So-called ‘memobłędy’ as a form of linguistic expression on the Internet

Abstract

This paper examines intentional mistakes (called memobłędy, which is a Polish word coined from a combination of words ‘meme’ and ‘mistake’) as functional deviations from the linguistic norm on its different levels, regarding spelling, ortophony, inflexion, syntax and word-formation. Internet users create such expressions not only to criticize public figures or social groups in a scathing way but also to express feelings which are hard to describe in an indirect communication (e.g. harmless jealousy – zazdraszczam). The intentional mistakes may be considered as a distinct type of memes, which are units of cultural transmission (due to Dawkins’s theory), because they are viral, dialogical and hyperbolizing. Some of them go beyond the realm of memes and become a part of the colloquial spoken language (e.g. madka, ten uczuć, odzobaczyć) but they do not affect its correctness in any significant manner.