Lee, Jeong-bok. 2012. Usages, Research Trends, and Challenges of Net-language in the Smart-phone Era. The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea 20(1). pp. 177-211. We can access to high-speed internet at anytime and anywhere thanks to the advent of smart-phones which are fully equipped with computer and mobile phone. Such being the case, netizens' language use in real-time has increased significantly in the social network services (SNS) such as Twitter, Facebook, etc. So smart-phones and mobile internet have become an important part of our lives, and the time and opportunities of reading and writing in cyberspace are also rising rapidly. The purpose of this paper is to identify the use of net-language in 2012 and look at the recent research trends and challenges of net-language. In section 2, we introduce the usages of net-language in the SNS. In section 3, the recent research trends of net-language adopted in the SNS will be examined. Then, we present the future direction and challenges of research on net-language. Through this process, it has been confirmed that the reading and writing activities in cyberspace have become a part of our everyday life, and the characteristics of net-language are observed to be transferred to everyday language. It appears to be necessary to study the new phenomena of net-language and linguistic cultures which are emerging with the advent of smart-phones and mobile internet. We want to point out the necessity of research on the new emerging and changing of net-language. In addition to that, the effects of net-language on the netizen should be studied and dealt with in a more serious way.

• 이정복(대구대학교) | Lee, Jeong-bok