Postdigital linguistics

A postdigital turn in linguistics marks both a theoretical and practical shift that builds on and moves beyond digital linguistics. It emphasises the complexities of meaning-making in ways that are neither confined to digital contexts nor reducible to digitalisation. In recent decades, linguistic research has increasingly recognised the crucial role of digitality in shaping language and communication, leading to a substantial body of work on digital language practices and the various concomitant forms of languaging. However, through a conception of ‘postdigital linguistics’, the influence of the digital becomes most noticeable via its absence. This entry explains the postdigital linguistic approach and how it informs research on language and languaging. It introduces the key characteristics of postdigital linguistics as a theoretical perspective, offering future researchers a foundation for engaging more deeply with the essence of languages and language practices in an increasingly digitalised world.