1. Definition

“Chinese on the internet” or “internet language” wǎngluò yǔyán 網絡語言 (mainland) or wǎnglù yǔyán 網路語言 (Táiwān) is defined as all Chinese text on the World Wide Web. The term is defined by the medium of communication, not by style or speaker. This means that various kinds of texts fall into this category. Liú (2002) provides a list of types of internet texts:…