ABSTRACT
An important preliminary step in the discussion of multilingualism on the Internet is to define our terms. Some definition of the notion of the Internet itself is first in order. Technically, it refers to a global network connecting millions of computers in which any computer can communicate with any other computer as long as they are both connected to the Internet. The Internet serves as the medium for the World Wide Web, a virtual system of distributing and accessing information in the form of hyperlinked Web documents. The Web is thus only one of the ways that information can be disseminated over the Internet. Other such means include email, bulletin boards, instant messaging and chat. Consequently, when we talk about the Internet we mean not only the Web, but also other information and communication systems on the Internet. The borderline between the Internet and other digital information and communication systems outside the Internet is meanwhile becoming increasingly blurred, due to convergences between Internet-based communication systems and, for example, digital gaming, interactive television and telephonic communication. As will be discussed in more detail in the final section of this chapter, this technological convergence also has implications in terms of language choice and use.
