Category Shift & Social Media: Because x

Social media allows people to communicate across ethnicity, socio-economic status, and geography. Category shift is using a word as a different part of speech; according to Mary M. Clark, “English makes very frequent use of category shift … in fact, most common nouns can also be used as verbs … verbs can also often be used as nouns” (Clark 29). This happens very frequently when the nouns of social media become verbs and vice versa, like the proper noun Google becoming the verb to google, and then becoming the common noun googler. One of the more unusual category shifts surrounds the subordinating conjunction because, which is now being used as a preposition that appears in the format because x. This new category shift has rapidly been adopted in part because social media makes it possible for people all across the world to see this new usage.

“Just as languages evolved before – by interacting with other languages – we will adjust the way we use words based on what we do and see. And since what we see is so often the white glow of a computer screen, our language is impacted by the Internet” (Knibbs). Although earlier instances have been found, because x seemed to take off after 26 January 2011; an off-topic forum on jalopnik.com began using the phrase “because racecar” as a sarcastic answer to any car-related question after an ad in Craigslist said the car being sold had been modified “because racecar” (Because Race Car). Soon thereafter, memes began to be created and distributed on social media. Most, but not all were car-related. The phrase moved from the jalopnik forums into other forms of social media, such as Twitter and Facebook.

There were eighty-seven instances of “because racecar” in the public twitter feed between 7 January and 22 February 2014, not including hashtag phrases. In less than three days, between 18 February and 21 February 2014, #becauseracecar appeared 100 times; there were also many instances of #because #racecar. This was approximately three years after the phrase appeared in jalopnik.com’s forums.

According to its Facebook timeline, an Entertainment page titled “Because Race Car” was created on Facebook on 30 March 2011. A similar page titled “Racecar Memes” was created on 21 February 2012. The most common usages of retain the humorous, sarcastic tone of the jalopnik forum posts; however, usage has evolved beyond this single instance.

“Because racecar” quickly evolved into because x. On the Because Race Car page in Facebook, the following was posted on 15 June 2011:

 

On Twitter, the following was posted 11 Jun. 2011: “I hate it when a friend forgot his/her close friend just because girlfriend/boyfriend” (Adilah). This usage of because x appeared again on 22 July 2011, when a user included “I do not hate you because girlfriend” (THANK YOU Austin) in a tweet.  The author is not suggesting that “because girlfriend” was the next step in the evolution of because x, simply that the usage of because x had expanded from “racecar” to other nouns.

Almost three years later, because x is still regularly found in the public twitter feed, as seen in the following recent examples:

 

 

 

 

While the humorous element of this usage still occurs, more frequently there is a new implication: no further explanation is needed because the x not only has a universal meaning, but there is an undeniable universal agreement that no further explanation is necessary.

The author was unable to find any instances of “because x” in her Facebook feed and began to suspect that this phenomenon occurred more frequently in younger generations. She eventually posted the following and received over seventy replies:

All,

Please help a girl (yes, this girl, as in me) with a little field research.

There's an interesting linguistic change happening courtesy of social media and the internet. It's called "because x" (or because NOUN) and it involves changing the use of the word "because" from a subordinating conjunction to what appears to be a preposition.

An example of this would be: “The Sun is about to flip upside down… but don’t panic it's all going to be fine because science.”

Another real life example is courtesy of one of the announcers tonight: “She was 20 just 4 years ago making her 24 for this Olympics, because math.”

So here's my question for all of you. Have you or do you ever use "because x"? If so, would you give me an example of how you've done this?

Thanks!

The responses ranged from “Never heard this before. Appalled” (Renner) to “It's used all over the school, for the most part by people aged 26 and under” (Schurr) and there was a direct correlation between the range of responses and the age groups occupied by the respondents. The use of because x tends to occur in younger people.

One English teacher responding to the post said: “Just another example of linguistic evolution. … It's nothing to get too upset over, as this sort of grammatical fad usually has little impact on the language itself. It takes quite a while for these little nuances, or irritants to some, to make their way into any lasting change. Language is a living and evolving phenomenon; words and conventions are born and die every day” (Whitworth). This response echoed the response of a linguist who suggested that the usage may be a fad.

Only time will tell if because x is a permanent or temporary change to English. For now, it is occurring frequently enough for linguists to take notice, and it is an indication of how social media may accelerate new trends in language by making them available to anyone in the world with access to the internet.

Work Cited

Adilah, Nur (hellodila). “I hate it when a friend forgot his/her close friend just because girlfriend/boyfriend. Seriously, who knows you begtter and longer. Beeetch!” 11 Jun. 2011, 10:49 p.m. Tweet.

“Because Race Car.” Know Your Meme. Cheezeburger Network. 2012. Web 31 Jan. 2014.

Because Race Car (becauseracecar). “Why Car Always Broken? Because 911 Car.” 15 Jun. 2011,

Clark, Mary M. The Structure of English for Readers, Writers, and Teachers, Glen Allen: College Publishing, 2003.

Coffee (Java_Calling). “’@Jessayelizabeth: Why is coffee icecream the best thing on this planet’ Because coffee. And ice cream. And COFFEE.” 22 Feb. 2014, 9:10 p.m. Tweet.

Hill, Denise J. (denisejhill) “All, Please help a girl out….” 19 Feb. 2014, 12:00 a.m. Facebook.

Knibbs, Kate. “Kthxbai! How Internet-Speak Is Changing the Way We Talk IRL (In Real Life).” Digital Trends. Designtechnica Corporation, 22 May 2013. Web. 1 Feb. 2014. <http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/how-the-internet-is-changing-the-way-we-talk/>

Longhorn Humor (longhornhumor). “RT if you don’t know what day it is…because vacation.” 2 Jan. 2014, 4:22 p.m. Tweet.

McAnulty, Heather (H____Mac). “Every 60 seconds a minute passes in Australia #BecauseSCIENCE.” 17 Feb 2014, 12:32 p.m. Tweet.

Morrow, Craig (breadczar). “She was 20 just 4 years ago making her 24 for this Olympics, because math.” –Announcer #Olympics2014 #Sochi2014.” 18 Feb. 2014, 8:52 p.m. Twitter.

My Optimal Me (RightHealth). “Excited to go to bed because coffee. And gym. Because coffee and gym. I love my life.” 5 Feb. 2014, 9:21 p.m. Tweet.

Renner, Tony (tony.renner.92). “Never heard of this before. Appalled.” 19 Feb. 2014, 12:03 a.m. Facebook.

Schellenberg, Hans C. (hanscs). “Obsessed with controlling Women #BecauseJesus and #BecauseFreedom #tcot #Teaparty #AmericanTaliban #TaliBubba pic.twitter.com/btHwFinmKC.” 28 Jan. 2014, 9:48 a.m. Twitter

Schurr, Julie (julieschurr). “This was just voted into the dictionary...so said the linguists at our last conference. It's used all over the school, for the most part by people aged 26 and under.” 19 Feb. 2014, 9:42 a.m. Facebook.

THANK YOU Austin (CaelyMahone). “@selenagomez Congratulations Justin Beieber and hopefully give you a super surprise hehe oh I do not hate you because girlfriend Justin.” 22 Jul 2011, 8:07p.m. Twitter

Whitman, Neal. “Because as a Preposition.” Grammar Girl. Macmillan Holdings, LLC. 18 Oct. 2013. Web. 1 Feb. 2014.

Whitworth, Amelia (amelia.whitworth). “Just another example of linguistic evolution. Nothing stupid about it, although I suppose most youth-driven changes in language are criticized by older generations as "stupid." It's nothing to get too upset over, as this sort of grammatical fad usually has little impact on the language itself. It takes quite a while for these little nuances, or irritants to some, to make their way into any lasting change. Language is a living and evolving phenomenon; words and conventions are born and die every day.” 19 Feb. 2014, 2:13 a.m. Facebook.