Algospeak: The instant New York Times bestseller - How Social Media is Transforming the Future of Language
Adam Aleksic
Jul 2025 · Random House
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256
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About this ebook
“A linguist explores how the internet is redefining our vocabulary. No cap—this bruh slaps and slays.” - Adam Grant, author of Think Again
"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
"Packed with fascinating facts, of-the-moment observations and a sparkling voice, Algospeak is a gift to any word nerd." - Amanda Montell, author of The Age of Magical Overthinking and Cultish
From the rise of leetspeak and words such as “unalive” to the trend of adding “-core” to different influencer aesthetics, the internet has ushered in an unprecedented linguistic upheaval. We’re entering an entirely new era of etymology, heralded by the invisible forces driving social media algorithms. And with over 7 billion internet users uploading over 2.5 quintillion bytes of media every day, the sheer volume of potential new words is astounding.
In Algospeak, online etymologist Adam Aleksic shines a light on the roots of words that we don’t realise have come from unexpected places – from incel culture, from the innovation of users trying to get around content moderation algorithms, from the marketing speak that has invaded our personal lives. New slang emerges and goes viral overnight. Accents are shaped or erased on YouTube. Grammatical rules, loopholes, and patterns surface and transform our interactions, social norms and habits.
An energetic, astonishing journey into language and the internet, Algospeak reveals the bigger social story of how language shapes us, just as much as we shape it.
"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
"Packed with fascinating facts, of-the-moment observations and a sparkling voice, Algospeak is a gift to any word nerd." - Amanda Montell, author of The Age of Magical Overthinking and Cultish
From the rise of leetspeak and words such as “unalive” to the trend of adding “-core” to different influencer aesthetics, the internet has ushered in an unprecedented linguistic upheaval. We’re entering an entirely new era of etymology, heralded by the invisible forces driving social media algorithms. And with over 7 billion internet users uploading over 2.5 quintillion bytes of media every day, the sheer volume of potential new words is astounding.
In Algospeak, online etymologist Adam Aleksic shines a light on the roots of words that we don’t realise have come from unexpected places – from incel culture, from the innovation of users trying to get around content moderation algorithms, from the marketing speak that has invaded our personal lives. New slang emerges and goes viral overnight. Accents are shaped or erased on YouTube. Grammatical rules, loopholes, and patterns surface and transform our interactions, social norms and habits.
An energetic, astonishing journey into language and the internet, Algospeak reveals the bigger social story of how language shapes us, just as much as we shape it.
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About the author
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.
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