Algospeak

There’s no one who understands the internet and language better than Adam Aleksic. Blending meticulous research, original data, and an unmatched fluency in online culture, Adam unpacks how our vocabularies are evolving in real time. Algospeak is a masterclass in linguistic evolution and online culture. It doesn’t just unpack what’s happening to language, but also reveals the many ways the internet is impacting culture and the ways we communicate and connect in person. Incisive and funny, this is a page turner from start to finish. Algospeak is a must read for anyone seeking to understand how we communicate today. * Taylor Lorenz, author of Extremely Online *As someone who has neither Tik’d or Tok’d, I found Algospeak enthrallingly enlightening, written in an enticingly friendly way by one of the medium’s most linguistically aware and experienced practitioners. Any Gen V [vintage] linguist like me has to read it. But not just us. All who use social media, or are puzzled by it, or are infuriated by it, will benefit from a reading. It’s a brilliant exposé of the aims and strategies underlying the algorithms that control these media, and of the motivations of the companies who create them, as well as providing a beautifully illustrated account of how users change language in order to respond to them. Algospeak takes our understanding of online communication to a new level. * David Crystal, author of How Language Works *

Adam Aleksic, known as @etymologynerd online, is a Harvard linguist and online etymologist, specialising in the intersection between language and social media. With almost 2 million followers across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and now Substack, Adam creates content and does his own original research into language and how it’s changing. He’s lectured at Georgetown, Stanford and UPenn and is a regular contributor to the Washington Post. He currently lives in Mexico City.