Toward the end of “Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language,” linguist Gretchen McCulloch acknowledges a paradox at the heart of her book. On the one hand, books about usage tend to ...

I first came across Gretchen McCulloch’s writing on internet linguistics in a piece for the now-defunct website, “The Toast.” It was about how sarcasm developed online, and began like this: “Sarcasm.

The digital language can be a complex world, but many use it to find laughter and meaningful connection with others. For people older than 25 (or anyone who is not chronically online) digital slang ...