One of the most notable tactics that Tumblr users employ in text posts to create meaning is placing is using odd orthography to put emphasis on particular ideas and words. While in Standard English, emphasis might be attributed based on italics alone, or scare quotes, or a number of other methods, on Tumblr, it takes on a new form.
A) Capitalization
Internet users might already be accustomed to interpreting excessive caps-lock a certain way . IF I TYPED LIKED THIS FOR A WHILE, there's a good chance it would be naturally interpreted as shouting, either in excitement or anger based on the content.
On Tumblr it's a bit different, but it follows the similar rules to more common caps-lock use-- the capitalization still draws the eye and gives the word more volume, so to speak, but it doesn't necessarily come across as shouting.
On Tumblr it's a bit different, but it follows the similar rules to more common caps-lock use-- the capitalization still draws the eye and gives the word more volume, so to speak, but it doesn't necessarily come across as shouting.
In this example on the left, there is a single place where capitalization is used despite Standard English requiring it for the pronoun “I” and at the start of sentences. In using it in only one place in the middle of a sentence, it seems almost random, but in using it so sparingly, it becomes purposeful. That “Do” carries new meaning now.
In the Shania Twain video example on the right, the capitalization doesn't necessarily emphasize one particular word (save for the words that are completely in caps), but the odd stylization still draws your attention to the caption as a whole, forcing you to read it as if it’s a message of Great Importance.
In the Shania Twain video example on the right, the capitalization doesn't necessarily emphasize one particular word (save for the words that are completely in caps), but the odd stylization still draws your attention to the caption as a whole, forcing you to read it as if it’s a message of Great Importance.
As I mentioned before, Tumblr users are also extremely aware that what they’re doing is not the norm. There are quite a few posts that self-referentially exercise the particular oddity that they are using to convey it, like in these examples:
B) Bold, Italics
Similar to the capitalization examples above, the mixing of bold and italics is a tactic used in Standard English to draw attention to words, but this post pushes it further. In combining the styles in this way, the creator conveys a very specific tone of escalating and deescalating stress. As I mentioned earlier, online communication has issues with miscommunication when it comes to tone, but, even more than the capitalization, this method encourages the reader to interpret the voice behind the post exactly as it was intended, circumventing some of the usual risks of text-only communication.
The non-Standard use of caps is a simple way to convey an extra level of meaning by going against the usual rules of English communication.
C) Punctuation: Ellipses, exclamation points
This particular comment was in regards to a screenshot from another website in which a piece of internet slang was being misused. The excessively long pause that the multiple ellipses brings an emphasis to the imagined silence the writer is adding to draw out their point and stress their tone and meaning.
It’s not hard to image the writer frowning incredulously or addressing the content in the original screenshot with some sort of trepidation as they try to correct the error. Simply saying, “That’s not what that means,” on the other hand could easily be interpreted as angry, dismissive, or condescension. The ellipse does a lot of leg work to create an entirely new tone for the same words.
It’s not hard to image the writer frowning incredulously or addressing the content in the original screenshot with some sort of trepidation as they try to correct the error. Simply saying, “That’s not what that means,” on the other hand could easily be interpreted as angry, dismissive, or condescension. The ellipse does a lot of leg work to create an entirely new tone for the same words.
While exclamation points are already used to emphasize interjections and sentences, they are also often used on the site to draw attention to particular words, adding stress and emotion to the phrases.
In adding new levels of emphasis back into the text through nontraditional uses of capitalization and punctuation, the Tumblr user essentially forces the reader to read the text exactly as it was imagined originally. This method has the possibility of drastically decreasing miscommunication through varied interpretation between individuals, which is massively useful.
I’m considering using it in my emails from now on.
I’m considering using it in my emails from now on.