Communications in Humanities Research ISSN: 2753-7072
Home> Volumes> Volume CHR Vol.116> Article
Research Article

Linguistic Practice in the Post-Alphabet Era: A Study on the Media Cognitive Logic of Internet Buzzwords

Zhongguo LiuShandong Normal University* Yixian ZhaoShandong Normal University

* Corresponding author: [email protected]

Abstract

Existing studies on internet buzzwords mostly focus on their linguistic features and communication mechanisms, while paying insufficient attention to the transformation of media cognition behind them. Drawing on Robert Logan's "Alphabet Effect" theory, this paper takes typical internet buzzwords from 2015 to 2025 as research objects, and adopts methods including literature research and case analysis. It proposes that internet buzzwords are essentially "post-alphabet compensatory practices" in the digital media environment. From four dimensions — deconstructing linearity, reconstructing senses, rebuilding connections, and reshaping time — this paper systematically explains the compensation mechanism of internet buzzwords for the cognitive structure of alphabetic civilization. The study shows that internet buzzwords serve as an important perspective to observe the changes of human perception, social connections and temporal experience in the post-alphabet era, and provide a new angle for digital culture research.

Keywords: Internet Buzzwords; Alphabet Effect; Post-Alphabet Practice; Digital Cognition; Digital Tribe
Published: July 22, 2026
DOI: 10.54254/2753-7064/2026.35503
Volume: CHR Vol.116
pp. 131-137
Download PDF

References

  1. Chu, Y. F. (2016). An overview of internet language research in the past two decades.Journal of Zhejiang University of Media and Communications, 23(5), 104-112. https://doi.org/10.13628/j.cnki.zjcmxb.2016.05.017.
  2. Dawkins, R. (1976).The selfish gene. Oxford University Press.
  3. Blackmore, S. (1999).The meme machine. Oxford University Press.
  4. Cao, J. & Jin, Y. (2016). Theoretical interpretation of the communication power of strong internet language memes.Chinese Journal of Journalism & Communication, 38(2), 37-55.
  5. McLuhan, M. (1964).Understanding media: The extensions of man. MIT Press.
  6. Logan, R. K. (1986).The alphabet effect: The impact of the phonetic alphabet on the development of western civilization. St. Martin's Press.
  7. Logan, R. K. (2017). The alphabet effect re-visited, McLuhan reversals and complexity theory.Philosophies, 2(1), 2.
  8. Zhu, Y. S. (2007). Theoretical basis and research methods of multimodal discourse analysis.Foreign Language Research, (5), 82-86. https://doi.org/10.16263/j.cnki.23-1071/h.2007.05.034.
  9. Ong, W. J. (1982).Orality and literacy. Routledge.
  10. Levinson, P. (1999).Digital McLuhan: A guide to the information millennium. Routledge.
  11. Lakoff, G. & Johnson, M. (2015).Metaphors we live by(He Wenzong, Trans.). Zhejiang University Press.
  12. Hu, Y. (2008).The noise of the crowd: Personal expression and public discussion in the Internet age. Guangxi Normal University Press.
  13. Papacharissi, Z. (2015).Affective publics: Sentiment, technology, and politics in the networked era. Oxford University Press.
  14. Brighenti, A. M. (2007). Visibility: A category for the social sciences.Current Sociology, 55(3), 323–342.
  15. Wang, Y. L. & Xia, S. N. (2017). A study on the communication variation of strong internet language memes — Based on the analysis of internet terms from 2012 to 2016.Press Circles, (8), 46–52. https://doi.org/10.15897/j.cnki.cn51-1046/g2.2017.08.007.
  16. Fang, Y. R. (2024).A study on internet buzzwords in the official Weibo of People's Daily from the perspective of meme theory. Northwest Normal University. https://doi.org/10.27410/d.cnki.gxbfu.2024.002840.