# Hahahahaha, Duuuuude, Yeeessss!: A two-parameter characterization of stretchable words and the dynamics of mistypings and misspellings

## TL;DR

This paper analyzes the patterns of stretchable words in social media, introducing two parameters to characterize their features and visual tools to study their dynamics, with applications in language processing and beyond.

## Contribution

It introduces the 'balance' and 'stretch' parameters and visual tools like 'balance plots' and 'spelling trees' to analyze stretchable words and their dynamics.

## Key findings

- Identified key parameters 'balance' and 'stretch' for characterizing stretchable words.
- Developed visual tools to analyze the dynamics of stretchable words.
- Explored potential applications in language processing and genetics.

## Abstract

Stretched words like `heellllp' or `heyyyyy' are a regular feature of spoken language, often used to emphasize or exaggerate the underlying meaning of the root word. While stretched words are rarely found in formal written language and dictionaries, they are prevalent within social media. In this paper, we examine the frequency distributions of `stretchable words' found in roughly 100 billion tweets authored over an 8 year period. We introduce two central parameters, `balance' and `stretch', that capture their main characteristics, and explore their dynamics by creating visual tools we call `balance plots' and `spelling trees'. We discuss how the tools and methods we develop here could be used to study the statistical patterns of mistypings and misspellings, along with the potential applications in augmenting dictionaries, improving language processing, and in any area where sequence construction matters, such as genetics.