelopedbyHeZiran;howsomeofthesememesqualifythemselvestosurvivethelifecyclesoastogetreplicatedandtransmittedandwhyInternet-languagememesaretransmittedsuccessfullybyanalyzingtheircharacteristics.TheauthoralsodiscussestheimpactofInternet-languagememesoncontemporarylanguage.ReplicationandtransmissionofIII Internet-languagememesprovideuswithaneffectivewaytoenrichhumanlanguages.Intheend,theauthorfindsthatitisintheprocessofimitationthatlanguagevariationtakesplace,andInternet-languagecomesintobeingasaresultoflanguagevariation.Keywords:Internet-language;Memetics;typesofmemes;thelifecycleofmemesIV Contents摘要.......................................................................错误!未定义书签。Abstract....................................................................错误!未定义书签。ChapterOneIntroduction......................................................................11.1TheNecessityoftheResearch........................................................................11.2ResearchQuestionsandPurposeofthePresentStudy.....................................11.3DataCollection...............................................................................................21.4OrganizationofthePaper...............................................................................2ChapterTwoLiteratureReview.............................................................42.1ResearchesonInternet-language.....................................................................42.1.1DefinitionofInternet-language...........................................................42.1.2PreviousStudiesonInternet-languageAbroad....................................72.1.3PreviousStudiesonInternet-languageatHome..................................82.2Summary........................................................................................................9ChapterThreeTheoryofMemetics.....................................................113.1AReviewonMemetics..................................................................................113.2MemesandMemetics...................................................................................133.3TypesofMemes...........................................................................................143.4TheDynamicProcessofMeme....................................................................153.4.1HostandVector................................................................................153.4.2TheLifeCycleofMeme...................................................................153.5CharacteristicsofSuccessfulMemes............................................................173.6Summary......................................................................................................18ChapterFourVariationofInternet-languageinMemetics................194.1Internet-LanguageMemes............................................................................194.2ClassificationofInternet-languageMemes...................................................194.2.1QuotationMemes.............................................................................20V 4.2.2TransplantationMemes.....................................................................204.2.3GraftingMemes...............................................................................234.2.4TransformationMemes.....................................................................264.3RelationbetweenTypesofMemesandImitativeWaysofInternet-languageMemes...............................................................................................................294.4TheDynamicProcessofInternet-LanguageMemes.....................................304.4.1TheLifeCycleofInternet-LanguageMemes....................................304.4.2CharacteristicsofSuccessfulInternet-languageMemes....................324.5Summary......................................................................................................34ChapterFiveTheImpactofInternet-LanguageMemesonConventionalLanguage........................................................................355.1ImpactofInternet-LanguageMemesonContemporaryLanguage................355.1.1PositiveImpactofInternet-LanguageMemes...................................355.1.2NegativeImpactofInternet-LanguageMemes.................................365.2ReasonableAttitudetowardsInternet-Language...........................................375.3Summary......................................................................................................38ChapterSixConclusion........................................................................396.1MajorFindings.............................................................................................396.2LimitationsoftheStudyandSuggestionsforFurtherStudy..........................40References.................................................................错误!未定义书签。Acknowledgements................................................................................43个人简历................................................................................................44发表的学术论文........................................................错误!未定义书签。VI TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-LanguageChapterOneIntroduction1.1TheNecessityoftheResearchThedevelopmentofcomputertechnologyandtheInternethasbroughtgreatchangesintoourlifeinmanyaspects.Ithasrevolutionizedthetraditionalwayofgettinginformation,andatthesametimebroughtgreatconveniencetosocialcommunication.Gradually,ithasbecomeaninseparablepartofourlifewithitsinfluenceonanever-increasingnumberofpeopleallovertheworld.AppearingwiththeInternettechnology,Internet-languagecomesintobeingtosatisfynetizens’communicationneedsandtoovercomethelimitationsoftheInternetcommunication.Internet-languageisdeeplyrootedintheInternetenvironment.Comparedwiththeconventionallanguage,theInternet-languagepossessesthecharacteristicsofbeingsimple,expressiveandinnovative.Ithascaughtattentionofscholarsandlinguistsforitsuniquenessandnovelty.Memetics,asanewly-developedtheory,isinitiallyaimedatexplainingtheevolutionarymechanismofculturefromtheperspectiveofDarwinism.Becauseofitsgreatexplanatorypower,Chineselinguistics,leadingbyProfessorHeZiran,putmuchattentionandemphasisonitandintroducedittoChinesescholars.Theirresearchwascloselyrelatedtolanguage.Basedonthepreviousstudies,theauthorholdsthatMemeticsprovidesuswithanewangletomakeatentativestudyonInternet-language.1.2ResearchQuestionsandPurposeofthePresentStudyPreviousstudiesofInternet-languagejustfocusonsimpleclassification,especiallyspecificvariationsatdifferentlevels,suchaslexicalvariation,semanticvariationanddiscoursevariationanditscharacteristics.Somescholarsdoalotofresearchfromsociolinguisticsperspectiveandputforwardsomeexternalfactors,suchaslanguageuserscomingfromdialectregionsandthesocialandpsychologicalfactors.Theypaidlittleattentiontothegenerationandthedynamictransmissionprocessof1 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-LanguageInternet-languagememesandlackedsystematicandpersuasiveanalysis,thus,leavingmuchroomforfurtherstudy.InordertomakeacomprehensiveanalysisfromtheMemeticsperspective,thisthesiswillunfoldbyansweringthefollowingquestions:(1)HowdoInternet-languagememesgenerate?(2)HowdoInternet-languagememesgetreplicatedandtransmitted?(3)WhydoInternet-languagememesgettransmittedsuccessfully?(4)WhatistheinfluencethatInternet-languagememesexertoncontemporarylanguageandwhatattitudeshouldwetaketowardsInternet-languagememes?ThethesisintendstoexploretheunderlyingmechanismofInternet-languagetransmissionfromtheperspectiveofMemeticsandfurtherproposesthatlanguagememes(Chineselanguagememesinthisdisertation)varyintheprocessofimitation,andInternet-languagemightbetheoutcomeoflanguagevariationduetotheeffectoflanguagememes.Attheend,theauthorjustifypeople’sattitudetowardsthisphenomenonoflanguagevariation.1.3DataCollectionMostofthedatainthethesisareselectedfromChina’sInternet-languageDictionary,PracticalManualofInternet-languageforTianyaPost.Anumberofdatacomefromthewebsitesonline:www.baidu.com,http://zh.wikipedia.org.ThedissertationintendstomakeitclearthegenerationandtransmissionofInternet-languagefromtheperspectiveofMemeticsbyanalyzingspecificcases.Consequently,thestudyisaqualitativeone.1.4OrganizationofthePaperThethesisconsistsofsixchapters:Chapter1beginswiththepopularityofcomputerandtheInternet,andgivesabriefintroductionaboutInternet-languageandthetheoryofMemetics.Italsoclearlypointsouttheresearchquestions,purposeoftheresearch,anddatacollection.Chapter2givesaretrospectonpreviousstudiesconcerningInternet-language.2 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-LanguageFirstly,wewillreviewonthedefinitionofInternet-language;Secondly,previousstudiesathomeandaboardfromdifferentpointsofviewonInternet-languagewillbebrieflyintroduced;finallyasummarywillbegiven.Chapter3isthetheoreticalframeworkofthispaper.ItfirstpresentsthedefinitionsofmemeandMemetics,andthenelaboratesseveralimportantconceptsincludinghostandvector,typesofmemes,thelifecycleofmemesandcharacteristicsofsuccessfulmemes.Chapter4isthemainbodyofthepaper.ItillustrateshowInternet-languagememesgeneratebyanalyzingthewaysoflanguageimitationandanalyzingwhattypeofmemestheybelongto.Then,thequestionhowtheyreplicateandtransmitissolvedbydemonstratingthedynamicreplicationandtransmissionprocessofInternet-languagememes.WhyInternet-languagememesspreadsofastisexplainedbypresentingtheirfeaturesofsimplicity,expressivity,utility,coherenceandauthority.Chapter5discussestheinfluenceofInternet-languagememesoncontemporarylanguageandwhatattitudeweshouldtaketowardsInternet-language.Chapter6makesabriefsummaryaboutmajorfindingofthepaper.Besides,limitationsofthisstudyarepointedoutandconstructivesuggestionsforfurtherresearcharegiven.3 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-LanguageChapterTwoLiteratureReviewThedissertationaimstostudythevariationphenomenonofInternet-languagefromtheperspectiveofMemetics.Thus,previousstudiesonthedefinitionofInternet-language,andrelatedresearchesonInternet-languageathomeandaboardfrommultipleperspectiveswillbegiven.2.1ResearchesonInternet-languageDifferentfromthetraditionalmassmediasuchasnewspaper,radioandtelevision,theInternetismuchmoreconvenientandfashionableandisregardedastheforthmedium.WiththeadventofInternet,everyaspectofpeople’slifehasbeengreatlyinfluenced,includingourdailylanguage.Letusreadtheseshortpassagesandhavealookatthenewexpressionsinthesesentences:昨天晚上，我GG带着他的“恐龙”GF到我家吃饭，饭桌上，GG的GF一个劲向我妈妈PMP，那酱紫真是好BT，7456，我只吃了几口饭，就到QQ上“打铁”去了。(LiJun,2002)人生就像刷牙的茶缸，可以看作是杯具（悲剧），也可以看作是洗具（喜剧）。Itmustbestrangeforyouandyoumaywonderwhatthenonsenseis.IfyouseldompayattentiontothelatestwordsontheInternet,itisimpossibleforyoutogetfamiliarwiththesefashionablewordssuchas“杯具”and“洗具”,letalonethemeaningofthesesentences.Themeaningsofthesewordsaretotallydifferentfromwhatwehavelearntinourdailyconversation.ThesetypicalwordswhichhaveatotallydifferentmeaningfromtheircommonsenseareconsideredasInternet-language.Itisalsothefocusonwhichtheauthorwillgiveillustrationindetails,includingthedefinitionandrelatedstudiesathomeandabroad.Thus,wecangetanoverallunderstandingaboutthislinguisticphenomenon.2.1.1DefinitionofInternet-languageWhenitcomestothedefinitionofInternet-language,itisdefinitelynotaneasy4 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-Languagetasktoexplainitclearly.Internet-languagehasbeencalled“netlish”,“weblish”,“cyberlanguage”,“netspeak”,“cyberspeech”“cyberspeak”or“computer-mediatedcommunication”bynetizensandothermedia.Eachtermhasitsownimplication.“Netlish”isjustderivedfrom“English”whichistheoriginallanguageoftheInternet.However,asthenetbecomesmultilingualandtherearehundredsofInternet-languagesbasedonvariouslanguageenvironments,itisnotgeneralenoughtocoverthisphenomenon.Computer-mediatedcommunicationputstoomuchemphasisontothemediumitself.Takingthesefactorsintoconsideration,theauthorselects“Internet-language”asitsofficialnameforitsformalityandunderstandability.Howdowedefinethislinguisticphenomenon?Asanewly-bornphenomenon,Internet-languagehasattractedmuchattentionfromlinguistsandscholarsathomeandabroad.Itissuchacomplicatedsubjectthatscholarsofdifferentfieldsprovideuswithdifferentdefinitions.Untilnow,thereisnoconsensusonit.DavidCrystalarguesthattheterm“netspeak”issuccinctandfunctionalenoughforstudiesandhedefinesitas“atypeoflanguagedisplayingfeaturesthatareuniquetotheinternet,andencounteredinemail,chatgroup,virtualworldsandWorldWideWeb,arisingoutofitscharacterasamedium,whichiselectronic,globalandinteractive.”(DavidCrystal,2001,p18-19).HealsoholdsthatnetizensarethemostcreativegroupwhochangetheirconventionallanguagestoadapttotheInternetenvironmentforvariouspurposes.Manyscholarsathomeholdtheirownopinionsonthislinguisticphenomenon.JinSong,apioneerscholarinthefieldofInternet-language,defineditasthelanguagerelatedtotheinternetandelectronictechnologyinabroadsense,andthelanguageusedbynetizenstocommunicatewithothersinanarrowsense(JinSong,2000).Sincethen,thisphenomenonhasattractedmuchattentionfromlinguistsandscholarsathome.Alotofrelevantbooksandresearchpapersfromdifferentperspectiveshavebeenpublished.XieZemingsimplyregardsInternet-languageasanewlanguageformdevelopedonthebasisofthetraditionallanguage.(XieZeming,2002)TherearealsosomescholarswhoregardtheInternet-languageasavarietyofa5 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-Languagecertainlanguage.YuGenyuanholdsthatapartoftheinternetvocabularybelongstosocialdialect(YuGenyuan,2001).LiuHaiyangivesadefinitioninherbook,Internet-language.ShethinksthatInternet-languageisaspecialkindofdialectusedinvirtualcyberspaceanditsparticularityliesinitsnewwordsandphrases(LiuHaiyan,2002).SomescholarsarguethatInternet-languageisadialectalvarietyofChineselanguage,ratherthananewlanguage.Althoughitisanindispensibletoolfornetizens,itsscopeofapplicationandthequantityofusersarelimited.Itisquitedifferentfromthestandardlanguageforitstransmittinginformationnotonlybyitspronunciationbutalsobythevisualimagesofcharacters.ZhengYuanhanbelievesthatInternet-languageisneitheravarietyofacertainlanguagenorasocialdialect.Hethinksthatitreferstothewordsandtermsrelatedtothefieldofcomputerandinternettechnology,andspecialinformationalsignsandspecialusagescreatedbynetizens.(ZhengYuanhan,2002)AccordingtoLiuJinandZengXu,Internet-languageisanewmediadiscourseusedintheinternetcommunicationanditconsistsofthreeparts:thetechnicaltermsrelatedtocomputerscienceandtheinternettechnology,suchassoftware,hardware,broadband,localareanetwork,firewallandbrowser,etc.;thesespecialwordsandexpressionsindicatingthedevelopmentofinternetculture,suchasnetizen,hacker,electronicbusinessandvirtualspaceetc.;andthesespecialsignsfrequentlyusedintheinternetcommunities(chatroom,BBSposts,QQ,personalspaceandsoon),suchas“大虾”(experiencednetizen),“斑竹”(webmaster),“菜鸟”(greenhand)(LiuJin&ZengXu,2009).Inordertosatisfytheirneedsofemotionalexpression,netizensmakefulluseoftheadvantagesoftypingsystemandvisualimagestocreatenewwordsandexpressionsbasedonconventionallanguagesandcreateaseriesofemoticons.Theymakeupfortheshortcomingsofcomputer-mediatedcommunication.Confrontingwithsuchacomplicatedsituation,howdowedefinethescopeofInternet-language?JiAnfengnarrowsdownthescopeofInternet-language.HeconsidersthatInternet-languagereferstothesespecialwordsandexpressions,figurecombinationsandlettercombinationswithcertainmeaningsandisakindofsocialdialectusedbyaparticulargroupofpeople.Particularly,emoticonsshouldnotbeconsideredtobea6 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-LanguagepartoftheInternet-languageforitslackoffixedpronunciationandmeaning(JiAnfeng,2009).Eachdefinitionhasitsownemphasisanditisnotabsolutelyfreefromlimitations.Havingreviewedthesedefinitionsgivenbyprofessorsandscholars,theauthorinsiststhatInternet-languageinthisthesisreferstothesespecialsignsdevelopedonthebasisoftheconventionallanguagesandusedfrequentlyintheinternetcommunities,excludingemoticons.AlthoughInternet-languageinthenarrowsenseonlytakesasmallpart,thespeedofitsgenerationandtransmissionisamazing.Ithasgreatinfluenceontheinternetcommunicationandhasmuchstrongerexpressiveforce,soitisworthanin-depthinvestigation.2.1.2PreviousStudiesonInternet-languageAbroadApartfromgivingdefinitionstoInternet-language,scholarsandlinguistshavealsomadealotofstudiesfromvariousperspectives.SincetheInternetwasoriginatedintheUnitedStates,relatedresearchesofInternet-languagehadamuchlongerhistoryinwesterncountriesthanthatinChina.Atthebeginning,peoplenoticedthatthelanguageusedforonlinecommunicationcarrieddifferentcharacteristicsfromourconventionallanguage.(Crystal,2001)BeingtakenasauniquelanguageformusedontheInternet,moreandmorescholarsputmuchemphasisonanalyzingthefeaturesofInternet-languageandexplainingonlinechattinglanguage.Sincethe1990s,Internet-languagehasbecomeahotissueandhasattractedtheattentionoftheacademiccircleoflanguagestudiesintheworld.In1997,thefirst“Internet-languageandlanguage”washostedatHartfordUniversityintheUnitedStates.Somelinguistsenjoyinginternationalreputationpresentedatthemeeting,inwhichtheydiscussedthephenomenonofInternet-languageandEnglishaslinguafranca,aswellasweb-basedlanguageteachingissues.In2003,thefirstinternationalInternet-languageconferencewasheldinSpain.Itisaninternationalseminaroncyberspace,theimaginaryplacewhereelectronicmessages,informationandpictures7 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-Languageexist,andlanguageinthegenuinesense.Gradually,researchersbegintorealizethattheinternetismoreasocialcreationthanatechnicaloneandmakein-depthstudiesfromsocialandculturalperspectives.ResearchonInternet-languagecomesintotherapid-developingstage.Computer-mediatedCommunication:Linguistic,SocialandCross-culturalPerspectives,acollectionoffourteenarticleseditedbySusanHerring,focusesonempiricalandcasestudiesincomputer-mediatedinteractionandstudiesthedifferencesandsimilaritiesbetweencommunicationonlineandcommunicationindailylife.ThisresearchputsmuchemphasisonthesocialandculturalimpactcausedbytheInternet.Paolillointroducesthatsomescholarsforeseethatonlinecommunicationwillhaveaprofoundeffectonconventionallanguages,however,therearenotmanyreachesaddressedtothisphenomenon.(1999)DavidCrystal,theeditorofCambridgeLanguageEncyclopedia,publishesthebookLanguageandtheInternetwhichmakeshimaleaderofInternet-languageresearch.HeclaimsthatsinceInternet-languageisalinguisticsingularity,arealnewmedium,thisphenomenonwillchangethewaywethinkoflanguagefundamentally.(Crystal,2001)HealsoanalysesthefeaturesofInternet-languageindifferentsituationsandthenatureofimpactwhichtheInternetisexertingonconventionallanguage.Later,heevenputsthespecialInternetwordsandexpressionsintohisnewly-editeddictionary,AGlossaryofNetspeakandTextspeak.2.1.3PreviousStudiesonInternet-languageatHomeSincetheInternettechnologyenteredintoChinain1994,ithasbeendevelopingveryfast.ThestudyonInternet-languagecanalsobedatedbacktolate1990.Internet-languageissuchahotissuethatithasattractedmanyprofessorsandscholarstomakeresearchesandpublishrelatedbooksandpapersandcompiledictionaries.EssentialofInternet-language,writtenbyProfessorYuGenyuanin2001,isthefirstbookonInternet-languageinChina.HeconductedasystematicanalysisonthisphenomenonbyillustratinggeneralfeaturesofChineseInternet-language,andmaking8 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-LanguageacomparativestudyofInternet-languageandlanguagesonthetraditionalmedia,suchasnewspaper.Apartfromthese,healsodiscussedtheattitudestoInternet-languageandputforwardssomesuggestionsonthestandardizationofChineseInternet-language.Followingthat,LiuHaiyanpublishedInternet-languagein2002,inwhichshediscusseditsclassification,characteristicsanditsgenerationthroughanalyzingthecontext,styleandstandardization.Withtheincreaseofnewwordsandexpressions,therearespecificdictionariescollectingandcategorizingthem,suchasDictionaryofChineseInternet-languageeditedbyYuGenyuanandpublishedbyChineseEconomicPressin2001.Alltheseresearchesmainlyfocusonthecharacteristics,classificationandstandardizationofInternet-language.Someotherscholarsbegintomaketentativestudiesonitfromotherperspectives.Fromtheperspectiveofsociolinguistics,ZhouXuyangpointsoutthatInternet-languageisonetypeoflanguagevarietyinthevirtualspeechcommunityconstructedbytheInternet.(2006)HealsoanalysesthesocialcausesofInternet-languagevariation.XuZhongningarguesthatthegenerationanddevelopmentofInternet-languagedependsonthelanguageconceptandpsychologyofnetworkcommunicatorsandthespeciallanguageenvironmentcreatedbytheInternet.(2004)Afterreviewingthepreviousstudies,wecanconcludethatresearchershavemadegreatcontribution.However,wemightbeawarethatthesestudiesarefarfrombeingsufficientandlackin-depthandintensiveanalysis,andmainlyfocusonitsdefinitionandfeatures.Therefore,thethesisisintendedtomakeanin-depthresearchtoanalyzeitsgeneration,imitationandreasonsforitspopularityfromMemeticsperspective.2.2SummaryAlotofstudieshavebeenmadeonthevariationofInternet-languagefrommultipleperspectives,andthesestudiesonInternet-languagemainlyfocusedonitsdefinitionandclassification,analysisonitscausesfromtheculturalandsocialperspectives.However,concerningthemechanismofitsgeneration,replicationandtransmission,some9 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-Languageresearchersmakepersonalspeculationswithouttheoreticalsupport.Memetics,anewlydevelopedtheoryforexplainingculturalevolution,providesusabrand-newperspectiveforthestudyofInternet-language.Theauthorholdsthatitwillbemuchmoreconvincingandsystematicinexplainingtheabove-mentionedproblems.Inspiredbyandbasedonthesepreviousresearches,theauthorintendstomakeatentativestudyonInternet-languagefromMemeticsperspectiveandtrytoprovethatthegenerationofInternet-languageisgreatlyinfluencedbylanguagememes.Netizenscreatenewwordsandphrasesconstantlybasedontheconventionallanguage,andInternet-languagecomeintobeingintheprocessofreplicationandtransmissionoftheselanguagememes.10 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-LanguageChapterThreeTheoryofMemeticsInthischapter,relatedconceptsaboutthetheoryofMemeticswillberepresented,whicharethetheoreticalbasisofthepaperandthrowsomelightontheanalysisinChapter4,Chapter5.3.1AReviewonMemeticsThediscoveryofgeneisconsideredtobethemostremarkableachievementin20thcentury.Geneisdefinedas“aunitinheritingbiologicalinformation,oraunitinsideacellwhichcontrolsaparticularqualityinalivingthingthathasbeenpassedonfromitsparents.”(Hornby,2000,p726)Geneisinheritedthroughthespecies’reproductionandagreatnumberof“self-gene”willbereplicatedintheprocess.However,theworldissocomplicatedthatwecannotgiveallthecreditstogeneandtheremustbeanotherreplicatorwhichcanbeusedforexplainingthetransmittingofhumanculture.Eitherfromtheperspectiveofhistoricaldevelopmentorfromtheviewofdifferentnationalities,therearesomesimilarphenomenawhichcanbetracedbacktothesameorigin,suchaslanguage,religion,traditionalcustomsandsoon.Allthesephenomenaarepiecesofpositiveevidencefortheexistenceofanotherreplicator,whichissimilartobutalsodifferentfromgene.Thiskindofreplicatoriscalledmeme.In1976,RichardDawkins,aninfluentialbiologistandadvocatorofDawinsm,explainedthepowerandgeneralityofDarwin’stheoryinhisbook,TheSelfishGene.What’smore,heproposesthat“Thegene,theDNAmolecule,happenstobethereplicatingentitywhichprevailsonourplanet.Theremaybeothers”.(1976,p180)Intheconcludingpartofhisbook,hemakesadaringspeculationthattheremaybeanotherkindofreplicatorhidinginhumanculturewhichissimilartogene.Atthesametime,heinventsthe“meme”bycombing“memory”andGreekword“mimetic”with“gene”andtakesitasaunitofculturaltransmission.Memeisthereplicatordrivingthedevelopmentofculture,similartothebiologicalreplicator“gene”.Dawkinsfurtherextendshisargumentexplicitlythatmeme,asaunitofcultural11 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-Languagetransmission,iscapableofexplainingtheevolutionofcultureconvincinglyinthework,TheExtendedPhenotype.(Dawkins,1982)DanialDennett(1990)holdsapositiveattitudetotheconceptandstateshisopinioninthearticleMemesandtheExploitationofImagination.Dennettregardsamemeasaninformationschemaheldinanindividual’smemoryorembodiedintheentityitself,whichisslightlydifferentfromDawkins’idea.Gabora(1997)arguesthatmemestaketheroleofgenesasthesecondtypeofreplicatorswhichareembodiedinhumanbrainsorsocialorganization,orstoredinbooksandothermedialikethat.SusanBlackmore(1999),ProfessorDawkins’student,furthercontributestothedevelopmentandspreadofMemeticsbypublishingTheMemeMachine,whichcanberegardedasalandmark.Sheexplainsthatmemescomeintobeingwiththeadventofimitationinhumanbeingswhichallowsmemesspreadthroughpeople,andstudiesthesephenomenasuchasreligion,language,altruismandsoonfromtheperspectiveofMemetics.Shearguesthatmemes,justlikegenes,competewitheachothertosurviveandonlyafewmemesarecopiedandtransmittedfrombraintobrainsuccessfully.Thesememesweregularlymeetaresuccessfulonesinthecompetitionforreplication.HeathandSeidelholdthefollowingopinion:“Memesthatfitthesecognitiveprinciplesaswellasotherfundamentalprincipleswillbemorelikelytosurvivetheevolutionalprocessofsocialselectionandthustheyaremorelikelytobeavailableandusablewhenpeoplemustdecideonappropriateaction.”(2000,p42).KateDistinpublishedabookbasedonhisdoctorialthesis,TheSelfishMemein2005.ItpresentedusafullydevelopedconceptoftheculturalDNAforthefirsttime.Shearguesthatsincelanguageissuchasignificantpartofhumankind’sculturallifethatMemeticsprovidesabrand-newinterpretationoftheoriginoflanguage.WiththepublicationoftranslationversionsonMemeticsinChina,scholarsandresearchersstarttoputmuchemphasisandattentiononit.GuiShichun,aneminentlinguisticscholar,pointsoutthatthetheoryofMemeticsshouldbenoticedanditisworthyforusdoingsomeintensiveinvestigationsonitforitscloserelationshipwithlanguageandculture.AlthoughMemeticsisarelativelynewtheoryandtherelevantresearchesstarts12 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-Languagelate,therearesomeachievements.TheresearchonMemeticsathomehasadistinctivecharacterthatitiscloselyrelatedwithlanguage.BasedontheresearchmadebyProfessorHeZiran,manyarticlespublishedinimportantacademicjournalsdiscussedabouttherelationbetweenmemesandlanguage.3.2MemesandMemeticsMemeistranslatedinto“模因”byChinesescholarstoassociateitwithgene(“基因”)sincetheyaremuchsimilartoeachotherinmanyaspects.Blackmore(1999)takes“meme”asmemeticinformationinanyformsuchasideas,theversionsinbooks,mapsandmusic.Amemeisalsotakenasaunitofinformationinmemorywhichcanbereplicatedfromonemindtoothermindsandisjustlikeavirusofthemind.(Brodie,2011).Generallyspeaking,theformationofmeme’sdefinitioncanbedividedintotwophases:itwasoriginallyconsideredasaunitculturalinformation,suchastunes,ideas,catch-phraseetc.(Dawkins,2006);nowitisregardedasaunitofinformationorareplicatorstoredinhumanbrains,suchaswords,images,evengesturesandfacialexpressions.Bothgeneandmemecomefromreplicationandwillbereplicatedconstantly.Blackmore(1999,p66)pointsoutthatbeforeacertainthoughtorinformationschemagetreplicatedandtransmitted,itcannotbeameme.Ifandonlyifthethoughtorinformationschemaisreplicatedviatheprocessofimitation,itcanbecalledameme.Inaword,amemereferstoanyentityself-duplicatingthroughimitationandself-replicationisthemostnotablefeature.Memespromotethespreadingofinformationandthedevelopmentofcultureevolutionbyreplication,transmissionandselection.MemeticsisanewlydevelopedtheoryaimingtoexplaintheevolutionarymechanismsofculturefromtheperspectiveofDarwinism.Itintendstoexplaintheuniversalconnectionsbetweendifferentthingsandtheinheritanceofculturalelementssynchronicallyanddiachronically.Itisalsotakenasthetheoreticalandempiricalsciencethatstudiesthereplication,spreadandevolutionofmemes.13 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-Language3.3TypesofMemesAsstatedabove,memesarequitesimilartogenesasreplicators.Geneisabiologicalunit,storedinacellwhichcontrolsaparticularqualityinalivingthingandispassedonfromitsparenttochildviaheredity.Meme,asaculturalunit,storedinhumanbrainsandpassedontootherbrainsviareplication.However,theybothhavetheirowndistinguishabledifferences.Fromthewaysofspread,genecanonlybetransmittedfromonegenerationtothenext,whilememescanbetransmittednotonlyfromparentstochildren,thatistosay,atypeofverticaltransmissionwhichismuchsimilartogenetictransmission,butalsobetweenthepeersoranytwoormoreindividuals.Thelatteroneisdefinedashorizontaltransmission.Apartfromthis,memescanbetransmittedbymultimedia,suchasTV,newspapers,books,magazines,networkandetc.(ChenLinxia&HeZiran,2006)Genesreplicatethemselvesviacellularmachineryaccurately,whilememesgetreplicatedviahumanbrainswhichareusedasreplicatingmachines.Fromthespeedoftransmission,accordingtoBlackmore(1999),mostofthememeshangroundinhumanbrainsforacertainperiodoftimebeforebeingpassedon,butmanytransmitatspeed.Geneonlypassesonfromoldergenerationtoyoungergeneration,soittakesatleasta“generationtime”.Accordingtoevolutionarybiologists,genescanbedividedintogenotype,i.e.geneticinformationcodedinagene;andphenotype,i.e.thephysicalandbehavioreffectsofthiscodingonanorganisminitsenvironment.Analogically,memescanalsobeclassifiedintotwokinds:memeticgenotypeandmemeticphenotype.Cloakwasthefirstscholartodosuchkindofdistinction.Thememeticgenotypereferstomemeticinformationcodedinmemes,whilethephenotypereferstothecognitiveandbehavioraffectsonaperson.Brieflyspeaking,ameme’sgenotypeisthepureinformationitcontains,whileameme’sphenotypeputsemphasisonitsphysicalexpression.(Cloak,1975)OnthebasisofCloak’sframework,ProfessorHeZiran(2005)furtherdeveloptheclassificationofmemetypes.Memeticgenotyperepresentsthesamecorecontentbeing14 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-Languageinheritedindifferentforms.Thiskindofmemessendingthesameinformationhasvariousformsinvariouscontexts.MemeticPhenotypeisreplicateddependingontheirformsandsendsdifferentinformation.3.4TheDynamicProcessofMemeAccordingtoBlackmore(1999),aslongasapieceofmemeticinformationinanyformcanbecopiedbyaprocesswhichisbroadlycalled“imitation”,itcountsasameme.Thatistosay,replicationisanessentialpreconditionformeme’sexistence.Tobereplicatedandtransmitted,eachentitymustgothroughthelifecycleofmemesandhaveanequalopportunitytobecomeasuccessfulmeme.Relatedconceptsandthelifecycleofmemeswillbeexplainedindetail.3.4.1HostandVectorBeforediscussingaboutthelifecycleofmeme,itisnecessarytodistinguishtwoconcepts,“host”and“vector”.Ahostmusthavethepotentialcapacitytoexplainthememeandatthesametimetoperformcognitivetasksofunderstanding.Usuallyahostisapersonwhohasbeensuccessfullyinfectedbyameme.Asisknowntoall,althoughartificialintelligencehasgreatdevelopmentnowadays,onlyhumanbeingsareabletoperformadvancedthinkingactivity(cognitivetasks).Thus,onlyhumansarequalifiedtobehosts.Avector,amediumormethodfortransmissionofmemes,referstoanythingthatspreadsmemesbetweenhostswithouttheabilitytoreflectonthem,includingvoice,messagesandbooks.What’smore,accordingtoGrant(1990)humanbeingcanalsobevectorsandatthesametime,playtheimportantrolesofpotentialhostsorinactivehosts.3.4.2TheLifeCycleofMemeAungermadeananalogybetweenthelifecycleofmemesandthatofparasites.“Thememescyclefrombraintobehaviortobrainisthensomethinglikethecomplexlifecycleofsomeinsects,wheretheybeginlifeasalarva,thenprogressthroughapupal15 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-Languagestage,thencetoanimmatureform,andfinallymaturitywiththecreaturetakingonadifferentappearanceineachstage.”(2002,p107)Intheprocessoftransmission,amemeisencodedinavector,suchasaspokenorwrittenmessageoranimage.Onconditionthatapotentialhostdecodesthememes,suchasreadingthemessages,lookingattheimages,thememesmaygetactiveandinfectthepersonwhomightbeanewhost.Tobereplicated,amemehastogothroughfoursubsequentstages,namelyassimilation,retention,expressionandtransmission,andatthesametime,memeshavetoliveuptothemainselectioncriteriaineachstagetosurvivethefourstages.Thatistosay,somememeswillbesuccessfullyassimilated,retained,expressedandtransmittedwhilemanyotherswillbeeliminated.(Gottsch,J.D.,2001).Inthefirststepofassimilation,themememustbeacceptedandassimilatedbyindividualswhotherebybecomehoststhroughinfection.Inotherwords,ontheonehandthememesmustbenoticeabletothepotentialhosts,andthencanberepresentedinthehosts’cognitivesystem;ontheotherhand,thehostsmustbewillingtopayenoughattentiontothem.AccordingtoHeylighen,memesinthisstepshouldliveuptosomeofthesecriteria,includingdistinctiveness,simplicity,coherenceandformality.Indetail,distinctivenessmeansthatmemesmustbeoutstandingenoughtobenoticed.Andthemorenoticeable,themorelikelytheywillbenoticed.Simplicitydenotesthatshortmemesarelesslikelytobechangedandareeasilyunderstoodandadaptedbythepotentialhosts.Coherencemeansthatmemeshavetobeinternallyconsistent,anddonotcontradictotherbeliefsthattheindividualsalreadyhave.Coherentmemesaremucheasiertoretrieveandarelesslikelytobeforgotten,thusthiscriterionalsoworksinthenextstep.InHeylighen’spointofview,formalityreferstoprecise,unambiguousexpressions.(Heylighen,1998)Inthenextstepretention,memesmuststayinthememoryofthehost.Thelongertheyarekept,themoreopportunitiestheywillgettransmittedbyinfectingotherhosts.Besidessatisfyingthecriterioncoherence,memesinthisstepshouldalsoliveuptoindividualutilityandintolerance.Individualutilityemphasizestheimportanceofemotionalfactorsinselection.Memeshelptheindividualstofurthertheiremotionalgoals.AsHeathstated,somememessucceedbecausetheycanevokeemotionalreaction16 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-Languagethatissharedacrosspeople(Heath,C.&Seidel,V.,2000).People’schoiceofwordsandexpressionsisgreatlyinfluencedbythepsychologyofpursuingsomethingnewandsimple.Thestepofexpressionistheprocessinwhichmemesemergefromtheirstorage(thehosts’memory)andtaketheformsofspeech,imagesorbehaviors,whichcanbeeasilyperceivedbyotherpotentialhosts.Expressivity,asamainselectioncriterionofthisstep,meansthatmemesareeasilyexpressedinalanguageorothercodesofcommunication.Transmission,thelaststep,isbasedontheprevioussteps.Itdenotesthephysicalmeansbywhichmemescanbeconveyedtothepossiblehosts.Publicity,akeyselectioncriterionofthisstep,referstotheeffortputbythehostsintothedistributionofthememe.Longevityandcopying-fidelityareimportantinthisphaseandarecloselyrelatedwiththepropertiesofthemedium.3.5CharacteristicsofSuccessfulMemesAsisstatedabove,notallmemesareabletosurviveinthetoughcompetitionforopportunitiesofbeingtransmitted,justlikegenesoperatingunderDarwin’slawofnaturalselection.Memesareselfish,andthereisanobviouscompetitionduringtheprocessofreplicationandtransmissionbetweendifferentmemes.Somememesarenoticeableandmightbefaithfullyrememberedandtransmittedtopotentialhosts,whichiscalledstrongmemes;whileothersmightnotbestrongandcompetitiveenoughtobecopied,andtheyonlygetcopiedforaperiodoftimeorevenbeforgottenbypeople,whichisdefinedasweakmemes.Strongmemeshavetogothroughthelifecycleandsatisfycertaincriteriabeforetheybecomesuccessful.So,whatarethecommonfeaturesofsuccessfulmemes?AccordingtoDawkins,therearethreefeaturesforanysuccessfulmeme.1)Copy-fidelity:Themorefaithfulthereplicatoris,themoreitwillremainoftheinitialpatternafterroundsofreplication.Asisknowntoall,Chinahasalonghistory,especiallythelanguageandtheircustomshandingdownfromonegenerationtothenext.17 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-LanguageHowcanthelonghistorybekeptandhandeddown?Copy-fidelityplaysanimportantroleintheprocessofreplication.What’smore,duringthestepoftransmission,thehostshouldcopytheoriginalinformationofthememetoensureitsloyalty.2)Longevity:Thelongeranyreplicatingpatternsurvives,themorecopiescanbemadeoutofit.Inotherwords,itacopycanbekeepforalongtime,itmightgetmorechancesofspreading.Itcorrespondstothesecondstepofthelifecycleofmeme,retention.Theabovetwofeaturesaremostsignificantinthetransmissionphase.3)Fecundity:Thefasterthememesgetcopied,themorethememeswillspread.(Dawkins,1976)3.6SummaryThetheoreticalbasishasbeenlaidouttomakeasoundanalysisofInternet-languagebyadaptingthetheoryofMemetics.Thetypesofmemes,itslifecycleandcharacteristicsofsuccessfulmemesareillustratedindetailtodeveloptheresearchclearly.Thefollowingchapterwillanswerthequestionslistedinchapteronewithintheframework.18 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-LanguageChapterFourVariationofInternet-languageinMemeticsBasedonthetheoreticalframeworklaidoutinthelastchapter,wewillanalyzethegenerationofInternet-languagememesbyanalyzingtheimitativewaysofChineseInternet-languageanditsrelationwithtypesofmemesandthedynamictransmissionprocessthatInternet-languagememeshavetogothrough.FromtheperspectiveofMemetics,itcanbeprovedthatInternet-languageitselfiscreatedbymemesandformemes,andwhat’smore,theformationofInternet-langueliesintheprocessofreplicationandtransmissionwhichmightbethevariationprocessoftheconventionallanguage(Chineseinthedissertation).4.1Internet-LanguageMemesSusanBlackmorestatesthatifapieceofmemeticinformationinanyformgetsreplicatedbyaprocesswhichisbroadlycalled“imitation”,itcountsasameme.Thereisgreatpossibilityforeachexpressiontobeimitated.Anycharacter,expressionorotherformsoflanguagecanbeconsideredasalinguisticmemeaslongasitisreplicatedandtransmitted.Therefore,languageitselfisakindofmemeandmemereplicatesandtransmitsbymeansoflanguageasacarrier.Inotherwords,theimitationprocessisthegenerationprocessoflanguagememes.HeZiranarguesthatmemeswillbehelpfulinpromotingthelanguageevolutionanditsdevelopment,andatthesametimetheybenefitthemselvesbylanguageintheprocessofreplicatingandtransmitting.(2003)Inthearticle,MemeticsandLanguageVariation,CaiShaolianstatesthatduetotheeffectsofmemes,languagevariationsbecomeauniversalphenomenon.(2006)Itismorelikelythatintheprocessofimitationandreplication,languagememesvaries.Therefore,Internet-languagememescomesfromthecontinuousvariationofconventionallanguagememes.4.2ClassificationofInternet-languageMemesMostoftherelatedstudiesclassifyInternet-memesjustfromtheperspectiveof19 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-Languagegrammaticalunitsofstructurallinguistics.Thisclassificationisnotpersuasiveenough.Basedontheunderstandingofmemticfeatures,ProfessorHediscussestheimitationoflanguageasmemesandclassifieslanguagememesintofourwaysoflanguageimitation(inChinese):quotation(ordirectquotation),transplantation,graftingandtransformationofcharactersandexpressions.(2003)ThiswayofclassificationcanbeappliedtoInternet-languagememes.Sincetheimitationprocessindicatesthegenerationoflanguagememes,thesewaysoflanguageimitationshowushowtheInternet-languagememesgenerate.4.2.1QuotationMemesTorepeatwhathasbeenwrittenorsaiddirectlywithoutanychange.Forexample,formerPremierZhuRongjiborrowedtheexpression,“鞠躬尽瘁死而后已(tobendone’sbacktothetaskuntilone’sdyingday)”，totellthepeoplethathewoulddevotehimselftothecountry.Therearealsoalotofclassicactor’slineswhichareoftenreciteddirectlybynetizensincertaincontext.Forexample,“人生下来的时候都只有一半，为了找到另一半儿在人世间行走。有的人很幸运，很快就找到了，而有的人却要找一辈子。”ItcomesfromafamousfilmGorgeousandadaptedbynetizenswhowanttoexpresstheirlongingforalifetimerelationship,however,itseemslikesomethingwithinsightbutbeyondreach.4.2.2TransplantationMemesTheoriginalmeaningsofcharactersorwordschangewithdifferentcontexts.Asweallknow,“青蛙”and“恐龙”originallyrefertotwokindsofanimals,however,intheInternet-language,theyrespectivelyrefertoboysandgirlswithplainappearances.Therearealotofexistingwordsendowedwithnewmeanings.Thesemanticchangesoftheseoldcharactersmightberidiculous,buttheyjustshowthespecialtyanduniquenessofInternet-language.Transplantationmainlycorrespondstothelexicalvariationandsemanticvariation.Table4.1Oldcharacterswithnewmeaning:20 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-LanguageInternet-languageOriginalMeaningNewMeaningAncientordialectalcharacterswithnewmeaning囧brightnessinancientChinesesad,helplessandembarrassedemotions雷thunder；theloudnoisethatshowingafeelingofsurpriseyouhearduringastorm给力beingdiligentinPutiantheoutcomebeyondone’sexpectationdialect槑ancientcharactersimilartoqualityofbeingnaïve“梅”(mei)宅n.aresidenceorahousev.adj.stayathome,especiallyindulgeinplayingcomputergames宅男/女(peoplewhoindulgethemselvesinplayingcomputergamesorthingslikethat)奴n.aslavepeoplewholostfreedomforcertainpurposes房奴(mortgageslave)卡奴(cardslave)车奴(carslave)山寨afortifiedmountainvillage；counterfeit；alternative山寨手机abanditstrongholdinthe(counterfeitedbrandphones)mountainCommoncharacters/wordswithnewmeaningintheinternetenvironment顶n．thetoporroofv.support控v.tocontroln.acomplexaboutsomething纠结v.tobandtogether;ton./adj.thestateinwhichoneisabeentangledwith;todilemmaandhavenoideawhattodobeintertwinedwithnext沙发/板凳/地板n.sofa/bench/floorthefirst/second/thirdreplytoapost楼上/楼下upstairs/downstairsblocksofpersonalviewsonthetop/inthebottomthescreen21 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-Language拍砖v./n.tolayerbricksputforwardopinions潜水v.todivev.totalkinprivatewithoutshowingtheironlinestate灌水v.toirrigatev.topublishmeaninglessviews水母/水仙n.jellyfish/daffodilreferringtofemalenetizenswhooftenpublishmeaninglessviews腐败n.corruptionv.havefunorhaveagoodmealwithothers败家v.wastethev.buysomethingexpensive,especiallypossessionsofone’sluxuriesfamily飘过/路过/站位/无v.topassbyv.addwatertoapost语默/记号打酱油v.tobuysomesoyv.someoneisindifferentwithpublicsaucenewsornothingtosayabouthotorsensitivetopics草根n.grassrootn.peoplewithoutanyprivileged/eminentbackground太监n.aneunuchn.referringtounfinishedworksCommoncharacters/wordswithmisinterpretedmeanings偶像idol呕吐的对象thepersonyoufeelvomitingabout讨厌annoying讨人喜欢，百看不厌tooagreeableorlovelytobefedupwith特困生(university)students特别困的学生verysleepystudentswhoneedfinancialsupport天才giftedperson天生的蠢材abornidiot/fool神童prodigy神经病儿童mentallydisorderedchild黄昏恋lovebetweenold黄昏的时候去锻炼dosomeexerciseatdusk22 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-Languagepeople蛋白质protein笨蛋白痴神经质personwhoisstupidandneuroticChineseandEnglisharetotallydifferentfortheirbelongingtotwolanguagefamilies:Sino-TibetanfamilyandIndo-Europeanfamilyrespectively.UnlikeEnglishoranyotherlanguagewhichisalphabeticliteral,Chineselanguageconsistsofideographiccharacters.(XiaoLiming,2000)Chinesewordsorexpressionsareusuallycomprisedofatleasttwocharacters.Therearecertainlawsintheformationofnewmeanings.Inthefirstgroup,thecharacter“槑”isanuncommonwordinmodernChinese.Itmusthaveattractedalotofattentionfromnetizensbecauseitiscomposedoftwo“呆(stupid)”.InancientChinese,itisthesameas“梅”listedinKangxiDictionary.However,becauseofitsuniquecomposition,itisendowedwithanewmeaningtorefertothequalityofbeingnaïvebynetizensontheInternet.Slightlydifferentfromthefirstgroup,theseareexistingwordsendowedwithnewmeaningornewcontent.Theexpression,“草根”originallyreferstotherootofgrasswhichgrowsundergroundbutisfullofvitality.Strongvitalityanduniversityareitsdistinctivefeatures.Therefore,ontheInternet“草根”referstoordinarypeoplewhohavenoprivilegedbackground.Inthethirdgroup,eachofthecharacter’spronunciationispartlysimilar,suchas“偶”vs“呕”,“恋(lian)”vs“练”.Thus,themeaningsofoldwordsareexpanded.Itisquiteeasyfornetizenstograsptheessence,makingthecommunicationhumorousandbringingalotoffuntoeachother.4.2.3GraftingMemesOnecaseisthatthestructureremainsunchanged,butcertainkeycharactersarereplacedbyotherwordswhichhavesimilarpronunciationbuthavedifferenthandwritings.Forexample,thefalseidiomaticphrasesinadvertisement,“一明(鸣)惊人”,“有痔(恃)无恐”.Theothercaseisthatthecontentischangedcompletelywithoutanychangeinits23 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-Languageoriginalstructure.ItisacommonwayofcreatingnewwordsontheInternet.Thestructure“草根xx”becomepopularwiththemeaningof“草根(grassroot)”spreadingalloverChina.“草根阶级”isusedtorefertodisadvantagedgroupsofpeople,especiallyforpeasantsandmigrantworkersetc.Wealsocanfindmanyvariantmemes,suchas“草根演员(grassrootactor)”,“草根精神(grassrootspirit)”,“草根文化(grassrootculture)”,“草根力量(grassrootforce)”and“草根情结(grassrootcomplex)”etc.Anotherexample，“xx门(xxscandal)”originatesfromtheAmericanpoliticalscandal“Watergate”whichwastranslatedinto“水门事件”.Afterthisevent,anypoliticalcrisisoreventhavingnegativeimpactwillbecalled“xx门”bythejournalism,meaning“notoriousevent”,suchas“伊朗门(Iranscandal)”,“情报门(Intelligencescandal)”.Netizensextenditsrangeofapplicationbyreferringtoanyexplosiveandinfamousnews,thereforewecanseeallkindsofnewsentitledwiththisstructure,suchas“艳照门(nudepicturescandal)”,“电话门(Cellphonescandal)”and“邮件门”,etc.“xx族”areusedtorefertoagroupofpeoplewithsomedistinctivefeature.“月光族(Moonlite)”referstothisgroupofpeoplewhospendallhis/herearningseverymonth.Therearemanysimilarstructure,suchas“追星族”,“啃老族”,“北漂族”,“酱油族”,“丁克族”,“蚁族”,“失陪族”.Therearealsomanyotherstructures,suchas“被…”,“…哥”,“…丝”,“…姐”,“…非常”etc..Graftingisnotonlyappliedintowordsorphrases,butalsoappliedintosentencesanddiscourses.Discoursemeansthelanguageunitbeyondsentence.Differentkindsofcontentsappliedintoacertainfixedstructurememe,thatistosay,asentencepattern.Aswecanseefromthefollowingexample:Table4.2ReplacingthecontentsofthesongofThesmurfsTheOriginal在那山的那边海的那边有一群蓝精灵，他们活泼又聪明，他们Song调皮又灵敏，他们自由自在生活在那绿色的大森林，他们善良勇敢相互都关心,ou,可爱的蓝精灵，ou,可爱的蓝精灵，他们齐心合力开动脑筋斗败了格格巫，他们唱歌跳舞快乐多欢喜。Thearchitect’s在那山的那边海的那边有一群建筑师，他们理想又务实，他们edition熬夜到猝死，他们呕心沥血不分昼夜在那赶图纸，他们年复一24 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-Language年不见涨工资，ou,苦逼的建筑师，ou,悲催的建筑师，他们齐心合力开动脑筋盖造大房子，他们自己却没有房子。Thedoctor’s在那山的那边海的那边有一群白精灵，他们苦逼又聪明，他们edition手术到天明，他们没有休假生活在那白色的病房里，他们善良勇敢相互都关心，ou,可爱的白精灵，ou,可爱的白精灵，他们治疗病患应付家属斗败了医务处，他们工作费力又伤心。Manyclassicalactors’linesfromtelevisionseriesandfilmsadaptedbynetizens,forexample,thefamouslinesofAChineseOdysseyhaveseveralotherversions:TVB版：曾经有一个经典的神雕爱情摆在TVB的面前，但翻拍时没有好好珍惜，让小龙女变成怨妇，让杨过变成懦夫，直到内地新版拍出来的时候才追悔莫及，人世间最痛苦的事情莫过于此。如果上天能够给TVB一个重新翻拍的机会，它会对金庸说四个字：“尊重原著”。如果非要给制作费加上一个限额，它希望是，五千万。Somefamouslinesofessaysarealsobeencitedandchangedbynetizens.Forexample,匆匆之电脑故障版：硬盘小了，有再换的时候；内存低了，有再加的时候；屏幕窄了，有在买的时候。但是，聪明的，你告诉我，为什么刚买的PC就出现故障呢？Someclassicallinesofpoemareimitatedinthisway.Forexample,众里寻他千百度，那人却在北环文化路。（众里寻他千百度，那人却在灯火阑珊处。）世界上最遥远的距离，不是生与死，而是看见绿灯你却过不去。世界上最遥远的距离，不是生与死，而是我就站在天安门前，却看不到毛主席。（世界上最遥远的距离，不是生与死的距离，而是我就站在你面前，你却不知道我爱你。）Apartfromthesepopularlyricsandlines,thenetworkwritingstyleisanothertypicalexample.Thenetworkwritingstylereferstothosesentence-makingpatternswhicharepopularontheinternetinacertainperiod.Thiskindofwritingstyleisoriginallyusedinnetizens’postsandrepliesandisdefinedas“八卦文体”,including25 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-Language“知音体”,“梨花体”,“纺纱体”and“脑残体”.Itisusuallyrelatedtohottopicsdiscussingontheinternetorwell-knownTVseries,etc.Recently,“甄嬛体”iswidelyusedandimitatedontheinternetwiththebroadcastofthisTVseriesEmpressesinthePalace,foraudiencesareattractedbyitsarchaicandelegantwayofspeaking.Thesentencepatternischaracterizedbythefollowingwordsandphrases“本宫”,“臣妾”,“方才”,“想来”,“极好”,“罢了”,“若是…想必是极好的,但…倒也不负…”etc..Table4.3GraftinginDiscoursesZhenHuan方才察觉自己未来的英语水平再提升空间极是微小，私心想着Speaking下一步得大力提高一下汉语能力，从而定可中外兼修，方不负Style恩泽，对于学贯中西想必也是极好的！说人话：好好研究我的《现代汉语》这本书今日醒来全身酸痛,感觉很乏,想来怕是前几日玩的太尽兴所致;同事几日未见,只望不要生分了才好;私心想着若是这三日太阳眷顾,闻花之芬芳,沐阳光之温存,定可心情大佳,那对工作学习必是极好的,日子也能过得快些,不过想来三日后又能休息倒也不负恩泽。说人话：这周只上三天班,噢也~Thesewritingstylesspeakofthequalityofcreativityandhumorofnetizens.Byimitatingthepopularwritingstyles,netizensbringalotoffuntoeachother.However,thiskindofmemeswillgraduallydieoutwithtimepassingaway.4.2.4TransformationMemesTransformationreferstothewaythatthekeycharactersarereplacedbysymbolshavingthesameorsimilarpronunciation,buttheiroriginalmeaningsremain.ComparedwithGrafting,thedifferenceisthatthemeaningoftransformedcharacterdependsonitsoriginalform.Itmainlyconsistsofacronyms,homophones,reduplicationsandtransliterationsfromotherlanguages.Acronymreferstowordsmadeupfromthefirstlettersofthenameofsomethingsuchasanorganization.Netizenscommunicatingonlinehavetodependontypingwordsonthekeyboard.Toacceleratethespeedofcommunication,abbreviated26 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-LanguageChineseInternet-languagecomewiththetideoffashion.TheyhavecreatedalargenumberofwordsinthiswaybyputtingthefirstlettersofChinesephoneticalphabetofeachcharactertogether.AbbreviatedChinesephrasehasitsowndistinctivefeaturethatthephraseisnotmorethanfourcharacters;otherwise,itwillbedifficulttounderstand.Table4.4AbbreviatedChineseandBorrowedExpressionsfromOtherLanguagesBS鄙视(BiShi)JMS姐妹们(JieMei-s)GG/MM哥哥妹妹弟弟姐姐SJB神经病(ShenJingBing)/DD/JJ(GeGeMeiMeiDiDiJieJie)JJWW唧唧歪歪(JiJiWaiWai)PFPF佩服佩服(PeiFuPeiFu)PPMM婆婆妈妈(PoPoMaMa)LGLP老公老婆(LaoGongLaoPo)RPWT人品问题(RenPinWenTi)BT变态(BianTai)BF/GF男/女朋友(Boyfirend/Girlfriend)KHBD葵花宝典(KuiHuaBaoDian)BXCM冰雪聪明(BingXueCongMing)Homophoneisawordpronouncedlikeanotherwordbutwithadifferentmeaningorwriting.PlentyofnumbersandlettersInternet-languagebelongtothispattern.ThepronunciationsofsomenumbersaresimilartothoseofChinesecharacters,soalotofnumbersareborrowedtotaketheplaceofcharacters.Table4.5HomophonesChineseHomophonesOICOh,Isee.果酱过奖斑竹版主metoome2稀饭喜欢主页菌主页君foryou4U童鞋同学米国美国whyY神马什么竹叶主页哈9喝酒灰常非常碉堡吊爆8错不错霉女美女幽香邮箱7456气死我了菌男俊男杯具/洗具悲剧/喜剧9494就是就是酱紫这样子餐具惨剧521/520我爱你驴友旅友围脖微博8147不要生气27 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-LanguageNumbersandLetters88拜拜OMGOhmyGod1314521一生一世我爱你CUseeyouAlltheabovewordskeeptheiroriginalpronunciations.Inthisway,thewordsareeasierfornetizenstotypeandhelpthemspeeduptheonlinecommunicationbetweenthem.What’smore,thepassword-likewritingstyleaddsvividnesstotheirconversationandeasilyattractsnetizens’attention.Reduplicationreferstothewordsorcharactersusedtwiceorthreetimesinimmediatesuccessiontoexpressthefeelingsofpleasureorpainortoshowconsiderationandgentlenesstoeachother.Forexample,ontheinternetpeopleuse东东insteadof东西,吃饭饭and睡觉觉toreplace吃饭and睡觉.Byimitationchildren’sspeech,itreflectsthenaivetyandlovelinessofnetizenswhopretendtobekids.Transliterationisthewayoftranslatingadifferentlanguagebyimitatingitspronunciation.IntheInternet-language,therearelotsofwordscomingfromEnglishoranyotherlanguage.TheotherwayistousethesesimpleEnglishwordstoreplaceChinesecharacters.Table4.6Transliterationhomepage烘焙鸡E-mail伊妹儿fans粉丝blog部落格show秀cool酷我I/me你U-ing…中-ed(past过lolita萝莉(progressive)tense)なに什么コン控apersonextremelylikesomething,ectThispatterntellsthatthecommonusagesofcertainEnglishwordsarewidelyusedbyChinesenetizensontheInternet.Withtheuniversalofcompulsoryeducation,mostnetizenshaveatleastthebasicknowledgeofforeignlanguages,especiallyEnglish.FundamentalEnglishwordswillnotkeepthemfromunderstandingeachother.28 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-LanguageAsfarasIamconcerned,thesefourmethodsstatedabovecannotcoverallthesenew-bornwords.Therearealsoalotofwordscreatedbynetizenswhoareinspiredbyhotissues,popularcomputergames,newsocialvaluesetc.,suchwordsas,“PK”,“抓狂”etc.4.3RelationbetweenTypesofMemesandImitativeWaysofInternet-languageMemesOnthebasisofthepreviousresearch,ProfessorHeZiranfurtherdevelopsCloak’sclassificationoflinguisticmemesandputsforwardanewframeworkfortransmissionoflanguagememes.FromtheviewpointofMemetics,heclassifiesmemesintothesetwokinds:thesamecorecontentbeinginheritedinvariousforms,whichisnamedasmemeticgenotypeandtheidenticalsetpatternfollowedbydifferentcontents,whichisnamedasmemeticphonetype.(2005)ThisclassificationofmemesalsoexplainsthespreadofInternet-languagememes.Onceamessageorinformationschemaisimitatedandtransmitted,ithasthequalityofbeingameme,thus,Internet-languageitselfiscreatedbylanguagememes.Genotypememesexpressingthesamecorecontentmayadoptthesameordifferentformsintheprocessoftransmitting,buttheircontentswillalwaysbeconsistent.Thesameinformationcanbetransmittedindifferentcontextsinvariousforms.ProfessorHepointsoutthatthistypeofmemecanbefurtherdividedintosame-information-transmitted-directlyandsame-information-transmitted-in-various-form.(2005)Memesthataretransmitteddirectlywithoutanychangeonsuitableoccasionsincludeallkindsofquotations,slogans,recount,epigrams,poems,proverbs.Ontheinternet,popularactor’slinesareoftenquotedbynetizenstoshowtheirpersonalfeelingsorthoughts,suchas“愿得一人心，白首不相离”.Same-information-transmitted-in-various-formsrefertotheseinformationmemesthatmightvaryintheprocessofreplication,buttheiroriginalmeaningskeepunchanged.IntheInternet-language,thiskindofmemeisverycommon,suchas“恐龙”,“霉女”meaning“丑女”.Thus,itcanbeconcludedthat29 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-Languagesame-information-transmitted-directlyandsame-information-transmitted-in-various-formcorrespondstoQuotationandTransplantationrespectively.Memeticphenotypeischaractersisedbydifferentinformationtransmittedinthesamepattern,correspondingtoGrafting.Thiskindofmemesusuallyadoptsthesameformtoexpressdifferentcontents.Ontheinternet,theseexamplessuchas“范跑跑”,“郭跳跳”,or“xx没商量”,“爱你没商量”,“骗你没商量”belongtothistype.Therefore,itcanbeincludedasfollows:MemeticGenotypeMemeticPhonetypeImitativewaysQuotation√Transplantation√Grafting√Transformation√4.4TheDynamicProcessofInternet-LanguageMemesIthasbeendiscussedindetailinthelastchapterthatsuccessfulmemeshavetopassthroughfoursubsequentstages,namely,assimilation,retention,expressionandtransmission,andshouldliveuptocertainselectioncriteriontogetreplicatedandtransmitted.HereisthedetaileddescriptionofhowtheInternet-languagememesgetreplicatedandtransmitted.4.4.1TheLifeCycleofInternet-LanguageMemesInternet-languagememeshavetogothroughfoursubsequentstages——assimilation,retention,expressionandtransmission,andatthesametime,memeshavetoliveuptothemainselectioncriteriaineachstagetosurvive.SomeInternet-languagememeswillbesuccessfullyassimilated,retained,expressedandtransmittedwhilemanyotherswilldieoutgradually.Thestepsareillustratedasfollows:30 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-LanguageAssimilation:Internet-languagememesarewell-knownfortheirdistinctivenessanduniquenessthatitisquiteeasytoattractnetizens’attention.TheseInternet-languagememeswillbeassimilatedandacceptedbypotentialhoststhroughexposure.What’smore,netizenswhoareusedtocommunicatingonlinearereadytoapplytheseuniquememesintheircommunicationtoexpressthemselveseffectively.Retention:Internet,asaneffectivemedium,isnotonlyincommunicationbutalsoinretainingtheselanguagememespreciselyforalongtime,comparedwithtraditionalmediasuchasradiobroadcastandtelevision.JustasBlackmorestatesthateffectivememeswillbeloyalandfaithfultotheiroriginalformsorcontentsandcanbemaintainedinpeople’smemoryforalongwhile.Themainreasonwhymemescanbesuccessfulatspreadingisthattheyarememorableratherthantheyareimportantoruseful.(1999,p63)Itemphasizesthesignificanceofmemoryintheprocessandthememesmustretainforawhile.TheplatformofInternethashelpednetizenskeepthesememesinmemory.Expression:Thechatting-roomandallkindsofcommunicativetoolsgivetheInternet-languagememesalotofopportunitiesofenteringintoaphysicalshapethatcanbeperceivedbyothers.Transmission:Intheprocessofcommunicatingonlinewithothers,everynetizenmightbeapotentialhostandtheInternet-languagememesarepossiblyconveyedtothepotentialhost.Speechandwritingaretwoeffectivemediaforcommunication.Ontheotherhand,“Speechistypicallytime-bound,spontaneous,face-to-face,socialinteractive,looselystructured,immediatelyrevisable,andprosodicallyrich.Meanwhilewritingistypicallyspace-bound,contrived,visuallydecontextualized,factuallycommunicative,elaboratelystructured,repeatedlyrevisableandgraphicallyrich.”(Crystal,2001,p42-43)Communicatingonlinehascombinedthefeaturesofbothspokenandwrittenlanguage.Thus,ithasprovidedInternet-languageaneffectivemediumfortheirreplicatingandtransmittingbypotentialhosts.OncetheInternet-languagememespassthepreviousstages,thespeedoftransmissionwillbeamazingduetotheadvantagesoftheinternet.31 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-LanguageForexample,“囧”issodistinctive,simpleandstrangethatithasattractedmuchattentionandiswidelyusedontheinternet.Originally,itisanancientChinesecharacter,thesameas“冏”meaningbrightness.ItisnotacommonlyusedwordinmodernChinese,buthasbeenwidelyusedinancientChinese.Nowadays,itisaverypopularcharacterontheinternettoexpressthewriters’feelingsofsadnessandembarrassment.Itissuchasimpleword,butveryexpressivetoreplacethesecommonwords“窘迫”and“难过”.“囧”isjustlikeaperson’sfacialexpression,“八”representsthetwodroopingeyebrowsspeakingofsadnessandembarrassmentand“口’’isasurprisedopenmouth.What’smore,itspronunciationisthesamewith“窘”whichiscommonlyusedtodescribethestateofbeingsadandembarrassed.Therefore,itsuniquenessmakesitquieteasytobeassimilatedbypotentialhosts,namely,othernetizens.Atthesametime,thewordisexpressivethatothernetizensarewillingtouseit.So,itissowell-knownandwidelyacceptedthatitisasuccessfulmeme.Anotherexample,wecanseewordslike“灌水”,“水母”and“水仙”intheposts.Ordinarypeoplewillfeelstrangeandbecuriousabouttheirspecificmeaningsapartfromthecommonacceptedusages.“灌水”ontheinternetreferstomeaninglesspostsoropinionspublishedbynetizens.So,“水母”and“水仙”correspondinglyarethosepeoplewhooftenpublishsuchkindofinsignificantposts.Thesememesareinternallyconsistent,anddonotcontradictotherbeliefsthathaveexistedinnetizens’minds.Thecoherencefacilitatestheprocessofunderstandingandacceptanceand,inthemeantime,theyaremucheasiertorememberandusefornetizens.4.4.2CharacteristicsofSuccessfulInternet-languageMemesAsstatedinchapter3,themoreoftheselectioncriterialanguagememessatisfy,themorelikelytheywillgetreplicatedandtransmitted.ThispartisgoingtoexplainwhyInternet-languagegettransmittedsuccessfullyandspreadquickly.Inotherwords,whatcriteriadoInternet-languagememesliveupto?Netizenstendtouseshortandsimpleexpressionstoacceleratecommunicationspeedtomakeuptheshortageoftyping.Therefore,simplicityandexpressivity32 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-LanguagebecomedistinctivefeaturesofInternet-language.SimplicityandExpressivityaremainselectioncriteriainthedynamicprocessatthesametime.Internet-languageissosimpleinformandexpressivethatitiseasytocatchNetizens’attentionandgetacceptedwidely.Forexample,wordssuchas“顶”,“雷”,“控”,“给力”aresimpleandmeaningfulenoughtosatisfytheneedsofcommunication.Insteadofusingtheexpression“非常支持”,netizenschoose“狂顶”toshowtheirsupport.Utilityalsoimpactsgreatlyonthespreadofinternet-languagememes.Language,asthemostimportantmediumofcommunicationforhumanbeings,isusedtosatisfytheneedofsocialcommunication.Onlyifapieceofnewlinguisticinformationisuseful,thenitcanbeacceptedbypotentialvectors,anditsusagemightbeuniversallyaccepted.Withgreatnumberofnew-bornthingseveryday,newexpressionsarenecessarytohelppeopleexpressthemselves,especiallyontheinternet.Themorethelanguagememesatisfythenetizens’needsverballyandpsychologically,themoreitwillbeimitated.Internet-languagehasbrokenthetraditionalwritingandthemeaningofcontemporaryChinese,andcreatedacombinationwithnewcharactersandmeanings.Itcanbeusedtoexpressvariouscontentswithnovelsymbols.What’smore,thesememescanevokeemotionalreactionsharedacrosspeople.Forexample,“…哥”,“…丝”,“…姐”,“…门”helpthehostsfurthertheirpersonalgoalsandarousetheirsharedemotion.CoherenceisanotheroutstandingfeatureofInternet-languageandworksinbothassimilationandretentionstages.Forexample,wordslike“楼主”,“”,“楼上”,“楼下”,“顶楼”,“底楼”inBBScaneasilycatchyourattention.OwingtothespecialcommunicationformsofBBS,whichismuchsimilartohighbuildingsinreality,theybecomegeneralusagesreferringtonetizens’replies.Gradually,thesewordsaredeeplyrootedinthecognitionsystemofnetizens’.Wordssuchas“歪楼”,“盖楼”arederivedunderthemetaphor.It’sunderstandablethatthisfeaturehelpsthembeacceptedeasilyandtransmittedwidely.33 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-Language4.5SummaryOnthebasisoftheanalysisfromMemeticsperspective,thefollowingconclusionscanbemade.Apartfromanalyzingthelanguagevariationfromlexical,grammatical,semanticandgrammaticalaspects,itcanbeanalyzedinadifferentway.Accordingtothewaysoflanguageimitation,Internet-languagememescanbeclassifiedinto:quotationmemes,transplantationmemes,graftingmemesandtransformationmemes.TheclassificationoflanguageimitationexplainsthegenerationofInternet-languagebycombiningthetypesofmemes.Internet-language,asakindoflanguagevariation,isundertheinfluenceofmemes,thus,memesplayanimportantroleintheprocessofinternet-languageimitation.Tobereplicatedandtransmitted,alllanguagememeshavetogothroughthelifecycleofmemestocompeteforsurvival.However,notallmemescouldsurviveinthecompetition,butonlysuccessfulonescansurviveandspreadwidely.Thesememesbecomesuccessfulinthecompetitionbecausetheysatisfytheselectioncriteria,suchassimplicity,expressivity,utilityandcoherence.34 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-LanguageChapterFiveTheImpactofInternet-LanguageMemesonConventionalLanguageAfterdiscussingthegenerationandtransmissionmechanismofInternet-languagememes,thequestionwhatistheinfluenceofinternet-languagememesonmoderncontemporarylanguageshouldbetakenintoconsideration.Inthispart,wewilldiscusstheimpactInternet-languagememesexertoncontemporarylanguage.5.1ImpactofInternet-LanguageMemesonContemporaryLanguageWiththerapiddevelopmentofInternet-language,ithasexertedgreatinfluencebothonourdailycommunicationandoncontemporaryChineselanguage.Whethertheusageofinternet-languagecandevelopintoapartofourdailyexpressionandwhetheritcanbeacomponentofthecurrentlanguageareunderdiscussion.Itisnormalthatpeopleholdingdifferentstandpointssticktotheirownopinionswhenitcomestoanew-bornthing.Everycoinhastwosides.5.1.1PositiveImpactofInternet-LanguageMemesSomepeopleapproveofthewideapplicationofinternet-languagememestoourdailylifebecausethecreationofnewwordsandexpressionsontheinternetprovidesaquickwaytoenrichhumanlanguages.Therewillbenolanguageinthefuturewithoutanychange.Whatismoreimportantisthat,atcertaindegree,somenewcharactersandexpressionsenrichthecontemporarylanguageandletitbecomemoreenergeticandfashionable,reflectingdistinctivefeaturesofthemodernsocietyandenhancingtheforceoflanguageexpression.Forexample,“山寨”originallyreferstoafortifiedmountainvillage,especiallythosenotunderadministrationoftheofficialgovernment.Nowadays,itsmeaningisextendedinto“counterfeited”or“faked”.ItfirstlyemergedintheITindustry,suchas“山寨手机”counterfeitedname-brandproductsbyappearanceandfunctions.Thiswordiswidelyusedbypeopleandtransmittedquickly35 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-Languageontheinternettorefertoanyfakedornon-officialthings,suchas“山寨春晚”,“山寨鸟巢”etc.Anotherexampleis“奴”,meaningaslavewhohaslosthis/herfreedomandworksforthemasterinancientChinese.Nowadays,itisfirstlyusedbynetizenstorefertoagroupofpeoplewhohavetoworkhardtopayforthedebts.Itwastomakefunoftheirlivingstates,andgraduallyithasbeenacceptedbypeoplebecausethischaractertrulyreflectstheirpsychologicalstateandthereality.ThePeople’sDaily,animportantofficialnewspaper,isfamousforitsseriousnessandcautiousness.Followingtheexpression“给力”whichappearedonitlastyear,itcontinuestoadoptthefashionableinternet-expression“屌丝”whichisusedtodescribesuchagroupofpeoplewhoarenothandsome,tallorrich.“市场经济的冲击余波未了，全球化、民主化、信息化的浪潮又不期叠加。分配焦虑、环境恐慌，拼爹时代、屌丝心态，极端事件、群体抗议，百姓、社会、市场、政府的关系进入“敏感期”。(ChenKun,2012)WemightnoticethatagreatnumberofInternet-charactersandexpressionshavegonebeyondtheInternet,acceptedbycommonpeopleandbecameanimportantandnormalpartofourdailyexpression.Itcanbeclearlyprovedsincethesixth-editionContemporaryChineseDictionarypublishedrecentlyincludsmanyinternetwordssuchas“蚁族”,“月光族”,“宅/宅男/宅女”,“奴”,“山寨”,“雷人”.Thesesomecharactersandexpressionsreallyfilltheblanksofexpression.5.1.2NegativeImpactofInternet-LanguageMemesManyotherstakeanegativeattitudethatInternet-languagehasdonegreatharmtothepurityofChineselanguage.WecannotignorethenegativeeffectsithasexertedonChinese,butitwillworkoutforthebetterintheend.Onereasonfortakingthisnegativeattitudeisthattheabbreviatedvulgarexpressionsarewidelyusedontheinternet,thevirtualworld.However,althoughtheycannotbetakenascommonexpressions,itisundeniablethatoutsidethevirtualworldtheydoexistinourreallife.WecannotascribealltheblameontheInternet-languagememes,anditjustreflectsthereallifefaithfully.Besides,theseabbreviationssuchas36 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-Language“TMD”,“TNND”,“NB”areoftenusedtogetherwithfunnypicturestoshownetizens’anger.ThiswayismuchbetterthanusingChinesecharactersforitsavoidingvisualpollutionandexpressingtheiremotions.Anotherreasonisthatthesemiswrittenwordssuchas“神马(什么)”,“碉堡(屌爆)”havebadinfluenceonprimarystudentswhomightreceiveinformationwithoutselection.Therearemanyincomprehensiblecharacters(internetwordsandexpressions)andungrammaticalsentencesintheircompositions.Chineseteachersbelievedthatthesenewvariationswouldbringdifficultiesinimprovingchildren’sChineseability.5.2ReasonableAttitudetowardsInternet-LanguageSometakeanoptimisticattitudetointernet-language,whiletheothersremainpessimisticconsideringitas“languagepollution”.Theseoppositeattitudesjustreflectthetwosidesofinternet-language.Weshouldtreatitfairlyandhaveaclearknowledgeaboutthesetwosidesrespectively.Ontheonehand,weshouldadmitthepositiveeffectthatInternet-languagedefinitelyenrichescontemporaryChineselanguageinjectsvitalityintoitandkeepsitupwiththetimes;ontheotherhand,wealsohavetorecognizetheexistingproblemsandfindouteffectivesolutionstomaintainthepurityofstandardlanguage.AccordingtoProfessorHe,therearethreewaysinwhichlanguagememesaretransmitted:educationandtransmissionofknowledge,languageapplicationandinformationexchanges.Therefore,inordertoletchildrendistinguishinappropriatecharactersandexpressionsfromthestandardones,teachersandparentsshouldtaketheresponsibilityofguidingthemtouseInternet-languageappropriately.Asisstatedinthelastchapter,languagememeshavetogothroughthelifecycleinwhichmemeswillcompetewitheachotherforsurvivalandnotallmemescouldsurvivethecompetition.Onlysuccessfulmemeswillbeacceptedbycommonpeopleandbeapartofthebasicvocabulary.Thenewly-editedChinesedictionaryindicatesthatamajorityofinternetcharactersandexpressionswilldisappearastimegoesby.Somewordslike“大虾(大侠)”,“神马(什么)”,“瘟都死(windows)”willbenolonger37 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-Languagecompetitiveandgraduallyfadeoutfromthesightofnetizens.5.3SummaryInaword,Internet-languageistheproductoflanguagevariationandtherepresentativeofinnovationandcreationofcommonpeopleanditsdevelopmentisinevitable.Usefulcharactersandexpressionswillfinallybeapartofbasicvocabularywhilevulgarorineffectiveoneswon’tlastlong.Internet-languagememeswillmakeChineselanguagemoreenergeticandcreative,ratherthanhinderitsprogress.38 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-LanguageChapterSixConclusion6.1MajorFindingsTheemergenceoftheInternethascreatedasocialsphereandbroughtrevolutionarychangesonmanyaspects,contemporarylanguageincluded.Interne-languagecomesintobeingtomeetthecommunicationneedsandaccommodatetotheage.ThethesisisatentativestudyonitsgenerationanditsdynamictransmissionprocessfromtheperspectiveofMemetic.Languagememesareofgreatsignificanceinthedevelopmentofhumanlanguage.Languagememeprovidesuswithaneffectivewaytoenrichcurrentlanguage.Alotofcharactersandexpressions(languagememes)uniquetotheInternetarecompiledintotheauthoritativedictionary;therefore,wecanconcludethatInternet-languagewillplayanactiveroleinourdailycommunication.Internet-languageisnotathreattothepurityofcurrentlanguagebutanecessaryandimportantsupplementtoit.TheresearchalsofindsthatInternet-languagecomesintobeingintheimitationandtransmissionprocess.Internet-languageistheresultoflanguagevariationduetotheeffectsofmemes.ThewaysoflanguageimitationdevelopedbyHeZiranindicatethegenerationofInternet-language.Internet-languagememescanbeclassifiedinto:quotationmemes,transplantationmemes,graftingmemesandtransformationmemes.Eachmemehastogothroughthefourstages.Qualifiedlanguagememeswillsurvivethelifecycleofmemes(adynamicprocess)andgetreplicatedandtransmitted.Internet-languagememesgothroughthecompetitionandsomeofthembecomesuccessfulonesandmanyothersonlysurviveforaperiodoftimeanddieoutintheend.Beingsimple,expressiveandcoherent,Internet-languagememesgettransmittedwidely.Theselanguagememeswillfinallybeapartofbasicvocabularywhilevulgarorineffectiveoneswon’tlastlong.Internet-languagememeswillmakeChineselanguagemoreenergeticandcreative.39 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-LanguageThetheoreticalsignificanceisthatMemeticsprovidesuswithanewperspectivetoanalyzethephenomenonoflanguagevariationandenrichesthetheoreticalsupportforthestudyofInternet-language.Itismuchmorepersuasiveandelaborativethanthesociolinguisticsorsocial-culturetheory.ThepracticalsignificanceisthatitshowsushowInternet-languagegenerateandhelpsusunderstandwhyInternetlanguageiswidelyacceptedandtellsushowtotreatthissocialphenomenonfairlyanduseInternet-languagecorrectly.ThestudywillbemeaningfulinthatitwillbenefitthefuturestudyofInternet-languageandlanguagevariation.6.2LimitationsoftheStudyandSuggestionsforFurtherStudyItshouldbepointedoutthatthisthesisisaqualitativestudyonInternet-languageandthereleavesgreatroomforfurtherresearch.Thedatacollectedandtheanalysisareunavoidablysubjective,fortheframeworkisbuiltfortheanalysisofthecollecteddata.Thereareanumberofexpressions,suchas“PK”,beyondtheexplanatorypoweroftheframework.Besides,aslanguageisundercontinuouschanges,itisimpossibletoincludeallpossibilitiesandtogiveathoroughandexhaustiveanalysis.Withitsrapiddevelopment,theremustbesomeaspectstobeanalyzed.WiththeimprovementandfurtherdevelopmentofMemetics,furtherresearchcanbedone.40 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TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-LanguageAcknowledgementsUponthecompletionofthepaper,I’dliketoexpressmysinceregratitudetoallthesepeoplewhosesuggestionsandguidancebenefitmealot.Theyhavemadegreatcontributiontothepaperdirectlyandindirectlyatdifferentstages.Firstandforemost,Iwouldacknowledgemyheartfeltgratitudetomysupervisor,ProfessorZhangGuo,notonlyforhisacademicinstructionsandsupportsthroughoutthewritingofthispaper,butforhispatiencetoreviseandcommentonitthoroughly.Withoutmysupervisor’shelp,Iwouldnotmakeitpossible.IamgreatlyindebtedtootherprofessorsintheForeignLanguageDepartmentofOceanUniversityofChina,includingProfessorWuBingzhang,ProfessorChangZonglinandProfessorZhangShujun.Theirenlighteninglecturesareofgreathelpformyunderstandingoflinguisticsandtheaccomplishmentofthethesis.Inaddition,Iwouldoffermywholeheartedthankstomyclassmateswhohaveparticipatedindiscussingthefeasibilityofthethesisandsharedtheirhelpfulideas.Finally,Iwanttoexpressmygratitudeandthankstomyparentsfortheirunconditionalsupportandencouragement.43 TheAnalysisofInternet-LanguageVariationfromMemeticsPerspective—BasedonChineseInternet-Language个人简历孔艳艳，女，1988年11月16日出生于山东省邹城市。2006年9月考入中国海洋大学青岛学院,英语专业，2010年7月本科毕业并获得英语文学学士学位。2010年9月考入中国海洋大学外国语学院,英语语言文学专业，攻读硕士至今，并获得硕士学位。发表的学术论文孔艳艳.网络词汇的多维剖析.《内蒙古农业大学学报》（社会科学版）.2012(04).44