Ritualistic Argot in the Closed Groups of Cyberspace

Abstract

The research of social dialects, or sociolects, (such as professional languages, jargon, argot, slang) has become significantly interesting and topical sphere. Especially, in the modern era of internet communication, which has enriched the opportunities of communication space on a large scale. The paper focuses on so-called ritualistic argot, that refers to a language of closed internet groups, specifically, the language, which is used in a secret social group of the followers of so-called “suicide internet games.” This conclusion was made as a result of analyzing the language of closed, secret games: “Blue Whale”, “Momo” and “Charlie Challenge”, as well as observing the language of so-called “closed internet groups”. This is a “language” of the groups, that are not only closed, but strictly secret as well. Its main function is to provide as powerful verbal influence on group members as possible. In case of revealing any of the game details, a player is punished harshly. The process of playing resembles one extensive ritual, which also consists of numerous other rituals. The results of the research present the analysis and summarizing of the abovementioned details.