Abstract Language change is a complex social phenomenon, revealing pathways of
communication and sociocultural influence. But, while language change has long been a …

Social networks play a role in language variation and change, and the social network theory
has offered a powerful tool in modeling innovation diffusion. Networks are characterized by …

Computer-mediated communication is driving fundamental changes in the nature of written
language. We investigate these changes by statistical analysis of a dataset comprising 107 …

Societies continually evolve and speakers use new words to talk about innovative products
and practices. While most lexical innovations soon fall into disuse, others spread …

Abstract Language in social media is rich with linguistic innovations, most strikingly in the
new words and spellings that constantly enter the lexicon. Despite assertions about the …

In an online community, new words come and go: today's" haha" may be replaced by
tomorrow's" lol." Changes in online writing are usually studied as a social process, with …

New words are regularly introduced to communities, yet not all of these words persist in a
community's lexicon. Among the many factors contributing to lexical change, we focus on the …

Sociolinguistic studies have demonstrated that centrally-connected and peripheral members
of social networks can both propel and impede the spread of linguistic innovations. We use …

The close relationship between language variation and the nature of social ties among
people has been the focus of long-standing commentary in linguistics. A central puzzle in …

Vibrant online communities are in constant flux. As members join and depart, the
interactional norms evolve, stimulating further changes to the membership and its social …