Paul Jury's "5 Ways Texting is Ruining Changing English"
1) Read the article, "5 Ways Texting is Ruining Changing English"
2) Post a response, citing something with which you agree or disagree.
3) Read other people's responses and respond to at least one of their responses.
I'm guessing this is not due.
ReplyDeleteJust kidding I was confused.
ReplyDelete"My mother was an English teacher, and when I was first learning how to write school papers on our two-color Apple IIC, she would constantly hover over me with an important reminder."
ReplyDeleteMy dad is an editor, and whenever I ask him to proofread my writing, without fail, he always asks me why on God's green earth I put only one space after a period. I would merely shrug and state that no schoolteacher had ever reprimanded me for doing so and that both ways were acceptable. Apparently, back in the dinosaur era, two spaces after a period was standard. I didn't start texting until middle school, yet I had never been in the habit of putting two spaces after a period to begin with, so, from my experience, I don't think it's fair to blame this on texting.
- Jack Thornton
"Compared to the 1960's, when every kid was a reading/writing dynamo? Ask your parents if this was true. A lot of teenagers are just idiots, in any generation."
ReplyDeleteAlthough i find this quote to be very funny, I also think that it is a bit insulting and extreme. Most teenagers aren't idiots, most teenagers that may appear to be idiots are just not trying. I know plenty of people who don't act like they are smart, but they really are. The main problem is their laziness.
I agree with Jack completely,I do not remember a period of time when i was ever taught the two space rule. I always used one space even before i was texting. So Jack is right, that can not be blamed on texting.
"True, kids write some atrocious non-English in their text messages. But that doesn't necessarily mean they don't know how to spell correctly in other situations...Just because a kid texts 'CUL8R'" doesn't mean he or she doesn't know the grammatically proper version would be 'I will see you later.'"
ReplyDeleteWhile texting, I do use acronyms and "text slang," such as "lol" or "idk," but that doesn't mean there is going to be a negative effect on my writing from doing so. My text writing, so to speak, is completely separate from my formal writing for school. I have never made the mistake of using abbreviations or forgetting to capitalize "I" in any of my essays. Although texting has become more common in many people's live's, it does not remove all of the grammar skills from our brains that have been deveolping over the years.
In middle school, most of my writing assignments were hand-written, so I had to use a pencil and paper (and my knowledge) to write. Students still have to write by hand for the important stuff like in-class essays and standardized tests--nothing has really changed. The only difference is that some (but not all) teens have grown used to the automatic corrector that adds a period at the end of a sentence for them, or an "ABC check" to make sure they did not spell anything wrong. These tools may be useful when available, but they are not a necessity for me, and my writing survives without them.
From other blogs we did this year, I got the impression that the most important part of writing is that the message is conveyed. I think that any way this is done is sufficient. Yeah, some grammar rules are necessary, but I don't think they are a big deal. If the reader can understand what you are trying to say, mission accomplished. Some of these changes don't even seem to matter at all, what difference does it make if a word has a hyphen or if there is one space after a period? The message remains the same. Kind of about the quote from Joe, all kids are not idiots. I completely agree with the author that despite what changes in English, the best students will understand and use the language correctly, while the bad students will fail. That is how it is now, if you aren't smart enough to get it, you won't do good in English class. Basically, I feel that it doesn't matter how things change because certain users of the English language will continue to read and write successfully.
ReplyDelete"And though silly abbreviations and truncated spellings are two solutions to this problem, so are eliminating superfluous words and not rambling on. Or in other words, being a better writer."
ReplyDeleteI agree with Paul Jury on the notion that texting encourages the manipulation of language. I think this is an often-missed (hyphen!) positive impact of texting, especially because I see its role in my own writing. I often find myself going through a text message and omitting as many letters as possible so that it can be sent in a single message. From this, I've developed a habit of brevity in my text messages. It has now become natural to say much in the least number of characters possible. Still, my texting buddies can attest to the fact that my text messages are relatively formal with proper capitalization and punctuation. It wasn't always this way. I used to write with odd abbreviations and with "d's" instead of "th's" ('dis' instead of 'this'). Somewhere along the way, though, I made my change. The constant text messaging only improves the good habit I've developed.
My group of friends text in a similar fashion, so though I provide anecdotal evidence, there is truth in the statement that text messaging can improve brevity. (Ironic, isn't it, since this post is quite long?)
In response to Jack and Joe, I actually do remember the two-space rule. I abided by it as if it were law, and my view of the grand grammar parliament shattered when I was told the rule changed. My kindergarten teacher taught us to put two fingers down after every word. Later, teachers told us to put one finger down since our finger-widths almost doubled in size by puberty.
Also, to Joe: Of course you are entitled to your own opinion; however, I do feel that the appropriate reaction to Jury's statement about teenagers being idiots is not insult. Further,the statement's extremity serves as the sharp pang that ends the body of the work. Jury wants to leave the reader with something they will not easily forget. In fact, I appreciate his humor and brevity in this statement. Nothing in that sentence is meant to offend, only amuse. After all, Jury was a teenager at one time, too.
"True, kids write some atrocious non-English in their text messages. But that doesn't necessarily mean they don't know how to spell correctly in other situations...Just because a kid texts 'CUL8R'" doesn't mean he or she doesn't know the grammatically proper version would be 'I will see you later.'"
ReplyDeleteI don't really use the abbreviations and texting slang. I find it annoying when people do, but it's texting. It doesn't have to be long full sentences and words. I'm sure that everyone knows that "ttyl" means talk to you later and "nvm" means nevermind. Would they write that in a paper for school? No. Teenagers know when to switch from their texting language to proper English.
-Jackie
"Will it ever be acceptable to write 'OMG, IM totes rite 4 ths j0b!!1!!' in a resume? No, because of the slow-changing selective nature of formal language. Young people will continually push for changes in language, and older people will continually resist these changes..."
ReplyDeleteI hope to God that formal language does not change. I despise incorrect grammar. When people text "your" instead of "you're" or "their" instead of "they're," I can't help but to correct them. I don't care if it sounds haughty and stuck-up, but it's a huge pet peeve. Also, the one-space-after-the-period rule and the vanishing hyphens are not my or texting's fault. Even television writes "makeover" instead of "make-over" (in Extreme House Makeover or whatever that show is).
"SMS" and "LOL" shouldn't even be a word. That is ridiculous. However, this made me laugh (even ask Evangeline): "Is every stupid thing kids put in their texts going to become a word? Of course not. Thk G0D."
In response to Jackie:
Hopefully teenagers know when to switch, or that is just embarrassing. Even parents write "lol" or "ttyl." I think that is the funniest thing ever, but I've seen many mothers text that. Why are teenagers getting blamed, then? Plenty of grown-ups text almost the same as teenagers do. And college students. And graduate students. And grandmothers.
"Will future English be altered by text messages? Yes; cell phones are not going out of style anytime soon. Will it ever be acceptable to write 'OMG, IM totes rite 4 ths j0b!!1!!' in a resume? No, because of slow changing, selective nature of formal language"
ReplyDeleteI agree with Paul Jury; English is bound to change somehow— just like we don't speak or write in Shakespearean language anymore. Formal language will still be preferable. Although most teenagers text today, it doesn't mean that they are going to bring the "text slang" into the classroom. Good students will be able to forget about the "text slang" when they are writing papers.
In response to Michelle, I agree with you― I can't stand grammatical errors. I never knew that makeover had a hyphen until I read this packet.
"Just because a kid texts 'CUL8R' doesn't mean he or she doesn't know the grammatically proper version would be 'I will see you later.'"
ReplyDeleteI believe that language is changing because of texting, but the new language and words are only changing texting language. People may text 'LOL', but I never hear anyone say LOL instead of laughing or saying something like, "That was funny." Kids know what proper language is and when to use it. Nobody with any intelligence would write "4 scr+ 7yrs ago" in an English paper.
I also agree with Sheryl that I was also taught to put two spaces after every period. I still put two spaces after every period in an essay because I consider two spaces to be more formal than one.
-Berman
"True, kids write some atrocious non-English in their text messages. But that doesn't necessarily mean they don't know how to spell correctly in other situations...Just because a kid texts 'CUL8R'" doesn't mean he or she doesn't know the grammatically proper version would be 'I will see you later.'"
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with this quote because it's similar to "you can't judge a book by its cover". You never know how well people write and you can't base their writing on texting. Texting is simply a faster form of writing.
I agree with Michelle, as long as students know when to use the proper writing style I don't see what the problem with texting is. If parents do it, why can't teenagers?
I agree with Jury when he discusses how texting could be the reason why so many math grades are continually improving but english scores on standardized tests aren't. There are some kids out there that do text like that, but mostly when they get their first cell phone and aren't used to the formality of texting on a small keypad. I don't agree with him when he says it's ruining the English language though, that's a wee bit extreme.
ReplyDeleteMost teenagers (who are the most frequent texters) don't type in such drastic ways. For example, if I'm scrolling through my imbox, I see some "cuz" or "K"'s but nothing as dramatic as the numbers and letters combos he used in the articles.
I feel as if the article was a little but biased and general because not everyone texts like that. I, myself, hate texters like that and use the time to add in proper comma's and periods.
On my job applications, I'm not writing "OMG IM totes rite 4 ths j0b!!!" come on now, that's a little over dramatic, Mr. Jury.
I also have to disagree with Berman because I have heard people say "L O L" outloud in a conversation. Just because people are (MAYBE) adapting to this "slang" for of talking doesn't mean it's texting fault.
I think it's just slang. Like ghetto people say "yo", people from the south say "ya'll" and people from Britian say "ello Govna." It changes through decades, just like "groovy". Next decade, everyone will have a new crave to complain about.
"Having to encode and decode acronym-laden texts reminds me of those puzzle games as a kid where you had to figure out"88 Ks on a P" STOOD FOR (88 Keys on a Piano). And those were supposed to make you smarter, right? Maybe texting is turning kids into better problem solvers! Maybe that's why our math scores are higher!"
ReplyDeleteThis quote stood out because I agree that we have become better problem solvers and like to think a bit more outside the box, in this case we want to make things shorter.
I personally like it better when people don't use "textese".
I agree with Morgan. We don't use "LOL" in a conversation, we would juat sound silly. I also agree with the new "groovy" each generation will come up with, we are bound to change our language.
I agree that new technology changes and adds new words. Our generation has grown up with computers and cell phones which makes acronyms and abbreviations more common. Back in the day when all people had was books to read, writing was more formal. Texting might be changing English but it's mostly just due to the new generation, as all generations bring different changes.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Joe C that most kids are just lazy and use abbreviations due to that.
-Sydney Boyle
I agree with Selma, no matter what happens the way language is written today will not be the same in the next 15 or maybe even 5 years. But that doesn't mean that great will be spelled with and 8(or at least I hope not).
ReplyDelete"Good students today are effectively bilingual: they turn on the textese when conversing with their friends, then turn it off when it's time to write a paper"
I think this is extremely true. Good students know that its not okay to turn in a paper where every you is smelled u, and every and is a +. We all know when it is the appropriate time write in "textese" and when its not. And for the one kid who writes paper like they are texting they're honestly just lazy.
P.S.- I hate text lingo so much in fact I do my best to write as normal as posible when I am texting (that includes an automatic speller)
p.p.s.- yes Cody i will agree that I am one of the last ones to comment on this, but only for this week!
"How many times have you had a 180-character thought that needed to be pared down into a 160-character text or 140-character Tweet? And though silly abbreviations and truncated spellings are two solutions to this problem.."
ReplyDeleteI admit to doing this while texting just because I don't want the person to get annoyed by sending them so many texts to finish what I want to say. Also if I'm in a rush I'm forced to write less. Later on in the passage it states that it is better to write less especially for the SAT and ACT. I guess, then, it's not so bad to write more brief while texting.
I agree with Morgan that the article was a little too dramatic about teenagers and their texting habits. Not everyone texts like that and it probably won't travel into how we write formal papers.
In response to sydney boyle,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point that language changes from generation to generation. We can see these changes from the books we were assigned to read this year. For example, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight used a very old form of english which we were not used to and it was difficult to read. Though it was still, by definition, english, it was not the "Modern English" that we are used to. Texting may be changing our english, but changing language shouldn't be a big deal because it is, in fact, expected to keep changing.
However, I definately think that some "textese" should not be used in formal writing because it usually makes writing less descriptive and harder to read. Writing with interesting words and modern english always produces a better finished product. Texting with "textese" is fine for me because I dont want to sit down for an hour and read the essay that you just sent off of my phone. Texting is meant for convenient quick-chat, and "textese" is very appropriate.
-Krista Dawson
LOL.
"New technology spawns new words, just like all new culture does. But to argue that this is a bad thing is to deny the very flexibility that makes language useful."
ReplyDeleteI like this quote, because I do believe that language is extremely flexible. It shouldn't matter how something is conveyed or written, as long as the message or idea is understood, what's the problem? I agree with Zach, that small grammatical rules in "proper" English shouldn't matter. Evn if i spel lik this, w/o propr gramr, yu can prolly still undrstnd me.
( )_( )
(='.'=)
(")_(")
LAWL txt bunniez
''Is text messaging ruining English? Debatable, as we shall see. But is text messaging(along with other forms of digital communication) changing English? U bttr beleve it.''
ReplyDeleteI thought that this article was interesting. I do think that texting is changing our English in some ways. I rarely see the use of hyphens nor can I recollect being taught to do ''two spaces after a period. I guess that for most people, when it comes to texting, we text knowing that we aren't going to fully abide to the right English grammar usage or spelling. People these days can't go through texting without being able to use ''OMG'' or ''LOL''. I think that that is the whole point of texting, it's like a whole new language for our generation. When we text, we do things for the sake of brevity and convenience and in some cases, because we are lazy, but that doesn't mean that people don't know how to distinguish between the texting way and the right English way.However, I do think that if people start writing like how they would text on standardized tests, is a problem that needs fixing. Texting like this is just too annoying to bear with.
In response to Morgan:
I also think that he was a little too dramatic. I would never write like that on my job application.
The part of the selection that stood out to me the most was:
ReplyDelete"Despite all my defense, I will stay say that texting does have a slightly negative effect, on spelling at least (if for no other reason than the nonincentive it provides to practice spelling words correctly, especially advanced words). And some words get spelled wrong so often (tonite/tonight) in texting that students really are starting to lose track of which way is correct."
I don't necessarily agree with what Jury states here. Although we (teenagers) aren't exactly the brightest crayons in the box, nearly all of us recognize the difference between formal and informal writing. I, for example, am fairly proud of my essay-writing abilities yet when typing informally via text messaging or chatting through various websites, I tend to use "text slang" to talk to my friends. Most teenagers recognize the very bold line between writing in school and writing online or through texts. Now don't quote me there, I do agree that there is the occasional basket case, but I can't even believe that something like that misshapen version of the Gettysburg Address was ever even used on an SAT. Like Jury even said, "this kid was kind of a moron," so do give us some slack for the members of our generation that are deciding to butcher the English language by turning it into a slack-jawed jumble of abbreviations and lack of vowels (cnt tlk nw, cll u l8r).
In response to Evangeline:
I completely agree with what you said. In hindsight, although some of the "text slang" is becoming awkwardly common amongst our society, not much has changed within school walls. When it comes down to it, we're still following essential protocol that's been around since schools were ever formally organized: walk in, use a pencil and paper, walk out. We aren't exactly at the stage of technology where things such as iPads are highly available, so we haven't yet gotten to experience the effect of "text slang" in school. Now that we see schools endorsing high-tech tools such as SMART boards and netbooks, perhaps texting WILL uneducate the youth, but until then, we have nothing to worry about. Like Evangeline said, tools such as spell check and auto-correction are nice, but they aren't a necessity, but kids with an endless access to laptops and smartphones might heavily rely on them. It's the next few generations of people we'll have to look after, as modern technology is pushing its way into our educational system every day.
"But to argue that this is a bad thing is to deny the very flexibility that makes language useful. Just ask two guys who probably added more words to the English language than anybody, William Shakespeare and Noah Webster."
ReplyDeleteI get angry when people make up words. When I read Shakespeare, all of the words that he made up make me cringe. However, no one is going to argue that Shakespeare was a bad writer, even though most of the words he created are part of common speech today. Similarly, texting offers a new purpose for writing, and a new target audience. In other words, a new rhetorical situation. So of course there are going to be different words and different word choice in a text than in Shakespeare. But both are classified as English, and that's the beauty of language: its ability to convey a thought in a million different ways.
In response to Zack:
I agree, when the little rules about grammar, like when to place commas around an appositive, are unimportant to the meaning of the sentence, get rid of them. But in ambiguous cases of grammar for example like this one when its important to use commas the meaning of the sentence can change in this case commas should have been used.
"Yes, I've read some terrible essays where tons of words are spelled incorrectly. But I've also read some amazing essays, where no words are spelled incorrectly. And trust me, all these kids text"
ReplyDeleteThe essays where "tons of words are spelled incorrectly" are either written by students that don't proof read or those who just don't care. If you write "i just dont no the answer" instead of "I just don't know the answer" you have bigger problem and deserve a bad grade.
I agree with Lily,
Good students have a "switch" that they turn on or off when texting or writing a paper or both at the same time. They know what's appropriate in what situation.
Like the practice SAT that Jury graded, there are times when informal language should not be used. Of course formal language is necessary for academic related writing;however, like several of you guys have already said, times change and language changes with it. Most (if not all of us) can separated the way we text from the way we write an essay. It's a lot simpler to just say something like "CUL8R", but (like Jury says), it doesn't mean the kids don't know the grammatically proper version. I don't believe texting has a negative effect because kids don't grow up texting- they know their language and it's grammar and simply shortened it in order to get a message across more quickly in a text.
ReplyDeleteI agree with David's response. There are those kids who text and just don't care enough to write grammatically correct on a paper, and then there are those kids who text but DO write grammatically correct on their papers. This does not mean that texting has any particular "negative" effect on kids. If there was no texting, those lazy kids would probably still not care enough to check for spelling errors.
ReplyDelete"The SAT and ACT (and other tests) are huge on concise writing and grammatical brevity, and as someone (peripherally) involved in education, I have to say this is one area where I think texting is actually helping kids' writing."
ReplyDeleteI chose this passage to show how texting is not necessarily a negative influence when it comes to writing. When I usually write a text I try to make it as short as possible and to the point, much like how an English essay should be. Writing texts that get to the point can help you write better English papers because you learn how to become breif and not include all the extra unnecessary fillers.
I also agree with Lily. When kids, teens, and even adults text; they mostly know when to switch from texting language to proper English. There are people that don't know how to limit their "text talk" , which affects them when they are writing an essay, etc.
ReplyDelete"Compared to the 1960's, when every kid was a reading/writing dynamo? Ask your parents if this was true. A lot of teenagers are just idiots, in any generation."
ReplyDeleteI think that this quote basically sums up Jury's point. What he's saying is that no matter what, language is going to change. There are going to be people who don't follow all of the rules, and that's what makes language beautiful: it's flexible. You'd be hard pressed to find a person who can't tell that there is a difference in writing style between Shakespeare and Dickens, or between Shelley and J.K. Rowling.
In response to Michele, "SMS" and "LOL" are initialisms. They are just as meaningful as any other initialism or acronym; it would be ridiculous to say that they have no place in our language. Is the FBI not a valid organization? Is CEO not a valid job title? Is Short Message Service not a valid means of communication? Is laughing out loud not a valid action? Of course, when writing a formal paper, one has to be able to tell when it is appropriate to use an abbreviation, but it would be ignorant to say that these words have no place in our language.
"How many times have you had a 180-character thought that needed to be pared down into a 10-character text or a 140-character Tweet? And though silly abbreviations and truncated spellings are two solutions to this problem, so are eliminating superfluous words and not rambling on. or in other words, being a better writer"
ReplyDeleteI agree with this quote because in society, texting has generally been seen as something that only brings trouble and basically is ruining our generation, when in reality, this is far from the case. I am often yelled at by my parents, being told that I text too much and that it is unnecessary. I, on the other hand, completely disagree. It is a quick way to communicate without having to use my minutes, and I tell them that all the time. So shouldn't my parents be happy? Well now I have another fight to put up about why texting is a good thing. It helps me become a better writer.
And in response to David,
I agree with your opinion of the quote you picked. There is no proof that texting is what causes people to have poor grammar and spelling in their writing. In fact, there is more evidence showing that this is not a direct effect of texting, because the majority of teenagers these days text, yet some have perfect grammar while others don't. many factors go into a person's mastery of these skills.
"Yes I've read some terrible essays where tons of words are spelled incorrectly. But I've also reas some amazing essays, where no words are spelled incorrectly. And trust me, all these kids text."
ReplyDeleteI'm kind of confused, this guy is contradicting himself. He's saying all these things about how texting has made us kids become worse writers but then he's also saying that ALL kids text and there are many who still get amazing ACT scores. Whether you're getting 36s or 15s on your ACTs, it's the outcome of your entire education, not your texting experiences.
Also, I might add that reading scores could not have not risen due to texting. I may be saying this from my own personal knowledge and not every other kids but to be honest, all the shortening are over-rated. Hardly anyone I know says things like "cul8r" it's way more thinking then the regular "see you later".
I agree with Cody. Teenages can tell where we can or cannot use slang. We're not as unintelligent as Mr. Jury is making us. We know when it's the wrong time to use informal language.
I dont thing that texting language will have much of an impact on the English language. It is entirely likely that it wil continue to evolve to be more and more obscure abreviations. It is more likely that someday texting will be taught as a seperate language, because it has strayed too far from english to be understood w/o learning. I personally thinktexting language is very confusing, often i may use abreiviations in outgoing msgs, and be unable to interpret other's abreiviations.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Max,
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way when I read Shakespeare sometimes because it seems like half of the words he uses were made by him. But if we didn't have great writers like that,the English language wouldn't be the same, like you basically said. Although text language is VERY different from Shakespeareian language, it is still a language!
"Put away your test-tubes and come get some ice-cream with us, you big cry-baby."
ReplyDeleteOut of these three words, the only one I use a hyphen for is cry-baby, if I ever even say that. This section caught my eye the most because I didn't know that ice-cream or test-tube had hyphens. There are other words out there that are dropping hyphens too, and it surprises me that I don't even know which ones have hyphens in them to begin with. It says that people are too lazy to reach for the hyphen key while texting, but in my case, I wouldn't even know which words needed it or not.
In response to Jack:
Your comment reminded me that we did learn to put two spaces after a period. I can't say which grade I learned that in and I had completely forgotten about that rule until i read the blog. But i agree, texting didn't ruin the two-spaces-after-a-period rule, lack of enforcement did.
"How many times have you had a 180-character thought that needed to be pared down into a 10-character text or a 140-character Tweet? And though silly abbreviations and truncated spellings are two solutions to this problem, so are eliminating superfluous words and not rambling on. or in other words, being a better writer"
ReplyDeleteTexting has seemed to limit thoughts and ideas down to the most important parts. Take a book written before texting was invented (say Great Expectations) and compare it to a book written during the prominent age of text messaging and tweets. The books are dramatically shorter but they get across the same main ideas and teachings just in fewer words. If i had a 5 dollars for every time i heard a teenager complain about how unnecessary details take a good book and ruin it i could easily be a millionaire.
In response to Joe Cohen: I couldn't agree more. Not about the insulting part really because i happen to know a lot of teenagers that are idiots. And most are at one point or another but not all of them are. Anyways. I cant fit the number of lazy teenagers i know on both hands and both feet. I know easily 30 amazingly smart students who end up getting B's and C's because they don't do homework but they ace every test after sleeping through the lesson.
"Good students today are effectively bilingual: they turn on the Textese when conversing with their friends, then turn it off when it's time to write a paper."
ReplyDeleteThis sentence from "5 Ways Texting is Changing English" is what I agree with. When chatting with friends online or texting each other, abbreviating words or shortening them doesn't mean that we don't know how to write properly. Who wants to take the time to write out long, complete, grammatically correct message to a friend such as: "I will see you later," when it could be done in a mere 3 letters: "cya?"
Does the correctness of the sentence really matter as long as we get the message across?
Texting is a way of saving time. Shortening longer words to increase efficiency is by no means a "degradation of English."
In response to Alison:
That quote really caught my eye, because
I didn't even realize any of those words had hyphens in them. Like you, It's not the fact that I'm too lazy to reach for that particular key, but that I don't know which words to use the hyphen for in the first place.
-Theodore Truong
"But to the clamorers that 'Texting is ruining kids' language skills!' I ask 'Compared to when?' Compared to the 1960's, when every kid was a reading/writing dynamo? Ask your parents if this was true. A lot of teenagers are just idiots, in any generation."
ReplyDeleteThis line stood out to me the most because all in all it speaks the truth. No matter where we place the blame, whether it's on television, video games, or texting, teens will always just be teens. We're always going to be the ones looking for the short cuts and loop holes in life. Our laziness is inevitable and the idea that text messaging is ruining the English language is just another way the older generations are trying to make sense of why teens do and say the things they do.
In response to Cody:
I agree with Cody on the idea that most teenagers know when its appropriate to use proper English and when to use texting English. For this reason, I believe that texting does not have as much of an impact on teens and the English language than many older generations think it does.
i try my best to use proper grammar when sending texts. i feel that it confuses me when i spell words wrong and use improper grammar. i think kids need to suck it up and use a few extra buttons so texting wont degrade their writing skills as much.
ReplyDeletei totally agree with bill. language is going to change and we cant stop it. all we need to do is adapt to the changing language and decide for ourselves when it is right to use disregard grammar and spelling (for the most part)
ReplyDelete"True, kids write some atrocious non-English in their text messages. But that doesn't necessarily mean they don't know how to spell correctly in other situations...Just because a kid texts 'CUL8R'" doesn't mean he or she doesn't know the grammatically proper version would be 'I will see you later.'"
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more! I always use 'text lingo' but when writing a paper i would never use anything that i say in a text. Part of this statement is ridiculous because i might use 'idk' or something but for the most part I use full sentences in my texts and of course my papers.
Going along with what Vera said, I agree that some adults over exaggerate how kids text. Yes some people do use '@' instead of 'a' and '$' instead of 's', but most people type out full words. I also agree that what you get on your ACT has absolutely nothing to do with how you text.
"As that Boondocks episode with Samuel L. Jackson likes to point out, 'the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence.'"
ReplyDeleteI am not a Boondocks fan - I don't recall ever watching it - but this quote makes perfect sense. Just because we abbreviate and use a different style when texting as opposed to writing an essay doesn't mean that we don't know what is correct. I, personally, use "bc" in a text as opposed to "because" to save time. Other abbreviations such as brt, omw, and ttyl are merely used for faster, space-saving texting. However, you don't see me writing "Pip is in love with Estella bc she's beautiful" in essays.
In response to Theo:
I completely agree with you. Teenagers aren't ruining the English language by abbreviating, we're simply saving ourselves time. I use Textese all the time, but never in schoolwork or an essay. Textese is merely an easier method of communication developed for one purpose: to make communicating from person-to-person a simpler, easier task when not in the presence of the targeted individual.
- Alex Studer
“Despite all my defense, I will still say I think texting does have a slightly negative effect, on spelling at least (if for no other reason than the nonincentive it provides to practice spelling words correctly, especially advanced words). And some words get spelled wrong so often (tonite/tonight) in texting that students really are starting to lose track of which way is correct.”
ReplyDeletePaul Jury holds a valid point; texting cannot be held completely responsible for the slight decline change in the English language, but it has a detrimental effect on spelling. Personally, I never use “nite” or “rite” in text messages, but I have friends who use it on a daily basis. It affects some of their spelling in school, but not often. I believe most teenagers speak two languages fluently- English and Textese. I, for one, make sure to use correct grammar and capitalization when writing e-mails to teachers. Whether I’m online or writing a text message, I make up my own grammar rules and only use capital letters when I want to get a point across.
In response to Alex:
I could not agree more. On weeknights when we’re crammed for time, I keep most of my text messages short and sweet. Additionally, I would never use text abbreviations in anything other than messages to friends.
"Good students today are effectively bilingual: they turn on the Textese when conversing with their friends, then turn it off when it's time to write a paper."
ReplyDeleteJust because texting has become a whole other language, it doesn't mean people don't know how to write properly. When it comes to writing papers and such, it is a natural instinct to not abbreviate and talk improperly. They are two separate things and I think most people can distinguish the line between them well.
In response to Molly:
I agree that texting is a convenient way of communicating and shouldn't be frowned upon all the time. It is much easier to send texts when you need to talk about little things and a lot more considerable for the people are you when you are out in public.
"According to this article, nearly 16,000 thousand words have been stripped of their hyphens in recent dictionary versions."
ReplyDeleteWhy does this even matter, as long as the reader can understand the meaning of the word, it doesn't matter if the hypen is included or not, make-over is still makeover.
I agree with joe, kids are just lazy, i only start trying when my parents threaten to pull track.
The comment above is mine
ReplyDeleteGeorge Webb
I think that texting adds brevity to our writing and I also agree with Joe as George, kids are getting too lazy these days and use short term language like "lol" for example. as long as you get your point across what does it matter?
ReplyDelete-Shahbaz
"Good students today are effectively bilingual: they turn on the Textese when conversing with their friends, then turn it off when it's time to write a paper."
ReplyDeleteI agree that texting can be "changing" English, but I feel like just because people text using abbreviations and ignoring grammar, doesn't mean that they don't know how to use proper grammar while writing an essay. I text using abbreviations, but when it comes to writing an essay, I use proper spelling and grammar.
When I'm conversing with my friends I use Textese but when I'm writing an essay I turn into "serious mode" and make sure I don't make spelling and grammatical errors.
In response to Alex and Theo:
I totally agree that using Textese saves time and it's a simpler way of communicating. Using proper grammar in texts makes the text longer and consumes time. Isn't the purpose of texting making communication easier?
"Is every stupid thing kids put in their texts going to become a word?" hahaa.
ReplyDeleteTexting is texting. Its suppose to be improper and confusing to adults. It's not a essay that we're going to get graded on! But English would be a much more fun language if every "stupid" word we use in texts become real words. They practically are real words because everyone uses them, but is there a way to make up a word? Like some official document that has to be signed? That would be sOo Co0l <3
And OMG to Shelby's quote, I always have to take out words from texts so I can fit them in the 160 character limit! Since sending two pages takes loner then one so most of the time I have to make it shorter! I wish it was unlimited.
In my opinion, I don't think texting is ruining English as badly as we think it is, but it certainly is changing the "lingo" much like other fads and generations have. What I think is changing the most is spelling and punctuation. Mr. Jury talks about how the spacing changed (probably not due to texting) and how the hyphen "vanished." I don't think people in our generation really understand how to use a hyphen; I don't recall being taught what words are hyphenated, either. Then again, I think the older generations get confused when they try to remember if a word is hyphenaed or not. I don't see these changes posing huge problems, but I think spelling does pose a problem. Texting and other forms of communication that use shorthand writing have definitely changed the way most of us spell (that is, unless you're like me and you don't use shorthand), but we should know what type of writing is appropriate for certain times, like Theo said. If we can't handle that, then it's a huge setback; good luck with that!
ReplyDeleteI apologize for my late response. I am sick and just woke up. :(
ReplyDelete"New technology spawns new words, just like all new culture does. But to argue that this is a bad thing is to deny the very flexibility that makes language useful."
Technology changes language almost every day we breathe fresh air. The flexibility of language is super kewl. I mean, I can talk to u with a "
U" instead of "you" and u will still understand the point I am trying to get across. Texting has provided an evolution in language never before seen. It has almost become like an accent, like British English versus Australian English versus American English. Texting is just another accent of the English language (and other languages, too!).
In response to Theo:
I agree! Text-speech allows us teenagers (and adults) to save time by getting our point across much faster than using correct grammar. It is convenient.