Crystal D. (Pp 272; £13.95, $19.95) 2001. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0 521 80212 1 (hardback)

• language
• internet

Do you txt? Have you ever used a smiley :) ? Do you know what wtfigo means? Do you wince—even just a little—at the greengrocer's cavalier use of the apostrophe? If you answered yes to these questions, then you should read this book. If you answered no to any of them, then you need to read this book, because something is happening to the English language, and you need to know what it is. David Crystal is a noted linguist who, for the first time, has attempted to analyse the language of the Internet and the World Wide Web. Crystal has given this form of language the Orwellian name Netspeak, and has analysed its use …